Stag Ellis

**Stag Ellis**is a main character in *War.*

In terms of the series narrative, Ellis is the first Stag of Cervidium during the War.

## Appearances

### *War*

Stag Ellis debuted in "Suddenly the Skies Darkened" during the year 709. At that point, he had aligned his nation with Vulpus and the Summer Sun. His closest ally was Vixen VII of Vulpus. The two recruited Gallix into the Summer Sun due to its unfortunate location between them. King Poultrus III agreed to joining the Summer Sun under the conditions that Galligasque sovereignty be upheld and that no chickens be drafted. The Stag and Summer Sun reneged on their promise and issued a harsh conscription notice. Poultrus attempted to send his citizens into exile, but the plot was discovered. Joint Vulpine and Cervidian forces invaded and occupied Gallix. The Stag and Vixen Queen conspired to split the territory between them. On public television, the Vixen Queen executed Poultrus. Ellis shot Henna Petukinau and Henrietta Petukinau. The Summer Sun dissolved the Kingdom of Gallix. Cervidium occupied western Gallix, including the capital city of Kurinoye Selo.

During the fall of Capricon in 711 ("Fall As Lucifer Fell"), Stag Ellis was contacted by a desperate King Edward XIV of Capricon, who begged for help in stopping the surrender. Ellis and Vixen VII both decided to ignore the pleas of their ally, thinking them as weak. Capricon fell days later and the Hornover family was stripped of power.

In 712, the Summer Sun turned on Felexa and invaded. Talonclaw Castle fell siege in "Infamy" but the Lazoy Royal Family had escaped. Nonetheless, Ellis and his allies were able to capture Felexa and push the Granite Bloc to the Capricovian border.

The Stag returned in "Remnants of the People" after Canis published a report accusing Queen Vixen VII, Chequer Vincent I, and Queen Libby Connelly of conspiring to bring about the Victoria Vixen assassination and initiate the War. Ellis and Macaw Arini discussed the implications, but ultimately both chose to either disbelieve or ignore the claims.

By the year 715, the Stag and his son, Barrow Elkton, were conducting gruesome experiments in a secret cavern underneath Antlerstag. These experiments were inflicted upon both prisoners of war and Ellis's own citizens. When Doe Deirdre Elkton nearly walked in on Ellis entering his clandestine realm, he began to slowly strip her of her queenly rights. Her movements in the palace were restricted, and she was confined to her rooms. In diary entries in "Where the Anomaly Lay," Deirdre recounted her harrowing discovery of the rooms beneath the castle. She was caught by Barrow, and she subsequently vanished from Antlerstag under the guise of illness.

The Stag's imprisonment of Deirdre lasted years, and in 717 she was transported to a prison/laboratory in Talonclaw Castle. She surreptitiously sent letters begging for help for nearly a year but the Stag was diligent in having them intercepted. In "Something Wicked," he ordered that she be subjected to an invincibility experimentation, which she miraculously survived. Simultaneously, the Stag ended the use of poisonous gas in battle when it backfired on his own troops and caused widespread deaths. The Stag was, at the time, unaware of supernatural abilities arising as a side effect of the developed gas and experiments.

The Stag attended the 719 Summer Sun summit in "Two Moths Drawn to the Flame," hosted at the Rook of Vulpus. He was castigated for his gruesome experiments and the deadly side effects that reportedly arose. The nations insisted that the gas he had developed must never be used unless a vaccine to its negative effects could be devised. The Stag withheld information about the biological mutations that resulted from some of the experiments. At the conclusion of the summit, the four leaders agreed upon a four-way split of the Cartonian continent, with the Stag taking Felexa, Leprolia, Bovo, half of Capricon, and a piece of Canis.

In "Requiem Aeternum" in the year 720, Stag Ellis visited Talonclaw Castle to visit the BioFreaks housed there, including his wife Deirdre Elkton. For two years, she had been subjected to brutal experimentation and testing so that the deer could understand how to harness and repeat their process. She was the only BioFreak to be able to control fire, and the only with a destructive power. Ellis did not see Deirdre directly, but only viewed her through a one-way mirror. Nonetheless, Deirdre heard his voice and, enraged, broke out of Talonclaw Castle. She freed the other eight and marched on the capital. Stag Ellis was warned, but by that point she had already breached the castle. Deirdre confronted Ellis and accused him of his wickedness. He was not remorseful, and refused to stop. Deirdre killed him for his treachery, and set fire to his study. Ellis was succeeded as Stag by his son, Barrow.

## Character

### Namesake

Ellis's name was randomly selected. His title, however, refers to a male deer.