Orion
Names: Orionthe boythe kid
First appears in Book 1: Pandora's Star, chapter 9 (EIGHT)
Appearances
What you know
Book 1: Pandora's Star
- Ch 9Orion is a fifteen-year-old orphan-like boy working at the Last Pony; his parents walked the paths years ago and never returned.
- Ch 9Orion wears a Silfen friendship charm and played with the Silfen as a child; he becomes Ozzie's helper around town.
- Ch 9Orion believes pathwalkers rarely get anywhere and says nobody knows where the planet paths are.
- Ch 9Orion is a parentless boy from Lyddington who insists he is a friend of the Silfen and that his parents are on the Silfen paths.
- Ch 9Orion follows Ozzie into the forest on a pony against his wishes, and wins him over by persistence.
- Ch 9Orion is a boy who weeps nightly for his lost mother and father and understands some of the Silfen speech.
- Ch 9Orion thinks the Silfen are not meant to make sense and that mortals will never understand them.
- Ch 12Orion is a young companion of Ozzie, unprepared for rough weather and low in spirits in the gloomy cold forest.
- Ch 12Orion is a boy from Lyddington who has never seen snow; he wants his parents back and has been guiding Ozzie with his pendant.
- Ch 12Orion collapses from cold and exhaustion in the snow, lips cracked and no longer shivering, and Ozzie rushes to shelter him.
- Ch 12Orion says he would spend a fortune on rejuvenations, smart memories and a cool car, and give some to charity.
- Ch 12Orion is a boy whose parents also entered the deep paths. He feels guilty and frightened, believing he spoiled Ozzie's chances.
- Ch 12Orion's friendship gift from the Silfen, a pendant, is lifeless and does not work in the cold.
- Ch 13Orion is a boy searching for his parents Maurice and Catanya, who Sara says are not at the Ice Citadel.
- Ch 17Orion is a teenage boy who dislikes the confinement and monotony of the Ice Citadel and has never had a girlfriend.
- Ch 17Orion mucks out stables and brings in rifungi bales for the animals; he had never seen snow before arriving.
- Ch 17Orion is Ozzie's companion and shares his room; he is eager to watch the communication work, preferring it to working in the stables.
- Ch 18Orion skijors behind Tochee's sledge, is much happier as departure nears, and wears a friendship pendant that glows turquoise near the Silfen.
- Ch 18Orion has red hair and wears clothes cut down from Ozzie's; he suggests leaving the security mesh behind.
- Ch 18Orion is a boy travelling with Ozzie who clutches a glowing blue friendship pendant and is terrified by the hunt.
- Ch 18Shaken by the hunt, Orion breaks the chain of his Silfen friendship pendant and hurls it away, saying the Silfen are not his friends and fearing for his missing parents.
- Ch 18Orion reasons that you must know what is awful in the world before you can appreciate what is good; he is fifteen, probably sixteen, uncertain of time on the paths.
- Ch 18Orion notices that the snow is melting, the first sign that the group may have left the frozen world.
- Ch 21The boy has regained his chirpy confidence the farther they get from the Ice Citadel; he compared Tochee to a furry rainbow.
- Ch 21Orion is a cheerful, naive boy from Silvergalde who knows little about technology and takes Ozzie's jokes as gospel.
- Ch 21Orion wants to use the canyon's apparent time travel to go back and stop his parents leaving Silvergalde.
- Ch 21Orion theorizes that Sara survived so long because she walked down this canyon, which carried her into the future.
- Ch 22Orion's friendship pendant turned emerald green on the new world; he now accepts the Silfen as true aliens rather than idols.
- Ch 23Orion is a freckled boy with long hair tied back by a faded blue cloth band; he finds Tochee's culture amusing.
- Ch 26Orion has grown muscular, freckled and unkempt after months of walking and labor, and he mimics Ozzie's shrug of indifference.
- Ch 26Orion suggested naming the raft; Ozzie proposed Pathfinder and Orion enthusiastically christened it.
- Ch 26Orion is a boy travelling on the raft who first hears the roar of the waterfall and is frightened.
Book 2: Judas Unchained
- Ch 2Orion is a boy who panics and is sick in freefall; he has never heard of astronauts.
- Ch 6Orion has slowly adapted to freefall, though he wears a safety rope; he refuses to drink recycled urine and sticks to fruit.
- Ch 6Orion is distraught when the Silfen flock ignores the party, insisting they are his friends and must help.
