The King of Enlad rules a kingdom ravaged by widespread disease, drought, and signs of imbalance in the natural order, including dragons straying far from their territories. He shows concern for his subjects' welfare and relies heavily on advisors, especially the royal wizard Root. He confers with Root on ominous events: a weatherworker losing magical abilities during a storm at sea and the unprecedented sighting from the palace of a dragon killed in combat.

Shortly before a pivotal encounter, his son, Prince Arren, vanishes mysteriously. Later, while alone in a dimly lit palace corridor, the king is ambushed and fatally stabbed by Arren, who then steals the king's sword and flees. As he falls dying, the king calls out his son's name.

After death, the king appears only in Arren's recurring nightmares, reflecting the prince's psychological torment. Dialogue later reveals Arren retained deep affection for his father, describing him as a "great man," despite committing patricide. The murder arose from a sudden, inexplicable impulse attributed to external manipulation by the sorcerer Cob, though the precise nature of this influence remains unspecified.