Ertinent

**Ertinent**, alongside Olite and Udent, was one of three Imps native to the Land of Oz.

## Description

### Physical appearance

Like the other two Imps, Ertinent appeared as a somewhat Nome-like, diminutive humanoid. He had no beard, but his hair pointed up in a way that looked like a pair of horns. He was distinguished from the other two by his belt buckle, which was made of lead, whereas Olite's was made of tin, and Udent's was made of brass. After his romanticisation, this buckle turned to aluminium instead. (PROSE: *The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids in Oz*)

## Biography

In one universe, they originally served the Wicked Witch of the South Blinkie, but this was not widely known. After causing too much mischief, they drew the ire of the Wizard of Oz who, at the time, was in the process of learning real magic. In the presence of Ozma, he used his newfound powers to turn the three Imps into buttons. However, after many years, the enchantment faded. The Imps wasted no time in using their current position within the Emerald Palace to steal Dorothy Gale's Magic Belt. They also disassembled the Red Wagon and, to cover their tracks, additionally stole Ozma's Magic Picture and then, travelling to Glinda's palace, the Great Book of Records. With all these artefacts in hand, they travelled through Munchkin Country, crossing paths with the Phonograph, and finally back to Jinxland in Quadling Country, where they delivered the stolen artefacts to Blinkie. Blinkie sent the Imps to steal the Powder of Life while she used the Belt to create an army's worth of imp-statues which she hoped to animate using the Powder.

Before she could do so, however, Ozma and a great number of her friends, travelling in Acquaintanceship-982's Fog Ship, discovered what had happened and made their way to Jinxland. They ended up defeating Blinkie by romanticising her. However, Acquaintanceship then crashed with the Fog Ship in the nearby forest. The imps found him and wrenched the Ship free from atop him, not out of the goodness of their heart but in the hope that they could use the Ship for some mischief. Before they could do anything else, they were romanticised themselves by Acquaintanceship-982's Arrows, which had been granted sentient life by the Powder amidst the chaos. Thereupon, Ertinent's belt buckle turned from lead to aluminium while Olite and Udent's turned into silver and gold respectively, matching their changes of heart. Apologising for the trouble he had caused, Olite led the other two in trying to make up for it by repairing the damaged Acquaintanceship. (PROSE: *The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids in Oz*)

## Behind the scenes

The imps Olite, Udent and Ertinent originated in *Ozma and the Little Wizard*, an *Oz* short story published by L. Frank Baum in 1913 and included within *Little Wizard Stories of Oz*, meaning they are now in the public domain. The original story did not claim that they had any relationship with Blinkie, although nothing within it contradicted this notion either.

Like the other two Imps', Ertinent's name is an obvious bit of wordplay on a negative adjective beginning with the syllable “imp”: “Impertinent”.

## External links

* ***Ertinent* on the Oz Wiki**