Hey guys,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In one of my last videos I discussed
the origins of dementors, and the story of a dark and evil wizard named Ekrizdis. But
in that same video, I also scratched the surface of another story- the story of an evil wizard
known as Raczdian. Raczidian was a dark wizard who is said to have existed during an unknown
period in time- it’s only referred to as ancient. There is a case for the argument
that Raczidian is the father of dementors, as he may have existed BEFORE Ekrizidis, and
in the ancient tales that speak of him dementors are mentioned. He was a very talented dark
wizard who was fully immersed in the dark arts- able to produce all sorts of evil concoctions
and cast all sorts of sinister spells. But one thing that he always had trouble with
was what we now know to be the Patronus charm.
A Patronus charm is produced when a witch or wizard casts the spell Expecto Patronum.
There are two types of patronus charms, corporeal and incorporeal, and the type that the witch
or wizard casts will depend on their experience / preference. The more basic form of the spell
is the incorporeal patronus, which assumes no animal form and simply resembles a burst
of white vapour or smoke, and the more advanced form of the spell is the conjuring of a corporeal
patronus.
The ability to successfully cast a corporeal patronus is considered a very impressive feat
in the wizarding community. The corporeal patronus assumes the form of the witch or
wizards ‘spirit animal’, and varies extensively from witch to witch or wizard to wizard. Harry’s
is a stag, Hermione’s is an otter, etc. It’s also worth mentioning that there’s
no way to know what your Patronus is until you cast it. Professor Catullus Spangle explains
this:
"No reliable system for predicting the form of an individual's Patronus has ever been
found, “
However it’s also been expressed that a Patronus can change:
“The form of a Patronus may change during the course of a witch or wizard’s life.
Instances have been known of the form of the Patronus transforming due to bereavement,
falling in love or profound shifts in a person’s character”
While casting spells that create your very own spirit animal is impressive, there is
a purpose, and that purpose is to ward off dementors or lethifolds- dark creatures that
feed on human happiness and incite a feeling of despair in anyone that gets close to them.
They are among the foulest creatures around, and represent nothing but darkness, depression
and decay. They are also notably difficult to get rid of, and the only known way that
it can be done is with a Patronus. This is because the patronus represents everything
that a Dementor doesn’t: hope, happiness, survival and purity. As the patronus itself
does not feel despair or hopelessness, as a human might, the dementors can’t hurt
it and are repelled by its presence.
But, you might now be asking, if Raczidian commanded Dementors, then why would he need
to cast a Patronus charm? To dig in to this further, we need to look at the story of Illyius-
a young orphan wizard who saved his village from the dark wizard Raczidian. Illyus came
from a small wizarding village in the mountains, and Raczidian lived in a black castle in a
nearby forest- guarded entirely by Dementors.
“Knowing that Dementors roamed the forest, the villagers took care to teach every new
generation the Patronus Charm, the only spell that worked against these evil creatures.
Many were unable to master the difficult spell, but there had always been just enough Patronuses
in the village to stand guard against the Dementors, in case Raczidian ordered an attack.
When Illyius turned seventeen, the village elders taught him, and his fellow young wizards,
the spell.
Illyius, who was shy and tongue-tied, succeeded in producing a Patronus, but to his shame,
it took the form of a mouse. Everyone roared with laughter, because they had never seen
such a small, weak Patronus, and the elders advised the boy never to use the spell again.”
The townspeople had a fairly harmonious relationship with Raczidian (for the most part)- they didn’t
quite get along with him or fraternize with him, but they left each other alone. However,
that all began to change when Raczidian saw a girl from the village named Eliana:
“Raczidian took notice of Eliana, a beautiful young girl who lived in the village (who Illyius
had never spoken to due to his shyness), while she was out picking berries in the forest.
Deciding that she would make an ideal wife, Raczidian sent a demand to her parents, but
they refused to consent to the marriage. Raczidian then threatened to send his Dementors to destroy
the village unless they delivered Eliana to him.
The village elders had a meeting and agreed to put up a fight. Eliana was sent to Illyius's
tiny shack, and Illyius was ordered to sit out the battle and keep her company, as his
Patronus was thought to be too weak to be of any use.
At first, the villagers managed to hold back the torrent of Dementors that attacked the
village with their Patronuses (which included bears, wolves, and wild boars), but gradually
the sheer number of foes began to overwhelm them. The Patronuses grew faint, and the spellcasters
collapsed, or fled for their lives.
Eliana begged Illyius to do something. So he cast the Patronus Charm, and despite its
diminutive size, the mouse shone with a brilliant light, bringing the Dementors to a halt as
it nimbly moved through the ranks of fleeing villagers.”
Illyus, who was thought previously unimpressive due to his Patronus animal’s form of a ‘mouse’,
suddenly became the towns saving grace, however, when Raczidian saw that his Dementors were
being bested, he decided to take things in to his own hands.
“Enraged, Raczidian decided to enter the fray himself, and tried to summon a Patronus
to ward off Illyius's mouse. However, he failed to remember that only the pure of heart can
produce a Patronus, and thus for the first time in history, it was revealed what happens
when a competent but unworthy wizard or witch attempts the spell. Maggots shot out of Raczidian's
wand and quickly devoured him as they engulfed his entire body.”
As we can clearly see, Raczidian, who was massively magically talented, was simply not
able to produce the patronus charm properly because he was not pure of heart. Why he even
attempted to cast it in the first place is a little unclear, as he was not faced with
Dementors. He seemed to cast it because he wanted to ward off Illyus’ mouse Patronus-
but I don’t think it can be used for that. He simply didn’t understand what the spell
represented, and he was unable to understand because he was a dark and evil wizard. Where
a normal witch or wizard could expect to be introduced to their spirit animal when casting
the spell for the first time, Raczidian was met with maggots. Not only that, but they
were maggots that devoured him, ‘engulfing’ his body. On this fateful day, Raczidian set
the precedent for what will happen if you try to produce a Patronus when you are emotionally
and ethically unable.
This is the same reason that many infamous dark witches and wizards don’t know how
to produce one - Voldemort, Bellatrix, Dolohov - none of them could do it, no matter how
talented they were.
However, one thing that I’m curious about is whether or not maggots were unique to Raczidian.
If another dark witch or wizard tried to produce the same spell, would they be met with maggots
as well? Or would they be on the receiving end of some other unfavourable result? It’s
hard to say, because, understandably, no other witch or wizard in history attempted it after
him. He had made it very clear: if you’re evil, you can’t do it. I like to imagine
that maggots were unique to Raczidian - it was a true representation of the type of person
that he was.
And that’s it for this video. What’s your patronus animal? Let me know down in the comment
section below. Until next time
YER A WIZARD ARRY