Caliburn

The Great Wizard Pentaglion (formerly)

> "*Caliburn is a bird of omen, who can see into the future, and into the past, and he doesn’t think that Witches are gone forever!*"
> ― Xar to Looter after the latter claimed Witches had been destroyed forever
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**Caliburn**, known in his previous life as **Pentaglion**, is a talking raven who always accompanies Xar. However, it is Encanzo who is Caliburn's master; Encanzo promised Caliburn and the sprites their freedom once Xar had matured enough that he did not need them.

## Biography

### Past life

Caliburn has supposedly lived "many lifetimes" as a human being, so many that he has trouble remembering everything that happened to him in each. Prior to becoming a raven, he was the renowned wizard Pentaglion, who ruled over Castle Death after the end of the Last Witch War. Among his wizardly pursuits, he pursued the rather dangerous art of trying to see into the future. One such attempt was triggered as a result of Sychorax, a young warrior princess, coming to him seeking council.

After learning that Sychorax's love with the wizard Tor would result in Witches returning to the Wildwoods, Pentaglion set out to prevent this terrible eventuality. He created the Spell of Love Denied for Sychorax, in order to make her love for Tor die in her heart. Unfortunately, one of the ingredients of the spell were the tears of Droods, which Pentaglion obtained from his twin sister Perdita. After learning that Pentaglion had used their tears in one of his spells, the Droods launched a savage attack on Castle Death.

As a result of the attack, Pentaglion's giant Proponderous was fatally injured, and his baby werewolf Lonesome was taken to Gormincrag. Accounts differ as to the fate of Pentaglion, with his frost sprite Eleanor Rose and Proponderous later claiming that he had been killed by them. Caliburn himself, his memories of being Pentaglion lost, the Droods did indeed kill the great wizard, but may have been able to foresee his regeneration and somehow affected his regeneration, so he became a raven in his next lifetime.

In any event, the being now known as Caliburn eventually found himself in the service of Encanzo, king of wizards - and, unbeknownst to him, the adult that Sychorax's young love Tor had grown into after his meddling. Along with the Sprite Ariel, Caliburn was bound to serve Encanzo's youngest son Xar as an advisor. Their mission was to help Xar grow into "a wise and thoughtful adult." Unfortunately, Xar proved an uncooperative student at best, and Caliburn's worries over his misadventures caused him to lose feathers at an alarming rate.

## Physical Appearance

Caliburn is a raven, which is a large passerine (perching) bird. As is the norm for his species, he has black feathers. It is said "he would have been a handsome bird" if not for his feathers dropping out due to stress.

## Personality and Traits

Caliburn is worrisome and protective, always attempting to keep Xar away from danger or risk. Due to this, he becomes incredibly stressed when Xar puts himself and/or others in danger, which is why his feathers keep falling out. He still follows and looks after Xar even when he doesn’t agree with his actions in order to keep Xar from further messing up.

## Abilities and Traits

* The ability to tell and see the past, present and future.

## Relationships

> "*Xar will need you for a little while longer. I will not release you [...] until the boy grows up into a wise and thoughtful adult.*"
> ― Encanzo
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### Perdita

Perdita is Pentaglion/Caliburn's twin sister, and the pair are exceptionally close. Though Perdita is quick to condemn her brother's more foolhardy actions, she is also quick to give into his persuasive charm.

### Xar

Caliburn takes care of Xar as a service to Xar's father, Encanzo, and, as his charge, Xar provides a great source of stress for Caliburn. While Caliburn may try to convince Xar to undergo a less reckless course of action, Xar rarely pays his advice any mind. Despite Xar's irreverence regarding Caliburn's role as caretaker and advisor, Xar is still fond for the raven and cares for him.

### Wish

In The Wizards of Once: Twice Magic, Caliburn is shown to be helping Wish in regards to her magic, and his teaching methods seem to be quite effective on her. Though there was not much time for the two to learn together, they both provided mutually helpful insight to one another.

### Encanzo

Encanzo is effectively Caliburn's master and, as such, Caliburn is obligated to do as he says. Encanzo recruited Caliburn as a guardian for sorts for Xar, and Caliburn reports back to Encanzo about the adventures Xar frequently embarks on.

### Sychorax

Caliburn's relationship with Sychorax is strained, as she always rejects his propositions of teaching Wish.

## Appearances

* *The Wizards of Once*
* *The Wizards of Once: Twice Magic*
* *The Wizards of Once: Knock Three Times*
* *The Wizards of Once: Never and Forever*

## Trivia

* Caliburn's name is phonetically similar to that of Caliban, son of the witch Sycorax in William Shakespeare's play *The Tempest*, who, notably, is "not honour'd with a human shape" as he is half-human and half-monster.
* His name is also similar to the Romani word *cauliban*, meaning "blackness".