Skylar

Skylar is an Exalted Human bandit leader and one of the three figures placed in charge of a large bandit alliance. His refusal to accept a suicidal plan gives Daneel Anivron the opening to call a Bandit Gathering, kill him, and take his position.

Biography

The disputed Bandit Gathering

Skylar has cooperated with the alliance's mysterious third leader but refuses a proposal he believes will destroy most of the bandits and end their way of life. He formally calls another Bandit Gathering, arguing that fighting and hiding offers better odds than obedience to a plan that guarantees death. At the gathering, Daneel impersonates the lowly newcomer Vincent and deliberately challenges Skylar's habit of beating him. Skylar treats the duel as practice, confident that an Eminent Human cannot threaten an Exalted Mage protected by multiple barriers. Daneel breaks through those defenses, kills him, and assumes his face and command. The new “Vincent” then cites Skylar's objections while redirecting the alliance, so Skylar's final act of dissent survives only as political cover for the man who replaced him. (Chapters 543–552)

Appearance and personality

Skylar is a physically confident male bandit leader whose most distinctive visual feature in the supplied scenes is a bald patch. He is blunt, profane, domineering, and accustomed to humiliating weaker challengers. Despite that brutality, his opposition to the alliance plan is grounded in a realistic concern for the survival of his forces rather than mere contrariness. (Chapters 543–548)

Abilities and power

Skylar is an Exalted Human Mage who maintains at least nine layers of barrier protection through trinkets, forcing an attacker to break successive defenses before reaching his body. His realm, reputation, and accumulated equipment let him dominate Eminent Humans such as the real Vincent. The system is not invulnerable: Daneel's disguised challenge exploits Skylar's confidence and defeats the layered barriers through rapid, repeated strikes. No named personal spell is established before his death. (Chapters 545–547)

Relationships

• Daneel Anivron: Daneel first uses Skylar's resistance to force a gathering, then enters as Vincent, kills him, and takes his role. Skylar's private knowledge also helps Daneel construct a convincing case against the other leaders. (Chapters 543–552)
• Vincent: Skylar repeatedly beats the real Vincent and expects another easy victory. Daneel's use of that despised identity makes the fatal challenge appear harmless until the barriers begin to fall. (Chapters 545–552)
• Joselyn: Skylar opposes the plan advanced by the alliance figure known as J because he believes it will cause mass death. He dies before the later settlement that brings the bandits under her influence. (Chapters 543–552)

Items

Skylar wears numerous unnamed barrier trinkets that collectively block the first nine successful strikes against him. They are central to his defense but are not individually named in the corpus. (Chapter 546)