Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details
Solus is a main character and antagonist in Owlboy. He acts as a foil to Otus several times near the end of the story.
Background[]
A young owl from Advent and a student of Strix. He is often bullied by his classmates Fib and Bonacci for being cowardly.
Appearance[]
Solus is a tall, young owl who’s overall appearance resembles that of a snowy owl. The feathers on the top of his head are somewhat long, and swoop out to a tip at the back, and has two feather tufts that are generally kept down. He wears a cloak covered in a black and white checkered pattern trimmed all the way around with gold and is curled up on the end at several points. There’s a maroon colored trim near the top of his cloak as well that flares out into a tail on his back, and he wears two braces on his arms of the same color. He wears a forest green jumpsuit with no sleeves, and is held up by a thick belt with a circular blue buckle. He wears boots that come up to his knees and steel toed tips, and fan out near the top. He’s almost always seen carrying two things; a scroll and a book.
Personality[]
Similar to Otus, Solus is withdrawn and quiet as a result of the relentless bullying he endures, and has a severe lack of self-confidence. He speaks with a stutter and tends to be extremely clumsy, presumably from anxiety. He is intelligent and privy to scarcely known information, up to and including on the Anti-Hex.He can become frustrated, especially when his intentions are misunderstood. He’s capable of standing his own ground, but only when pushed to when he feels he absolutely needs to, which is best shown how he acts between him being picked on by Fib and Bonacci in comparison to Otus trying to stop him from activating the Anti-Hex.
He appears to be independent, and presumably doesn’t turn to others for help due to the isolation he faces from Fib and Bonacci’s bullying, as well as Strix not appearing to have any trust in him as he left him inside the school in Advent. This is so much so to the point where he can’t bring himself to seek others out for help in regards to collecting the Relics and trying to activate the Anti-Hex. His guile does however show in the fact that he seeks out the Pirates, since while he couldn’t find anyone he could trust to help him, he figured his next best option would be to find help among those who’d be able to get the job done quickest.
He isn’t heartless about it, however, and shows extreme remorse after the events of Advent being destroyed, and it can be assumed that this wasn’t something he had planned for or expected in asking them for help in seeking the Relics. It’s to the point where he isolates himself from society, and runs off with the Relics, possibly with the thought in mind of never returning, whether he died in the process of activating the Anti-Hex, being killed by the pirates, or further isolating himself and living in solitude after his job was done.
Trivia[]
- In the game files, Aegolius' hologram sprite from the Eternal Sanctuary is named "solusAncestor."
- Solus is roughly the same age as Otus.[1]
- Solus was one of the first owl characters that Simon designed for the game.
- There is an unused sprite Solus while cloaked showing him tripping and falling over.
- In an interview, Simon confirmed for a fan that Solus’ name was picked partially due to sounding like solace (Finding comfort in isolation) and the latin word solus (Meaning alone), and said that several of the other characters in the game had names with dual meanings.[2]
Gallery[]
