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This article contains canon information corresponding to the Tales of Arcadia franchise. That means all information in this article is true and has appeared/been validated officially on-screen. |
- “It'll be okay, little brother. We've done the impossible before. Have you heard the human saying, "Home is where the heart is"? It means our hearts, our cores, are here. And so are Mama and Papa's. For now, Earth is our home. At least until we can return to Akiridion-5...one delson. Earth is not such a bad place after all.”
- ―Aja to her brother, Krel, in "Bad Omen"
Princess Aja Tarron is one of the main stars of the Tales of Arcadia franchise. She appears as a minor character in Part Three of Trollhunters and the main protagonist of 3 Below.
History
Biography
Princess Aja and her brother, Prince Krel, lived together with their parents on the planet of Akiridion-5.
Growing up, Aja felt like she didn't fit in with the royal family, so she frequently went into the kingdom in a dark cloak to discover her true potential. One particular hobby of hers was having alien beetles fights, which apparently makes easy money on their planet.
Part Three (Trollhunters)
Meeting the Trollhunters
They start school at Arcadia Oaks High School, where they discover all the "wonders" of human school. Aja tries to fit in, and Krel tries to think of excuses to get out of gym class. Señor Uhl then brings Jim to the classroom to show them around the school if he wants to make up for his many absent days. Jim takes Aja and Krel to Claire and Toby, who reluctantly agree to include them in their Trollhunting mission for Merlin.
They take them to the wrecked Janus Order, which they pass off as a "teen hangout." While they search for Changeling remains, Krel goes into the control room and starts to use the system to play music and show off his dancing skills. When Jim turns the music off, some footage of AAARRRGGHH!!! and Jim fighting Gunmar starts playing on the monitors, which he instantly turns off. The Trollhunters claim it to be a movie and decide to take the siblings to see Claire's house, while Krel takes something he brought out of the control panel.
Jim and Toby go to the roof to collect some lightning in a jar, so Aja and Krel decide to use their vast intergalactic knowledge to help them do it. Krel makes a capacitor from some parts of the microwave to hold the lightning in, and Aja hacks into Arcadia's power grid to make lightning appear in fifteen minutes. Using Jim's sword, they manage to capture the lightning and put it in the jar. The siblings then bid their friends goodbye and go home.
The Eternal Night
During the Battle of the Bands, Aja and Krel start to play some of their planet music (dolphin music), which nobody finds amusing, so they decide to play some "easy listening" music (hip-hop). After their performance, Claire comes up onstage to warn everyone of the Eternal Night, but nobody listens and thinks this is a song. Only Aja and Krel realize that something is wrong and decide to go investigate.
Part One (3 Below)
Morando's Attack
Aja chases after Luug who ran away from her Coronation Day. Her brother calls her then she explains that she has no intention of becoming Queen-in-Waiting. During the Coronation Day attack, Aja is on the streets when the invasion began, she saves a child from a falling piece of scrap. On her way back to the Palace, Vex finds her and jumps into the vehicle, Vex and Aja meet up with Zadra and Krel in the sky, they shortly return to the Palace to meet up with their parents. General Morando takes the palace and makes the King and Queen go to their core forms, Vex, Aja, Lugg, and Krel make it to the mothership, after the ship takes off, Aja goes to restore her parents but the mothership is unable to calculate how long their reformation will take. The trio successfully gets off Akiridion-5 then crash land in Arcadia Oaks.
First Day on Earth
Despite their safety, the mothership is damaged and disguises itself to look like a 1950s house. Just then, Eli approaches the house, so the mothership changes Krel, Aja, and Varvatos into a Latino, a girl, and a senior citizen respectively. The mother ship also turns Luug into a dog. The mothership then tells Varvatos and the kids that the ship is low on power, due to the Daxial Array being lost. Aja suggests going outside to search for one, to which Varvatos and Krel reluctatnly agree.
