The Neverending Story (novel)/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Main Characters

Bastian Balthazar Bux

The Hero and Audience Surrogate, Bastian borrows the Neverending Story from Mr. Coreander and discovers its wonders and how it is acutally a real Magical Land, learning of his required involvement to keep it alive.

Atreyu

A skilled huntsman from the Greenskins of the Grassy Ocean, Aretyu is selected by the Childlike Empress to go on a quest to find a cure to her illness and save Fantastica from the Nothing. Atreyu acts as The Hero, shared with Bastian and becomes the Supporting Protagonist in the second half of the book.

The Childlike Empress (Moon Child)

The God Empress of Fantastica, the Childlike Empress never ages and can only be met once in a person's lifetime. She becomes deathly ill during the novel, sending Atreyu on a quest to find a cure and a way to stop the Nothing. However, it is all a Batman Gambit to get Bastian to Fantastica.

  • Above Good and Evil: She is completely True Neutral and draws no distinctions between anything, never judges anyone, and almost never actually uses her power. In her view, good and evil are both important parts of Fantastica's existence. She also doesn't warn Bastian about the fact that wishing will make him lose memories, and several of her past saviors have ended up in the City of Old Emperors.
  • Batman Gambit: The Empress uses this to bring Bastian to Fantastica. She sends Atreyu on a quest for no real purpose but to give Bastian a story to follow, and then ventures to the Old Man of the Wandering Mountains to read out the Neverending Story's content to her in a literal neverending fashion until Bastian names her and comes to the Magical Land.
  • Eyes of Gold
  • Fisher King: Without her, Fantastica cannot live. Her illness and the destruction of Fantastica are one and the same.
  • GodEmpress
  • Omniscient Morality License
  • One-Scene Wonder: She actually appears in only three chapters. It's a plot point that no one can meet her more than once..
  • Really Seven Hundred Years Old: She takes the form of a ten-year-old girl, but is much older than even Morla or any other of the ancient inhabitants of Fantastica. Her appearance may be A Form You Are Comfortable With, especially since both Atreyu and Bastian are also young children of about the same age that she appears as.
  • Say My Name: Forces Bastian to shout out a new name for her to save her kingdom: Moon Child.
  • Shining City: The Ivory Tower.
  • Sliding Scale of Beauty: She is a Divine Level beauty.
  • Time Abyss: The Empress and the Old Man are some of the oldest residents in Fantastica.
  • White-Haired Pretty Girl
  • Woman in White

Mr. Coreander

A mysterious but Magic Librarian (actually a bookstore owner), in whose store the titular book appears. He once went to Fantastica himself.

  • Alliterative Name: Carl Conrad Coreander
  • Ancient Keeper: Subverted; when Bastian tries to apologize to him at the end for losing his book, it turns out that he has never seen or heard of it, and it presented itself to Bastian in Coreander's store of its own accord. When Coreander got to Fantastica, it was by a different route.
    • Played straight in the film, where he is reading the book when Bastian comes in.
  • Child-Hater: When he first meets Bastian, he explains that he doesn't abide children, because they're only good for "screaming, torturing people, smearing books with jam and tearing the pages." When Bastian reveals that he's being chased, Coreander immediately assumes that the police are after him.
  • Grumpy Old Man
  • Magic Librarian: Although he actually isn't a librarian, but a bookstore owner.
  • Scary Librarian

Falkor the Luckdragon

A luckdragon who befriends Atreyu. He is very courageous and upbeat, believing luck is a wonderful thing. As a Giant Flyer, he spends most of his time flying. He is a shining white Eastern-type dragon with leonine features.

Pyornkrachzark

A rock chewer, Pyornkrachzark is one of the travelling companions on their way to visit the Childlike Empress for help against the Nothing. A giant man made of rock, Pyornkrachzark enjoys eating rocks and rides on a large bike.

