Oacus

Sorcerer Oacus is an anime-exclusive antagonist, who is first seen in episode thirty-eight.

Role in anime
In the English dub, Oacus lived some time before Adin united the tribes of the Land of Dragons. As a child, he witnessed the Shadow Lord's defeat at the Battle for Deltora. Many years later, he became one of the Shadow Lord's servants and was gifted with many magical powers.

Sorcerer Oacus
After Lief, Barda, and Jasmine defeated the sorceress Thaegan for a third time, Fallow nominated Oacus to retrieve the Belt of Deltora. After the sorcerer burned down a villager's house, he was brought before Fallow and given the instructions to retrieve the Belt, the stolen gems, and kill the trio.

Oacus caught up with the trio as they boarded a pirate ship in the rain to rescue Dain. Using his pyromancy, he summoned two fire-minions and separated Lief from Barda and Jasmine, holding the latter still so she could watch Lief succumb to the fire. However, Dain steered the ship into a wave created from the floodwater, dousing the flames and knocking the sorcerer overboard.

The Vow of the Torans
Oacus watched the companions, Dain, Doom, and Neridah battle with the Carn Squad outside of Tora, but did not participate in the fight.

The Last Gem
On his way to the Valley of the Lost, Oacus ran into Neridah, who had been travelling with the companions until they abandoned her. After an exchange of words, he offers to escort her to the valley, since he had been heading that way as well. He ran into Neridah again after she stole the Diamond from the Guardian and used her as bait to lure out Lief, Barda, and Jasmine. However, because the Diamond had been taken unfairly, it caused a tree to collapse on top of Oacus. The companions and Neridah escaped into a cave underneath the tree roots, but Oacus followed and battled with Lief once again. Using the Diamond as a pick, Barda was able to make a hole in the cave wall and the four escaped. As Oacus tried to follow, the sudden fresh air caused his flames to swell in size and engulf him. He survived, but his right eye was scarred by the incident.

The Last Battle of Fire
Oacus caught up to Lief, Barda, and Jasmine as they were making their way to Del with Steven. This caused Nevets, Steven's brother, to awaken and battle with the sorcerer. Though the two seemed evenly matched, Oacus eventually won and cornered the companions by a cliff-side. As he was about to kill them, the nullifier gem gifted to Jasmine by the Torans activated and stripped Oacus of his powers. Despite the loss of his magic, Oacus drew a knife and engaged Lief in combat once again, but was defeated.

As he lay there dying, Oacus told the companions that their battle against the Shadow Lord is hopeless, as well as his own history, before his body burst into flames.

Physical appearance
Oacus was tall, thin, and handsome looking, with pale skin, pink eyes, and blond hair. He dressed in black robes that covered all but his hands and neck, and a white robe that hung around his shoulders.

After the events of The Last Gem, Oacus gained a scar along his right eye.

Personality
Above all else, Oacus was a cruel individual who enjoyed watching the suffering of others. Several times he was seen holding people still as they watched their loved ones and possessions be destroyed before their eyes, all while Oacus smiled joyfully. He also had a superiourity complex, constantly thinking of himself as beyond human and that nobody could defeat him because they were "merely human." Because of this, he was genuinely shocked to face others who could match his powers, such as Nevets, who he referred to as "not human."

Abilities
Oacus was a master of pyromancy and was able to control and summon all manner of flames. Among his abilities included materialising fire, increasing and decreasing the size of a fire, and summoning weapons and demons of flame to fight for him. Oacus was also able to fly by creating flaming wings. In order to channel his powers, he had to speak a magic incantation, much like how Thaegan cast her spells in the anime.

Oacus was granted near-immortality and eternal youth by the Shadow Lord, which has allowed him to survive things that would kill a normal human with no or little visible damage. However, these powers can be countered and nullified by ancient and equally powerful magic.

Oacus was also skilled in swordsmanship, as he was able to face off with Lief with only a knife.

Trivia

 * Oacus is an anime-only character and he does not appear in Emily Rodda's books, thus, he is not a canon character.
 * Fans of the series appear to be split when it comes to his relevance. Many think he was a pointless character to add while others still believe he would have been an interesting character in the book series.
 * It can be speculated that he has an iron grip, as he was able to hold Jasmine and the little girl by the shoulders with relative ease to make them watch his sadistic work.
 * It is never revealed why Oacus joined the Shadow Lord, though based on his superiority complex, it is possible he joined for power over others.
 * Since Oacus witnessed the Battle for Deltora, it is possible he is of the Plains tribe. If this were true, then his pyromancy could have been his natural power granted by his Plains blood.