The three go outside and explore all around Arcadia, enjoying all of it's "wonders" such as popcorn, grass, music shops, and fire hydrants. As they prepare to eat some spicy food, the three then run into Toby, who shows them to the local music shop, where Krel inadvertedly steals a vinyl record. Detective Scott then arrives and asks the kids why they are out of school on a weekday, since it is illegal to do that. He then takes them to the local school.
When they arrive there, Senor Uhl questions where they are from. To cover up their tracks, Aja and Krel say they are from an island called, "Cantaloupia." During the school day, Aja and Krel begin to showboat to the faculty and the students (Aja's athletic abilities and Krel's brains, repsectively). When they are caught playing in the sciene lab, Uhl decides to have a parent-teacher conference with their "parents."
Since their real parents are being revived by the mothership, the kids decide to disguise some generic robots as a stereotypical 50s parents. The meeting goes horrible wrong and Uhl decides to call social services to report this incident, but Aja explains about how Morando and his henchmen took over their "country" and broke their parents. Feeling sympathetic, Uhl decides to give them a second chance. They make it back home as soon as their human forms wear off. Aja begins sobbing over their predicament and begins to feel hopeless. Krel comes over and comforts his sister, assuring her that as long as they have each other, they will never be alone.
Varvatos then proclaims Aja as queen-in-waiting as he draws a ridge on her head, identical to Krel's, while she sheds a tear.
Adapting with Humans and Meeting Stuart
The kids and Varvatos begin to have difficulty adapting to Earth and are attracting unwanted attention from everyone. When they find out that Eli is especially curious about them, Krel builds a pair of mind-reading glasses to find out what he knows. While Aja distracts Steve (who was talking to Eli), Krel reads Eli's mind and points out that he's been spying on them, terrifying the bespectacled boy. When Krel reads another thought, he covers up his alien form by saying that he cosplays in his spare time. When Krel reads someone thinking in an alien form, they conclude there might be a fellow alien on Earth.
That night, they sneak out of the house and hear someone say their names in an alien language. They follow the thoughts to the local food truck and assume that Steve is the alien, playing dumb. Krel then attacks Steve and tries to interrogate him, but only ends up getting attacked. When Aja finds out that the truck driver is really the alien, Krel accidentally insults Steve by calling him an idiot, which provokes Steve into punching him right into the face. When Steve is about to hit Krel again, Aja defends her brother by punching Steve, causing him to fall in love with her. The duo then chase begin to chase the driver on their hoverboard. Varvatos (who left the house during commercial breaks) manages to stop the truck, right as soon as Aja and Krel's human forms wear off and the alien reveals his true form to them.
They bring the alien back to their house to interrogate him. The alien reveals himself as Stuart and that he follows all the great royal families of the galaxy. Just as Vex is about to torture Stuart, the electric appliances start to go crazy, thanks to some Skeltegs that Aja brought with them to Earth. Stuart takes the trio to his store, where he sells electronics and graphic t-shirts to find a way to get rid of their Skelteg infestation. Stuart uses a vacuum to get rid of the Skeltegs while Aja and Krel go to school, not knowing that one of the bugs has stowed away on Krel's new boombox.
When they get to school, Mary and Darci inform Aja of her new popularity and decide to take her under their wings, much to Krel's jealousy. In class, the Skeltegs arrive and start devouring the electronics and mulitplying one by one, causing school to get cancelled early. Aja, Krel, Steve, and Mary start working together to defeat the bugs, but they keep multiplying. When Mary's phone rings, the Skeltegs start to blow up and the kids realize that Earth music is their weakness. Using the boombox, Aja and Krel manage to blow up the Skeltegs in school and their house.
Encountering the Zeron Brotherhood
Time Loop and Meeting Jim
One day, a trickster troll named Porgon goes on the loose and the Trollhunters start to track him down. Porgon finds a part from Aja and Krel's ship, and uses it to vanish.
