Atticus as seen on the cover of Hounded
Atticus O'Sullivan is the main protagonist of The Iron Druid Chronicles. He was born in Ireland around 100 BCE. He was introduced in the novel Hounded, and has appeared in its sequels Hexed, Hammered, Tricked, and the upcoming installments Trapped and Hunted. He also starred in the short story Clan Rathskeller.
Bio
Atticus O'Sullivan, whose real name is Siodhachan O Suileabhain, is a 2100 year old Irish Druid, the last of his kind. His defining physical characteristics are his fiery red hair, and strong physical presence, and the similar build as a very, very fit 26 year old. His main trait that identifies him are a series of connected tattoos running up his arm and down his right side, down to his right foot. These tattoos connect him to the earth, and are the conduits of his power.
Living over 2000 years has made Atticus cynical, stoic, world-weary, and very used to being alone. He has lived through the Roman Empire, Invasion of the Huns, Persecution of Christians before and after the reformation, the discovery of the New World, and both World Wars. He has lived all over the world, and finally settled in Tempe, Arizona because it is a two hour drive from the nearest trees that allow Faeries to enter this plane.
Throughout the series, Atticus is faced by various mythological and human enemies, and continues to live through a mix of paranoia, cunning, layers of planning and sometimes the help of others.
One of Atticus's few weakness is his lustfulness. In several instances in the series he has completely lost his normally cool composure when in the presence of women he finds attractive.
In the series
Hounded
Hexed
Hammered
Tricked
Trapped
Hunted
Shattered
Powers and abilities
Atticus' main magic has very specific rules lined out, but most of the magic seen follows specific rules... even if they aren't explicitly stated. All of it is given by the earth, and cannot directly harm a living being using their magic or the magic will kill the druid on the spot. However, the rules of druid magic do not prohibit indirect harm. So, while Atticus cannot just stop an enemy's heart with magic, he can increase his own strength to cut off an enemy's head off or use a compound bow made for someone twice his size - those are fine.
His main abilities as a Druid are Binding and Unbinding natural fibers. This can include clothing, roots, dirt, wood, and body parts (including skin cells and individual hairs). Atticus also has the ability to travel between realms by binding and unbinding himself to the plane.
The bulk of Atticus' powers are not his, but granted to him by the earth. He draws power from the earth through his tattoos, and is greatly weakened when not in direct contact with the earth. He can, however, store a limited amount of power in his Bear charm, which acts as a small magic battery. Whenever Atticus is hurt, he has to lie outside, on his right side, so the full extent of his strip of tattoos are touching the ground. He got from Brighid the trinity tattoo that calls forth cold fire that can destroy all demons in his presence. This though leaves hims extremely drained, and he would not be able to fight after using this.
He's also an accomplished herbologist. Atticus maintains his youth through the continued use of what he calls "Immortali-tea", which he also feeds to his Irish Wolfhound, Oberon. While working at Third Eye Books and Herbs his main sellers were "Mobili-Tea" and "Vitali-Tea", aimed to the aging Tempe population.
In addition to being effectively immortal, he has also struck a bargin with the Celtic chooser of the slain, The Morrigan - as long as he creates a similar amulet for her, she will never actually choose him to be slain. He still has to be wary, because it doesn't mean other harbinger gods can't take him to their afterlives.
Magical items
- Cold Iron Amulet - The most important and defining magical item Atticus possesses is his amulet made from Cold Iron. His discovery of a loophole in the interaction of magic and normally anti-magic iron resulted in his creation of a powerful amulet that lets him resist many types of magic. This makes him way more powerful that a normal druid, magically, and consequently able to fight gods. The amulet is keyed in to his aura so that it can't be forcibly removed. It took him centuries and the aid of an Iron Elemental to form. He has since created similar Amulets for The Morrigan and Granuaile.
- Charms - Attached to his Amulet is a series of Charms which allows him to cast magic faster (Atticus explains them to Granuaile as "macros" in Tricked). His charms include:
- Bear Charm which acts as general magic storage, for whenever Atticus needs magic, but is not directly connected to the earth.
- Camouflage Charm cloaks Atticus and anyone he's in contact with in a near invisibility.
- Faerie Specs Charm which provides him the ability to see the magical realm, such as enchantments and auras.
- Fulgurite Stone Back In book 3, our hero gains a fulgurite rock (petrified lightning) that he puts on his amulet. It prevents death by lightning.
- Healing Charm in case Atticus is not in contact with the Earth this stores his healing magic. More of a benevolent, defensive magic rather than the Bear Charm's offensive style.
- Night Charm which provides nightvision.
- Shapeshifting Charms to allow Atticus to shapeshift into his 4 forms: a hound, a stag, an otter, or an owl. These forms were chosen by the earth when Atticus was bound to the earth during his Tattooing. It's shown on the book cover that each creature has its own charm for this. His amulet and charms are small enough that he can continue wearing the object while shapeshifted.
- "Soulcatcher" Charm is first mentioned in Tricked (Book 4). Atticus has a last resort charm he has never tested. It's supposed to hold or "catch" his soul if he dies. In theory it may save his life, or it may not work at all. Atticus would not like to find out.
- Vampire Charm while not fully created yet, Atticus has mentioned several times that creating a charm to easily unbind Vampires (which are undead and therefore not protected by the laws of Druidic magic) would be a very good idea. He has a prototype by book 5 that needs tweaking to function properly.
- Fragarach - an ancient enchanted sword with the ability to effortlessly cleave through both armor and lies.
- Moralltach - another ancient enchanted sword which can kill anything with a single cut.
- Holy Arrows - While not innately magical, during the course of Hexed, Atticus' arrows were blessed by the Virgin Mary as he and Coyote hunted one of the demons released during Hounded.
- Gungnir - (Old Norse for "swaying one") is the spear of the god, Odin. It was meant to never miss its intended target, but has certain exceptions.
Appearances
Hounded
Atticus is outside his shop, Third Eye, when he is accosted by five faeries. He is then visited by The Morrigan, the Celtic goddess of death. She warns him of danger from his long-time enemy Aenghus Oeg, the Celtic god of love. Her warning leads him to close the shop early and head home, where a visitor is waiting for him. The visitor is Flidais, the Celtic goddess of the hunt, who also warns Atticus of Aenghus' plans.
Hexed
This sequel carries the aftermath of Atticus defeating a god and keeping the Fragarach sword. Atticus now takes on a druid apprentice and has to contend with the backlashes of the fight. Two Celtic goddesses are vying for his knowledge, affection, and allegiances. He must also contend with the supernatural turf wars that spring up now around town. In particular, two witch covens that are hell bent on destroying each other and anybody in their way.
Hammered
- One survival strategy has worked for Atticus for more than two thousand years: stay away from the guy with the lightning bolts. But things are heating up in Atticus’s home base of Tempe, Arizona. There’s a vampire turf war brewing, and Russian demon hunters who call themselves the Hammers of God are running rampant. Despite multiple warnings and portents of dire consequences, Atticus and Leif journey to the Norse plain of Asgard, where they team up with a werewolf, a sorcerer, and an army of frost giants for an epic showdown against vicious Valkyries, angry gods, and the hammer-wielding Thunder Thug himself.
Tricked
- coming soon
Trapped
- coming soon
Hunted
- coming soon
Clan Rathskeller (Short Story)
- coming soon
