China Sorrows


An enchantingly beautiful but dangerous sorceress who has a charm on her that makes anyone who sees her fall in love with her, regardless of the age or gender, even affecting Stephanie (however, the effect wears down slightly every time one meets her). China Sorrows owns a library of rare magical devices which she collects by ruthless and somewhat corrupt means. As mysterious as her brother, Mr Bliss, she is a cunning and insidious character whom Skulduggery does not trust. The two of them do know each other well however and appear to have a mutual respect. It is also implied that they had a romantic relationship in the past. China attempts to control Stephanie using her name in the first book but after Stephanie adopts a new name (Valkyrie Cain) China loses this power over her. In the second book, Stephanie seems to still be in love with China after seeing her for the first time. In the second book the Echo Stone Gordon Edgley says he also loved her, saying our love was stronger and true. It is also revealed that China, along with Nefarian Serpine and Baron Vengeous, was once part of a cult that worshipped the Faceless Ones. Vengeous attempts to convince her to join him in Playing With Fire but when she rejects his offer, he vows to destroy her. She is also a formidable sorceress and quite a skilled fighter through the use of magical "Symbols" which appear in the form of tattoos on her body. These symbols also appear on most of her possessions, allowing her to magically manipulate them in various ways, e.g. sending all of the furniture flying at intruders to her home, or heating the kettle to boil the water inside.



In Dark Days, she is shot in the chest by a new Sanctuary Detective named Pennant. She heals herself, but is left injured in the rest of the book. Remus Crux reveals that she was involved in Skulduggery's families deaths, stating that "Everyone knows what you did. They're all whispering. China Sorrows, China Sorrows, she's the one, they're saying. She's the one. Nefarian Serpine killed Skulduggery Pleasant, but China Sorrows led his family into the trap." China subsequently shoots him in the chest, point blank, killing him. China also becomes less passive at the end of the third book and throughout the fourth, actively assisting Skulduggery and Valkyrie instead of merely passing information to them.



On an amusing sidenote China also states that she has attempted to kill her brother several times and failed, most likely due to their shared tendency to double-cross people.