Evil Harry Dread
| “ | Pink knitting wool? ME and pink knitting wool...!?! | „ |
| ~ Evil Harry |
Evil Harry Dread is the last Dark Lord and an antagonist in the Discworld novel The Last Hero. Evil Harry is at a time in Discworld in which mythology is disappearing, magic is retreating, and the supernatural has become everyday myth.
Biography
The famous adventurer and emperor, Cohen the Barbarian, wants to return fire to the Discworld gods, which will ignite a nuclear Apocalypse, because the fire is in the form of gunpowder. Evil Harry only reluctantly comes along on this insane quest because he knows he is the last of his kind, and he can make a last-ditch attempt at fame. Like the Silver Horde (Cohen's gang) he has lived an incredibly long life, and has had all there is to offer. He has fought in many forms, such as the Doomed Spider God, and octopus form. Many of Cohen's Horde are familiar with Evil Harry to the point where they are friends.
On their way to the Center of Discworld, the Dunmanifestin Mountain, Harry seems somewhat harmless, but shows his real evil nature when he betrays the Horde to the gods. He prays to certain "demons" which are actually the gods in disguise, and he warns them of the Horde and their bomb. He says to the gods "May you destroy them and look down on your favourable servant, Harry Dread." He also prays for a "real lava pit, because every other Evil Lord manages to get real lava pits even though they are on several hundred feet of bloody allotment soil!" When he finishes praying, he waits for an answer, but none comes. He sighs and comments on how would it look if he, as a Dark Lord, helped the heroes? Cohen comes up and asks about a giant who was killed with pink knitting wool. Harry says he hates pink knitting wool and therefore wouldn't use such a thing. Cohen apologizes for suggesting it and they go on to tackle the Caves of Dread.
Further up Dunmanifestin, Harry begins feeling sick, and is alarmed when Cohen turns round to admire the view because they are going hand-over hand up a sharp slope, more like a wall, but on the mountain direction is optional. Thus one can think they are walking on a field and they will be. It is only Evil Harry who sees the situation for what it really is and he is petrified.
At Dunmanifestin itself, on top of the Mountain, Cohen approaches Harry and reveals he knew of the treachery already, but he lets him off, because it will make it look more heroic and part of a good saga. Harry waits outside Dunmanifestin and when the bard returns, he hears what happened that Cohen and the Horde sacrificed themselves for Discworld. Harry is revealed to be very tiny, and "while he never made it into the Big Dark Lord League, he has definitely got the "wrong stuff."
Evil Harry and the bard go down the Mountain to seek fame.