Dreadwolf. An occupation meant to feed off the terror of those who oppose the Asteri. There is no one better fitting of the title.
We do not have much information on this infamous wolf shifter but we know two thing: He is Danika's Father and that he gave her the Blood Hound lineage. Though his relationship with Danika, and even her mother, is not a favorable one. The latter hoping to forget him after they had a child together and the former out right denouncing him as her father at all. In response to this? Mordoc ate a group of humans in fury...Talk about an overreaction. When described by others he is said to look as if he is always halfway shifted between man and wolf.
Bloodhound is a specific ability that only rarely graces wolf shifters and we can assume that Mordoc was purposefully bred to Sabine to see if the Asteri could gain a future Prime wolf shifter with this ability, someone high enough up on the totem pole but still completely under their control. This ability enhances a wolf shifter's already enhanced sense of smell to the point where they can even smell another person's lineage on them. When this ability was passed down to Danika, though she knew better than to reveal it, it is how she was able to identify Bryce as Starborn. In Mordoc is allows him to sniff out any traitors to the Republic.
Mordoc is the head of an elite squadron of Dreadwolves under Lidia Cervos' command. While we do have mentions of these particular wolves we do not get an indepth description of what makes them different from other wolf shifters. I have my own theory on this and it revolves around a specific comment that Ruhn makes regarding Mordoc. His appearance, always at least half-wolf, half-beastly. From other mentions of these Dreadwolves those within the Crescent City world seem to recognize them based on sight alone. Now this could be because of their uniforms but uniforms do not transfer over into their shifted form. My theory? All Dreadwolves are constantly forced into a permanent half-shifted form. They are not able to access a "mortal" disguise once they become a Dreadwolf. I'm honestly not sure if this comes from some form of training, torture, or even breeding since we know the Asteri like to meddle with that. It could've been a throw away line from Ruhn, an example of how monstrous this Mordoc is but I really don't this. Sarah hardly ever has throw away lines.
We all know by now that Lidia Cervos was a double agent, working alongside the rebellion to overthrow the Vanir and at a deeper level take control back from The Asteri. Before the release of the final book there were many theories that Mordoc was in the know as well, even if he wasn't forth coming with his knowledge of Lidia's ahem...side projects. We know Mordoc did attempt to have a relationship with his daughter, that he did see her on occassion and was so upset with her rejection of him that he did something terrible. Could he have been working for a better life for them? Could he have been aiding Danika is her work? As we come to find out...this was not the case. Mordoc was not in the know about Lidia nor was he aware of Danika's actions and when he is made aware of Lidia's treachery? He is quick in his attempts to put her down. It is a shame that we did not get another surprise double agent but honestly I think the three we did have was more than enough. In the end I am glad to see that Mordoc is deceased and no longer causing chaos but on the other hand he seemed like such a complex creature, I would've loved to have learned more about him.
Another week, another theory, another potentially feral blog. I know I've come out as a dog lover in the past but sometimes there are dogs that you just have to put down. Tell me what your thoughts, opinions, and theories about Mordoc and his Dreadwolves in the comment section below!