Charybdis

Charybdis (/kəˈrɪbdɨs/; Greek: Χάρυβδις) was a sea monster, living under a small rock on one side of a narrow channel in the Strait of Messina. Opposite was Scylla, another sea-monster, that lived inside a much larger rock. The sides of the strait were within an arrow shot of each other, and sailors attempting to avoid one of them would invariably come in reach of the other. 'Between Scylla and Charybdis' thus meant having to choose between two dangers, either of which could bring harm.

In Mid-World, the High Speech term "char" means death. Hence, a chary man is one who courts death, brings death, or deals death. One could think of him as the Grim Reaper’s deputy.