Rian

**Rian** is a Stonewood Gelfling of the planet Thra and one of the three protagonists of Netflix's dark fantasy adventure series *The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance* (alongside Brea and Deet) who is befriended by Adam Leo, Bree and Chase. He was a guard at the Crystal Castle, and in a relationship with the Vapran Gelfling, Mira but witnessed the Skeksis drain his lover of her essence. Now knowing the true nature of the Lords he once served, Rian is accompanied by Princess Brea of the Vapra clan and Deet of the Grottan clan to start a rebellion against the Skeksis who rule over Thra with an iron fist and unleashed the Darkening upon their world.

## Biography

### Background

Rian is one of the Gelfling who lived during the Age of Division, before skekSo ordered the execution of the Gelflings. He was a member of the Stonewood Clan and the son of war hero Ordon, who was also the Captain of the Guard at the Castle of the Crystal and Shoni, with her introduction of the prequel comics. As a child, Rian and his father would try and catch Fizzgigs together.

Rian grew up knowing which Skeksis was which, and they in return knew Rian was the son of the Palace Guard. Joining the Guard, Rian found it hard living in Ordon's shadow and hoped to win his father's approval while in a relationship with fellow Guard Mira of the Vapra Clan and together the couple became best friends with Gurjin of the Drenchen Clan.

## Personality

Before the revelation of the Skeksis' cruel and sadistic natures, Rian was a care-free but caring individual who was fairly loyal to them, becoming a Castle Guard.

Like his father, Rian also has a sense of adventure, a trait shared with Mira, going on a spitter hunting with her and the two lovers often dragged their best friend, Gurjin. However, as adventurous as Mira and Rian were, the couple were mischievous, immature and did not appear to take their responsibilities as Guards of the Crystal seriously. For example, instead of patrolling, Rian and Mira often stole food reserved for the Skeksis from the Podling servants. Because of this Ordon did not even allow his own son to oversee the guard while he was gone, instead installing Tolyn as acting Captain. His father's lack of faith in him led Rian to take reckless actions to prove himself to Ordon. Instead of telling Ordon about seeing an Arathim soldier in the castle, Rian opted telling his father that it could wait until later; in truth, Rian saw this as another opportunity to prove to Ordon he could be a hero like him. Mira showed her support of Rian, agreeing with and they unwittingly dragged Gurjin along. After witnessing the Skeksis draining Mira of her essence with the Crystal of Truth, Rian was immediately made aware of his former masters cruel and evil personas. Feeling Mira deserved justice, Rian did everything he could to let the truth be known. Following his escape from the castle Rian was desperate to prove his innocence and wanted to show anyone he met the truth as to what the Skeksis were truly capable of. However, he found it hard that no one would believe him, especially from his own father, Ordon, who was trying to help Rian, but only caused the conflict to escalate further. Not wanting other Gelfling to suffer the same fate as Mira, he was nearly tempted by SkekSil's offer to end rebellion before it began. The Gelfling resistance was formed as Rian goaded the other Gelfling to standing up against their former masters and wanted the truth known for what the Skeksis truly were: evil. After learning that the Skeksis unleashed the Darkening that was ultimately killing their world, and draining innocent Gelfling of their essence, Rian selflessly risked everything to save his homeworld and the Gelfling race and how he shared the common goal with Deet and Brea.

