Arion was Vandar Adg's grandson and the first ruler of Atlantis. After being bestowed power from the Lords of Order, he became the progenitor of all Homo magi and subsequently all Homo mermanus through his Homo magi descendants that survived the sinking of Atlantis when their Meta-Genes activated. Arion himself did not survive the sinking of Atlantis.
History[]
Early life and ascendancy[]
A newborn Arion.
Arion was born to one of Vandar Adg's children around 9,900 BCE in Atlantis. The patriarch witnessed his grandson's birth before he departed the fledgling city-state to embark on a pilgrimage across the globe. During Vandar's absence, Arion would eventually come of age and ascend as the ruler of Atlantis. At some point during his reign as Lord of Atlantis, Arion was gifted a crown by the Lords of Order, becoming their agent of order on Earth after witnessing the potential for chaos amongst humanity.[1][4]
The Lords of Order anoint Arion as their agent of order on Earth.
The potent magic of the crown not only granted Arion the use of powerful magic, but in time, infused with his very being. As a result, Arion's children and their descendants were capable of naturally using magic, creating a new subspecies of humans, the Homo magi. Over the years, Arion would greatly develop, advance, and expand Atlantis, turning it from a primitive, walled city-state to a highly-advance sprawling metropolis in control of the surrounding area where Homo sapiens, Homo meta, and Homo magi lived together in harmony. Arion accomplish this through the use of techno-sorcery and would continue to reign for decades without any further aging, being the first of his grandfather's meta-children to inherit his immortality.[1]
Expanding Atlantis[]
After reigning for nearly 200 years, Arion would meet his grandfather, now named Varl'jat, having returned to Atlantis after a globe-spanning pilgrimage. Varl'jat was greatly impressed on the great advancement Atlantis underwent in his absence, as well as learning that Arion was immortal like himself and still the ruler over the kingdom he founded centuries ago. Atlantis would further expand through Varl'jat's martial expertise that he provided, allowing Arion's city-state to expand further into the capital of a kingdom in total control of the entire Atlantean continent, solidifying Atlantis's position as the mightiest civilization in human history, before and since.[1]
Arion opting out of joining his grandfather's scheme to sink Atlantis.
Despite the immense satisfaction Arion had for his now continent-spanning kingdom, Varl'jat had even greater plans in store for Atlantis. Having learned in his travels that Atlantis could never achieve total supremacy of the planet since three-fourths of the surface was covered in water, Varl'jat presented a radical plan to Arion. Utilizing the magical power of his crown, Varl'jat proposed that Arion sink the Atlantean capital into the ocean in the hopes that the disaster would trigger the latent Meta-Gene in Atlantis's Homo magi and Homo meta citizens into evolving. Arion vehemently rejected his grandfather's proposal, unwilling to needlessly sacrifice tens of thousands of Atlantean lives for the sake of possibly activating the potential of a few hundred that may live, much to Varl'jat's dismay.[1]
Death and legacy[]
Arion trying to save his doomed kingdom.
Despite Arion's refusal to commit to Varl'jat's plan, disaster would strike the city anyway on one fateful day. Some 1,000 years after Atlantis's founding and nearly 900 years after his ascendance to the Atlantean throne, the Lord of Chaos, Klarion, had returned to the city as originally bargained with Vandar Adg centuries prior. It was here that the two established a new bargain and Varl'jat permitted Klarion to sink Atlantis into the ocean using his own magic. As a cataclysm gripped the entire city, Arion desperately attempted to save both his city and his people utilizing his own magic. Despite his efforts, he failed to notice the debris of a collapsing statue of his grandfather behind him and was subsequently crushed alongside countless other Atlanteans as not only the city, but the whole Atlantean civilization was destroyed as the entire continent it sat on sank beneath the waves.
Nevertheless, as Varl'jat correctly predicted, some Atlantean Homo magi and Homo meta did indeed survive, their Meta-Gene activating and evolving them into yet another human subspecies, the Homo mermanus. These now aquatic Atlanteans would honor Arion's legacy by forging a new, underwater Atlantean civilization on the ocean floor.[1]
2020[]
Millennia later, Arion's skeleton remained trapped under the debris of the statue of Vandar Adg, in the ruins of the old Atlantean capital in The Undersea.
Vandal Savage used DNA from Arion's flute to create a clone of Arion's body, which was then implanted with the memories of Ocean-Master. This new Orm/Arion posed as the original Arion to gain the throne of Atlantis.[5]
- Main article: Arion (clone)
Powers and abilities[]
- Longevity: Arion was the first of Vandar's descendants to inherit immortality, though unlike his grandfather he could be killed by external forces.[1]
- Magic: The crown given to him by the Lords of Order granted Arion potent magical abilities.[1]
Equipment[]
- Circlet: A gift from the Lords of Order that granted Arion the magic he used to both advance Atlantis's techno-sorcery and sire the Homo magi.[1]
Appearances[]
- Season 4
- 10. "Nomed Esir!" (flashback)
- 11. "Teg Ydaer!" (flashback, no lines)
Background information[]
- Arion, also known as Ahri'ahn the Immortal, is an important figure from Atlantean ancient mythology. His sword and sorcery series was set in a distant past, but he has appeared in the present as well. He was the progenitor of Atlanteans and Homo magi, and is an ancestor of Aquaman, Zatanna and according to a retcon that has since been reverted, Power Girl. He has no familial connection to Vandal Savage.
- This is his first animated appearance.
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Grevioux, Kevin (writer) & Berkeley, Christopher (director) (December 9, 2021). "Nomed Esir!". Young Justice. Season 4. Episode 10. HBO Max.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Weisman, Greg (2022-08-08). Question #26203. Ask Greg. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Weisman, Greg (2021-08-12). Question #24922. Ask Greg. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
- ↑ Chowdhry, Nida (writer) & Heuck, Vinton (director) (December 16, 2021). "Teg Ydaer!". Young Justice. Season 4. Episode 11. HBO Max.
- ↑ Payton, Khary (writer) & Heuck, Vinton (director) (April 7, 2022). "Leviathan Wakes". Young Justice. Season 4. Episode 17. HBO Max.