Crian

"I thank you for your kindness with all my heart. I will leave now, for I do not want to cause you trouble. But I beg you not to say I was here if the palace guards come searching. They will tell you I tried to kill the new king. But I did not do it." "''So much the worse. Many in Del would thank you if you had."

- Crian making it clear for Jarred what people of Del thought of the king of Deltora at the time of the Shadowlands invasion, in The Forests of Silence

Crian was a man of the Del tribe who was a blacksmith in the city of Del during the reign of several kings and queens of Deltora. He is the grandfather of Anna and the maternal great-grandfather of Queen Jasmine.

Early life
Many years before the reign of the Shadow Lord, Crian took over the forge once owned by King Adin and his heirs. He had a son and daughter-in-law, but the daughter died not long after Crian's granddaughter, Anna, was born, and the son not many years after. Crian raised Anna in the forge by himself from that point on.

Throughout his life, Crian repeatedly attempted to alert the royal family of the awful condition that Del and its people were in. However, he always received the same condescending response back from the chief advisor and his pleas were ultimately ignored. This caused Crain and many people in Del to despise the royal family.

The Forests of Silence
Shortly after King Endon was crowned king of Deltora and Jarred was driven from the palace, Crian found the young man passed out near his forge. Realising that the palace guards were searching for him, Crian threw Jarred’s clothes off a cliff for the guards to find, convincing Prandine that Jarred had drowned at sea. Crian offered Jarred a home in his forge, provided the young man was willing to work. He gave Jarred the clothes that had belonged to his son, who had died three years prior.

During Jarred's time at the forge, he and Crian discussed the royal family. Crian showed Jarred his collection of hundreds of replies to his pleas for help, that had gone unanswered. Jarred attempted to defend King Alton, explaining that he was fooled by Prandine, but Crian simply took this as proof that the kings and queens had been fools. He feared an invasion from the Shadowlands. Anna comforted him, reminding her grandfather that the King of Deltora at least protected the kingdom by wearing the Belt of Deltora. Jarred, unwilling to ruin Crian's only hope in the royal family, did not tell the old blacksmith that the Belt was scarcely ever worn.

Eventually, Jarred and Anna married. When Crian finally passed away, Jarred took over the forge until the Shadow Lord finally invaded. Ironically, after the invasion, King Endon and his wife hid in the forge and assumed Jarred and Anna's identity.

Crian's personality seems to have had a strong influence on Jarred. After loosing his memories and taking on the identity of Doom, Jarred began to mirror Crian's beliefs and attitudes, particularly towards the royal family.

Physical appearance
Crian was a very old man, having lived through the reigns of several of Deltora's monarchs. Little else is known of Crian's physical appearance, other than that he had rough hands and was relatively large.

In the video game, Crian sported a large, white walrus mustache. He was balding, with tufts of white hair around the sides of his head. He wore a dark headband and cloak and had brown eyes.

Personality
Crian was a stubborn, hardy man, capable of persevering under the worst of circumstances. He was an incredibly fair and generous individual, often taking little or no payment from the people of Del because he knew that everyone in the city was destitute. Crian instead took simple trades or offered his customers to pay him when they were able and for this reason Crian was just as poor as the rest of Del, despite frequent business.

Crian was disdainful of the royal family, his faith in them having been shattered by decades of seeing his people being ignored, though he continued to send messages for help, holding out a small degree of hope. Crian was wise, fearing that Deltora was in danger because of the weakness of the royal family. Crian was unafraid of doing what he thought was right, even if it meant directly interfering with the king's guards.

Abilities
Crian was a talented blacksmith and very strong despite his old age. He was clever enough to trick Prandine's guards with relative ease. Crian was likely one of the wealthiest people in Del during his life, though only because the rest of Del was considerably poorer and could scarcely afford food.