Kolis: The True Primal of Death – Character Analysis

Overview

Kolis is the original Primal of Death, later stripped of his title and imprisoned for millennia. In The Primal of Blood and Bone (Book 6 of the Blood and Ash series by Jennifer L. Armentrout), he re-emerges as the Great Conspirator—a weakened but cunning being who seeks to reclaim his former power by possessing Poppy and stealing her unique essence of life and death. The narrative establishes him as a figure of ancient tragedy twisted into monstrous obsession: he was once a Primal of duality who fell in love with a mortal woman, Sotoria, and his inability to accept her loss warped him into the realm’s greatest threat.

Kolis operates as both a direct antagonist and a catalyst for the series’ central conflicts. His return throws the realms into chaos, forces the protagonists to confront impossible choices, and ultimately reshapes the very nature of power in the story’s world. He is a character defined by his contradictions—immense yet decaying, obsessed yet calculating, passionate yet utterly cruel.

Plot Role

Kolis’s role in Book 6 is that of a rising shadow whose influence permeates every major event. He first manifests through Poppy’s possession, using a mark of Death on her chest to speak and act through her. He attempts to break her will with visions of past trauma, offering to erase her pain in exchange for surrender. When that fails, he attacks directly by compelling entire villages—most horrifically in Stonehill—to commit suicide under his control, sending a message of terror.

His plot advances through multiple strategies: he creates gruls (reanimated corpses) to sow chaos, summons sekya from the Abyss, and orchestrates attacks on Lowertown using dead ceeren riders. He lures Poppy to a confrontation in Pensdurth, where he reveals that his obsession with Sotoria has shifted: he no longer loves her, but he hungers for the essence Poppy carries. The climactic battle sees Poppy stab him with an ancient bone dagger, yet Kolis recovers and escapes, setting the stage for the next book.

Ultimately, the text makes clear that Kolis is not the true Harbinger of the prophecy. That role belongs to Casteel, who awakens as the Primal God of Death and Destruction after Kolis’s attack. Kolis’s actions inadvertently bring about the very doom he sought to control.

Motivations and Traits

Kolis is driven by a toxic blend of obsession and entitlement. Explicitly, he desires Poppy’s essence—the union of life and death that makes her a Deminyen—because it would restore his full power. Implicitly, the narrative suggests his fixation on Poppy stems from her being the reincarnation of Sotoria, the mortal he loved and lost. However, Kolis himself states he has “moved on” and that what he wants is what is inside her, not her identity.

His key traits include:

• Manipulation: He preys on fear and pain, using Poppy’s memories of Duke Teerman and Lockswood to weaken her resolve. He whispers, “Let me take away your pain,” offering false peace.
• Cruelty: The massacre in Stonehill—fifteen children among fifty dead—demonstrates his willingness to inflict maximum suffering for minimal strategic gain. He forces the victims to kill themselves with “peaceful smiles” on their faces.
• Patience: He waited over a millennium to act, and even when weakened, he uses indirect methods to drain resources and sow division before striking directly.
• Pride: His taunts toward Attes and Casteel reveal a being who revels in psychological torture, believing himself superior even in his diminished state.

Chronological Arc

The text presents Kolis’s history through visions and exposition. In ancient times, he was the true Primal of Death, one of the ten original beings of duality. He fell in love with Sotoria, a mortal, and when she died, his grief led him to attempt resurrecting her, which broke the laws of the Ancients. He was entombed by the combined efforts of Seraphena, Nyktos, and others, but not before his influence lingered.

In the present timeline, Kolis’s stirring begins with Poppy’s birth—the Arae foresaw it but refused to intervene. Her full Ascension as a Primal in this book shatters the balance and frees him. He immediately possesses her, forces her into stasis, and begins building power by draining Ascended and Revenants. His arc culminates in the physical confrontation with Poppy, where he demonstrates that even a weakened Primal is nearly impossible to kill. The book ends with Kolis fleeing to target Carsodonia, leaving the protagonists to face the prophecy’s true fulfillment.

