The War King The War King was a renegade member of the Great Houses who became their leader during the War . Biography . Early life . The future War King was one of four notable renegades born due to abnormalities in the breeding engine s one generation before the War . Two of the other four were Grandfather Paradox and the Imperator . At an early age , the future War King left the Homeworld for unclear reasons . He was notorious for meddling in the affairs of lesser species for power , personal gratification , and casual amusement ; he often hired , manipulated , and seduced the more mercenary or megalomaniac of the lesser species . He was dedicated to his own desires above all else . Soon , his crimes filled two whole datacoils , and he was considered the second - most - wanted criminal among the Great Houses . They captured him a number of times , but he always eventually escaped , despite their attempts to imprison him . After becoming War King , he kept twelve white squares of a hypercube stacked neatly on his desk . The dismantled cube represented his only concession to sentimentality and his last remaining link to his unfortunate past . Rise to power . Before the War , the War King was captured and interrogated by agents of the enemy . He escaped , but the torture deeply affected him and made him realise how he cared for his people . The War King concluded that he would help them in any way he could . Common rumours said he took advantage of this opportunity to gain immunity for his past crimes and power over the Homeworld . The War King arrived on the Homeworld in his self - modified timeship , told the Great Houses what he had witnessed , and vowed to help the Great Houses in any way they wished , but the current President refused to accept the enemy ' s existence and their threat to the Homeworld , going so far as to warn that if the War King were to ever return , he would be arrested for his earlier crimes against the Great Houses . The War King ' s actions on the Homeworld had caused some Great Houses to investigate the existence of the enemy and their threat to the Homeworld . The Great Houses discovered the enemy was a credible threat and had the power to destroy them . Some Great Houses took this further and suggested that the War King be pardoned of his crimes to become part of a future war effort . The War King saw this banishment as a mere setback and began to devise ways for the Great Houses to combat the enemy . He spent over forty years creating plans for new weapons and devices . With the plans he had created , the War King returned to the Homeworld in his timeship and was captured by the House Military . He admitted to all of his offences and asked for an emergency meeting of the High Council to propose his plans . During the emergency session , the Great Houses accepted that the War King had told the truth and concluded that Gallifrey would need a new leader with military experience . The War King was the obvious candidate , and the Great Houses wiped all records of his past and made him War King of the Nine Homeworlds . ( PROSE : " The Book of the War " ) As War King . Two years after coming to power , the War King negotiated a pact with Compassion , creating a " second front " for the War . One evening when the War King was at a banquet , Compassion materialised in the room , looking for " answers " . After a lengthy conversation , Compassion told the War King that when " House Lucia " emerged , the true threat to Gallifrey would be revealed . ( PROSE : " The Book of the War " ) The War King sent Homunculette to investigate the Elder Thing s . ( PROSE : " The Taking of Planet 5 " ) The War King later understood the true motive of Lolita , a sentient timeship , who had evolved from an old model timeship . ( PROSE : " Toy Story " ) Lolita planned to rewrite the Spiral Politic to suit her own ends . As a last resort , he allied with the last members of Faction Paradox against Lolita . The War King ' s alliances failed and Lolita consumed him . ( AUDIO : " Words from Nine Divinities " ) Appearance . The War King had many scars from the days when he was a criminal in the eyes of the Great Houses . After gaining office , the War King decided to keep the scars to illustrate his suitability for the role . ( PROSE : " The Book of the War " ) He had a long , wispy white beard and wrinkled skin that was " parchment - thin " . He wore traditional Gallifreyan robes , albeit black instead of their usual colour . ( PROSE : " The Taking of Planet 5 " )