Benefactor Orlene

Benefactor Orlean is a member of and a respected scholar within the Benevolent Parish. He is a powerful magic user who is particularly interested in magical energy signatures, and is described by the Hand of Guidance as being married to his work."

History
According to the Hand of Guidance, Benefactor Orlean was a member of the shoreside community during the events of the Prologue twenty-five years ago; he had been "hailed down from the High Hermitage." He has been a member of the Parish for "a while," though he lives and works primarily on his ship. He was occasionally called in to help Devo learn magic when Devo was still with the cloister; he also taught Devo Celestial.

He went missing a week before the events of the Infinite Clam.

The Infinite Clam
Benefactor Orlean is first mentioned when the Coriolis crew accepts a job from the Benevolent Parish to find and either rescue Orlean or recover his remains, as he had gone missing while researching ethereal energy signatures emanating from a giant bivalve in the Phytal Flats.

The Coriolis crew finds him and his ship amongst a small community of Ethereal pirates trapped inside of the clam; Orlean has magically manipulated its members into making him their "Super Captain."

After Devo threatens Orlean's life, Orlean charms Amber and Zoox into defending him. Orlean claims that he knows how to deactivate the magic sustaining the clam and trapping them inside of it, but the method of doing so is very dangerous; all of the "Ethereals" that he's sent to complete the job so far have died. Orlean offers to double the Coriolis crew's payment if they complete the job, which they eventually accept.

After they do so, Orlean gives the crew one of his rings and instructs them to tell Guidance that he's not ready to return yet. He begins to leave, but before he does so Devo promises to kill him if he ever sees him again.

The Menagerie
Adelaide tells the crew that, although he has been seen around Founder's Wake, Benefactor Orlean has not yet returned to the Parish; as such, he is in poor standing with the church for shirking his duties.

Benefactor's Folly
After the Beholder informed the Coriolis crew that Orlean purchased Heretic Knob' s journal from Ol' Joshy, Orlean became one of the main suspects regarding the murder of the Hand of Guidance. In Episode 39, the Coriolis crew and Ballaster Kodeira began tracking him using a device from the Beholder.

Physical Appearance
Benefactor Orlean has not been given a physical description, but he is an older man, potentially anywhere between the ages of 40-60. While of dubious canonicity, he may be a giraffe man, as mentioned in episode 46. Or at least have an unusually long neck.

Trivia

 * The spelling of his name has not been confirmed by the McElroys; another common spelling is "Orlene."