Verigan Antioch II

"Heroes!"

- Verigan Antioch II, on numerous occasions.

Verigan Antioch II (formerly known as Old Peculier, now commonly known by the pseudonym Knight Peculier) is the son of Karpath Antioch. He was first seen in Season 1, outside the town of Terrorvale, greeting Xephos and Honeydew. He was one of the first characters in the series to help the heroes in their quest to defeat Israphel and his cult. It was revealed in Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 36: The Last Letter that his real name is Verigan Antioch II, the same as his grandfather. He was the much-loved companion of Honeydew and Xephos, however, he was presumably killed in Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 38: The Hand, after falling in radioactive lava whilst on an incomplete minecart track.

Backstory
Not much of Verigan's history is known. The first event in his life that we know of was the kidnapping of his mother by Israphel from their home. This dramatic event lead to his father leaving him and his sister Isabel Antioch first in the care of Granny Bacon, then his uncle, Templar Adaephon and the other Templars. It is said by his sister that he became obsessed with finding Israphel, and it seems he may have explored the Ruined Castle, the location of the The Taint of IsraphelAround this time, he became afflicted with The Taint of Israphel. He started to lose strength, becoming old before his time. Shortly after, he decided to settle down in Terrorvale and run his own inn, Daisy Duke where he met and fell in love with Daisy Duke. It was then that Israphel started haunting him. Over the next few weeks, the residence of Terrorvale, including one where Israphel hid in his fireplace, Verigan decided to commit suicide. He brewed a potion of poison, and went to the outskirts of the town to drink it. Fortunately, Xephos and Hoenydew arrived, and interrupted his suicide. Verigan took them to his inn, and offered them milk. Due in part to his paranoia and in part to the Taint, he thought to poison the milk, but saw the goodness in them, and decided against it. After that, he decided to help them fight the corruption that had been taking over Terrorvale, and in that time, it is possible that he worked up the courage to propose to Daisy. Before he had the chance, though, Israphel captured her, and took her to his underground fortress. Verigan and the heroes followed, but he eventually got a way through a Hellgate.

There is a small conflict between this backstory and what Verigan said when the heroes first met him. According to his generally accepted history, he spent years searching for Israphel when he grew up. However, when the heroes met him, he didn't seem to know of Israphel's nefariousness and instead thought of him as Reverend John's deceased son. One explanation for this is that the Taint of Israphel caused him to slowly forget of Israphel's evil nature. Another explanation is that he never actually knew the name of his mother's kidnapper, and so when he finally met Israphel he didn't suspect that it might have been him. Also, if he only recently took the form of a pale, red-eyed creeper, how could he have kidnapped Peculier's mother all those years ago? It can only be assumed that age caught up to him, and he had forgotten about his search at that point. He remembered once he drank Fumblemore's Cure-All Potion.

Plot
While living in Terrorvale, Verigan became enamored with the local blacksmith, Daisy Duke. At some point prior to the events of the series, he became infected by The Taint of Israphel, which made him age unnaturally quickly. As a result, he was prone to falling down and running out of breath quite easily.

He enlisted the assistance of Skylord Lysander in retrieving the heroes from the Survival Island. Upon returning to Mistral City he discovered his family home had burned to the ground. He was cured by the old wizard Fumblemore, who made a potion from water, dirt, sulphur, feathers and golden apples. Cured of the taint, Old Peculier felt closer to his true age, and even began to grow his hair back. He regained his knightly form when he discovered the sword and helm of his father, Karpath Antioch, deep in the Mistral City mine. Thereafter he was referred to as Knight Peculier.

After this discovery he headed to Verigan's Hold to visit his uncle, Templar Adaephon. While attempting to mend a breach in The Wall, he was attacked by Israphel and his minions, Zombie Boss and Creeper Boss. When the heroes found him, he was wounded from skeleton arrows and had taken refuge from Israphel in an old guard tower. As Xephos and Honeydew were able to mend the breach, Israphel and his minions retreated into The Desert. Verigan and the heroes returned to Adaephon to show him a piece of the map that Reverend John had dropped. Adaephon suggested that an old wizard, may have information leading to other parts of the map.

However, Verigan did not join the heroes with their new task as he had "unfinished business". Before finally leaving them he told Honeydew and Xephos about a "Check-point" he set up for them. It was located outside the castle and served as a place of recovery after failed battles. His whereabouts were unknown. He was seen in The Desert by some unknown buildings and a skeleton, running towards Icaria in Isabel Peculier's Tale. It is revealed he went to the dwarven city of Stoneholm, only to be captured by the cultists Kormag Darkforge and King Finbar, and tortured, only to be rescued by his old friends Honeydew and Xephos, as well as Moira Magmabloom and Spacker LeChuck. He had apparently gone to the city to investigate a deal between his grandfather Verigan and the dwarves about making The Wall indestructible. It seems the dwarves stopped keeping up their end of the deal, and this was why The Wall was breached. He retires with Spacker to the King's Chugger Inn to recover his strength. He feels much better after a beer or two, and decides to accompany Xephos and Honeydew down to The Deepcore.

