Tertius (Stardust)
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| Prince Tertius | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Stardust |
| Cause/reason | Poisoned |
| Portrayed by | Mark Heap |
| Information | |
| Family | King of Stormhold (father) Septimus (brother) Secundus (brother) Primus (brother) Quartus (brother) Quintus (brother) Sextus (brother) Una (sister) |
| Relatives | Tristran Thorn (nephew) |
Lord Tertius is a fictional character in Stardust. In the movie, he is portrayed by Mark Heap. He is the third brother of the Stormhold family.
[edit] Profile
Tertius is the third son of the King of Stormhold and one of his three wives. It is a surprised that a man as gullible, vulnerable and emotionally weak as Tertius has managed to remain alive all these years. His main source of survival has been distancing himself from the vain Secundus and the murderous Septimus, and flattering them in order to ensure they do not harm him. He however is not stupid. Just like his brothers, he is extremely mistrustful of the vicious Septimus, and the novel states that he wishes he could form an alliance with Primus to protect each other from Septimus's ferocity. Unfortunately, no such thing can be done according to blood law.
Prince Tertius is present on his father's deathbed. He, along Septimus and Primus, wait for their brother, Secundus. Secundus was killed when Septimus pushes him out of the window. The King then takes the royal jewel known as the Power of Stormhold from around his neck and levitates it before sending it flying out of the window into the sky. He announces that whoever retrieves the stone will be crowned king. The rivalry between the three brothers increases as all three of them become extremely determined to retrieve the stone.
[edit] Death
In the novel, the three brothers stop off at an inn to rest before continuing their quest for the stone. Tertius seduces a beautiful chambermaid and the pair return to his room, where the frolick and flirt. The chambermaid produces a bottle of wine and pours the Prince a glass. After drinking it, he is soon overcome with agony and is gagging and choking. Before he dies, he demands to know where the wine came from. The maid, Letitia, replies that it was given to her by Septimus to give them "a night [they] would never forget". Tertis dies and joins his ghostly brothers in limbo.
In the film, before the quest begins, Tertius, along with Septimus, Primus and the Archbishop, toasts with wine which Septimus has poisoned. After drinking the wine the Bishop subsequently perishes. The three brothers look to each other in suspicion and horror but nothing happens. Tertius laughs ruefully then gasps and bends over, wretching in agony before falling to the floor, dead. He joins the ranks of his dead brothers, Secundus, Primus, Quartus, Quintus, and Sextus. Both Primus and eventually Septimus are killed by the Witch-Quen Lamia. At the climax of the film, Tristan retrieves the Power of Stormhold and it is revealed that he is the rightful heir to the Throne of Stormhold. He then becomes king and Tertius passes on to the afterlife along with his brothers.
