The Lightbender

**The Lightbender**, or The Man Who Bends Light is an illusionist who works at Circus Mirandus.

## General Information

### Aliases

The Man Who Bends Light
Son of the Sun
Master of Illusions

### Magical Abilities

Mind Manipulation. Mainly uses it to create illusions

## Magical Abilities

### Show

The Lightbender's show takes place in a black tent with a pattern of golden suns on the outside and a golden flag flying from the top. The first shows presented are a series of illusions that make you drop into, for example, a tropical island, the blazing desert, Antarctica, all complete with sounds, sensations, and animals. Each change of scene feels like waking up to something even better than before. If there's a pool of water, and you decide to go swimming, your clothes would change into a swimsuit.

Near the end of his show, the Lightbender shows you your heart's desire coming true. He uses all 5 senses to create a private illusion for the viewer themselves only, and it will seem *real*. But it is not. You will drop back into the tent, exhilarated and happy.

Although it is very explicitly implied in the first book, The Bootlace Magician goes into further detail of his magic. His power actually has nothing to do with bending light. The Lightbender has the ability to manipulate minds, and he is able to make use of all 5 sense to invoke whatever he wants into his audience. It took centuries to master his magic, and it is heavily implied by Porter in chapter 27 of the sequel that he made a lot of mistakes that could have caused severe effects due to the sheer magnitude of his magic.

## Relationships

### The Amazing Amazonian Bird Woman (former friends, now strangers lol)

Otherwise known as Victoria Starling. When the Amazing Amazonian Bird Woman auditioned for a show in Circus Mirandus at the young age of 14, the Lightbender volunteered to keep an eye on her, thus earning her the part. They became friends for the next 10 years, and The Lightbender quickly became her closest friend due to her arrogant attitude causing many to avoid her. But when she decided to abandon the circus in search of fame and glory, he chose not to follow her, much to her insistence. In the end, the Lightbender had to use his own magic to stop her mad rampage and murder spree when she drove most of her flock of magical birds to death and tramautised all the children in her tent. He manipulated her mind into thinking she was unable to fly. This particular incident soured their relationship, and it was at this point that they stopped being friends. Victoria was banished from the circus by Mirandus Head and was almost eaten by Bibi in the process.

### Micah Tuttle (ward)

The Lightbender is Micah's guardian, and Micah looks up to him, as a fatherly figure, and as a magic mentor. He helps Micah with his magic, and when Micah tried to make friends with Fish, he gave his ward the responsibility of looking after Terpischore. Supposedly, he thought, "If Micah wants to make friends with Fish, maybe he's lonely. He can become friends with Terpischore!"

### Ephraim Tuttle (a former child he knew)

The Lightbender met Ephraim when he was 10 years old during the war. He had performed a magnificent show for the latter, whom was showed an illusion of his father, Obadiah Tuttle, returning from the war. This prompted Ephraim to attend every show he put up for the rest of week, until his ticket expired. Surprisingly, at the end of his last show, Ephraim got the courage to show The Lightbender a magic trick, and even held conversations with him about his life and the war that his father was away on. This was the reason why The Lightbender promised Ephraim a Miracle. He never touched that promise of magic until 75 years later, when he used it to ask for Micah to live with The Lightbender and to teach his grandson magic.

## Trivia

•The Lightbender does not remember the name he was given at birth.

•He is sensitive when it comes to the darker side of his magic.

•Although he had an accent, he uses his illusions so that he sounds familiar to the listener to make them feel comfortable around him.

•He was born in Scandinavia a long time ago, but it is unclear which country he is from.

•Most animals do not respond to the Lightbender's magic, however dragons and unicorns (like Terpsichore) are not easy to manipulate.