Hollis is a character that I introduce briefly in the story "His Sworn Duty". His part in the story is simply as the person who brings Keenan up to his room to rest. But just before Keenan enters the Hall soaking wet, we learn that Hollis knows quite a bit about Loyalian mages. He understands why Elayne is worried about Keenan being dressed as he was and shares her worry. Elayne, we can presume, had been told by Keenan all about Loyalian robes. But how does Hollis know? To understand this, you have to know more about the man himself.
Hollis is the son of Kevin Bromley, a powerful Berklian lord, with one of his lesser wives. Hollis' mother, Emily Grabecortan, was a witch from Cygma and, because of her low standing among the other wives, took a direct hand in raising Hollis and his siblings. She was a caring and nurturing person who also raised all of his half-siblings.
When Hollis was about ten years old, his powers as a warlock emerged and he was sent away to Terra (Earth) to be schooled in witchcraft. He studied hard and did quite well in his classes, especially his transfiguration class. When he completed his schooling, Hollis became an expert at all forms of transfiguration magic. (Transfiguration magic is the use of spells to change the form of something. Making it something else, making it invisible, etc.)
Less than a year later, Lord Xanthos kidnapped Hollis and forced him to work with the Dark Mages. Hollis did this willingly, rather than facing certain death, until Keenan rescued him and a shapeshifter who was in similar dire straits. (That's a story I'm planning to write, eventually.)
Because of his gratitude to Keenan for rescuing him and in order to keep the protection Elayne provided him, Hollis agreed to work with the Evil Mages Council. The one thing that no one, except Keenan, knows is that Hollis' familiar is not just the little ginger cat he apprears to be. Instead he is one of the race of faeries, known as Warlock Cats. |