The next day, Aja is excited to start her training and wants to learn some new moves, but Vex warns her that she has to wait a while. Aja doesn't want to be patient, but she reluctantly agrees. Varavatos tells the kids go to the science fair. Krel brings the Daxial Array with them as their science project, confident that they will win. Aja doesn't want to partake in the fair and decides to go him. Jim bumps into Aja and introduces himself. Just then, Porgon arrives and starts attacking the fair. Before Jim can activate his armor, Aja uses her shield to block Porgon's attacks, causing them to be protected when Porgon sends everybody back to earlier.
Aja goes back to the science fair and finds herself experiencing the same day. Jim then informs Aja about how Porgon is apparently using the Akridion stick and the troll magic to cause a time loop. Aja then reveals her true form to Jim when explaining the Akiridion stick. They are sent to back to Jim's house from earlier and the two inform each other of their ambitions. Aja wants to stop Porgon right away, but Jim stops her and calls the other Trollhunters for assistance.
Both teams meet in the woods, where both of their mentors begin to have a bit of a tiff. As Porgon begins his attack again and restarts the loop, Aja quickly pulled up her serrator shield, thus allowing both the Akiridians and Trollhunters to retain their memories. They go back through the time loop and have a meeting at Aja and Krel's house to discuss how they are going to plan their attack on Porgon. The teams conclude that combining the Dekyon Charger and his Troll magic, he is able to control time and space itself, but if he combines it with the Daxial Array as well, time could be destroyed. Jim tries to formulate a plan, but being impatient, Aja goes off on her own. Naturally, she fails again and is sent back through the time loop.
When she goes back to the house, the others call Aja out on her recklessness. Aja snaps about how determined she is to become a warrior and to defeat the bounty hunters who are out to kill her. Varvatos explains to Aja that all the training in the world cannot prevent accidents or mistakes, there will be consequences no matter what, while Jim tells Aja that you need to be patient and all the help you can get when facing a life-or-death opponent. Aja ponders this and reluctantly agrees.
The gang decides to put magic stones on the students' volcanoes to distract Porgon while stealing the charger. When they cause the volcanoes to spew out real lava, they manage to defeat Porgon and retrieve the charger. Unfortunately, that also means that they have been exposed to the public. Krel decides to destroy the charger, but that also means the events, their newfound friendship, and their memories will be erased. Blinky assures them that fate will find a way to reunite them in due course, saying that truest of friendships can transcend both time and space. After some reluctance, Krel destroys the charger and everything is reversed.
Illegal Aliens
Dating Steve & Losing Her Serrator
Breaking Into Area 49-B
Steve Finds Out
Learning Vex's Betrayal and Confronting Omen
Physical Appearance
In her alien form, Aja has blue skin, long electric-blue hair, blue eyes, black sclera, and has four arms. She wears a black and neon blue jumpsuit. She also has a ridge on her forehead which marks her as queen-in-waiting, which she received at the end on "Terra Incognita Part Two".
In her human form, Aja has long, platinum blonde hair (which she usually wears in a low bun with side braids) and pasty white skin with freckles over her nose. Her outfit consists of a checkered button-up shirt, jeans, and red sneakers.
Personality
Tired of being a mere princess and growing up, Aja felt like she didn't belong in the royal palace, so she snuck out of the house frequently to experience the lives of commoners. When arriving on Earth, she felt guilty about sneaking out, as it somewhat led to her and Krel's parents being attacked, so she decided to become a warrior princess to avenge and protect her family. She has shown overconfidence in her abilities and fears of getting hurt, but later comes in terms that she can't prevent every tragedy, so she becomes more serious and responsible about her training, knowing that avoiding getting hurt is always inevitable for a warrior.
Aja seems to be more extroverted and perky than her introverted younger brother, Krel. She seems to be amazed at the Earth's customs and technology. She appears to be very skilled in terms of hacking into computer systems and seems to be a great dancer as well and speaks with some kind of Russian accent.
