For the majority of the first few seasons of The Dragon Prince, Viren is undoubtedly the main villain, though, in the season one finale, he discovers that a Startouch Elf is locked away inside the mirror that was once kept in the Dragon King's bedroom. Curious about this mirror, he eventually learns that the elf inside is none other than Aaravos, a character that had been teased a few times until then.

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Aaravos clearly has his own agenda and is highly skilled in the ways of Dark Magic, something that no other elf has even been seen using before as the majority of elves see Dark Magic in a negative light. Not deterred by what is clearly someone dangerous, Viren works with Aaravos right up until Viren dies and is revived by Claudia, though the question of who is the real villain is up for debate.

10 VIREN: His Past Actions Are More Than A Little Shady

Viren collecting the heart of a titan in The Dragon Prince

Viren's sole justification for his questionable actions in the past is that he is a pragmatist, choosing the practical solution, often through the use of Dark Magic, rather than making the best moral choice. While he had done many questionable things in the past in the name of doing right by his people, such as using the heart of a titan to end a drought and bring prosperity to Katolis, this is nothing compared to what else he has implied to have done. Notably, it is heavily speculated that King Harrow's soul has been locked inside his pet bird, even after he specifically told Viren he didn't want to be saved from the Moonshadow assassins.

9 AARAVOS: He Was Imprisoned By The Dragon King

Thunder in The Dragon Prince's opening

The most obvious reason why Aaravos is clearly the main villain of the story is the fact that he was not only imprisoned by the Dragon King inside a mirror world, but the mirror was also kept inside the King's quarters until he died. The only reason he would do this is if he needed to ensure Aaravos wouldn't do anything to try and escape, which he, in fact, later did once Viren discovered the man in the mirror. Although his crimes haven't been stated yet, it is heavily implied that he is the creator of Dark Magic and responsible for giving humans the ability to use it.

8 VIREN: Forcefully Taking The Throne

Viren The Dragon Prince

Viren's pragmatic nature, while having him do some seriously dodgy things in the past, such as bottle Queen Sarai's dying breath to use as a weapon against the Dragon King, arguably came to its peak when he forcefully took the throne from Ezran not once, but twice.

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In Viren's mind, Ezran was just a child with no experience in leading a country and the role of Katolis' leader should go to someone with much more experience, such as the man who had been by the previous King's side for most of his ruling life. This isn't bad reasoning by any means, but the way he goes about it brought his true intentions into question by many others in the King's court.

7 AARAVOS: He Is Clearly Manipulating Viren

Aaravos' Prison The Dragon Prinnce

Even though Viren is the one performing the majority of the evil acts, it is clear that he is being lead further down a dark path by Aaravos and that he might not have done many of the terrible things he has since meeting the Startouch elf without his influence. Aaravos even tried to goad Viren into admitting that he really wanted all the power in the world, but Viren instead admitted that all he wanted was for his people to not suffer from the mistakes made in the past, which seemed to anger him more than a little.

6 VIREN: Incited A War Between Men & Elves

Summit of the Pentarchy in The Dragon Prince

Although it worked out for the best for everyone, Viren was solely responsible for inciting an all-out war between the armies of man and elves alike, and his forces were only forced back when the dragons were brought to fight against him. Despite the war in question not taking place until season three, he began to plot his assault of the elven lands in season two, where he sent shades to kill the leaders of the Pentarchy, aside from himself, to elicit a response from their armies.

5 AAVAROS: Helps Viren Kill Innocent Soldiers Only To Rescind His Power

Viren and Aaravos kill countless soldiers

After discovering that Ezran and Callum weren't actually dead and Viren had forcefully taken the throne illegally, the Katolis military tried to arrest Viren just after he had made contact with Aaravos. Without hesitating, the pair combined forces and used a combination of Dark, Sun, and Sky magic to kill many of the arresting officers. After killing a handful of officers and showing just how powerful the pair can be, Aarvaos decides to retract his power from Viren and force him to be arrested for his crimes, despite the fact that the pair could have easily fought their way out of there.

4 VIREN: His Skill With Dark Magic

Viren after trapping Runaan's soul inside a coin

There are only a handful of Dark Mages shown in The Dragon Prince, with the most notable being Viren and Claudia. Even though Claudia has shown to be strong enough to not only heal her brother's paralysis but also bring Viren back to life, Viren has shown he has some equally powerful skills up his sleeves as well.

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While many of his spells are quite minimalistic, it's hard to ignore the time he created Sky spell powerful enough to encase Thunder inside a block of ice, which is no mean feat considering just how big the Dragon King was. Not only that, but he was also able to turn Sarai's dying breath into a spell powerful enough to turn Thunder to stone on their second encounter.

3 AAVAROS: His Skill With All Magic

Aaravos using Sun magic

Viren and Claudia may be good, especially by human standards, but they're nothing compared to Aaravos. Aside from his clear affinity for Dark Magic, Aaravos was shown to also be able to use Sun and Sky magic very easily and without having to recite the incarnation for said spells. This should be no surprise since Aaravos is famous for being the only elf to have ever mastered all forms of magic, as most other elves can only one kind of magic.

2 VIREN: He Killed Thunder

Thunder's petrified body in Xadia

Although turning a prince into a raging Dark Magic monster and potentially ripping his best friend's soul out of his body and putting it inside his pet bird are pretty bad, killing Thunder as retribution for Queen Sarai's death is a pretty evil thing to do. Not only were the Katolis forces trespassing on the Dragon King's territory, but they also killed a titan to take its heart for a spell, so Thunder's actions are understandable in context, especially considering the fact that Zim's egg had also just been laid.

1 AARAVOS: He May Have Been Involved In Humanities Banishment

The banishment of humanity from Xadia in The Dragon Prince

Aaravos may have had his first official appearance in the final episode of season one, he actually appeared much earlier in the series during the flashback in episode one, where he is apparently involved in humanity's banishment from Xadia. With this in mind, as well as his imprisonment and implication that he was responsible for the creation of Dark Magic, the reason that humanity was banished by Thunder, it's safe to say that he is probably responsible for setting everything in motion in the first place.

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