Manek

Manek is the second son of Fiyero and Sarima, a boy of the Arjiki tribe who grows up in the mountain stronghold of Kiamo Ko. He is described as a "little bantam" by his mother, a child of fierce will and cruelty who dominates his older brother Irji and his younger sister Nor. From the moment Liir arrives at Kiamo Ko, Manek singles him out for relentless abuse, mocking his weight, threatening him with violence, and orchestrating a near-fatal prank that leaves Liir drowning in the castle's fishwell. Manek's cruelty is not merely childish mischief but a calculated exercise of power; he forces Liir to pull down his trousers so the other children can verify that his genitals are not green, and he threatens to push Liir off the tower unless the boy reveals the secrets of Elphaba's broom. When Liir is rescued from the fishwell, Manek shows no remorse, only excitement at the drama. His death comes when Elphaba, meditating on the nature of hot and cold anger, focuses her gaze on an icicle; it breaks from the eaves and drives into Manek's skull as he goes out to find new ways of tormenting Liir. The family is devastated, and the sisters, who had pinned their hopes on Manek as the future leader of the Arjikis, are left with a sense of loss that deepens Sarima's withdrawal from the household.