Powers & Abilities
Akiridion Physiology
As an Akiridion, Aja is much more stronger, faster, durable, agile, intelligent, and has better reflexes than an average human. She was shown strong enough to hold a heavy moon rock with no strain (while Steve, a jock, shows visible strain), climb a rope and tree trunk with ease, and knock Steve several feet away with one kick. Her greatest feats of agility and parkour-like abilities were shown when she chased after Luug in "Terra Incognita Part One", flipping and leaping over hover-cars and walls without stopping. Aja also appears to have some level of hypermetabolism, as she could eat a diablo maximus burrito with no digestive problems at all (as Toby stated that it took him three years to build a tolerance for a single bite).
In "Truth Be Told", she confirms that Akiridions cannot fly on their own, even in their true forms or on Earth.
Heightened Intelligence
Aja is more intelligent than an average human, being able to hack into Arcadia's local power grid in mere moments, but she's clearly not as smart as her little brother.
Swordswoman
"You may have been born a princess, but you have the core of a warrior." -Varvatos to Aja in "Collision Course"
Under the training of Varvatos, Aja is a considerably skilled warrior princess, as well as a remarkable swordswoman, possibly rivaling that of Jim Lake. She can hold her own against more experienced alien bounty hunters and has shown great dexterity with her own serrator, even better than Krel.
Equipment
Serrator
One of Aja's most common weapons is an Akiridion serrator, which is able to form into a nearly impenetrable shield, a blaster, a blade, and a two-pronged spear for combat. She received her serrator on her 10th birthday.
Hoverboard
Aja uses a hoverboard as her mode of transportation.
Relationships
Prince Krel
"Hey, before the ceremony, Papa told me that we are all each other has. That's why I'm not afraid. Because I have you." -Krel to Aja in "Terra Incognita Part Two"
Krel is her younger brother who, despite constantly arguing with on rare occasions, she cares deeply for. After they had to flee from Akiridion, Krel comforts Aja when she blames herself for the invasion and they stick by each other's sides no matter what. Krel tells her that he doesn't feel afraid as long as he's always with his older sister.
Varvatos Vex
As her entrusted guardian and trainer, Aja looked up to Vex not just as her family's commander, but as a friend, despite his zealous nature. However, when she discovers that Vex was the one who helped Morando invade her planet, she was instantly hurt and betrayed. Although she was against the idea of executing him, she exiles him into staying on Earth forever instead.
In the end, her negative views of Vex immediately fade away when he sacrifices himself to stop their mothership from leaving Earth, but not before apologizing to Aja and Krel for his misdeeds and telling them that they were unstoppable together. She presumably becomes worried about her guardian's disappearance, despite his betrayal.
Luug
Luug is Aja's royal pet. Although annoyed whenever he runs from her, she loves her dog dearly.
Zadra
As her parents' lieutenant, Aja sees Zadra as a close caretaker, as close as Vex's. Aja mentions in "Party Crashers", that Zadra has told her stories about the stars and other planets filled with life forms when she was a child. When Zadra arrives on Earth, she was greatly relieved that she was still alive. Zadra later becomes hers and Krel's new guardian after Vex's disappearance.
King Fialkov
Fialkov is Aja's father. She becomes deeply hurt when he (along with her mother) had to be put in stasis. She currently awaits his regeneration, worried for his and her mother's life cores.
Queen Coranda
"Royal or not, you are extraordinary, Aja. That is what you are constantly running away from. You could leave this palace, fly far away from here...and your destiny would follow you." -Coranda to Aja during a flashback in "Terra Incognita Part One"
Coranda is Aja's mother. When Coranda catches her daughter running away, she gives her motherly advice about her role as a royal. She currently awaits her regeneration after she is put into stasis, and she blames herself for losing her parents.