- Ch 6Orion believes the Silfen steered the travelers to Island Two. He jumped despite Ozzie's order and landed unhurt in a rubbery tree.
- Ch 9Orion believes caves lead to a core where the reef's inhabitants live, like the Morlocks. Ozzie regrets telling him that story.
- Ch 9Orion says he can feel when they are walking on a path; he also eagerly jumps to conclusions, such as thinking the chimneys mean factories.
- Ch 9Orion believes they walked to the spire at the reef's end yesterday and has no memory of the pillar.
- Ch 12Orion is a boy traveling with Ozzie and Tochee who spots a dark shape in the canopy.
- Ch 12A teenage boy and Silfen friend with a pendant who plans to search for his missing parents after this ordeal.
- Ch 15Orion is a young freckled boy raised on Lyddington after his parents moved to Silvergalde when he was two or three; he is eager to meet girls.
- Ch 15Orion is a boy travelling with Ozzie, frightened by the security team but befriending Lauren, a team member.
- Ch 16Orion is instantly smitten with Jasmine and is told by Ozzie to simply talk to her and ask her to stay.
- Ch 16Orion is awkward and shy, but he talks with Jasmine for hours and falls in love with her.
- Ch 16Orion used to live on Silvergalde and helped at the Last Pony tavern in Lyddington after his parents got lost on the Silfen paths.
- Ch 16Orion walks in on Jasmine and Ozzie embracing in the study, runs off in tears, and is devastated.
- Ch 16Orion has no OCtattoo inserts and grew up on Silvergalde. He is naive and had never held hands with a girl before.
- Ch 16Orion believes he loves Jasmine after a single morning, and says he wanted to marry her.
- Ch 20Orion waited at Mellanie's bedside and, knowing she was sent by the SI and her real name, still declares he loves her.
- Ch 20Orion is a friend of the Silfen who can sense the paths; he and Mellanie are now lovers and leave with Tochee.
Connections
- friend ofSilfenclaims friendship
- ally ofOzzie Fernandez Isaachired guide
- related toOzzie Fernandez Isaacuninvited traveling companion
- friend ofOzzie Fernandez IsaacOzzie looks after the boy and travels with him
- inLyddingtonOrion's home town
- ally oftochee
- related toSilvergaldewas raised there
- friend oftochee
- member ofSilvergaldeSilvergalde is a Silfen world untouched by the Dysons, mentioned by Orion
- partner ofJasmine Sheldon
- friend ofMellanie Rescorai
- partner ofMellanie Rescorai
Key moments
- Book 1 · Ch 9Ozzie meets Orion
Orion shows Ozzie to his room and offers to guide him to the Silfen. Ozzie learns of his abandoned situation and gives him money.
- Book 1 · Ch 9Orion joins Ozzie
Orion catches up with Ozzie on the forest path and refuses to turn back. Ozzie gives in, and the boy travels with him.
- Book 1 · Ch 9Meeting the Silfen
Orion's pendant glows and the Silfen appear singing. Orion chases them into a clearing, and Ozzie follows and rebukes him. Ozzie speaks Silfen with one he names Nine Sky.
- Book 1 · Ch 9Ozzie questions the Silfen
Ozzie asks Nine Sky where the path leads to the thing the Silfen become. He gets only cryptic replies, though a mention of a cave convinces him he is on the right track. The Silfen then run off singing.
- Book 1 · Ch 9Ozzie and Orion resume walking
After the Silfen vanish, Ozzie explains his quest to Orion, admits they probably won't find Orion's parents, and decides to take the first path they find.
- Book 1 · Ch 12Ozzie and Orion in the cold forest
On day eight the pair ride into cold misty alpine woods; Ozzie changes clothes and they camp, struggling to light a fire with wet wood.
- Book 1 · Ch 12Buried by snow
Ozzie wakes breathless with the tent half-buried by powder snow, digs out, and Orion sees snow for the first time; Ozzie realises they are far from Silvergalde's climate.
- Book 1 · Ch 12Following the pendant and Silfen tracks
After a bitter night, Orion's pendant indicates the way, and Ozzie finds apparent Silfen footprints which they follow through deepening cold.
- Book 1 · Ch 12Orion collapses; jewelry tree discovered
Orion collapses from cold; Ozzie pitches the tent and warms him with heatbricks, then discovers the trees are crystal inside.
