Bartel Gremley

"'Fine. I'll wait till I have all my tools. After I'm through with him, he'll be spilling his guts...literally and figuratively.'""—Bartel's sadistic enthusiasm"Bartel Gremley is a character in the series "The Crown & The Flame". He's the secondary antagonist of Book 1. He is first seen in Book 1, Chapter 2.

Appearance
Bartel has slicked-back brown hair and brown eyes. He wears a gray undershirt beneath a simple black jacket with a popped collar and a small belt buckle near the chest as a fastener.

Personality
In stark contrast to Helene, Bartel is absolutely merciless and sadistic. He shows very little concern for human life, and relishes in every opportunity where he gets to kill or torture someone. This is apparent even when the torture is too much or the murder is unnecessary, as seen when he allows a soldier to beat Kenna's master beyond necessity, or complies with the immolation of Duncan, Marco's former weapons master, just to test Hex's cannon. Because they share the same traits, Marco and Bartel always agree with each other.

However, at the same time Bartel is also a coward when he's in the receiving end of a punishment, at least when it's unnatural. When Dom lights him on fire after killing the former's hawk, he frantically begs for mercy (albeit ignorant of the cause of the fire) while running around in a frenzy. When Dom confronts him with a guard's axe, the mere sight of the weapon blazing furiously with Dom's magic immobilized him with fear, whereupon he again begged for mercy.

Marco Nevrakis
Bartel and Marco share a friendly relationship, probably because they both enjoy other people's suffering.

Helene Leventis
Bartel and Helene, despite the fact that they are both loyal to the Nevrakis family, are often at odds due to his sadism and Helene's sense of justice.

Dominic Hunter
Dominic has an intense dislike for Bartel, which eventually turns into outright hatred after Bartel crushes his hawk under his feet. Dom later kills him either with a fiery axe or a burning grasp, turning his body into ash.