Professor Ansis Gall

**Professor Ansis Gall** was a fictional scholar and researcher who co-founded and became the immediate leader of the Infernal Cult after King Daemus' death at the Battle of East Anderland. He made his first appearance as the secondary antagonist of Teddy Garson and The Demigod Device, in which he led a group of Infernal Cult members into the Heath to secure the Demigod Device for their plans. After his defeat and subsquent death in the second book, he was briefly mentioned in Teddy Garson and The Liberation of Anderland, where it was revealed that the Infernal Cult's remaining allies and operatives had been completely wiped out by Doctor Vanta as a result of his failures.

## Biography

### Background

Whilst not much is revealed about the Professor's early life and career, it is made apparent in Teddy Garson and The Demigod Device that he was born in East Anderland and conspired with King Daemus to co-found the Infernal Cult, interesting the king with his knowledge of the Ancients' lore and his scientific studies about the Heath. However, Professor Gall did not publicly side with other associates of the organisation or East Anderland in general, maintaining a neutral viewpoint which allowed him the company of West Anderlish officials and even King Rexius.

He did not appear in Teddy Garson and The Infernal Cult, but the opening of the second book is actually a retelling of the Battle of East Anderland from his point of view, detailing how he was present in the Delta Citadel in a supposedly civilian capacity before the ambush began, leading to him being escorted to safety by a group of East Anderlish soldiers. The group was briefly led out into the open where they were blasted by an exploding shell thrown by a West Anderlish soldier, killing a majority of the group and injuring the others. Professor Gall was among the survivors and managed to escape the remainder of the battle, but his face was left scarred after the explosion.

Sometime after the end of the battle and the death of King Daemus, Professor Gall was appointed the new leader of the Infernal Cult.

### Teddy Garson and The Demigod Device

#### Visit to West Anderland

Professor Gall's second appearance in Teddy Garson and The Demigod Device occurs after the reintroduction to the main characters from the original, where he is seen talking to King Rexius in West Anderland about the number of refugees impacted in East Anderland who have travelled to the West. Here it is established that, despite his apolitical reputation, the Professor is widely respected by East Anderlish civilians and is seen as a natural leader to them. However, his charity is only a pretence, and when Teddy Garson enters the palace to present his new finding to the king, the Divinity Keystone, Professor Gall dispatches an assassin to take out Teddy and acquire the Keystone for him, as he recognises it as a remnant from the Heath and, more importantly, the fabled Demigod Device.

Unfortunately for Professor Gall, the attempt on Teddy's life is unsuccessful and, overhearing the news that the Infernal Cult's continued prevalence is unveiled, he unifies a sector of sympathisers and other Infernal Cult members with a new plan in mind: follow Teddy into the Heath and locate the Demigod Device, with the hopes that its power can help to reinstate their organisation and widen their reach and power.

#### Reaching the Heath

Beginning to spy on Teddy, the sector is able to confirm that he is planning to travel to the Heath with the Witch Doctor after leaving her residence, leading them to follow him across Anderland and return to the Delta Citadel. However, as they cross into the parallel world, they are unaware that engineering tycoon Paige Holden follows them with the objective to reclaim the same thing they're looking for from Teddy.

Professor Gall and his allies began their plan by spying on Teddy and his friends through the tropical trees and following them along a river. During their stalking, one of the soldiers does not trek through an insect hive fast enough and is consumed by the creatures, unknowingly alerting the attention of the Heath's controller, Doctor Vanta. Upon nightfall, the Cult tries to ambush their rivals but are cut short by an overflow in the river sent by Doctor Vanta, which separates them from the other parties and splits their group in half. Indifferent to the fates of the rest of his allies, a progressively more stressed Professor Gall urges his teammates to carry on, voicing the possibility that the Divinity Keystone could have been carried by the current with them, and that the remaining streams could lead to a civilisation and, possibly, the Demigod Device.

#### Lost in the wilderness

Following the source of water, Professor Gall voices his interest in the completely uncatalogued vegetation and environment and, when another one of his allies is immobilised, shoots the wounded soldier to prevent him from slowing down the group. The gunshot alerts the nearby Nyxians and Melina, drawing both groups together and forcing the enemies to fight alongside one another. Melina promises that Teddy will hand over the Divinity Keystone if the Cult will help her find him, leading to an unstable pact.

The expanded group finds an abandoned village along the water which the soldiers raid for any remaining supplies, ignoring Melina's concerns as to where the people are and the lack of any remains, indicating a possible abduction. They are suddenly ambushed by more native monsters, which devour two of the soldiers, leaving only two of them and Professor Gall remaining. Unfazed, Professor Gall rallies the others to escape.

#### Crossing paths with competitors

Eventually, the small group crosses paths with Teddy, Enola and Paige's hired muscle, who engages in a fistfight with Teddy. The cult take the opportunity to abandon Melina and try to get the Keystone, but are unsuccessful and instead opt to steal the artefact from Teddy when they reach the Demigod Device. Consequently, the group flees.

#### Reaching the Demigod Device

Hours later, they locate the Behemoth's Temple, the location of the Demigod Device. Thrilled, Professor Gall and the soldiers prepare for Teddy's arrival and begin to get their bearings in the temple, theorising the best way to reach the device. Eventually, Teddy's party reaches the temple, where Professor Gall incapacitates Enola by shooting her in the knee, using the threat of firing another shot as leverage for Teddy to hand over the Keystone. He complies, and the group travel into the temple in search of the device.

After around two hours, Professor Gall and his accomplices locate the Demigod Device, and are reunited with Teddy, Melina, Enola, Nathan and Paige. Here, Professor Gall explains his ambitions to the group, and prepares to kill Teddy before activating the machine. However, Teddy convinces the Professor to instead use the machine, as he wants to see how it works. Professor Gall complies, and inserts the Keystone.

#### Death

However, Teddy's request was a trick and, as Professor Gall does not have the necessary Glimmer connection to operate the machine, it alerts the Mechanical Guardians of the Demigod Device, which unexpectedly attempt to kill all of the intruders. Professor Gall burns his hand trying to take the Keystone out of the machine, and is so distracted that he does not pay attention to the Guardian approaching him. In one shot, the Mechanical Guardian shoots its laser directly through Professor Gall's head, killing him instantly.

### Legacy

Shortly after Professor Gall's death, Doctor Vanta ambushed the survivors and began to pursue them out of the Heath, with Teddy having to retrieve the Keystone from Professor Gall's corpse.

Years after the expedition into the Heath, Doctor Vanta would eradicate the Infernal Cult entirely, citing its failure to survive to Professor Gall's blunders and stupidity.