Relationships

• Poppy/Sotoria: The core relationship. Kolis views Poppy through the lens of his past love, but the text makes clear his feelings have curdled into mere greed. He threatens to rape and kill her in front of Casteel, saying, “I wanted the last thing he saw to be my cock slamming into you.” This brutality confirms that any love has been replaced by possessive hatred.
• Casteel: Kolis despises Casteel for his perceived arrogance and for being Poppy’s heartmate. He uses Poppy’s body to try to seduce Casteel, aiming to break him emotionally. The Fate Aydun warns that Casteel’s rage is his fatal flaw—a trait Kolis tries to exploit.
• Attes: The former Primal of War, now an ally to Poppy, has a long history with Kolis. Attes helps sever Kolis’s mark and later fights alongside Poppy. Kolis taunts Attes by threatening his bloodline.
• Seraphena: The true Primal of Life and Kolis’s former lover? Not directly, but she played a role in his entombment. Kolis holds a deep grudge against her, and their conflict is ancient.
• Callum: Revealed as Sotoria’s brother and Kolis’s first Revenant, Callum stole Poppy’s soul fragment. This connects Kolis to the wider conspiracy.

Key Decisions and Consequences

• Choosing to possess Poppy rather than directly attack: This backfires when Attes removes the mark, but it allows Kolis to glimpse the inner workings of the royal trio.
• Massacring Stonehill: While it terrorizes the populace, it also galvanizes Poppy’s resolve and reveals Kolis’s powers of compulsion, alarming the gods.
• Summoning a Fate for the Pensdurth meeting: He attempts to trap Poppy under rules that prevent her allies from interfering. However, the Fate’s protection doesn’t extend to Casteel and Kieran, and Poppy’s unbound status creates loopholes.
• Misjudging Casteel: Kolis believes Casteel is merely a hot-tempered distraction. He does not anticipate that the Joining would transform Casteel into a Deminyen Primal, nor that Casteel would become the true Harbinger of death and destruction.

Theme and Symbol Connections

Kolis embodies the themes of power and corruption—his original desire to preserve Sotoria curdled into an addiction to control. He is a warning against the inability to let go. His association with death and decay is literal: plants die where he passes, and his essence is described as “serpent-like” and shadowy.

The theme of identity and transformation is central to his relationship with Poppy. He tries to force her to become Sotoria, yet she refuses. His own identity is mutable—he appears as a golden-crowned king, a serpent, a spirit-like entity—reflecting his primordial nature.

The prophecy and fate theme is tied directly to Kolis. The ancient prophecy spoke of the Harbinger of Death and Destruction, which everyone assumed was Kolis. In a final twist, the narrative reveals the prophecy was about Casteel—but Kolis’s actions were the necessary catalyst.

Love and sacrifice: Kolis’s version of love is possessive and destructive, contrasting with Poppy and Casteel’s sacrificial bond. His inability to love selflessly leads to his downfall.

Questions and Answers

Q1: Why does Kolis refer to Poppy as “so’lis”? A: “So’lis” is an ancient term meaning “my soul.” Kolis uses it because he sees Poppy as the reincarnation of Sotoria, the mortal whose soul he once cherished. The text confirms this through Seraphena’s revelation that Poppy carries Sotoria’s essence.

Q2: How does Kolis regain his physical form after being entombed? A: He feeds on the blood of Ascended and Revenants—beings he originally created. The narrative explains that he can drain them to rebuild his body. He also uses a vessel (such as Malec, but that plot was thwarted) to solidify his aru’lis (spirit form).

Q3: What is Kolis’s ultimate goal in Book 6? A: He wants to steal Poppy’s essence, which combines life and death, allowing him to become even more powerful than before. He states, “I want what’s inside you, Poppy.” He also aims to destroy Casteel and Kieran, the heart of her support system.

Q4: Is Kolis truly in love with Poppy? A: The text suggests not. Kolis admits he has “moved on” from Sotoria and that his feelings have become pure obsession and greed. His actions—planning to rape and kill her in front of Casteel—demonstrate cruelty rather than love.

Q5: How does Kolis’s defeat set up the next book? A: Poppy stabs him with an ancient bone dagger, but he survives and escapes. His attack inadvertently causes Casteel to fully manifest as the Primal God of Death and Destruction, fulfilling the prophecy. The next book, The Throne of Bone and Ash, will directly follow this transformation.

Conclusion

Kolis is a villain shaped by ancient grief and monumental pride. In The Primal of Blood and Bone, he serves as both a traditional antagonist and a mirror, forcing the protagonists to examine their own capacity for destruction. His return upends the realm, but his greatest legacy is the transformation he unwittingly triggers in Casteel. By the book’s end, Kolis is no longer the central threat—he is a symptom of a larger imbalance that only the new gods can correct.

For more on the story’s themes, see the analysis of identity and transformation, love and sacrifice, and prophecy and fate. You can also explore the ending explained and common questions for deeper insights.