Oreius

"Are you with me?" "To the death."

- Peter Pevensie and Oreius at the Battle of Beruna.

Oreius was a brave and noble Centaur who lived during and after the Long Winter, and was the General of Aslan's Army against the evil White Witch during the Winter Revolution. He was a fierce warrior and a loyal follower of Aslan.

Biography
Oreius was among the most loyal followers of Aslan, going to his side even before the promised human monarchs arrived. He was most likely one of the Narnians who recruited his countrymen for service in Aslan's army. He, Aslan and the rest of the Narnians gathered together at Aslan's Camp in 1000 NY, by the Stone Table, where he was made Aslan's general. He was present at the arrival of the Beavers, Prince Peter and Princesses Susan and Lucy.

He was standing just outside Aslan's tent as they approached, and when Peter drew his sword, asking to see Aslan, Oreius said nothing but instead looked to the tent and bowed down, along with everyone else, as Aslan came forth.

He displayed anger when he learned that Edmund had betrayed them to the White Witch, but was silenced by Aslan, who believed there to be an explanation for Edmund's betrayal, no doubt knowing about the Witch's ability to ensnare others to her will.

Shortly after the Pevensies' arrival, Oreius, along with Aslan and several other Narnian soldiers rushed to the aid of the princesses when they were attacked by the two wolves, Maugrim and Vardan; however, Aslan told him and the others to put their weapons away and let Peter fight them. Peter slew Maugrim, saving his sisters, and Oreius and his soldiers were commanded by Aslan to follow the fleeing wolf, Vardan, to the White Witch's camp. They did so, quickly storming the encampment, rescued Prince Edmund, and quickly returned him to safety at Aslan's camp.

During the rescue, in an act of humiliation for the enemy, Oreius placed the Black Dwarf, Ginarrbrik, in Edmund's place, by tying him up, gagging him and holding the tip of his hat up, by pinning it to the tree with his own dagger.

After he returned Edmund to camp, he took him straight to Aslan who spoke to him, no doubt about his betrayal, but no one knows their exact conversation. Oreius walked pass outside Peter, Susan and Lucy's tents, and confirmed Edmund's rescue merely by pointing out Edmund to Peter, who at the time was talking to Aslan, and then left them to be on their own.

Later that same day, Oreius took time to teach the boys some sword-fighting techniques.

He was also present when the Witch arrived at Aslan's camp to announce her claim on Edmund's life, and, after she renounced her claim, helped move the camp away from the Stone Table at Aslan's order.

The next day, Oreius was told that Aslan had gone away in the night, and had been killed by the Witch at the Stone Table. He was present when Peter confirmed Aslan's disappearance. Despite the death of his lord and king, he affirmed his loyalty by asking Peter what his orders were.

Later that day, the entire Narnian army marched to the Battle of Beruna, with Oreius and Peter leading them at the head. Oreius stood beside Peter as a Gryphon arrived to inform them that Jadis's army was approaching, and their forces greatly outnumbered theirs. Oreius, however, refused to be intimidated, as he believed that it took more than just numbers to win a battle.

"Numbers do not win a battle." "No, but I bet they help."

- Oreius and Peter at the Battle of Beruna.

Oreius fought beside Peter during the initial attack, which he did with two swords, something not many Centaurs did, as most preferred to fight with a single sword and shield. When the army retreated, Oreius was ahead of the prince, as the army rushed into the gorge they had chosen as their secondary battlefront. When Oreius was made aware that Peter had been thrown from his unicorn, and was wounded, facing serious threat from Jadis herself, he rushed back along with a rhinoceros to save him.

As he fought to reach his monarch's side, General Otmin of the White Witch's Army attempted to stop him. As Oreius raced toward the Witch, he knocked Otmin's battle-axe out of his hands and the Minotaur grasped and held onto his side tightly, trying to kill him, and Oreius was unable to shake him off despite slamming himself into several rocks along the way. In the end, though, Oreius was able to kill Otmin by stabbing him in his bare back with his two one handed swords.

Oreius continued to run, wielding his two handed sword, fighting to reach the Witch. When Oreius reached the Witch, though, he briefly dueled with her, and attempted to kill her, but was too slow to block her wand due to the bulk of his two handed sword, and was turned to stone. Fortunately, Oreius was revived by Aslan after he had returned from the dead with reinforcements and won the battle, thus ending the war.

He was present at the coronation of the Kings and Queens, and presumably served them for many years afterwards, most likely continuing to serve them as their General.

At some point, he married and had descendants.

Trivia

 * Oreius was played by Patrick Kake in the Disney and Walden media film of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
 * Oreius does not appear in the book as a named character, although there are many centaurs mentioned in passing.
 * Oreius is the direct ancestor of Glenstorm; another Centaur that was born during the Telmarine Age of Narnia and served as the General of the Old Narnian army during the Narnian Revolution, and continued to be General under Caspian X.
 * Although it is often assumed Oreius's statue form is toppled by the White Witch after his fight with her, this is not the case. The creature she turned into stone after she fought Oreius would have been a satyr, due to the statue's depiction of a furry body and ram's horns as seen from the back. The satyr had been petrified off camera once the White Witch had already exited her chariot. In addition, the armor and helm the creature was wearing is different than that which Oreius had on.
 * When Oreius first appears in the film, his horse-half is all black, but in later scenes it seems to have changed to a dark grey blotchy colour in some scenes and brown in others.

Appearances

 * The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005 film, appearance)

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