Iorek Byrnison is an armored bear and ally of Lyra in His Dark Materials. Panserbjørne are intelligent, honorable, and skilled warriors. Iorek was exiled for killing another bear, but regained his armor and became king after defeating a usurper. He assists Lyra in her quest and helps Will reforge the thin knife.
Iorek Byrnison is a character in the fantasy novels His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. He is an armored bear and befriends the protagonist, Lyra. He eventually fights on Lord Asriel’s side against the Authority and the Kingdom of Heaven.
Iorek Byrnison is a panserbjørne, one of the great armored bears of the world of Lyra. These are like huge polar bears, but they have opposable thumbs and are smart and able to talk. They are mighty warriors and metalsmiths, and forge their own armor, which far surpasses anything made by men. Their armor acts as a sort of soul to them, much the same way a demon acts to humans in Lyra’s world. Panserbjørne have very strict ideas about honor and proper behavior, sometimes differing drastically from that of humans.
Panserbjørne also seem generally incapable of being fooled. Consequently, they neither lie nor can they be lied to. This appears to be the case except when a panserbjørne has adopted human habits so much that he himself becomes susceptible to lies.
Iorek Byrnison was once the heir to the panserbjørne throne on Svalbard. In his youth, however, he fought with another bear over a female. Unbeknownst to Iorek Byrnison, the other bear had been drugged by Iorek’s rival, Iofur Raknison, and was therefore unable to think clearly. So it was that he refused to yield to Iorek Byrnison, and in the heat of battle, Iorek killed the other bear, which was not allowed within panserbjørne society. For this he was exiled, and dishonored, with his armor taken off.
Iorek Byrnison became a warrior-for-hire and in his travels fought side by side with the human Lee Scores in the Tunguska campaign. Lee saved Iorek’s life during this campaign and Iorek saved Lee’s life, creating a bond that would last for the rest of their lives. During his life as a mercenary, Iorek finds metal from a fallen meteor, Sky Iron, and uses it to recreate his armor.
Iorek eventually made his way to the human settlement of Trollesund in Lapland, where he began drinking heavily. The manipulative humans of Trollesund stole Iorek Byrnison’s armor while he slept in a drunken stupor and when he awoke he destroyed a great deal of property in his rampage at him. The humans then put him on duty, ostensibly to pay for the damage he had caused, and kept him drunk much of the time.
When Lyra finally arrived in Trollesund, she helped Iorek Byrnison recover his armor and gain his freedom from humans. Iorek has sworn allegiance to Lyra until the end of her campaign. During their travels, Lyra staged a battle between Iorek Byrnison and the usurper of the throne of Svalbard, Iofur Raknison. In arranging the battle, Lyra further shows that unlike most panserbjørne, Iofur Raknison is capable of being tricked. So Iorek takes advantage of this fact, and defeats him in single combat, becoming king of panserbjørne.
In later books, Iorek Byrnison continues to assist Lyra in her quest. After the hole between the worlds opens, he takes his people to the Himalayas, in search of the unmelting ice. Eventually, the Himalayas prove unsuitable for their life, and Iorek returns with his people. While there, however, he helps Will reforge the thin knife, warning both Will and Lyra that the knife serves his own purposes.
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