Domovoi Butler

Butler is a fictional character in the Artemis Fowl series of books by Eoin Colfer.

Importance

In the Artemis Fowl series, the Butlers have been serving the Fowls for centuries. At the age of ten, young Butler children would be sent to a facility in a guarded and private place to get bodyguard training from a woman referred to as Madame Ko. Their training would include a customized blend of martial arts, marksmanship, first aid, information technology and Cordon Bleu cooking. At the end of their training, they would get a blue diamond tattoo, representing the multi faceted nature of their training, on their shoulder. If there was not a Fowl to guard, they would work as bodyguards for other prominent families, generally in Monaco or Saudi Arabia.

Domovoi Butler

Butler is the bodyguard and something of a close friend to Artemis Fowl II. He stands almost seven feet tall and according to the third book weighs about ninety kilos as he is described as a "ninety kilo dead weight." He probably has a body mass index of 20, would be considered desirable, and has "muscles like a Michelangelo statue". He was born on August 14 and is of Eurasian heritage. Butler is fluent in several languages other than English, including Russian, French and German. It is revealed in Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code that Butler had been trained in Switzerland and Israel. Butler is both highly trained and loyal, and has become a sort of a father/older brother figure to Artemis. Butler has been nearly killed twice, once in the first book being mauled in a battle with a troll (Butler is the only human known to ever take on a troll in combat and win) and again in the beginning of the third book (Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code) by taking a bullet meant to kill Artemis. In this book, as he is about to die, Butler reveals his first name to be Domovoi. Both times he is revived by Captain Holly Short's magic. However, the second healing required some of his own life force in addition to Captain Short's magic, and he awoke a few days later to be about fifteen years older. He became slightly too old for the bodyguard business, and due to Kevlar tissue that became woven into his chest during his healing, he could no longer breathe as easily as he used to. He is, however, able to withstand small-caliber bullets fired at his chest. Another side-effect of the second healing is that he will live much longer than the average human. At the end of the third book, he is given cosmetic surgery and dwarf fat implants to mask his aging before his memory is wiped by the fairies/LEP. He still remains Artemis' bodyguard and also a figure of wisdom and support. He revealed his first name to Artemis when he believed he was about to die, revealing to the young genius two things: he had been named for a Slavic guardian spirit and that the academy Butler had trained at (Madame Ko's Bodyguard Academy) instructed their students never to reveal their first names to their charge ever - and, since Artemis knew his friend would never break this rule unless it no longer mattered - that he was saying good-bye. His name is used by Artemis to secretly prepare Butler himself to regain his memory of the fairies after his and Artemis' minds are wiped, as Butler needed concrete evidence from someone he trusted completely (Artemis) to effect total recall, although prior to recall, both of them were beginning to experience surfacing of residual memories. Throughout the books, Butler has served as the most physical member of the team, particularly during the events of The Arctic Incident, when he single-handedly charged down a group of fairies and later broke through a door designed to withstand the impact of a rhinoceros. His tactical knowledge has also served an important use as his physical abilities declined after his near-death experience in The Eternity Code, although Artemis's wide breadth of knowledge means that he traditionally makes the final plans.

Family

Little is known about Butler's family, besides his younger sister Juliet. It is revealed in Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident that Butler's uncle (the Major) was Artemis Sr.'s bodyguard. However, in the explosion of the Fowl Star, the Major was killed and his body turned up in the Tchersky morgue. It was also revealed that of the two people in the world better trained in martial arts than Butler, he was related to one of them. The other lives on an island in the South China Sea and spends "his days meditating and beating up palm trees."

Trivia

• In the first book, Artemis proclaims that Butler's Sensei is turning in his grave. However, in the second book, it is revealed that Butler's sensei is alive and is female. This could be explained by the fact that Butler kept it secret from Artemis who his sensei was.