Even before the Gelfling resistance formed, Rian was still opened to being friends with Gurjin and have a romantic relationship with Mira, a Drenchen and Vapra Gelfling respectively. It is this way of thinking that Rian easily befriended Deet (who he developed feelings for), Brea, Kylan and Naia, who were all a part of different Gelfling cultures). However, Rian was taught to be wary of the Dousan clan by the Skeksis because of their worshipping of death that Rian called an "obsession." Rian was said to have cared about his friends and family, and inspire loyalty among his fellow Gelfling, who all joined the resistance after he told them that standing up against the Skeksis was a top priority. He was best friends with Gurjin and shared a brotherly relationship with each other. Gurjin often acted as an older brother figure for Rian and is fiercely protective of him. With Naia, the Red-Haired Paladin, Kylan and Tavra Rian convinced them all to dreamfast with him and learn of the Skeksis truths. After Brea was captured by SkekMal, Rian wanted to pursue him until SkekGra and UrGoh convinced him to follow what Brea wanted: finding the Dual Glaive. He agreed, albeit reluctantly and when she was saved, Rian was relieved to hear her voice in the blue flames of the rebellion. Because of his friendship and loyalty to others, Rian's friends often reciprocated their feelings to him. Because of their strong friendship Gurjin promised to join Rian and stay by his best friend's side especially after learning what the Skeksis did to Mira. Gurjin would even going far as to sacrifice his own freedom when they were cornered by the Skeksis skekTek and skekSil. He also easily bonded with Brea and Deet and developed a strong friendship with each other despite only knowing each other for a few days. Naia, despite initially coming to capture Rian, rescued him from the Chamberlain's carriage with Gurjin and gave him words of encouragement before he left for the Circle of the Suns. He also showed concern for Hup who had by now found a friend in Rian and told him to be careful along with Deet.

Rian is also presented as a romantic; he was incredibly nervous around Mira when he first met her. Rian mentioned that when they first came to the Watchtower, he tried every trick he could to impress her and could only think about kissing her. Mira, however, grew more impatient and kissed him instead after pinning him down. During their hunt for the Silkspitter, Rian and Mira were called "lovebirds" by Gurjin and led them to doing the rest of the quest alone. However, they took a second to look at each other and sharing a kiss. He often acted shy whenever he was around Deet and looked curiously at her when she first met him. They often looked at each other whenever there was a moment; Rian helped distract her from her sadness by asking about her family and complimented Deet on her dress. They may have developed a romantic interest in each other, as Rian was the first Gelfling in the world above to be kind to Deet. He also has a sense of guilt and remorse, blaming himself for Mira's and Ordon's deaths and not being unable to do anything to save them.

The young Gelfling is also a dedicated fighter due to being raised by a father who treated Rian more like a soldier than a son. Called "Brave Rian" by Aughra, he was always brave even in the face of death, holding off opponents such as SkekMal despite the latter being a more experienced warrior. However, Rian bested SkekVar in battle and held off SkekSo and SkekZok in the second battle of Stone-in-the wood and later convinced the Arathim to switch sides with the Gelfling because of the Skeksis' past. When he was in the presence of any of the Skeksis such as SkekSil holding Rian hostage and facing SkekSo during the Second Battle of the Stone-in-the-Wood Rian displayed strong defiance and resistance to them and boldly faced SkekSo during their first interaction and goading them to fight. However, skekSil took advantage of Rian's defiance, even nearly convincing him to abandon all thoughts of rebellion before Naia and Gurjin rescued him.

In the end, his courageousness would forever be remembered as he and his friends were called the "Heroes of Thra" and their actions would lead to Jen healing the Dark Crystal and defeat the Skeksis once and for all.

## Abilities

* **Dreamfasting:** Rian can share his memories and thoughts with another Gelfling and vice versa whenever he is in physical contact with other Gelflings by touching each other's hands. He primarily used dreamfasting with the other Gelflings so they could see their story and reveal the truth about the Skeksis. When he dreamfasted with Kylan, Gurjin and Naia, they were summoned from their consciences, they were transported to the Dreamworld.
* **Connection to Thra:** Like other Gelfling, Rian and his race are the creatures who have the closest connection to Thra and to Mother Aughra's heart. He too can feel that Thra is dying because the Skeksis
* **Bravery:** Called "Brave Rian", he has incredible bravery, standing up against the Skeksis and the Arathim soldiers when they were on the Skeksis' side .
* **Intelligence:** Rian appears to have some knowledge in plants when Deet tried eating a berry that caused seers to see into the future and speak with Thra. Rian is also one of the few to know of the true origins of the Skeksis after being taught it by SkekGra and UrGoh.
	+ **Capable Leader:** Rian has become a capable leader like Ordon, leading the Gelfling resistance and inspiring loyalty among the other Gelfling.
	+ **Sword fighting:** Rian was well versed in sword-fighting due to being trained to being a guard of the Crystal Castle. He was able to best the General Skeksis, despite him being a more experienced fighter. However, Rian could not take up SkekMal, who managed to take him hostage twice.

