| “ | Myths are simply stories about truths we've forgotten. | ” |
–Randolph Chase to his nephew Magnus in The Sword of Summer. | ||
Randolph Chase was the older brother of Frederick Chase and Natalie Chase, and the uncle of Magnus and Annabeth Chase. He was a former Harvard Professor. After losing his wife and daughters in an accident at sea years before the series, he became devastated and would do anything to get them back. This included working for Loki to start Ragnarök. He would obey him under the promise of getting his wife and daughters back. This includes having his nephew used to obtain the sharpest sword in the worlds and luring him into multiple death traps. However, after the trickster was freed he failed to keep his end of the deal and vanished. Randolph, feeling alone and betrayed, jumps to his death to be with his family.
History[]
Early Life[]
Randolph Chase was the eldest son and firstborn child of his family. Due to being the eldest of his siblings, Randolph gained ownership of the Chase family mansion after his parent's deaths.
He became a professor at Harvard University at some point.
He eventually married a woman named Caroline and had two daughters with her, Emma and Aubrey.
Loss of Wife and Daughters[]
One day, when Randolph and his family were out on their yacht searching the bay for the Sword of Summer, a storm came out of nowhere. He tried to reassure his family that everything was under control, but eventually the storm was too much and his wife and daughters drowned in the stormy waters after a wave knocked them overboard into the bay.
Rift Between Siblings[]
One Thanksgiving, (when his niece Annabeth was seven years old and his nephew Magnus was six years old) Randolph got into an argument with his brother Frederick and sister Natalie, causing a rift in the family. After Natalie's death and Magnus's disappearance when he was 14, Randolph spent the next two years searching for Magnus. He would only contact his brother and tell him of their sister’s death and their nephew’s disappearance two years later.
Pact with Loki[]
At some point before his nephew‘s sixteenth birthday, he made a deal with Loki to get his wife and daughters back in exchange for helping the trickster escape his prison.
The Heroes of Olympus[]
The Blood of Olympus[]
Annabeth mentioned Randolph and Magnus (indirectly) to Percy Jackson and Piper McLean before the Seven fought the Giants.
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard[]
The Sword of Summer[]
Ten years after his family quarrel, Randolph calls Frederick and his daughter Annabeth to tell them that their sister Natalie's son Magnus has been missing for two years since Natalie died. He goes to the city shelter at The South End, but has no luck in finding Magnus.
Randolph returns to the mansion and finds Magnus in his office. He tells Magnus that they don't have much time and says that "they" will be coming to kill Magnus now that he is sixteen.
He tells Magnus that he believes that the Norse gods are real and that Magnus is the son of one of them. He takes Magnus to a pier saying a sword that belonged to his father is there and should belong to Magnus now. When getting the sword Sumarbrander, Magnus is attacked by a man named Surt who wishes to have the sword for himself. Magnus's friends Blitzen (a dwarf) and Hearthstone (an elf) try to protect him from Surt, but are overpowered. Blitz is knocked out and Hearth flees with Randolph while Magnus battles Surt. After the battle, Randolph scolded Hearth and Blitz for letting Magnus die.
After Magnus's funeral, it is revealed that Randolph has been working for Loki in exchange for the return of his wife and daughters. He has been visiting his nephew's ashes at the family mausoleum. One day after returning home he finds Loki in his study. He apologizes for not getting the sword. Loki then tells him Ragnarök has 'many triggers' and leaves a burn mark on his face.
The Hammer of Thor[]
Randolph is first seen when Loki was trying to talk to Magnus about the wedding he planned for Samirah. He then appears at the wight's tomb in Provincetown. He takes the Snofnung sword and draws it, as he is descended from Nordic kings; one of the swords conditions. On Loki's orders, he stabs Blitzen. In retaliation, Magnus attacks him and cuts off two fingers on Randolph's right hand. After Loki tells Magnus and his friends where to find the Snofnung stone, he leaves with the trickster.
When Magnus and Alex Fierro search his office, they find a picture of Bridal Veil Falls and a wedding invitation next to it. Magnus assumes that Randolph is trying to help them.
