Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, child abuse, and bullying.

Cardan is the youngest prince of Elfhame and later the High King. As a child, he is unloved and neglected by his biological family; one brother frames him for murder, while the other beats and reluctantly raises him. With his reputation tarnished, Cardan embraces villainy and eventually uses it as a protective shield. While he considers himself a hedonistic, petty villain for most of his life, he is portrayed as something closer to a misunderstood antihero.

Cardan initially surrounds himself with terrible influences and a posse of toxic “friends,” all of whom encourage him to be awful and teach him to view humans as inferior. Nicasia and Locke, in betraying him, teach him faeries’ capability for deceit. His few positive influences are sporadic and distant—Aslog’s stories teach him how to think for himself, and his exposure to Jude changes his perception of humans. 

Cardan’s character development mostly happens in secret, deceiving even himself. As an adult, he tries to openly play the hero to prove himself and protect Jude. However, he realizes that he prefers subtlety, displayed by his final story to Aslog, over the brash openness of Jude’s warrior heroism.