Orlen

**Orlen** (also **Orlenia**, **Lord Orlen**, and occasionally the **Golden Lord**) was a significant figure from SR-X that also had a major impact on many iterations of the Coalescence. He is primarily notable for founding the Witches of Orlen, as well as his ability to retain memory through cycles of the Coalescence, an ability shared by only a few others.

## Orlen

### Color Allusion

In heraldry, “Or” refers to the colour gold.

### Aliases

* Orlenia
* Lord Orlen
* The Golden Lord
* The Golden One
* Lord of the Golden Flame

### Appears in

* Union of Souls (Original)
* Misaligned Fates
* Cycle of Rebirth
* Remnant: Ephemera (mentioned)
* Spirits Unbound (mentioned)
* Union of Souls
* Luna

## Physical description

### Height

Varies

In truth, the name Orlen refers to two distinct beings—the mortal man that sacrificed his soul to create the Golden Flame and the imprint of his consciousness that resided within that flame. In practice, they are typically referred to as the same being, with the only necessary distinction being that the first would be considered a Fact like most beings, while the second is typically held to be a more integral part of the timeline’s Concept.

Due to being a Concept and not a physical being, Orlen was therefore capable of remembering past iterations of the Coalescence. These recollections were typically shared with Roseo Torchwick to aid in the battle against Salem. However, the repetition was draining on him, and without any new Witches to offer their soul to the flame, it eventually began to diminish, weakening him severely.

## History

### Union of Souls (Original)

In Union of Souls, Orlen enlisted Roseo’s aid in regaining his former power by orchestrating the assassination of Irving Pine to fuel the Relic of Choice and restore his flame.

#### Misaligned Fates

Orlen was first formally seen onscreen when instructing Kira Vasilias and Tori to find Ausruha for help healing Roseo, who had been critically injured in the fight on the train leading into Vale. He also guided Kira to Ruby Rose to assist her in her recovery after losing her legs.

Later, Roseo introduced Vanille Adel to Orlen when it was mentioned that she could be a good successor for the Flame; however, ultimately, Orlen used the last of his power to protect Roseo and grant her a soul in one of the later battles against Salem. This led to his flame going out, and thus, his death.

### Cycle of Rebirth

Orlen appeared briefly in Cycle of Rebirth during an argument with Ausruha.

### Remnant: Ephemera

Orlen was mentioned briefly in a conversation between Crema Arc and Helios Melle, the latter of which believed him to be “gone”, as he hadn’t been in three hundred years.

## Personality

Orlen was cordial, even-tempered, patient, and kind. He was shown to have a great appreciation for elegance and the arts, as well as a strong love for mankind. Despite his age and status as a near-god, he retained a very strong sense of empathy, as seen when he expressed his sorrow over the end of his marriage with Ausruha. He detested tyrants and consolidated power in general, as he believed it to be the most frequent obstacle to mankind’s progress.

Orlen had briefly mentioned that he did not particularly care about gender, and that he would appear “in the form most suitable to work with his current Witch”.

He expressed sympathy for the plight of Ozma, lamenting that he could not assist the man in being freed from his curse. It is implied that the two may have been friends—or even lovers—at various points, though Oscar Pine stated that their paths “ultimately could never intersect for long”.

## Abilities

Though immensely powerful in origin, Orlen was incapable of using his own power. This was by design, as he wished both to help humanity and to never be in a position where he would be able to control it. Instead, he passed this power down to the Witches by way of imbuing them with the Golden Flame, giving them access to a small portion of it. This process, which required a Witch to offer their soul, allowed them access to magic, as well as the memories and experience of their predecessors.

Orlen was seemingly capable of manifesting a physical body, as he mentioned fighting alongside some of Roseo’s predecessors as a partner on occasion. However, he appears to have preferred simply advising the Witches.

He had the ability to communicate telepathically over great distances, and possibly a limited ability to read a willing person’s thoughts.