Gaul

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

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 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.

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.

Attacks

Gaul attacks in various ways. Most of the time, he will chase you around the room; 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 sword, sending out a shockwave of green energy. The various green fires around his throne room seem to enhance his shockwaves, so it's best if you destroy them to increase your chance 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).

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 unavoidable but does not inflict damage on Spyro). It is also seen that 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. In the middle of the cutscene, Gaul lost his swords, his helmet, shoulder-plating, and his staff (the staff shatters on impact with the ground when Gaul and Spyro unexpectedly descend to the bottom area). He now wields his gauntlets, that have a long tapered point. He will chase Spyro around the platform, and if Spyro gets too close, he will swipe with his gauntlets; usually three attacks will kill Spyro. Gaul is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

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's tale, roaring his challenge to the dragons with a massive hammer slung over his shoulder.
• Gaul's death is similar to how starscream dies in the 80s transformers the movie.
• Gaul is very similar to the Loyd Alexander first book villain The Horned king as both where sended to kill the main protagonist and an important obeject (in Gaul s case Cynder in The Horned king one Hen Wen) and Gaul s dead is similar to the horned king dead both where killed by a ligthing 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.