They enter The Deepcore, after using the key and donning helmets and picking up pickaxes, immediately finding chests, though they are covered with rocks. When the first rock is removed, a silverfish spawns, and the attempts to slay it lead to an army of the beasts spawning. They retreat back up the the stairs over lava, and kill the silverfish hordes by dropping them into lava. They find the chests in question have little of value, but spot a second set of chests, also covered in rock. Verigan assures the others that the other chest is not booby-trapped as the previous one was, though is proven wrong almost instantly. After dealing with the second swarm of mobs in the same manner as the first, they continue down the mine. They discover a huge cache of diamonds, and Xephos and Honeydew, at Verigan's urging, make themselves diamond swords and armor, though Verigan does not get any of his own. They continue into the mine, and they discover a strange device, which Spacker had informed Verigan of. It is a huge drill, able to dig through bedrock. Afterwards the make their way through to the tunnel seemingly dug by the drill, discovering a strange metal cavern, with a chest and a button. They activate the machine, causing lit beacons to be uncovered, which they follow through the monster infested area. They stop inside another digging device to rest. Verigan tells the others what Spacker informed him of: that the mine here was shut down as The Wall was built, but was hugely profitable for it's bedrock, which only a dwarf knew how to mine. He then leads our heroes out, but they encounter a giant. Verigan leads the way, fighting past hordes of monsters. They then discover sandstone, which Verigan notes would not occur at these depths. The sandstone forms strange ruins, linking to a minecart trail. With no other alternative, they head down the harrowing minecart tracks, which Peculier dislikes highly. They arrive outside, at the foot of a strange, huge pillar, under fire from the dark powers of King Finbar.

Verigan aids Honeydew and Xephos while exploring the mysterious metal hand in the desert, but is seemingly killed when his minecart track plunges him into the nuclear waste. He however might not have been killed because at the bottom of the screen it said "Knight Peculier tried to swim in lava." and was not followed by "Knight Peculier left the game" like other characters such as Granny Bacon, and Um Bongo. His final words were "Heroes!".

Character Popularity
In a poll that was held from January to February 2013 on this wiki with all Shadow of Israphel characters to choose from, Verigan Antioch II was placed 10th overall with 88 votes out of 4412 votes.

Trivia

 * "Old Peculier" is named after a type of ale, as confirmed during the Child's Play livestream. During the first sighting of 'Old Peculier', Honeydew can be heard saying "Isn't that a beer?" In Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 4: Proper Quest Fumblemore gets confused at the mention of his name and, not understanding it is the name of a person, says "I'm rather partial to Guiness, myself."
 * His last name - Antioch - is an ancient city in Turkey and was once part of the Crusader States.
 * Karpath's skin is basically the same as his son's when without the mask, but without Verigan II's thinning hairline.
 * It is proven that in Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 32: Beer and Lava that he loved Diggy Diggy Hole by Honeydew, when in Stoneholm.
 * He is named after his grandfather.
 * Verigan is pronounced dead after falling into the radioactive material. Unlike the other deaths within the series, he does not logout upon death, and with the /i playerhead command he has a younger skin, which could mean he might not be completely gone after all.
 * Knight Peculier is played by Duncan Jones of the Yogscast, revealed at Minecon by Lewis.

Appearances
Season 1
 * Minecraft - Part 22: Old Peculier
 * Minecraft - Part 23: The House on the Hill
 * Minecraft - Part 24: Troubling Events in Terrorvale
 * Minecraft - Part 25: A Sinister Discovery
 * Minecraft - Part 26: The Tomb
 * Minecraft - Part 27: The Tunnel Run

Season 2
 * Minecraft - "Survival Island" Part 11: Up and away!

Season 3
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 1: Crash and Burn
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 2: The Road to Mistral
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 3: I DEMAND YOUR FINEST BACON!
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 8: Diggy Diggy Hole
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 9: The Abandoned Mine (Becomes Knight Peculier)
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 10: Revelations
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 15: The Battle of the Breach
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 16: A Beacon of Hope
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 17: The Fragmented Map
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 31: Stoneholm!
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 32: Beer & Lava
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 33: The Deepcore
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 34: The Spire
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 35: Lastwatch Hold
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 36: The Last Letter (Real name is revealed as being Verigan Antioch II)
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 37: Ballooning
 * Minecraft - "Shadow of Israphel" Part 38: The Hand (Presumably dies)

Quotes

 * "Heroes!" (To Honeydew and Xephos)
 * "Dwarf, use your strength on the doors."
 * "I'm coming, Daisy!"
 * "Hail, travelers!" (When Verigan Peculier II first met Honeydew and Xephos)
 * "You look tired from such a long travel."
 * "Follow me to the inn and drink with me."
 * "Would you care for a refreshing bucket of milk?"
 * "Enjoy!"
 * "Welcome to Terrorvale, Quaintest little hamlet in all of Minecraftia!"
 * "I hear the blacksmith is in need of assistance."
 * "I will show you the way."
 * "Here you go!"
 * "Be tactful with Reverend. He's never been the same since his son died."
 * "The poor man, his son Israphel was out hunting when the creepers got him."
 * "Would you like some meat to restore your strength?"
 * "I'll just cook up some pork!"
 * "Welcome to The Skeletal Arms."
 * "You look fabulous."
 * "There are many deadly caverns under this town."
 * "Maybe the zombies destroyed it." (Referring to John's missing bible)
 * "We're getting separated!" (On the minecart that caused his death)
 * "Heroes!!" (Last word before plunged into radioactive lava)
 * "My heart broke like glass in my chest."
 * "WHERE IS DAISY?!"
 * "NOOOOOOO!!!!!" (Killing King Finbar)
 * "Follow me!"
 * "Heroes, you must go on without me!"
 * "I'm sure the other one's fine!" (Encountering Silverfish in The Deepcore)