The Nothing

The Big Bad of the first half of the book, the Nothing uses The Power of the Void to erase Fantastica from existence. Created from the forgotten hopes and dreams of mankind, the Nothing is used by the unseen Manipulators to destroy human imagination so that humanity will be more controllable.

Gmork

The Dragon to the Nothing, Gmork aids the destroyer of worlds to prevent Atreyu from finding a way to defeat it. A servant of the Manipulators, Gmork appears as a Big Badass Wolf and relentlessly hunts Atreyu through the book and film.

Xayide

An evil sorceress who serves as a villain in the second half of the novel, while pretending to be Bastian's humble servant after he defeats her on her home turf. She manipulates Bastian to siege the Ivory Tower, planning to use him to take over Fantastica. She dwells in the hand-shaped castle Horok, and controls an army of empty iron minions.


Supporting Characters

The Travellers

A group of Fantasticans who are travelling together to the Ivory Tower. They consists of Pyornkrachzark the rock chewer, the will o'wisp Blubb, the nighthob Whooshwazool (and his stupid bat), and the tiny man Gluckuk with his racing snail.

Cairon

A black zebra-centaur who is the last and greatest of the five hundred doctors summoned to examine the Childlike Empress. She gives him AURYN and sends him to find Atreyu and put him on his quest.

Morla the Ancient One

The oldest being in Fantastica, discounting the Childlike Empress and the Old Man of Wandering Mountain, who are ageless. Morla is a tortoise of fantastic size, who has been inert in the Swamps of Sadness for so long that she has become a landmark, Tortoise Shell Mountain.

  • Amoral Nihilist: As a result of living in Fantastica so long, and coming to believe that life is meaningless and simply repeats itself. Then again, what would you expect from someone living in the Swamps of Sadness?
  • Really 700 Years Old: One of the oldest beings in Fantastica.
  • Split Personality: Morla has been alone with herself for so long that she's separated herself into two distinct identities and often talks to herself, calling herself "old woman."

Ygramul the Many

A feared and powerful monster that lives in the deep chasm.

  • The Dreaded: Called the Horror of Horrors by the Greenskins, who consider meeting her to be A Fate Worse Than Death.
  • Hive Mind: Ygramul is composed of a swarm of steel-blue insects that move to compose a shapeshifting form.

Engywook and Urgl

The Gnomics. Engywook is a gnome scientist who lives near and studies the Southern Oracle, and Urgl, a gnome healer, is his wife.

  • Fantastic Science: Engywook is a scientist trying to figure out how the Southern Oracle works.
  • Glory Seeker: Engywook's goal is to become the most famous gnome in Fantastica. He succeeds, but not in the way that he thought that he would.
  • Grumpy Old Man: Engywook. Urgl is a Grumpy Old Woman.
  • Mad Scientist: Urgl seems to think that Engywook is one.
  • Our Gnomes Are Weirder
  • The Professor: Engywook.
  • Supreme Chef: Urgl. The food she makes for Atreyu is described as so delicious that Bastian's mouth waters just reading about it.

Uyulala the Southern Oracle

A legendary being known to be able to answer nearly any question, but can only be met by those who can pass three magic gates to reach her.

  • Made of Air: Her body is a living construct of pure sound; her body is the melody that she sings.
  • The Omniscient: She is borderline this, as people from all over Fantastica travel to speak to her and she can give answers to just about anything.
  • Rhymes on a Dime: She always talks like this, and cannot understand anyone else unless they do as well.

The Old Man of Wandering Mountain

An ancient being of the same kind as the Childlike Empress. The Old Man of Wandering Mountain writes the Neverending Story, recording every event that has ever happened into the book, in absolute solitude.

  • Because Destiny Says So: Legend says that the only way to meet him is by fate.
  • The Omniscient: He writes down everything that happens in Fantastica. The only thing that he doesn't seem sure about are the Childlike Empress's motivations.
  • Time Abyss: He is as old as the Childlike Empress, and Fantastica itself.

