Overview

Pelican is an accomplished wizard whose greatest talent is teleportation. He and Jackdaw knew one another as young men at Wiz-Camp, where they used powerful magic for the mature and necessary purpose of hiding vulcanbeans in the camp director’s coffee.

Years later, Pelican enters the struggle against the Netherworld as both ally and victim. Felgarath controls him through a black serpent fastened to his chest, forcing actions that betray old friendships and contribute to Bellissimo’s death. Pelican eventually breaks free, confesses what happened, and spends the remainder of his life trying to help the people he harmed.

Friendship with Jackdaw

Pelican and Jackdaw share the familiarity of old friends who have survived both magical training and decades of embarrassing stories. Pelican calls him “Jackie,” remembers their school pranks, and is one of the few wizards whose judgment Jackdaw initially trusts without reservation.

That history makes Pelican’s later deception especially damaging. When Pelican claims there is no Netherworld army at the border, Jackdaw believes him because he cannot remember his friend lying to him before. The false report fractures the gathering of wizards at the worst possible moment.

Compass-Guided Teleportation

Pelican wears a compass on a chain around his neck. The jeweled pendant enables his most impressive feats of teleportation and helps him arrive precisely where intended—an ability rare enough that other wizards rely on him for reconnaissance and emergency travel.

His teleportation is not effortless. Travel to cold regions leaves frost and tiny icicles forming in his beard. Powerful wards can block his path, and hurried jumps require travelers to maintain physical contact or risk arriving inside a mountain, which is widely considered an inconvenient destination.

Ice and Moisture Magic

In addition to teleportation, Pelican manipulates ice and moisture. He can gather freezing air, conjure frost, and create defensive or offensive cold magic. The same affinity produces the distinctive frozen beard that follows some of his journeys.

His magic makes him a valuable member of any expedition, though his slightly forgetful manner can make the power seem less reliable than it is. Pelican may forget a thicker robe; he rarely forgets how to cross half the realm in a shimmer.

Felgarath’s Serpent

Felgarath compromises Pelican by attaching one of his black controlling serpents beneath the wizard’s robe. The creature influences his choices, forces obedience, and allows the Dragonlord to use a respected wizard against the people most likely to trust him.

Under that control, Pelican falsely denies seeing the Netherworld army and helps isolate Jackdaw. He also becomes involved in the events surrounding Bellissimo’s secret visit to the wishing well. His actions are real, but they are not entirely free.

Bellissimo’s Wish

Bellissimo asks Pelican to take her secretly to the Wunderwell. She hopes to wish for the ability to locate the remaining pieces of the DEM and accepts that the magic may demand a sacrifice.

Pelican warns her that magic always exacts a higher toll than expected, but ultimately agrees to help. The wish leaves Bell without the use of her legs. Pelican then delivers her into an ambush involving Petra’s possessed body, believing she may be used as leverage rather than killed.

When Precht murders Bellissimo, Pelican is horrified. The moment breaks through the layers of coercion and rationalization. He recognizes how completely he has been used and resolves to make the situation right.

Breaking Free

Pelican removes Felgarath’s serpent at great physical and mental cost. The bite marks remain visible on his chest as proof of the control he endured. Freedom does not erase what happened, and Pelican does not ask anyone to pretend that it does.

He confesses his role to Sir Roderick, returns Bellissimo’s possessions, and joins the effort to recover the DEM gears. His remorse becomes active rather than decorative: he continues into danger precisely because he understands the consequences of standing aside.

The Search at Arach’s Manor

Pelican accompanies Jackdaw to the ancestral manor of Arach. Together they search for a hidden study containing records about Arach’s father and one of the DEM gears.

Pelican proves both useful and companionable during the investigation. He discovers a remarkable number of secret compartments, most of which contain beans, old clothing, beverages, or unsettling dolls. His teleportation helps the group follow the ghost of Roddy Squires through the manor until they locate the true passage.

Death in the Secret Study

Inside the hidden study, Precht seizes Pelican and uses him as a hostage. The bodiless enemy drains the wizard’s magic and life force, leaving him pale, aged, and barely able to breathe.

Pelican uses his final strength to give Jackdaw the compass pendant. He explains that it is the source of his greatest teleportation feats and urges his old friend to take the gear, reunite with the others, and seek a way to stop Precht.

He dies moments later. Jackdaw carries his body back to the tower and wears the pendant for the remainder of the final quest. Pelican’s last gift allows his magic to continue serving the friends he could no longer accompany.

Personality

• Mischievous: Retains the humor of his Wiz-Camp years.
• Capable: Among the realm’s finest teleporters and a skilled elemental wizard.
• Forgetful: Often remembers the spell more reliably than the coat.
• Compromised: Acts under magical control without becoming merely a passive object.
• Remorseful: Accepts responsibility for repairing what he can after breaking free.
• Self-sacrificing: Uses his final words to equip and warn Jackdaw rather than defend his reputation.

Legacy

Pelican is remembered among the company members who gave their lives during the final quest. His image appears in gold on the memorial to the original heroes.

His story complicates simple divisions between traitor and victim. Pelican causes genuine harm while controlled, makes flawed choices even when partially free, and then demonstrates that remorse has value only when it leads back into responsibility.

Take the pendant from around my neck. It is what enables my great feats of teleportation. It is yours now.

—Pelican

Appearances

• Battle of the Bards — reunion with Jackdaw, magical compromise, and the Netherworld invasion
• The End of the Quest as We Know It — confession, search for the gear, and final sacrifice
• A Wonderful Week for a Quest — the complete original series

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