## Weaknesses

* **Recklessness and Immaturity (formerly):** He and Mira often played games with each other and didn't appear to take their duties as guards seriously. However, after the revelation of the Skeksis, Rian learns to let this trait of his go down. He also learned not to let it get the best fo him.
* **Guilt:** The Chamberlain could tell that Rian was guilt-ridden with the deaths of Mira and Ordon and Gurjin's capture and caused him to run from the Skeksis.

## Family

### Ordon (Father)

> My father wasn't what you'd call the affectionate type. I was a soldier, not a son. At least that's how it felt. But when we fought the Hunter and the gobbles the two of us, side by side suddenly I was both. Every lesson he ever tried to teach me suddenly fell into place. His final words were 'Be brave.' So that's what I'll do for my captain. For my father.
>
> Rian to Brea, upon realizes the truth of who he was in his father's eyes,"By Gelfling Hand..."

Ordon is Rian's father, who, despite not being the affectionate type, ultimately loved his son more than anything else but treated him more like a soldier than a friend.  Rian and his father's relationship was strained when Ordon thought his son was responsible for his girlfriend, Mira's death. He failed multiple times to recapture him. However, Rian showed the truth behind Mira's death to his father, Ordon and his son appeared to begin making amends. When SkekMal appears and attempts to kill his son, Ordon sacrifices his life to save Rian to protect him. However, Ordon's sacrifice was not in vain, because, even though Rian was captured by SkekMal anyways he was later rescued by Naia and Gurjin.  After his father's untimely end, he felt extreme guilt and remorse that he could not do anything but stand by as his father sacrificed himself. However, he eventually honored it and Ordon's death only furthered Rian's plan to fight in his father and lover, Mira's, name.

Later, Rian's relationship with his father mirrored that of Brea and Mayrin and he  empathized with Brea, reminded that he was both a soldier and a son for his father and a reminder that their parents really did love them.

### Shoni (Mother)

Shoni is the biological mother of Rian who always wanted to have a child, more specifically, a son she hoped to name Rian, which meant "a small solution to a big problem."

### Mythra (Sister)

In the books, Rian has a younger sister, Mythra, who he was close and affectionate with. She was the only one in her family to believe her brother's innocence. She expressed interest in joining his rebellion when she was bigger and Rian promised that she would join his side, one day.

## Friends

### Gurjin

> Wherever you go, I go.
>
> Gurjin to Rian

Gurjin and Rian knew each other from the moment they both became guards at the Castle of the Crystal and became best friends despite neither of the Clans getting along. Gurjin would voice his disdain when Rian or Mira dragged him on one of his misadventures and Rian would always string him along whenever Rian called Gurjin his best friend.

Sometime after giving up going Arathim hunting, when Gurjin yelled he saw a spitter, Rian and his girlfriend Mira immediately ran to his aid.

### Brea

 File:Brea defends Rian.jpg

> Enough, Paladins. We owe our lives to Rian. He is no more our enemy than the Skeksis are our friends.
>
> Brea defending Rian to the Paladins

Brea and Rian are close friends, companions, and have something of a brother/sister bond with each other due to their fondness, platonic love and support for one another. They were the second pair in the trio to meet. Before Brea and Rian meet each other, they both had a strong connection to Thra and suspected the Skeksis of treachery. They would both be destined to save their world.

They finally first met each other in the fifth episode of Season 1, "She Knows All the Secrets," after Aughra had summoned them both when they were simultaneously dreamfasting with their allies. However, they had little interaction through their first encounter but we're introduced to each other when Aughra revealed their names to all the other Gelfling in the room. It was here in the Dream Space that Brea became aware of the Skeksis draining innocent Gelfling Mira of her essence.

In "By Gelfling Hand...," Rian was part of the crew to help rescue Brea, Deet, Hup and the group of paladins. Upon seeing each other, Brea and Rian, despite them only knowing each other for a day, immediately hugged each other because they were both safe. After being reunited with Deet, Rian noticed that the paladins were whispering about him being a traitor. He told Brea it was best for him to leave but the young princess refused to let Rian leave. She stood by his side, showing her undying loyalty to him by defended Rian by scolding the paladins and revealing that Rian was their friend that the Skeksis were their friends.

