John Dee

 JOHN DEE IN THE SERIES 

In the series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, John Dee is the enemy of Nicholas Flamel. In the background of the story, Dee was once apprenticed to Flamel and Perenelle many centuries ago, but eventually was brought under the wing of a powerful Dark Elder, one that is unknown to everyone except a few of the Dark Elders. He has since hunted Flamel and Perenelle across continents and centuries, being responsible for some of the greatest calamities in history, the most famous being the Great Fire that ravaged the city of London in 1666 under the reign of Charles the II. His methods are extreme, and he will not stop to get what he wants. He once brought William Shakespere under his wing, making him immortal, but in an incident where he killed the son of Shakespere while trying to have him Awakened, Shakespere left. Dee is now a major force in the world, running a massive entertainment company and several firms, but still resolute in his quest to obtain the Book of Abraham so he can summon the Dark Elders and his Master into existence. He is also a necromancer in addition to being a skilled magician. He also possesses Excalibur, the sword of water, which among other things has the power to instantly freeze objects. His aura is a sickly yellow, and the scent he emits when he uses magic is sulfur.

In The Alchemyst, Dee attacks the bookshop where Perenelle and Flamel are working, kidnapping Perenelle and taking the Book of Abraham, save for the last few pages. Dee, discovering that Flamel has the last two pages and the twins, enlists the help of the Crow Goddess the Morrigan and Bastet and chases the twins and Flamel into Hekate's shadowrealm, where he freezes Hekate and destroys her Shadow Realm. He then chases Flamel to Ojai, California, where he awakens the dead soldiers buried in the various graveryards and tries to convince Josh Newman to join him before his sister grabs Josh and they escape to Paris.

In The Magician, Dee is forced to join with Niccolo Machiavelli in order to capture the twins. He calls the Disir, more commonly known as the Valkyries, and the Nigodhogg to come to Paris, offering Scathach as bait in exchange for the twins. When the Valkyries unleash the Nigodhogg in Paris, Dee and Machiavelli chase after it and eventually convince Josh Newman to join them and descends to the catacombs of Paris, where they encounter Mars and Dee has him Awaken Josh to his powers. But before he can get away, Flamel and Sophie retrieve Josh and escape into the upper world of Paris. In a last ditch effort to defeat Flamel and the twins, Dee and Machiavelli awaken the statues on Notre Dame Cathedral, only to be defeated by Sophie's use of Fire and Air Magic, enchanced with Josh's aura. They then escape Paris.

In The Sorceress, Dee is warned by the Dark Elders that he must capture the twins, otherwise there will be serious reprucussions. Dee must join forces again with Bastet, and the two of them meet Cerunnos, the Archon. As Cerunnos leads an attack on the compound containing Flamel and the twins, Dee attempts to enter to kidnap them, only to be defeated when Josh uses Clarent. Dee continues to chase the twins and Flamel down throughout the course of the book, but is thwarted when Cerunnos is defeated when Sophie and Josh use both Water Magic and Clarent to bury and seal the Archon in the Earth. Dee has failed, but he realizes he now has both Excalibur and Clarent, which was tossed aside by Josh after defeating Cerunnos.

THE HISTORICAL JOHN DEE

Many of the details in the story regarding the historcial John Dee are true. He was born on July 13, 1527 and was supposed to have died in 1608 or 1609. However, like the real life Flamels, Dee's grave has been lost to the centuries and the cause of his death was never given. Dee was an occultist and was deeply involved with scrying. He also served Queen Elizabeth the I as her personal soothsayer. He also claimed to be able to talk to angels and spirits. However, he was a devout Christian and had a wife and several children, none of whom as of yet have been mentioned in the Series.