Orestes is a character appearing in Sunwing. He is a male Boreal owl and the son of King Boreal. He was trapped by the humans and armed with an explosive device before being shipped south with other owls and northern bats.
Appearance[]
Orestes is a young Boreal owl, still with down on his wings. His mottled plumage resembles bolts of lightning across his chest. Despite his age, he is much larger than the northern bats.
Personality[]
Biography[]
In the novels[]
Sunwing[]
Shade met Orestes while in the Human "Paradise" in Sunwing. Orestes was first who saw Shade and Marina, so he sounded the alarm and other owls attacked bats. Being very small, Orestes was able to follow bats through the stream, to the false "Jungle". Here he was attacked by Goth. However, Shade fended off Goth to protect Orestes, an act that was unexpected, as the owls and the bat species were rivals for decades.
After a fight with Goth, Orestes was captured by humans and put into jungles with a metal disc. Fortunately, his disc didn't explode, so Orestes survived and even found Shade. He remembered that Shade helped him in the "Paradise", so he asked for help. But after Shade helped him, Orestes and Chinook were captured by group of Vampyrum spectrum in order to be sacrificed to Cama Zotz .
After being freed by Shade and other bats, Orestes and other owls joined them in the battle against Spectral Bats. He survived after pyramid's exploding and returned to Bridge City, where he met his father, King Boreal. Orestes pleaded Shade and the other bats' case, helping to convince his father of their innocence in the murdering of birds, and in turn, being partially responsible for the peace between birds and bats, and for bringing the bats the sun back.
In the TV series[]
Orestes plays a larger role in TV show and becomes a close friend of Shade and Marina. He openly believes the answers to conflicts lie in diplomacy, not war, and is mocked by the other owls and disregarded by his own father for his unintimidating demeanor and hobbies (he is fascinated with studying arachnids and insects--without eating them!)
Orestes as he appears in the TV series
He first met Shade and Marina when he was trapped in a human snare and the bats helped him. But after rescuing Orestes they were captured by Atlas. Orestes attempted to advocate for the bats by saying that they saved his life, but Brutus didn't listen to him and threw Shade and Marina in prison. Wanting to thank the bats for his rescue, Orestes tricked the guard and freed them, then offered to help the two in searching for the Silverwing colony, who were by now en-route to the "Towers of Fire", which Orestes correctly assumed refered to the electrical power relay station nearby. When he, Shade, and Marina were attacked by Goth and Throbb in the Towers of Fire, Orestes managed to save the approaching Silverwing colony by posing as a sentry and forcing the bats to divert to another roost site.
After this incident Orestes returned to his father in order to tell him about Goth and Throbb and clear Shade's name, but, again, Brutus simply ignored his son. Hearing that the rats had captured his friends, Orestes left with his father's convoy and, after finding Shade and Marina safe, flew with them to Hibernaculum. When Shade found himself stumped as to how to enter Hibernaculum (which rested behind an impenetrable waterfall) Orestes again proved his cleverness by uncovering the entrance at a break near the top of the fall. While he initially remained outside, Shade was forced to bring him before the Council as a "witness" to prove Shade was telling the truth about Goth and Throbb. While the Silverwings were understandably shocked by the fact that an owl knew about their secret place, Shade contested vehemently that Orestes was his friend and had saved his life. Orestes was able to prove his alliance to the Silverwings when Mercury returned to the colony with news that he'd seen wolves in the vicinity. Snatching Shade in his talons and carrying him down towards the wolves, the owl pretended to torture Shade, and thanks to a convincing set of bluffs by the two, the wolves were sent off on a wild goose chase looking for Hibernaculum. After this Frieda and the others (with the exception of the highly conservative Bathsheba) were impressed enough to allow Orestes to stay with the colony.
When the Spectrum bats and wolves united against the owls, Orestes fought bravely and saved his father's life twice: first when he saved Brutus from Goth's attacks, second when Orestes saved him from an ice glacier that was about to fall over the side of the waterfall; and continued to fight even after being injured and knocked unconscious. He even saved Shade from Goth by distracting him when he was ready to make his killing move. After the bats and owls' victory, Brutus acknowledged how wrong he was about his son, and Orestes finally earned his father's respect.
Trivia[]
- In the book, Orestes is described as a boreal owl, but in the TV series, he and his father resemble great horned owls.