- Book 1 · Ch 12Rescue at the ice plain
After a freezing trek in which the animals die, Ozzie and Orion signal with flares, answered by a green beacon. Sara Bush and Bill arrive by sledge and take them to the Citadel.
- Book 1 · Ch 13Ozzie and Orion reach the Ice Citadel
Sara takes them by sled to the Ice Citadel, explaining the Silfen paths and the dangers of leaving; they descend into the vast domed hall full of many species.
- Book 1 · Ch 13Ozzie and Orion shown their quarters
Sara leads Ozzie and Orion to rooms off the great chamber, tells them to share news at the evening meal, and urges them not to rush off to find a path.
- Book 1 · Ch 17Ozzie gives Orion dating advice
Orion, lonely and inexperienced, asks Ozzie how to talk to girls; Ozzie offers a lame pickup line that Orion finds funny.
- Book 1 · Ch 17Orion learns of the breakthrough
Orion finds Ozzie surrounded by sketches of symbols. Ozzie explains the discovery and that Tochee asked to be taken out. Tochee then requests a communications device, and Orion stays to watch.
- Book 1 · Ch 18Silfen arrive to hunt
A procession of about 250 Silfen reaches the Ice Citadel to hunt icewhales. They party in the central chamber, and Sara secures permission to follow and keep the carcasses.
- Book 1 · Ch 18Preparing to leave
Ozzie, Orion and Tochee pack and sort gear, leaving surplus items behind, and agree to follow the Silfen off the world. Tochee asks not to be abandoned.
- Book 1 · Ch 18The hunt departs
At dawn the Silfen ride out chanting, and the covered sleds follow into the crystal tree forest. Tochee's sledge is towed behind Bill's sled.
- Book 1 · Ch 18Journey to the hunting ground
The sleds cross the crystal forest, descend the massif and travel across the crater plain, camping on an escarpment near the Silfen. Ozzie shelters Tochee with furs and a heatbrick.
- Book 1 · Ch 18Ozzie and Sara's misunderstanding
Ozzie hints at a relationship with Sara; both realise the others assumed he and Orion were a couple. Sara warns him to stay back from the hunt.
- Book 1 · Ch 18The icewhale hunt
Silfen riders hurl lightning spears to drive icewhales from the ice crater. The beasts kill over a dozen Silfen; Orion is horrified and Ozzie takes him inside.
- Book 1 · Ch 18Orion breaks down after the icewhale hunt
After witnessing the Silfen hunt, Orion despairs, hurls away his pendant and fears for his parents. Ozzie calms him and pockets the pendant.
- Book 1 · Ch 18Following the Silfen across the ice forest
The group skis after the departing Silfen for hours; Orion tires and they camp. Next day wind and snow erase the Silfen tracks, leaving Ozzie to rely on the pendant.
- Book 1 · Ch 18Escape from the frozen world
After hours of skiing through snow, Ozzie's group notices the snow melting and finds real trees. They conclude they have left the Ice Citadel world and emerge into a green mountain valley at dawn.
- Book 1 · Ch 21Descent into the canyon
The trio follow the river down a series of steep falls into a vast red canyon, finding an ancient fire circle and a bleached soda can that raises false hope about being in the Commonwealth.
- Book 1 · Ch 21Ghost voices and a distant light
A golden light shines downstream, apparently from seven travellers walking the avenue ahead. At night Ozzie hears frightened alien voices on the wind, which he and Orion take for ghosts.
- Book 1 · Ch 21Vision of the canyon's past
Ozzie steps out of the tent into daylight and sees a living past of jellyfish aliens with carts. Back in night, Orion thinks it is a time machine, and Ozzie insists it is only an image. Another apparition, a steam car, appears.
- Book 1 · Ch 21Discovery of the ruined palace city
Walking beside the avenue, Ozzie, Orion and Tochee see a huge cliff carved with jelly alien profiles and a ruined palace city between them.
- Book 1 · Ch 21Ozzie decides to leave
After recovering, Ozzie concludes the memory is the Silfen's grief and holds no answer for them, and decides to leave.
- Book 1 · Ch 22Electronics return on the ringed world
On a new world, Ozzie's devices work again. With the handheld array, Tochee and Orion converse for the first time, and Ozzie spots a gas halo around the star, recognizing the place from Bradley Johansson's tale.
- Book 1 · Ch 23Island circled
Ozzie, Orion and Tochee complete a circuit of their island after two days, find Ozzie's marker frond, and realize they are stranded; Tochee proposes building a boat.