Grograman the Many Coloured Death

The Many-Colored Death, Lord of the Desert of Colors, and the deadliest creature in Fantastica.

  • Back From the Dead: He dies with every nightfall, but is resurrected in the morning.
  • Cats Are Mean: Subverted
  • Fisher King: He fulfills this role to the desert Goab itself, feeling it as he feels his own body. When he dies, the desert becomes a forest.
  • Super Strength: He is capable of wrestling with Bastian on an even footing.
  • Walking Wasteland: Everywhere he goes, all the land around him turns into desert and all living things die, because he is the deadliest creature in Fantastica.

The Four Heroes and Princess Oglamar

A group of travelers that Bastian meets shortly after arriving in Fantastica. Hero Hynreck is a knight determined to be the greatest and impress Oglamar, the Princess of Luna, who is only interested in the very best of heroes. Hykrion, Hysbald, and Hydorn are wandering knights looking to prove themselves as the strongest, swiftest, and most enduring of all knights, respectively, who met up with Hynreck and Oglamar by chance and became his friends.

  • Badass Mustache: Hykrion.
  • Badass Normal: All four heroes.
  • Break the Haughty: Both Hynreck and Oglamar. Bastian doesn't think too much of Hynreck's boasting and deriding of how saving Fantastica "didn't require much of a hero," and soundly defeats him. Oglamar, who is only interested in the best, leaves Hynreck because of this. To remedy the situation, Bastian then invents a story about Oglamar getting kidnapped by a dragon, getting her into a situation for Hynreck to rescue her from. In both cases, Bastian realizes afterwards that what he did was Disproportionate Retribution.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: Oglamar.
  • Damsel in Distress: Oglamar.
  • In Harm's Way: How Hynreck wants to live. His greatest frustration is that Fantastica is too boring and doesn't have enough monsters, demons, and wars, thus depriving him of opportunities to demonstrate his skill. His reaction to hearing that his girlfriend has been kidnapped by a dragon is to jump up and clap his hands with joy.
  • Knight in Shining Armor
  • Knight in Sour Armor: Hynreck views himself as a Failure Hero after Bastian defeats him and gives up on his relationship with Oglamar, but when she is kidnapped, he rescues her anyway.
  • Knight Errant: Hykrion, Hysbald, and Hydorn become this. At one point, however, after getting lost several times, they declare that they are absolute failures at it.
  • The Swordmaster: All of them, but especially Hysbald and Hynreck.
  • World's Strongest Man: Subverted with Hykrion, who claims to be the strongest, but is later outperformed by Hynreck, who is then outperformed by Bastian.

Yikka

A talking mule in service to Hykrion, Hysbald, and Hydorn, who later becomes Bastian's mount.

The Acharis / Shlamoofs

The saddest, ugliest, and most depressed creatures in existence, who fashion the indestructible silver that composes the City of Amarganth and weep endlessly. Later, they are transformed by Bastian into their polar opposites, the Shlamoofs, a race of clowns and everlasting laughers.

  • Comic Relief: The Shlamoofs are created to be the embodiment of laughter and comedy.
  • The Eeyore: The Acharis to the extreme.
  • Ocular Gushers: The Archaris constantly cry an endless amount of acidic tears.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: When they meet up with Bastian for the second time, they reveal just what happened as a result of Bastian's well intended wish.

Ilwan

The prince of the djinn, who seeks out Bastian and becomes one of his most trusted administrators.

  • Heroic Sacrifice: He dies in the Battle for the Ivory Tower in order to save the invisibility belt Gemmal for Bastian.

Dame Eyola

An immortal plant woman who lives in the House of Change, repeating dying and being reborn. Her desire and purpose is to have a child to love.

Yor

The blind miner, who spends his days going deep underneath Fantastica to harvest the forgotten dreams of humanity from the Picture Mine.

Bastian's Father

Bastian's father, who became depressed and distant from his son after the death of his wife, Bastian's mother.

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