When Brea was grieving for the loss of her mother, Rian helped her get through with her loss and could empathize with her due to losing his father. When attending a ceremony of their own to honor Mayrin, Brea didn't know how to start saying words for her mother. The two bonded when Rian revealing his own strained relationship with his father but understood in their final moments, they were truly father and son. Similarly, Brea realized that get mother really meant "I love you" every time she said it before making her daughters do something tedious.

However, Rian and Brea slightly argued was when they debated whether their new companion, Rek'yr could be trusted or not. Brea disagreed and was slightly annoyed by Rian's paranoia that the Dousan were obsessed with death while Brea corrected him and said they worshiped death. She ended up winning the argument.

 File:Age-of-resistance1x07 1590.jpg  During their start at the Circle of the Suns, both Rian and Brea were the only ones to be annoyed with SkekGra and UrGoh and their puppet show and so desperately wanted their questions to be answered. They were suddenly ambushed by the Hunter, who had found Rian and his friends there, hoping to reclaim his grudge over the Gelfling. Brea was seen desperately trying to resurrect Lore to save Rian from SkekMal, who was ultimately defeated by his Mystic counterpart, UrVa. When the hunter realized he was outmatched, he grabbed Brea instead while Rian desperately yelled for her and tried to get to her. Rather than wanting to be saved, Brea urged Rian to find the Dual Glaive that the Heretic and Wanderer told them about rather than rescue her, showing her utmost trust for Rian (and Deet) to save Thra without her. He instead recovered Brea’s journal and held onto it for her for safekeeping.

The first thing Rian wanted to do was to go after Brea, feeling it was his responsibility that he got her kidnapped by the Hunter. However, he was forced to do as Brea told him. He feared SkekMal was going to hurt her, but skekGra and urGoh assured that skekMal was not going to harm her and instead using Brea as bait.

In "The Crystal Calls," Brea and Rian contacted each other when the latter had set off the fires of rebellion, where Rian was relieved to hear she had survived the Hunter. However, she corrected him and said she was rescued, along with her sister and Maudra Fara.

They were finally reunited in "A Single Piece Was Lost," where Rian and Brea immediately hugged each other. He later returned her journal to Brea, who was glad to have it back and relieved that it had not been lost when she dropped it. Coming together, Brea and Rian fought alongside each other during the second battle of Stone-in-the-wood, but when SkekMal grabbed him, Brea was the first to yell at the Skeksis to let Rian go in adamant horror. As SkekMal died, Rian while getting to safety himself, was the closest to Brea as they watched the Hunter die before them and Aughra resurrected before them.

After the battle, the two friends rejoiced with one another when Brea immediately came to hug Rian and he returned it for her before Rian searched for Deet. He presumably returned to Brea and the other Gelfling in defeat when he could not find her.

### Aughra

Rian first met Aughra when she used astral projection to summon the heroes of Thra, as well as Brea, Deet's and their friends' to the Dream Space and Aughra called him "Brave Rian." However, he was a bit perplexed at meeting her for the first time, because he found it strange to see her dancing around. Turning to Thra's new hope, Aughra puts her faith in Rian and his friends, dubbing them the Heroes of Thra. When Rian heard Aughra sacrificed herself to save the Gelflings that Seladon, Brea and the other Gelfling including Fara, he did not wish to see her sacrifice br in vain and another reason why the Gelflings had to fight the Skeksis.

When Aughra came back from the dead after SkekMal's death, Rian was both Removed and baffled to see her and was the first to helped her up and asking if she was alright.

### Naia

 File:Rian & Naia.jpg  Rian immediately recognized Naia as the sister of his best friend, Gurjin, when he first met there. She with her friend Kylan were there to take him to the Skeksis to trade Rian for her brother. However, when he revealed that he was not a liar, Naia was the only one who hesitated to dreamfast with Rian. Despite Tavra and Kylan willing to learn the truth, Naia told him that if he got her sick, she would hurriedly kill Rian before losing her sanity. Despite knowing it is pointless, Rian says that it was only fair. However, the Dreamfast went normal. When Naia learned that Gurjin stayed behind selflessly so Rian could escape, she knew the true extent of the Skeksis' powers and went to rescue her brother with Tavra's help.