- Book 1 · Ch 26Launch of the Pathfinder
After preparations, Ozzie, Orion and Tochee launch their raft Pathfinder, row out, raise the sail and head toward a nearby island.
- Book 1 · Ch 26The raft goes over the edge of the world
After missing several islands in a swift current, Ozzie, Orion and Tochee on the Pathfinder realise the roar ahead is a waterfall. The sea pours over a cliff, and the raft falls off the edge of the world.
- Book 2 · Ch 2Escape from the waterfall
After the Pathfinder plunges over the worldlet's edge, Ozzie realises they are in freefall and has Tochee fly them out of the weak underside gravity.
- Book 2 · Ch 6Ozzie drinks recycled urine
With water nearly gone, Ozzie filters his urine into drinkable water over Orion's disgust and orders everyone to save theirs.
- Book 2 · Ch 6Flock of flying Silfen ignores the raft
The party sights a flock of winged Silfen. Orion shouts and Ozzie fires two flares, but the flock keeps going without responding.
- Book 2 · Ch 6Ozzie plans to reach a sponge tree
Ten hours later, Ozzie decides to steer toward a sponge tree for water and food, planning to use the sail as a rudder, and reassures Orion.
- Book 2 · Ch 6Crash onto Island Two
The Pathfinder drifts into the artificial gravity of Island Two, accelerates and smashes through the treetops. Ozzie is hurt, Tochee saves him, and Orion survives by jumping.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Morning on Island Two
Ozzie, Orion and Tochee start a day on the reef. They debate whether anything lives inside it, and Tochee reports no power or life nearby.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Ozzie explores the reef and finds the pillar
Ozzie, Orion and Tochee search the reef's center for the gravity generator, find a clearing with a diamond-inscribed pillar, and Ozzie rages at it, deciding it is only the reef's serial number.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Ozzie's missing day
Ozzie finds that Orion and Tochee remember nothing of yesterday's serial number pillar, and records and the clearing itself are absent.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Ozzie's party ambushes a figure on the reef
On the reef of Island Two, Orion spots a dark shape; Tochee pulls a humanoid down from the canopy and Ozzie tackles it as it struggles.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Clouddancer reveals the truth about the barriers
Clouddancer explains the Anomines built barriers to imprison the Dysons; a human starship disabled one generator, freeing the Dysons to invade Commonwealth planets. He refuses Silfen help.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Ozzie is named a Silfen friend
Clouddancer gives Ozzie a pendant; wearing it, Ozzie senses the Silfen Motherholme. Clouddancer departs and Ozzie decides they leave next day.
- Book 2 · Ch 15Ozzie's party returns to the Commonwealth
After walking the Silfen paths, Ozzie, Orion and Tochee emerge on Bilma, Ozzie reconnects to the unisphere, learns three years have passed, and hires a Land Rover to Eansor.
- Book 2 · Ch 15Stay at the Ledbetter Hotel
Ozzie secures the penthouse and discreetly smuggles Tochee in. They eat, bathe and get new clothes, then he leaves Orion and Tochee with the unisphere while catching up.
- Book 2 · Ch 15Ozzie taken to Nigel
Drunk after reviewing events, Ozzie is seized by Nelson's security team, sobered up, and taken with Orion and Tochee by hypersonic and maglev to Nigel's mansion on Cresset.
- Book 2 · Ch 16Orion meets Jasmine
Jasmine Sheldon arrives at the mansion, bullying the security staff. Orion sees her and is smitten. Ozzie tells him to go and talk to her.
- Book 2 · Ch 16Orion and Jasmine in the pool
Orion talks with Jasmine for hours, then they dive into the pool after Tochee; she kisses him and they play together.
- Book 2 · Ch 16The staged betrayal
Orion finds Jasmine and Ozzie embracing and flees in tears. Ozzie, acting, sends Mellanie after him, which gives her a reason to stay and leave after dark.
- Book 2 · Ch 16Mellanie comforts Orion
Mellanie finds Orion crying in his room, is moved by his sincerity, and kisses him. They spend the afternoon together and he falls asleep.
- Book 2 · Ch 20Mellanie wakes
Mellanie wakes after three weeks of treatment; Orion stays by her, accepts her past, and they kiss.
- Book 2 · Ch 20Ozzie parts from Orion, Mellanie and Tochee
Ozzie says goodbye to his friends, who go on to Tochee's world. Ozzie and the Bose motile take a Silfen path to MorningLightMountain's home.