Lord Asriel

Lord Asriel is a major character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Asriel is a member of the aristocracy in a parallel universe dominated by the Church. He is described as being "a tall man with powerful shoulders, a fierce dark face, and eyes that seem to flash and glitter with savage laughter." Possessed of enormous determination and willpower, he is fierce in nature and commands great respect in both the political and academic spheres, being a military leader and a fellow of Jordan College in his world's version of the University of Oxford. 2Naming Asriel is one variant spelling of the Hebraic name Azrael, who, in the Jewish and Muslim tradition is mentioned in the counting of the tribes. "Azrael" is also traditionally believed to be the name of the Angel of Death in some sects of Islam and Sikhism, as well as some Hebrew lore. His dæmon is called Stelmaria, a snow leopard; her name is possibly a variant of Stella Maria, a pseudo-Latin phrase that approximates "star of the sea" (see also Stella Maris). It could also derive from Italian, in which case it would mean "Star Mary", which would raise associations with the Star of Bethlehem and the Nativity. Whether these parallels have any significance is unknown. Asriel's daughter Lyra is given the surname "Belacqua", which is also the name of a character in Dante's Purgatorio. As British naming convention for Lords suggests that Asriel is either his surname or the name of his territory, it is not explicit where this comes fro