Gaul

Template:Characterbox Template:Q Gaul is the Ape King, ruler of the Apes, a loyal servant of the Dark Master, and the primary antagonist of The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night.

Appearance

Gaul is a disgusting, hairy wart-covered enormous ape with one eye as a green shining jewel. Several scars run across his demented face, suggesting that Gaul is a seasoned fighter. He has a purple, horned helmet that looks very similar to a Viking's helmet. He wields a pair of scimitar swords and a long staff brimming with magic.

Story

The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night

It was revealed that Gaul was the one who led the raid on the Dragon Temple on the night of Spyro's birth and was also the one who stole Cynder's egg. After the events of A New Beginning, he planned to revive the Dark Master from the Well of Souls so the Apes can get revenge on the dragon race and to satisfy their lust for power in the impression they would be rewarded. Gaul's apes later re-captured Cynder and held her at the Mountain of Malefor to be taken back by the Dark Master or she would be the first to perish by his hand. Spyro then arrived to save Cynder from Gaul, but the Ape King used his staff to render the young purple dragon weak and drained him of his elemental powers. Gaul then battled Spyro before stumbling down into another floor of the mountain. Infused by the dark power of the Lunar Alignment used to free the Dark Master from the Well of Souls, Spyro killed Gaul by turning him to stone, then breaking him into pieces using his Convexity Fury.

Attacks

In combat, Gaul is definitely a force to be reckoned with. A lot of his moves are extremely powerful and he can kill you very quickly if you are not careful. Most of the time, he will chase you around the room. Sometimes, he will also teleport from place to place in an attempt to confuse you.

In the first stage of the fight, Gaul mainly attacks with his very large swords. If you get too close to him, he will unleash a flurry of powerful slashes (three of these slashes will kill Spyro). If this doesn't work, Gaul leaps into the air and stabs down with both swords, sending out a shockwave of green energy. The various green fires around his throne room seem to enhance his shockwaves, so unless you are an expert, it is best if you destroy them to increase your chances of survival. His final stab is the strongest, but it will cause his blades to get stuck in the ground (Two small stabs will kill, and the final strong stab is a one-hit kill move). After recovering, Gaul would sometimes hurl a smoldering, green fireball in your direction (this is not a strong attack, but still must be avoided).

In the intermission cutscene, Gaul loses his swords, his helmet, his shoulder-plating, and his magic staff. Although he now uses different attacks, he is still a very formidable foe and he can still kill you in no time at all.

thumb|300px|rightIn the second stage of the fight, Gaul seems to be able to use his jewel eye as laser beam (it is useful for pushing Spyro off the edge). He also can transform into a tornado that sucks Spyro towards his flailing limbs (this attack is normally unavoidable but it can be avoided if you charge fast enough. It does not inflict damage on Spyro). He can summon fireballs to fall from the sky and explode near the ground, but it is almost impossible to get hit by this attack if Spyro is careful. For physical attacks, he wields a pair of blades ejected from his gauntlets. He will chase you around the the room, and if you get too close, he will swipe at you; usually three attacks will kill you

After lowering Gaul's health all the way, prepare to finish him off when prompted to, and you will have won the game.

Gallery

• Gaul the Ape King
  Gaul the Ape King
• Gaul leading his army of Apes to battle (A New Beginning).
  Gaul leading his army of Apes to battle (A New Beginning).
• 2D concept art of Gaul
  2D concept art of Gaul
• Gaul leading his army of Apes to battle (The Eternal Night).
  Gaul leading his army of Apes to battle (The Eternal Night).
• Gaul with Cynder's egg in his grasp.
  Gaul with Cynder's egg in his grasp.

Trivia

• In the last cutscene of Spyro's battle with the Ape King, when the villain is turned to stone, it is seen that both hands go up in a surrender like manner. It is unknown if he was truly surrendering, or just trying to protect himself.
• Gaul could possibly be named after the city-state of Gaul, which is now present-day France.
• In The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, Gaul was briefly pictured in the beginning of Ignitus' tale, roaring his challenge to the dragons with a massive hammer slung over his shoulder. He is never seen using this weapon in The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night.
• Gaul's death is similar to how Starscream dies in the 80s Transformers the movie.
• Gaul is very similar to the Lloyd Alexander's first book villain the Horned King, as both were sent to kill the main protagonist and an important object (in Gaul's case, Cynder; in the Horned King, one Hen Wen) and Gaul's death is similar to that of the Horned King; both were killed by a lighting beam, but in the Horned King's case it was because they mention his real name, in the case of Gaul Spyro killed him
• If The Legend of Spyro trilogy was translated in Japan, then Gaul would be known as ガウル Gauru in Japanese.
• If The Legend of Spyro series was released in Japan, Then his Japanese voice would have probably been done by: Kōsei Hirota, just like Terrador's, in which he could have dubbed over the roles that Kevin Micheal Richardson performed in English throughout the series.
• It is unknown if, like the rest of the Apes, Gaul was simply following Malefor for power and greed or true loyality, as in game actions seem to make him out to be very loyal to his master.
• Awaiting his death, Gaul seemed to be very aware that Malefor had possessed Spyro; he most likely strengthened his master's sinister influence on the young dragon when he yelled at him to finish him, called him a coward when he hesitated, and threateningly reared in on him to make him react.
• He is more reminiscent of a Demonic Baboon than an Ape.