At the wedding, Thrymga has him imprisoned in a nut. When they reach Loki's prison, he releases him. When the ceremony starts, he begs his nephew for the sword and stone, which he reluctantly agrees to. When the fight brakes out, Loki forces him to draw the sword, Randolph is hesitant because there are women present, as the sword can not be drawn in the presence of a woman. He reluctantly draws the sword and it and he starts to evaporate into blue mist. He cuts Loki free just as the sword and his arm evaporate. He falls into a chasm and lands on a ledge. When Magnus tries to help him, Randolph declines and jumps into the abyss.
When Magnus asks Heimdall about his uncle's fate, the god tells him it is best he does not know.
The Ship of the Dead[]
Magnus and Alex Fierro go to his house to search for clues on how to stop Loki. They find his journal and see a plan to use Kvasir's mead to beat Loki in a flyting. This plan succeeds and the trickster is trapped in a walnut shell and returned to the gods.
Appearance[]
Randolph is described as being barrel-chested with a trim white beard with a skull cap of grey (formerly black) hair- although, in The Hammer of Thor, when Magnus sees him in an old photo, his hair is described as being so blond it appeared grey. He also carries a polished wooden cane with an iron tip. Magnus describes his palms as too rough and calloused for a history professor's. He wears glasses. Randolph also walks with a limp due to what seems to be a bad right knee which requires the use of his cane.
After Magnus rebound the Fenris Wolf, Randolph has a hand-shaped burn scar on his face, given to him by Loki, for failing to get Sumarbrander.
In The Hammer of Thor, Randolph loses two fingers on his right hand when Magnus attacks him for stabbing Blitz. At the end of the book, he starts to evaporate when he drew the Skofnung Sword outside of its conditions. His skin became translucent, making him look like a walking skeleton.
Personality[]
Randolph was a driven man. He was mocked by his colleagues for claiming the Norse people had a settlement in Massachusetts without any evidence, so he set out on a quest to prove his theory is correct. When he first saw his nephew for the first time in ten years, Randolph was driven to find Sumarbrander and presses Magnus to summon the blade.
Despite his determination to prove his point, Randolph loved his wife and daughters dearly and was devastated by their deaths.
Relationships[]
Love Interest[]
Caroline Chase[]
Randolph loved his wife very much and was devastated by her death.
Family[]
Randolph got along well with his brother Frederick and sister Natalie when the three were younger. However, the three had a fight which resulted in a falling out. It would be ten years before speaking with Frederick. It is unknown if he had spoken with Natalie prior to her death.
Randolph loved his daughters Emma and Aubrey Chase very much and was devastated when they died.
Magnus Chase, his nephew.
Randolph wanted his nephew to retrieve the Sword of Summer for him, as only when a son of Frey can retrieve it when they reach reach sixteen years of age. After Magnus's death Randolph visited the family mausoleum to see if anything would happen.
When he was revealed to be working for Loki, Randolph was hesitant to fight Magnus. He denied his nephew's offer to help.
Randolph betrayed Loki in his journal, showing at least a little loyalty to Magnus, by giving the plan to use Kvasir's mead to beat Loki in a flyting.
Annabeth Chase, his niece.
Others[]
Loki[]
Loki, the god who promised to give Randolph his family back if he freed him.
Randolph reluctantly agreed to work for the trickster, in return for his false promise that Randolph's family would be returned to him. During that time Randolph was tortured for any failure. Before his death, Randolph left his nephew instructions for defeating the trickster in a flyting, which succeeds and Randolph takes his revenge against his former master.
Etymology[]
- Randolph is an English name derived from a medieval name composed of rand (shield) and wulf (wolf). Roughly translated, the name means "Shield Wolf".
- Chase is a Middle English surname, an occupational name for a hunter. In Middle English the word Chase means hunt.
- When put together, his name translates as shield wolf of the hunt.
Trivia[]
- Both Randolph and his brother Frederick have been history professors in the past.
- Randolph greatly disliked the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (more specifically those that feature Asgardians which is the MCU equivalent of the Aesir), as he believed they portray the Norse gods Odin, Thor, Sif, Tyr, Heimdall, Frigg and Loki in "ridiculously inaccurate" ways.
- Randolph was the only one of his siblings to not have had a child with a god.
- Randolph is the second human to have a point of view, the first being Dr. Howard Claymore.