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Lupine Wonse is a character in the fictional Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. He featured prominently in Guards! Guards!, the 8th book in the series.
Wonse grew up in the The Shades, the oldest and most dangerous section of Ankh-Morpork. During his childhood, he was a member of a gang. At that time, he was the "intelligent" gang member who came up with a lot of the gang's nasty ideas. At that time, he also knew Samuel Vimes, the future Commander of the City Watch.
He later became a secretary to Lord Havelock Vetinari, the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork. At that time, he received a letter from a dwarf king asking if his son, Carrot Ironfoundersson, could be accepted into the City Watch. Wonse wrote back informing him that Carrot should present himself for duty at once. At that time, Lupine Wonse also began formulating a plan to depose Vetinari and restore a king to the city. He planned to place a dimwitted young man on the throne, who he would manipulate and use to control the city from the shadows.
In order to accomplish this, Wonse formed the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night, renting a lodging in the city and giving himself the title "Supreme Grand Master." All of his meetings were conducted under the hood of a robe, so none of the others knew who he was. The members he inducted were all none-too-intelligent people, who Wonse found to be valuable anyway due to their bitterness and vitriolic jealousy for those more fortunate than them. He also came up with great number of pseudo-arcane rituals (such as Oiling the Axles of the Universal Lemon, and shriving the Trousers of Sanctity) and oaths.
He sent one of the members of the Brethren, Brother Fingers, to steal a book entitled "The Summoning of Dragons" from the Library of Unseen University. He intended to use this book to summon and control a Noble Dragon (draco nobilis) and then have his prospective king "kill" the dragon, which Wonse would have disappear at the critical moment.
The members of the organization all contributed "magical" items (which included an anti-crocodile amulet and stones with holes in them). Wonse then summoned the dragon, only to discover that he was actually inside its mind, controlling it. Unfortunately for him, the items contributed by the Brothers had very little magic, and the dragon vanished as quickly as it came. However, it still had time to take the life of its first victim - Zebbo Mooty, Thief Third Class for the Thieves Guild.
Wonse was later able to summon the dragon again, this time killing several criminals in The Shades. This attracted the notice of the Watch (which at that time consisted only of Vimes, Sergeant Fred Colon, Corporal "Nobby" Nobbs, and lance-constable Carrot Ironfoundersson). They attempted to investigate, but with little success.
Lupine Wonse then sent his false heir to the Ankh throne to fight the dragon, making the dragon disappear just as the man plunged his sword into it. The man was immediately accepted as King by the citizens, and Wonse had the Patrician banished to the dungeons while he began to plan the coronation. However, things began to get out of hand when the dragon found its own way back into the world, using the Unseen University library as a source of magic for itself. One of the first things it did was destroy the headquarters of the Brethren, killing three members - Brother Watchtower, Brother Doorkeeper, and Brother Plasterer. It then disrupted the coronation by killing both the king and the priest officiating. It then crowned itself king, "remodeling" the Patrician's palace to its own liking. It began amassing a hoard, accepting "voluntary" tributes from the leaders of all the Guilds of Ankh-Morpork. Wonse, who had survived the attack on the coronation, became employed as the king's mouthpiece, and unwillingly announced the king's demands - that one maiden be fed to him, for the sake of tradition, every month.
Vimes then went to the king's palace and discovered Wonse with The Summoning of Dragons. It didn't take him long to realize that it had been Wonse behind the dragon attacks all along. Laughing maniacally, Wonse banished Vimes to the dungeon with the Patrician. But, with the help of the Unseen University Librarian, Vimes managed to escape. The Patrician then let himself out with a key that he had had all along - he had chosen to remain in the dungeon simply to protect himself from the dragon.
The first sacrifice to the dragon chosen was Lady Sybil Ramkin, who went unwillingly, to say the least. At the last minute, though, Errol, the deformed dragon that Ramkin had given to the Watch, saved the day. It turned out that Errol was not deformed, simply evolved, and had the ability to jet-propel himself with flames from his rear. Shooting past the giant dragon at supersonic speeds, he knocked it to the ground, stunned. Just as the citizens descended on the dragon to kill it, Errol came back around, and both it and the larger dragon began behaving oddly. It turned out that the king was a female, and she departed the city with Errol.
Vimes and the rest of the Watch then confronted Wonse, who was wandering insanely through the palace corridors, grasping a sword. Wonse was insane because he had seen the Patrician outside the dungeon, something he was sure was impossible. Promptly, the Watch arrested Wonse. In a crazed frenzy, Wonse charged at the Patrician with his sword. Becoming exasperated, Vimes, forgetting that dwarfs have trouble with metaphors, told Carrot to "throw the book at him." Carrot did, hurling The Laws and Ordinances of Ankh-Morpork right at Wonse's head. Wonse fell four stories, hit the ground, and died. Our last view of Wonse is one of him being ushered away by the personification of Death.
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