Rian, be brave.
Ordon[1]
Ordon was a Gelfling of the Stonewood Clan and the father of Rian. A veteran of the Arathim Wars, Ordon's skill in battle earned him the monikers "Spitter Slayer" and "hero of Stone-in-the-Wood". He became captain of the Castle Guard and served the Skeksis loyally until learning of their true nature through his son's revelations.
Biography[]
Hero of the Arathim Wars[]
Your leadership continues to impress, yes yes. Without it, your warriors would be reduced to nothing but the helmets they wear.
During the Arathim Wars, Ordon was considered Stone-in-the-Wood's best warrior,[2] and boasted of having killed "hundreds" of Arathim.[3] He later became responsible for training recruits for the war effort, with his skills being noticed by skekVar, who offered him the position of captain of the Castle Guard. After being informed of an imminent Arathim invasion of Stone-in-the-Wood, he was ordered by Maudra Vala to retrieve the Dual Glaive from the Tomb of Relics. Although skeptical of the Glaive's existence, Ordon complied, unaware that he had the maudra's young daughter Fara stowing away in his travelling pack.[2] The pair were eventually attacked by a giant Silk Spitter, whose bite killed Ordon's Landstrider and weakened him to the point where he had no choice but to accept Fara's offer of help. That night, they unwittingly started a campfire on the back of a Tortle, which awoke and caused them to fall into the Caves of Grot, where they were promptly saved by urLii.[3]
Ordon during the First Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood
After being healed, Ordon fruitlessly attempted to convince urLii to give him the Dual Glaive, but was rebuffed, only to have the urRu relent upon being given a pendant by Fara. He and Fara were subsequently taken to the Tomb of Relics, where Ordon was directed to a chamber containing three tests, each deadlier than the other. Ordon prohibited Fara from following and was soon caught in a booby trap. Fara, having ignored his order, rescued him and earned his respect.[4] He, Fara and Argot rushed to Stone-in-the-Wood through the Breath of Thra, where they found the village in the middle of the First Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood, and Maudra Vala dying. After comforting Fara and rejoining with his wife Shoni, Ordon confronted the Arathim single-handed, killing several Spitters and the Ascendancy itself. Horrified at the ability of the Glaive to drain its victims of essence and fearing its power being sought after by others, Ordon split the Glaive, hiding one half in the Crucible and entrusting the other to Argot. He eventually crowned Fara, and proposed having a child with Shoni.[5] A son was subsequently born, Rian, whom Ordon raised as a soldier rather than a son.[6] Nevertheless, the two bonded through hunting Fizzgigs together.[1]
Pursuing Rian[]
Thirty trine after the Arathim Wars, he accompanied skekOk the Scroll-Keeper and skekLach the Collector on their trip to Ha'rar for a tithing ceremony, leaving Tolyn in charge of security rather than his own son, whom he deemed a "childling" for his lack of discipline.[7] After returning to the castle, Ordon was briefed on his son allegedly murdering Mira. He requested clemency from Emperor skekSo and asked to be given leave to find Rian. His request was granted, on condition that he did not share memories with him, ostensibly because his son had a sickness which spread through dreamfasting.[8] Under the impression that the Skeksis would heal his son upon returning him to the Castle, Ordon went to Stone-in-the-Wood, where he informed Maudra Fara of his mission. When Rian arrived to beseech Fara, Ordon and Fara's guards tried to capture Rian only for him to resist arrest and escape.[9] Tracking Rian down, Ordon discovered his son dreamfasting with Naia, Kylan, and Tavra. Overcome with doubt, Ordon joined the dreamfast and realized the truth of Rian's claims that the Skeksis had themselves killed Mira and consumed her essence.[1]
Confronting the Hunter[]
Ordon and skekMal in the field of Gobbles
Ordon and Rian departed for Ha'rar to warn All-Maudra Mayrin, but were pursued by skekMal the Hunter. Ordon had Rian run ahead as bait so that he could ambush the Skeksis while distracted. Although the surprise attack allowed Ordon to break part of skekMal's mask, the Hunter simply began utilizing his secondary arms to duel both Rian and Ordon simultaneously. After rapidly defeating father and son, skekMal nearly stabbed Rian until Ordon heroically launched himself at the Hunter, taking them both into the field of Gobbles which began to consume them both, killing Ordon.[1]
Personality and traits[]
Ordon during the Arathim Wars
In his youth, Ordon was a fearless and charismatic warrior who encouraged the best in his men. He was, nevertheless, tormented by the fear that his dedication to battle made him a poor husband. He was also extremely prideful and impatient, particularly to those younger or more academically minded than he,[2] with urLii characterizing him as "blind to the value of others beyond the strength of their own hands".[4] His hatred for the Arathim was also so deep that he took pride in the number he had killed,[3] and deemed the life of a single Stonewood Gelfling to be worth 100 Arathim.[4]
In his old age, he had no time for nepotism, treating his son Rian with the same severity he meted out to other Castle Guards, prizing above all the values of honor and responsibility. His traditionalism and loyalty to the Skeksis, however, prevented him from immediately seeing through his masters' lies and placed him in conflict with his son once Rian discovered the truth of the Skeksis' true intentions.[10]
A highly skilled combatant, Ordon was able to defeat numerous Arathim[5] and Lores[4] single-handedly, as well as momentarily keeping up with skekMal in a duel.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
In conceptualizing the character, Javier Grillo-Marxuach tried to avoid falling into the cliche of having the relationship between Ordon and Rian be dysfunctional, with an emphasis on showing that the latter was genuinely loved by his father.[11]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
Age of Resistance – "The First Thing I Remember Is Fire". Netflix. August 30, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 – Andelfinger, Nicole., Age of Resistance – The Quest for the Dual Glaive, #1, Archaia, USA, September 25, 2019
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 – Andelfinger, Nicole., Age of Resistance – The Quest for the Dual Glaive, #2, Archaia, USA, September 25, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 – Andelfinger, Nicole., Age of Resistance – The Quest for the Dual Glaive, #3, Archaia, USA, December 2019
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 – Andelfinger, Nicole., Age of Resistance – The Quest for the Dual Glaive, #4, Archaia, USA, December 2019
- ↑ Age of Resistance – "By Gelfling Hand...". Netflix. August 30, 2019
- ↑ Age of Resistance – "End. Begin. All the Same.". Netflix. August 30, 2019
- ↑ Age of Resistance – "Nothing Is Simple Anymore". Netflix. August 30, 2019
- ↑ Age of Resistance – "What Was Sundered and Undone". Netflix. August 30, 2019
- ↑ Lee, J. M. (2019), Heroes of the Resistance, Penguin Young Readers Licences, p. 21, ISBN 978-0.593-09539-3
- ↑ Wallace, D. (2019), The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance - Inside the Epic Return to Thra, Titan Books, p. 73, ISBN 978-1-78909-387-2.
External Links[]
- Ordon on the Muppet Wiki
- Ordon in The Dark Crystal Glossary
