Rian

**Rian** is a main character in *Age of Rebellion* and one of the three protagonists of *The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance* (alongside Brea and Deet. 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

At the beginning of the series, Rian was an adventurous Gelfling since he was young, sharing this trait with his late lover, Mira. According to Ordon, Rian would sometimes act like a child, like playing pranks and stealing food from the Skeksis' would-be foods from the other Podlings. He and Mira often played games with each other and didn't appear to take their duties as guards seriously. Because of this, Ordon did not even allow his own son oversee the guard while he was gone and saw his son as undisciplined and not fit to lead the Guard. It is what caused Rian to prove to his father that he could be his son; however, he took reckless actions to get there. For example, instead of Rian telling Ordon about seeing a Silk Spitter of the Arathim Ascendancy in the castle, he instead told his father it could wait when he returned. Rian found this as an opportunity to prove that he could live to his father's expectations, and even dragging his best friend Gurjin into his and Mira's quest. However, this small adventure of trying to prove himself to his father consequentially led to Mira's own capture and demise.

Rian is also a romantic, being incredibly nervous around Mira when he first met her and acting shy with Deet, his other love interest. They would often flirt with each other, especially blindly looking into each other rather than look for the Spitter. Mira was supportive of Rian, even joining him on his own mission to impress his father. After witnessing the Skeksis' deception and killing Mira with the Crystal of Truth, Rian practically matured overnight, knowing the dangers that the Skeksis possessed threats to the Gelfling and to Thra. Because they caused the death of his lover, Rian made it his personal goal to bring the Skeksis' evil rule over Thra once and for all. He is also very selfless, as Rian wishes to free Thra from Skeksis rule because he knows they are the ones who unleashed the darkening upon their world. Though his primary reason for wanting to prove the Skeksis reign of terror was driven by the fact that they killed his lover, Rian knew that it was time to stand up against them. 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, Rian found it hard when no one believed him. He was especially heartbroken when his father would not believe him. However, despite Ordon's intentions of trying to help his son, Ordon was making it worse.

Rian cares very much for his friends and family, and inspires loyalty among them. He was best friends with Gurjin and shared a brotherly relationship with each other. 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 even sacrificed his own freedom for Rian, staying behind in the castle so Rian could escape. Due to Rian's chance to run, he was especially reluctant to abandon Gurjin in the castle when his best friend gave him the chance to run. He especially becoming very close friends with Brea and Deet, especially developing romantic feelings for the latter of his two female companions. With Naia, Kylan and Tavra, he convinced them all to dreamfast with him. Despite only knowing him for a day, Naia and Gurjin went to rescue Rian. This aspect of Rian is especially shown when he wanted to go after Brea when she was kidnapped by the Hunter, SkekMal, over having to get the Dual Glaive, but he was forced to abandon the notion, as SkekGra and UrGoh convinced him to do as Brea wanted them to do. He also showed concern for Hup, who had by now found a friend in Rian and told him to be careful, along with Deet.

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. He managed to hold off opponents, such as SkekVar, SkekSo, and SkekZok. He wanted to fight the Skeksis and becomes determined to fight in each passing day. 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. He boldly faced SkekSo during their first interaction and goading them to fight. SkekSil took advantage of Rian's defiance, especially manipulating Rian into doubting himself, using the sacrifices Ordon and Gurjin made to ensure Rian's survival. Ultimately, Rian proved to have strong defiance and escaped with his defiance intact, which would have been destroyed if Rian was never rescued.

## 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. When Rian dies, his essence will return to Thra.
* **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 even the General Skeksis. However, Rian could not take up SkekMal, who managed to take him hostage several times.

## Gallery

The gallery of **Rian** may be viewed here.