Stuart
At first, Aja thought Stuart was a bounty hunter disguised as a human. However, he later reveals himself to be just a harmless, friendly Durian who has been living on Earth for 30 years after escaping a military base. They later become good friends and usually goes to him for advice on how to be human. She's shown annoyance towards Stuart's incompetence but appreciates his good intentions and knowledge of Earth.
Steve Palchuk
Aja and Steve Kiss
Steve is her love interest. At first, she believed Steve to be an alien imposter sent to kill her and her brother. However, she learns the truth and begins to develop feelings for him. They share a moment in a tree as Steve tells her what the stars are called but it was shortly ruined when Aja's true form starts to appear.
Aja was reluctant to tell Steve the truth about herself, especially when they were captured by the Zeron Brotherhood together with Krel and how much he trash-talked how disgusting aliens are. However, when he discovers that Aja is an alien, he is taken away by her beauty and accepts her for who she was, much to her delight, and he promises to never tell anyone about her and her brother.
They later share their first kiss (in Aja's human form, that is) during the Eternal Night battle in "Last Night on Earth", but they were dating since "Party Crashers".
Jim Lake Jr.
Originally, Aja first meets Jim when they bumped into each other during a science fair in "D'aja Vu". When a trickster troll, Porgon, steals Akiridion tech and uses it to restart time, Aja and Jim are the only ones who remember the time loop (due to Jim's amulet and Aja's serrator protecting their memories) and they team up to solve this problem. Jim was at first surprised to learn that Aja is an alien (a word that offends her greatly), but explains that it wasn't that strange to him, considering his experiences with magic and trolls. Despite knowing each other for a short time, Aja and Jim form a bond with each other as Jim explains that his overconfidence has almost gotten himself and his friends killed once and understands what Aja is feeling: unable to protect the people they care about and trying to prevent more tragedies.
After they manage to take the battery away from the troll and are caught in public with their friends, they decide to use the battery to make sure nobody remembers (costing their own memories of each other in the process). Jim and Aja were both visibly saddened that they wouldn't remember each other after everything they've gone through together, but promised that fate would unite them once again someday.
During "Lightning in a Bottle", while Aja tries to find her lost serrator, she mistakes Jim's amulet as her serrator. However, she later realizes that his amulet wasn't her serrator and helps him and his friends capture lightning in a bottle. When the Eternal Night begins, she immediately recognizes Jim, despite his new troll form, but they don't interact (merely glancing at each other).
Episode Appearances
| Trollhunters Part 3 | ||
| "Night Patroll" Absent |
"Arcadia's Most Wanted" Absent | |
| "Bad Coffee" Absent |
"So I'm Dating a Sorceress" Absent | |
| "The Exorcism of Claire Nunez" Absent |
"Parental Guidance" Absent | |
| "The Oath" Absent |
"For the Glory of Merlin" Absent | |
| "In Good Hands" Appears |
"A House Divided" Absent | |
| "Jimhunters" Absent |
"The Eternal Knight: Part 1" Appears | |
| "The Eternal Knight: Part 2" Absent | ||
| 3Below Part 1 | ||
| "Terra Incognita Part One" Appears |
"Terra Incognita Part Two" Appears | |
| "Mind Over Matter" Appears |
"Beetle Mania" Appears | |
| "Collision Course" Appears |
"D'aja Vu" Appears | |
| "Flying the Coop" Appears |
"Party Crashers" Appears | |
| "Lightning in a Bottle" Appears |
"The Arcadian Job" Appears | |
| "Truth Be Told" Appears |
"Last Night on Earth" Appears | |
| "Bad Omen" Appears | ||
Trivia
- Aja is the first (and only) female protagonist in the Tales of Arcadia franchise.
- Aja's voice actor, Tatiana Maslany, also voices Aja's mother, Queen Coranda.
- She first appeared in the Trollhunters episode "In Good Hands", alongside her brother, Krel.
- As revealed in "Collision Course", Aja's bounty is higher than Krel's, most likely due to her status as a warrior princess and being the eldest.