After Gurjin was rescued, Naia helped her brother save Rian from skekSil, even worrying for his safety as they travelled through the forest of Thra. She felt sympathy for Rian when he reveals his father's death and the Skeksis pursuing him and it is Naia who insists he show the siblings and Kylan what the Skeksis looked like. Naia later gave Rian a heartfelt goodbye, promising to spread word of the Skeksis' crimes.

She later was inspired by Rian's speech of sparking the rebellion and joined her clan in helping the other Gelflings win the war.

### Hup

Initially distrustful, Rian and Hup came to mutually respect one another due to their care for Deet. Hup did stop Rian from throwing himself on the Gobbles and saw SkekMal's kidnapping of Rian as a temporary sense of self-doubt in protecting Deet. Though Hup was annoyed with the way Deet and Rian both looked at each other during the All-Maudra, he and Rian both distrusted Rek'yr, with Rian agreeing with the Podling.

Before Rian and Deet left the Circle of the Suns, Hup cautioned Rian to take care of himself too. Touched, Rian called Hup "friend" and expressed concern for his recovery, hoping he would feel better.

Hup also was indirectly responsible for saving Rian from his death at the hands of SkekMal by assisting UrVa to the edge of the cliff of the Circle of the Sun.

### Kylan

Kylan and Rian met at a Podling tavern, assuring him that he and Naia did not come to fight him. Kylan was the first Gelfling to be willing to dreamfast with Rian and learned the truth: the Skeksis were responsible for the death of Mira. He decided to help Rian in his struggle and joined the Gelfling resistance, but not before going with Naia and Tavra to rescue Gurjin. Upon Naia and Gurjin's rescue of Rian from the Chamberlain, Kylan expressed his gladness in seeing that he was unharmed.

Before the battle of Stone-in-the-Wood, Rian taught Kylan to fight with a sword and wouldn't stop helping him until he got the hang of it, proving how their friendship had developed so far.

### Fara

Fara is Rian's Maudra, with whom he sought an audience with. She was too consumed by the Skeksis' rumors that Rian killed his girlfriend, Mira and did not believe that Skeksis were draining Gelfling essence for their own survival. She ordered his capture; however, Rian escaped. When Fara learned that the Maudra had been murdered and that what Rian was telling her to be true, she apologized to him for not listening earlier. However, Rian accepted she did not know at the time and was only trying to protect her clan, showing he forgave her.

## Acquaintances

### Tavra

Rian only met with Tavra once, where she was going to capture him and take him to Ha'rar for supposedly murdering Mira, a member of her clan. However, Tavra's honor won over her, as she was willing to dreamfast with Rian in order to learn the truth. This made her change her mind about Rian and learned that he was not responsible for Mira's death.

### SkekGra and UrGoh

Upon meeting SkekGra, Rian was initially horrified of him because Rian had seen what the Skeksis were really like. However, he immediately saw that SkekGra was not evil and in fact, a benevolent hermit. However, Rian still remained terrified of SkekGra when he reacted violently at the mention of his race. When Rian saw UrGoh, he had never seen anything like him. At first, he was annoyed with the duo's performance, explaining Thra's true history and was mostly annoyed with their singing, SkekGra's yelling and UrGoh's slowness.

However, if it hadn't been for SkekGra and UrGoh, then **Rian** and his friends would never have known about the Dual Glaive. Brea, Deet and Rian promised them they would be together again and that the Skeksis rule was at an end. After SkekMal abducted Brea, Rian immediately blamed himself but SkekGra and UrGoh assured him that Brea was not going to be harmed. Rian and Deet later left them in charge of caring for Hup. The duo helped Rian and Deet by showing them the quickest way to the Caves of Grot: the Breath of Thra.

