Dominar Rygel XVI was the ruler of the Hynerian Empire, though his reign was interrupted for more than 130 cycles.
History[]
Coming from a long and uninterrupted line of Hynerian rulers, Rygel was literally born to lead. This did not prevent his cousin Bishan from usurping the throne, betraying Rygel to the Peacekeepers. Bishan claimed Rygel had been killed -- but, in truth, Rygel had been imprisoned. He spent much of his imprisonment aboard the Zelbinion, where he was tortured by Captain Selto Durka.
Following his imprisonment on the Zelbinion, Rygel was transferred to an unknown number of prisons until he ultimately found himself in transport aboard the Leviathan biomechanoid Moya. He discovered that she had a number of passages that only someone of his size could fit through -- he took full advantage of this, and began to maneuver around the ship freely, albeit secretly. He also kept a stash of supplies and rations, which the Peacekeepers were also unaware of.
This eventually paid off -- Rygel became the hand that guided Moya to her freedom from the Peacekeepers. He was able, through bribery, to procure the code keys needed for the prison break and released Ka D'Argo and Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan from their cells.
As a member of Moya's crew, Rygel proved himself an invaluable negotiator -- although his greed often got the crew into troublesome situations. Through several years of adventure aboard Moya and, briefly, Talyn -- during which Rygel exacted his revenge on Durka by beheading him -- Rygel's primary goal was to reclaim his throne. During the Peacekeeper/Scarran War, Bishan contacted Rygel and invited him to return -- claiming that he hoped Rygel would be able to unite the people of their Empire. Rygel was unable to return to Hyneria at the time because he was carrying Aeryn Sun and John Crichton's child inside him, thanks to an unfortunate misunderstanding with the Eidelons of Qujaga.
Alternate Versions[]
- Douglas Logan - the version of Rygel that existed in the Scarran-crafted hallucination of Earth.
- Rygel the Black Knight - the version of Rygel that appeared in the mental video game created out of John Crichton's memories.
- Rygel/D'Argo - a version of Rygel existing in an unrealized reality, he was spliced with Ka D'Argo.
- Rygel/Noranti - a version of Rygel existing in an unrealized reality, he was spliced with Noranti Pralatong.
Appearances[]
Farscape[]
- Season 1
- "Premiere"
For canon information, please visit the Farscape Encyclopedia Project.