157). Taraka likes to gamble more than anything, a popular (perhaps unwise, but not evil) activity today: "In a darkened, endless cathedral he rolled dice that were suns and planets" (p. 157). When Taraka is victorious and joyful, Sam is too: "There came to him a joy shot through with fear, and he knew it to be mainly that of another, but it was partly his, too. The fear -- that was all his" (p. 157).

Taraka also keeps his word. He promised Sam he would help him to fight the gods, and he does. He orders the Rakasha to fight as an army, and they obey his order although they have never been to war before. Apparently, they had never thought of it, but the Rakasha are open to new ideas. When Sam asks Taraka if he will go to war against the gods, Taraka replys,

Yes indeed. I wish I had thought of it myself in the old days. Perhaps, then, we should never have been bound. Perhaps there would no longer be men or gods upon this world. We were never much for concerted action, though. Independence of spirit naturally...

Each fought his own battles in the general conflict with mankind (p. 155).
In this passage and others, Takara reveals himself to have a thinking and reflective nature. He is not hateful nor does he hold a grudge against Sam. Takara has an innocence about him partly because he has no guilt. He is curious and open to new experiences and unaware of danger. Talking about going to war, he says, "The novelty will do much to relieve the monotony" (p. 155). Later, when the battle is being fought, Taraka does not desert Sam. The Rakasha fight the gods valiantly and die. When Sam and Taraka are captured, Taraka tells Sam he is sorry before he says good-bye and leaves Sam's body. He proves by all his actions that he means Sam no harm. By the end of their encounter, Sam understands that he and the gods demonized Taraka. He explains to Yama: "It was their world first...we took it away from them. Why shouldn't they be everything we hate them for being? To them, we are the demons" (p.…