Farder Coram

Fa Dacoram is a very old, wise member of the ethnic group know as Gyptians in the trilogy His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman. His advice is always important for John Faa, the Gyptian king. Farder Coram is arguably the second-in-command of the boatloving nation. British actor Tom Courtenay will portray him in the upcoming film adaptation of 'Northern Lights'. How Farder Coram came to be such an important member of the Gyptians is not entirely clear, though some of his past is referred to. He was once a wandering warrior. He travelled to the north, and witnessed a witch, Serafina Pekkala, being attacked by another witch's dæmon. Farder Coram shot this rogue dæmon and rescued Serafina. They fell in love and had a son, and then he continued his travels. He took a poison wound, but Serafina sent herbs to cure him. However, after that he was permanently crippled. His son was killed by a disease. He accompanies Lord Faa, Iorek Byrnison, Lee Scoresby and 170 Gyptians to Bolvangar to... full article at wikipedia