Xayide

Occupation Sorceress Queen of Horok Castle Film: Personification of Emptiness Powers / Skills Supreme mastery of Dark Magic Control over void and everything empty Can drain substance from things and people Command over an army of monsters including the Giants Immense intelligence Manipulation Hobby Novel only: Smoking her hookah waterpipe Xayide, the Mistress of The Emptiness, is an immensely powerful evil witch who serves as a major villainess in the 1979 German novel Die unendliche Geschichte (The Neverending Story), expanded into the main villainess in the 1990 fantasy film sequel The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter. She also serves as the main villainess of two spinoffs: the cartoon The Neverending Story: The Animated Adventures of Bastian Balthazar Bux and the live-action television miniseries Tales From the Neverending Story

Appearance Xayide is a tall, strikingly beautiful albeit somehow disquieting woman, hinting her uncanny nature. In the novel she has marble-white skin and fiery red hair mounted in plaits and braids, and wears purple robes. Her heterochromatic red and green eyes, that sometime glow, give her a troubling gaze.

Xayide is described as the most powerful and dangerous witch in Fantasia. She looks human, albeit unnaturally so, though her exact nature remains untold, for to quote the narration itself: "But that is another story and shall be told another time." She is feared all over in Fantasia, ruling her domain from her creepy castle shaped like a hand, known as Horok the Seeing Hand because of its multitude of windows looking like eyes. She controls the forest of orchids of the Oglaïs Garden, and sits on a throne of red coral surrounded by strange objects.

Xayide's sorcery is unrivalled in the novel. And the adaptations make her even more powerful, being no doubt the mightiest being in Fantasia outside of the Ivory Tower. She might even be equal to the Childlike Empress, the personification of all imagination, as in the film she could keep her under home arrest, and spread the Emptiness over Fantasia. In the cartoon her magic is nigh unlimited, but her stamina is not. In the novel, Xayide surrounds herself with strange artefacts and controls several magical objects, that she likely created. She is never seen casting spells, but she can seemingly create wondrous things like a throne made of mirrors, and infuse things with her magic. Her primary ability is her control over all that is empty through her will, which she can shape, animate and multiply, or transfer control of it to anyone she pleases. This being the origin of her armies of formidable Giants: huge, black, metallic and hollow monsters, looking like armoured insectoids, who wield swords and can ride metallic horses.

She is poised and courteous, but not averse to sarcasm or passing insults as praises. But to her core she is cruel, hateful, power-hungry, arrogant, and heartless in every sense. She is very extravagant and acts larger than life, as if trying too much, scorning bonds and caring as burdens to discard. She greatly enjoys luxury, revelling in being served and carried around, and craves control. As such, she hates disobedience and reacts with anger when losing control of the situation. She is highly intelligent, scheming and perceptive, being noted to plan for all possibilities. Knowing that she cannot subdue someone, she uses indirect methods. Worse, she is a perfect manipulator, impeccably feigning concern and friendship to gain their trust, quickly noticing and playing on his doubts, fears and craving for greatness and adventures, to veer them or her where she wants him to. She erodes trust in friends and slowly corrupts him, bringing about his ambition and worst traits with words alone.

Xayide's name is meant to be pronounced "Zai-Yē-Dē"