Aldering

### Speech pattern

Frequently used an informal but polite tone of conversation which was intertwined with blunt language and a sinister inflection

### Dist. features

Heterochromia (blue right pupil, white left eye) and decayed, skeletal right hand with metallic shards caused by Shadow-black poisoning

### Abilities

Has a spiritual connection to Shadow-black

### Status

Deceased

"*Believe it or not, once upon a time, I was exactly like you, Teddy. I've been on government-mandated missions, ordered by the bloated ass on that throne, of course. I've dug up trinkets of unimaginable importance and caused havoc in national landmarks. And I've killed a man for national security. You're not talented, Teddy. You're not even special. You're just the latest in a long line of spoilt little brats who think they have it all. Does it surprise you to know that you're not Enola's first errand boy?"
"We're... you and me are nothing alike."
"Liar. You know it's true.*"
―Aldering and Teddy Garson[src]
**Charles Aldering** is the main antagonist of the Teddy Garson books, being mentioned with the shorthand of **Mr. A** by King Daemus in Teddy Garson and The Infernal Cult and appearing physically as a major character in the two sequels. He was the fictional predecessor to Teddy Garson as the travelling-companion and protégé of Enola before being abandoned in the Heath. Unlike King Daemus and the Infernal Cult before him, he is presented as an independent villain who only affiliates himself with the army of dark creatures and proxies he controls, and is recognised as Teddy's archenemy.

## Personality and traits

Aldering was regarded by many people who knew him as evil. Whilst his acts were undeniably wicked, he rarely showed any understanding of the immorality of his actions; he passed off civilian casualties as "collateral damage" and spoke of his victims as "short-term" losses which did not conflict with his view of the "long-term". However, he did not outright deny the accusation, in fact when Melina called him "sick" he acted completely indifferent and responded:

"*Sometimes, my dear, it's necessary to do bad things to get good things: an ugly truth.*"
―To Melina after the Mechanical Guardians killed Professor Ansis Gall[src]
On this note, he displayed an admirable level of initiative and was very goal-driven, shown through his strategic and unsympathetic murder of Enola, completely unshackled by any "moral byproducts" and his takeover of Anderland, which he put into place almost immediately. Aldering was very intelligent, demonstrating a calculating nature which allowed him to probe both logical dilemmas and people with little prior knowledge. He was able to synthesise his own magical substance and control all of the Heath after being stranded there, and discovered how to use the alternate world's stars to look into Anderland and, eventually, how to sporadically break through to the "other side" for short periods of time, all deduced through his own ingenuity.

Whilst he showcased a high level of charisma which went hand-in-hand with his interpersonal intelligence, Aldering did occasionally demonstrate socially unacceptable prejudices and behaviours towards others through various microaggressions and epithets, such as his patronizing attitude and sexual advances towards Melina and him regarding the East Anderlish as "mongrels" who should "go back to their huts", displaying both sexist and xenophobic attitudes respectively. Presumably, his hatred of the East Anderlish was a motive for him destroying the Infernal Cult.

## Powers and abilities

### Powers

**Enhanced physiology**
**Magic**
**Mind reading**
**Shadow-black connection**

### Abilities

**Genius level intellect**
**Expert hand-to-hand combatant**
**Curse forging**

## Relationships

### Teddy Garson

Long before the fateful night when Teddy Garson ran away from home, Aldering was aware of the young man's existence and showed some mild interest in him, discovering him when one of the Looking-glass stars in the Heath glowed gold. However, Aldering's real interest in Teddy began after he allied himself with Enola and defeated King Daemus, capturing the sorcerer's attention and beginning an obsession with him, all centred around a single snapshot: Teddy Garson lying dead in his open coffin, flocked by "a mob of familiar, indebted grievers". From this point onwards, Aldering began to stalk Teddy during both the day and night.

The pair's first meeting took place shortly after Teddy entered the Heath for the first time, where Aldering exposed how Enola had betrayed him and the damage Teddy's growing attachment to notoriety could cause. Surprising himself, this interaction gave Aldering a level of respect towards Teddy for his unexpected open-mindedness in not disregarding what Aldering had told him, admitting he had misinterpreted him and giving him a chance to go free if it meant turning over Enola. However, when Teddy did not comply, Aldering intervened and murdered Enola in front of Teddy, describing the image of Teddy cradling her dying body as "close enough" before adding "for now". Afterwards, Aldering subjected Teddy to the same fate he had been forced under, and trapped him in the Heath with no way of relying on Fidelis or his Glimmer connection. As Aldering fled, he promised Teddy that when he was on his last breath, he would drag it out, and kill him too.

Aldering was disappointed that his opposition consisted of "sidekicks" in the form of Nathan and Melina, and inwardly wished that Teddy could be his opponent. Both fortunately and unfortunately for Aldering, Teddy would soon be rescued from the Heath and would direct the fight against him. This began the most crazed perspective Aldering had towards Teddy, outwardly addressing him as his nemesis and mockingly calling himself "the arch-villain who Teddy Garson would rub one out thinking about", both making fun of his pseudo-adventurous lifestyle and the enmity they shared. During this period, Teddy speculated that, deep down, Aldering did not know whether he truly wanted to kill him, or whether he wanted them to coexist in an epic rivalry.

The pair's final confrontation occured where Teddy had grown up in Mayfield; Aldering called this outcome "beautifully poetic" and described Teddy as "better than the best" before beginning to brutalise him, planning to essentially torture him to the brink of death before impaling him with a fatal Shadow-black scepter. However, Teddy was able to gain the upper hand in the battle and offered to spare Aldering. He feigned accepting Teddy's mercy whilst discreetly coordinating a surprise-attack, but the attempt failed and Aldering was pierced with a crossbow bolt. With one last laugh, Aldering crumpled to the floor at the feet of his archenemy, hissing out the words "you're still a cold-blooded killer" before succumbing to his extensive injuries.

### His pet plant

During his time in the Heath, Aldering nurtured one of the native plants from the stage of a seedling (which was presumably altered by the Shadow-black influence) which he later took with him into Anderland, appearing on his desk. Out of all of the relationships Aldering has, the one with this plant seems to be the strongest.
Aldering's plant