Every great fantasy needs a worthy villain. In The Rise of Nicholas the Noble, readers are introduced to Gangleri, the first true villain to appear in the Santaverse, and perhaps the most complicated character revealed yet.
Unlike the honorable elves and well-intentioned creatures we’ve come to know in stories from One True North, Gangleri is something else entirely. He’s not interested in joy or spirit. He doesn’t seek the good of others. Gangleri wants power and he believes that controlling all knowledge will give him that.
The Hoarder of Knowledge
While elves and Lumincients are scholars who believe in sharing what they learn, Gangleri is something different: a collector of secrets, a gatekeeper of knowledge.
As Fisbee explains in the novel:
“Some people collect stuffed animals. Others buy too many pumpkin spice products every fall… For Gangleri, it was knowledge.”
But this wasn’t the kind of knowledge that leads to wisdom or compassion. Gangleri wanted to know everything and share nothing. He believed that if only he could possess every truth, he could control the destiny of the world and bend it to his will.
It’s this twisted obsession that leads him to covet the Lumistella Stone, a mysterious and sacred celestial object said to be the source of all Christmas magic. To Gangleri, it’s not a symbol of spirit; it’s a key to ultimate control.
Obsessed, Ruthless, and Unrelenting
Throughout the novel, Gangleri emerges as a deeply dangerous force. He commands an army of Lightalfs, imprisons creatures like Barry and Radnow, and tracks the movements of the heroes through his shape-shifting magic and raven spies.
He is relentless in his pursuit of the Lumistella Stone, and of Nicholas, whose arrival at One True North seems to fulfill an ancient prophecy Gangleri has long feared.
He wields seidr magic, a dark and commanding power, and uses it to take on animal forms (like a bat or a snowy owl) to spy, escape, or attack. His transformations are strategic, unsettling, and effective.
But beneath the power lies something more dangerous: certainty. Gangleri does not question his right to take what he wants. He sees himself as chosen.
“The Stone knows that I am its destiny! It chooses me! The knowledge of the gods is finally mine!”
—Gangleri, blinded by ambition
A Villain Worthy of a Hero
When Nicholas and the Lumincients meet Gangleri face to face, the battle is fierce. And symbolic. Their fight is not only physical; it’s a clash of ideals. Nicholas and the Lumincients fight for light, for the Spirit of Christmas, and for others. Gangleri fights for control over what others can know and believe.
Gangleri is cunning, strategic, and extremely dangerous in battle. But Nicholas, strengthened by truth and humility, doesn’t meet him with anger. Instead, he makes a surprising choice—one that changes everything.
Gangleri’s Encounter with the Lumistella Stone
In one of the most powerful scenes in the novel, Gangleri reaches the ark containing the Lumistella Stone. He believes he will finally claim the power he’s been chasing for centuries.
What follows is extraordinary.
“The light enveloping him vanished… Gangleri fell to his knees like a puppet with its strings cut.”
The stone does not destroy Gangleri, but it also does not bend to him. Instead, it reveals something no reader (or even narrator!) fully understands. Only Gangleri himself could understand the truth of his condition. And that is just what the Stone shows him.
“His ecstatic smile wavered, then vanished, replaced by a long look of dawning horror… ‘What have I done?’”
The Lumistella Stone shows Gangleri not what he wants, but perhaps what he could have wanted. Or what he will become, if he does not change. It is a moment of raw, emotional power. He weeps. He doesn’t fight back. But what will it mean for Gangleri? Could he really ever be anything other than the villain we’ve already seen him to be?
Fisbee leaves readers wondering:
“Some say Gangleri saw what he could have been if he took a different path. Others say he experienced the blinding power of love and kindness… But whatever he saw, it moved him,”
A Villain with Depth
What makes Gangleri compelling isn’t just that he’s a formidable foe. It’s that he’s almost tragic. He wasn’t always cruel. He wasn’t always consumed. His motives, though twisted, are rooted in something deeply human: the fear of being left behind, of not knowing enough, of not having power when others do.
There are whispers in the story…hints that Gangleri may once have shared something with Mother Earth, perhaps even love. The truth of their relationship remains a mystery. But his brokenness, revealed in that final moment, suggests that he might not be entirely lost to begin with.
What Gangleri Teaches Us
In literature, the best villains aren’t evil for evil’s sake. They mirror the fears we all wrestle with: control, insecurity, the need to feel important. Gangleri is a cautionary tale: a reminder that knowledge without compassion can corrupt and that even powerful beings can be humbled by the gentle Spirit of Christmas.
Gangleri is the first great villain of the North Pole. And because of him, Nicholas’ rise to lead the Kingdom becomes even more meaningful.
What Comes Next?
Though his fate at the end of the book is uncertain, one thing is clear: Gangleri’s story has shifted the Santaverse forever. His actions have tested the elves, shaken the balance of One True North, and revealed the deeper strength of a boy destined to become Santa Claus.
Whether or not he returns, the shadow of Gangleri will linger.