### UrVa

UrVa protected Rian and his friends from his darker half by firing arrows upon the Hunter. However, it didn't stop SkekMal from taking Brea hostage. Later UrVa saved Rian from death at the hands of SkekMal when the Mystic took his own life to end his Skeksis counterpart's reign of terror.

## Enemies

### SkekSil

Before the collapse of the Alliance of the Crystal, Rian used to have the utmost respect for the Chamberlain, as he did with all the other Skeksis lords. They appear to have known each other since Rian was a child, as he was raised in the Castle of the Crystal.

When SkekSil was given Rian by SkekMal, he took Mira's essence from Rian and drank it in front of the Gelfling to cause him pain and anger. During their journey back to the Castle, Rian tried to escape by breaking his bonds, but SkekSil enjoyed watching Rian's agony and wanted to use Rian to get his power back. They both entered a cat-and-mouse game with each other. Rian remained defiant to his captor and preferred to die rather than stay prisoner, but SkekSil refused and asked why Rian thought of the Skeksis as evil: because they killed Mira. As SkekSil compared the Gelfling and Skeksis, Rian knew they were nothing alike.

### SkekSo

Before the collapse of the Alliance of the Crystal, Rian used to respect Emperor SkekSo and believed him to be a benevolent ruler. However, Rian saw how truly twisted and evil SkekSo was, because he laughed cruelly when Mira was drained and saw how cruel they really were. He had hatred for SkekSo, and Rian finally confronted the emperor for the first time when they were confronting each other in the Stone-in-the-Wood. daring for SkekSo to come out and fight. He ended up briefly dueling him in the battle of Stone-in-the-Wood.

When SkekSo unleashed the Darkening to kill the Gelfling and Deet absorbed its energy, Rian begged SkekSo to not harm Deet but he did not realize that SkekSo wasn't doing anything.

## Romances

### Deet (Love Interest)

Deet was Rian's second love interest after Mira's death. Despite only knowing each other for a brief time at that point, Deet and Rian shared a close bond as they both saw each other for themselves. They first met when they were in Stone-in-the-wood in the third episode "What Was Sundered and Undone", when Rian was able to cut in front of her when she was seeing the Maudra Fara of the Stonewood clan. However, Rian merely glanced at her while Deet was outraged that he could cut in front of her because he was a member of their clan.

Deet and Rian later encountered each other moments after Deet was forced to leave the village and Rian had recently escaped from his father, who had been attempting to take his son back to the Crystal Castle. When she heard him struggling with his fire, Deet gave him a friendly "hello," but Rian was startled by her appearance and brought out his sword, thinking she was sent by his father. However, after seeing her confess that she was sent by Maudra Argot. Rian was perplexed but relaxed by her kindness and was put at ease that she wasn't scared of him. Deet recognized him as the boy she saw in the village. Rian apologized to Deet for that, but she said that he could make it up to her by helping her get in to see Maudra Fara about releasing Hup. However, Rian informed her that he was casted out of his clan and Deet was sympathetic to him. Despite him being unable to help her, Deet helped Rian light up his fire. Rian is both slightly embarrassed and grateful that they got the fire going. The two introduced each other. Rian was surprised that she was not scared of him.

When she questioned of, she should be, Rian just told her people thought he was a monster but Deet told him that she didn't think he was a monster, which made Rian feel more relaxed. This also caused Deet to conclude that she had to masquerade as a monster to ensure her friend Hup's escape. She left saying thanks, and leaving Rian both sadden and alone once more.

Later in "The First Thing I Remember Is Fire", Deet see Rian being chased by the Hunter, SkekMal. She did not hesitate to help him and she and Hup ran and followed Rian. When Deet saw Rian about to jump in after his father in the field of Gobbles, Deet and Hup restrained Rian from suffering the same fate as his father. Rian, upset, told Deet his father was gone and began to grieve while Deet felt sympathetic towards him. However, when SkekMal leapt out of the patch alive and kidnapped Rian, Deet began shouting for him but found that he was gone.

Because of this, Deet dedicated herself to having justice fine for Rian, as she mentioned to Hup that she had to tell the All-Maudra what happened to Rian.

The two were briefly reunited in the Dream Space and were the first ones there. They were both glad and surprised to see each other, especially what happened to them the last time they met.

When Deet, Brea and Hup were taken hostage by the Skeksis, Rian's main concern was all three of them, but only mentioned Deet's name. After Rian and his friends saved them from SkekVar and SkekZok, Deet and Rian were glad to see each other and immediately hugged, with Deet telling him he was brave. Both Deet and Brea stood by Rian when he must tell the paladins the truth about the Skeksis. Later, during a song for the fallen All-Maudra, Deet and Rian were seen looking at each other, hinting that they felt romantic feelings for each other, which caused Hup to groan in irritation.

While they are talking to each other in "Time to Make... My Move," Deet expressed missing her home and her family. Rian asked about her family and Deet happily told him about them She began taking about her dress made from rump of a Nurloc but Deet quickly stopped talking about it but Rian told her he found her dress lovely, which made Deet express happiness that he was the first person to acknowledge her dress and actually like it. They were both forced to continue without Brea when she was captured at the end of the episode.

In "Prophets Don't Know Everything", they spend the whole episode together. Starting at the episode when going to the Caves of Grot, Deet playfully teases Rian and jesters with him by calling him the nicknames Grottan called the Gelfling who lived above. When they make it to the Breath of Thra, Deet had helped Rian fly through the Breath by carrying him through it and the two of them enjoyed each other's company. However, as soon as they got to Grot, they saw the Arathim attacking her people and Rian showed concern for her and her family, especially urging her to keep her brother and herself safe.

### Mira (Girlfriend)

Mira was Rian's late girlfriend and primary love interest. It is revealed that Rian was very nervous when he first met her at the spyglass balcony and during their small fight in training, he wanted to impress and kiss her. Mira could not wait any longer and she kissed him instead. However, after her death of being the first victim to be drained from her life essence, Rian wished to avenge her by going up against the Skeksis and was dedicated into ending their rule.

Whenever he revisited the memory with other Gelflings when dreamfasting, he began crying over the loss of the woman he loved so much and losing her all over again. Despite being in love with Mira, he began falling in love with Deet.

## Trivia

* Several notes on Rian's name:
	+ Instead of the traditional name "Ryan," Rian's name is pronounced Ree-aen.
	+ In old Gelfling, Rian's name means "a small solution to a big problem."
* Gurjin is his best friend and gave him the title "Bold Gurjin."
* In *Song of the Dark Crystal*, Rian had a younger sister, Mythra and a younger brother, Timtri, but none of them appear in the television series.
* Some fans believe Rian and Jen are somehow related due to their similar features or the same clan, such as dark brown hair and because Jen has the symbol of the Stonewall clan on his tunic. To get closer, people proposed they were father and son or Rian is an ancestor of his.
	+ Jen and Rian are both have brown hair; their companions are female (Kira for Jen and Brea and Deet for Rian) have ambiguously romantic feelings for a girl who is friends to all animals (Kira and Deet). While they are both the protagonists, they often need their female companions to save them. They also both wear white/grey clothing and are pure good beings trying to defeat the Skeksis.
* Out of the main trio, Rian is the only male, has dark hair as opposed to Brea's and Deet's blonde, and has a tan skin tone. He also appears to be the eldest of the trio due to Rian acting like an older brother figure to Brea and looking out for both her and Deet.
* He appears to be at least in his late teens or early twenties in human years
* Throughout the series, Rian suffers from the mental condition, survivor guilt, where a person thinks they did something wrong by surviving a traumatic event.
	+ For example, he felt guilty when SkekSil pointed out his father died protecting him, Mira chose to follow Rian on his Arathim hunt, and Gurjin sacrified his freedom so his friend could make his own escape would probably have led to this.
* Rian and Ordon are Taron Egerton and Mark Strong's second roles together, following their roles as Gary "Eggsy" Unwin and Hamish Mycroft in *Kingsman: The Secret Service* and *Kingsman: The Golden Circle*.
	+ They are also the first and second to be part of the *Kingsman* franchise, followed by Harris Dickinson, who voiced Gurjin and appeared in the prequel, *The King's Man*.
* Rian was the first Stonewood Gelfling announced for the series.