Jaheris
Eternal of Summer
Sobriquets
Jaheris' servants refer to him as the Unicorn King, or sometimes the Unicorn Prince.
Many of Jaheris' sobriquets reference silver, or the moon. Often called the Lord of the Forest of Arden or the Moonsilver King, he is also sometimes named Silverbrow for his white hair. Jaheris' enemies in the Summer realm, and mortals aligned with them, will often refer to him as the Shadowed King due to his alleged fondness for working in the background to make quests more difficult. His subjects often refer to him as the Lord of Despite, though his goblin knights almost exclusively use the title Regent of the Spiderlands. In recent times, heralds from the forest of Arden have described Jaheris as the Magister of the Argent Tower. His fondness for archery has earned him the moniker Moonbow in some quarters, he is called Cunning Wolf and it is said that when he hunts in the Forest (which he does infrequently) he is accompanied by two massive muscular wolf-beasts whose fur changes colour as the moon waxes and wanes.
Appearance
The Moonsilver King usually presents as masculine, and is generally clad in blue-and-silver. He wears the horns of a stag and his device is a silver unicorn on a blue background. When equipped for war, the Lord of Despite wields a mighty longbow of pale wood from which he looses deadly silver arrows. This seems to be in direct, almost mocking, defiance of the glorious ideals of many of the other Summer eternals who see face-to-face combat as the highest ideal of the champion or hero.
The Lord of Despite was closely associated with the eternal Eleonaris at one point. He was sometimes her rival, and sometimes her ally. In recent years, their relationship appears to have undergone a fundamental shift, and Jaheris quit the Fields of Glory for the Forest of Arden, which he now rules as his own realm. In older stories, he was her father whom she overthrew to claim her throne, in others her son who strove to usurp his mother's seat. Sometimes he would serve as her beloved consort, but he would always plot against her and be cast down. Sometimes he was depicted as her brother, who sought to take her throne by force. These stories increasingly fall out of favour as the Silver Prince establishes himself more strongly as a Summer monarch in his own right but there is still said to be some close connection between the two rulers.
Concerns
Jaheris rules over the Forest of Arden, having claimed the demesne from Hayaak. According to rumour, the Forest underwent a profound change under his stewardship. Where once it was a place of curated wilderness, where beasts ran free to be hunted at the whim of the Lord of the Hunt, it is now significantly wilder. The trees huddle together, and conspire with each other; the great boars, bears, and stags who once roamed there have been devoured by immense spiders which scuttled out from the mountains to the north or have become monstrous in their own right; and feral unicorns now patrol the paths hungering for the blood of intruders. Jaheris has raised a pale white tower in the heart of the woods, tall enough that he can stand in the highest room and look out across his domain - tall enough to see even the edges of his realm where it touches those of the other eternal regents.
In addition to claiming the forested realm, Jaheris has exerted his authority over the former court of Hayaak. Several heralds who once served the Hawk Lord have been encountered wearing the blue and silver of Jaheris, having given their allegiance to the Throne of the Moon. Those who encountered them before the change describe them as being similar but different; more cunning, more subtle, less impulsive. There is obviously bad blood between them and those who chose other masters in the wake of Hayaak's fall.
Some time ago the enchanter Lydia de Courland once wrote that: "Jaheris is treachery and ambition incarnate," but his interests seem to have changed with his circumstances. Now he encourages people to pursue their ambitions and goals - not from any virtuous intent but because he seems to believe everyone should be prepared to do whatever it takes to gain personal power. He is not especially interested in treachery any more because, in the Summer realm, treacherousness is a profound weakness. What once he embraced he now eschews, and has little time for those who can only achieve their ends by betraying their allies.
That is not to say he has become "nice" - he simply teaches that there is a profound difference between allies and agents, or between friends and pawns. The former one can rely on (and by extension must be able to rely on you), the latter are ultimately expendable (and should be wise enough to realise this). It is notable that since he abandoned treachery, his schemes have been significantly more successful. As Lydia concluded, it was his use of betrayal that ensured he remained in the shadow of more noble eternals.
Jaheris continues to have a tumultuous relationship with Eleonaris. Their armies and courtiers clash in open conflict - but he is also rival to Meraud and Hayaak. The former covets the forest of Arden and its magical secrets; the latter sees him as the personification of the unjust ruler who cares little for their subjects. The names may shift, but the Summer realm remains a land of endless conflict, witness to the clash of mighty kings and queens, whose eternal ambitions are forever unfulfilled as each seeks to claim dominance over one another and their world.
The ruler of the Forest of Arden seems to be increasingly interested in mortals. These days, however, it seems he schemes with them, rather than specifically against them. The Shadowed King has taken a more active approach to encouraging mortals to triumph over adversity in recent years, but it is struggle he finds appealing. What can be achieved easily is of no account, and he is not above quietly using heralds or human agents to intercede specifically to make things more difficult - and thus more worthy of celebration.
Boons
The Unicorn King takes joy in using alloys of weltsilver to create delicate works of art. At times, he is struck by a fey mood that demands extensive use of the precious metal and sees him driven to seek vast quantities from the mortal realm. Whilst by no means a smith on par with Barien, the armoury of his pale tower is filled with an array of weapons and armour forged from alloys of the pale silver. Jaheris occasionally offers one of these items to someone in recognition of overcoming a great difficulty, or at least what he considers to be a great difficulty. He might also make a gift of one to someone who is pursuing a martial challenge.
Almost alone of the Summer eternals Jaheris will gift someone with a magical bow, and has recently displayed several boons related to the use of bows. He does not simply favour martial archers - some of his gifts seem specifically designed for battle mages who reject traditional close-combat roles for the precision and devastating power of the bow.
He does not restrict his favour to martial champions in other areas, appearing even more fond of war-witches and battle-mages. The Unicorn Prince once served as patron of the Icy Crag of the Eternal Sun. His heralds Mahine and Esmeray, pale skinned elves dressed in heavy all-covering robes, served to assist the researchers in the codification of curses. Jaheris is capable of offering boons to magicians, enhancing and empowering their mastery of curses, even those that do not use Summer magic, but he expects to see those boons used in the pursuit of ambitious schemes and is easily annoyed if they are simply hoarded.
Brews of Silverbrow
Massive spiders infest the mountains in the northern reaches of Jaheris' realm. Some of the spiders have an extremely potent venom, which is brewed by a reclusive order of goblin knights. This toxicant has a consistent quality - poisoning the blood of the imbiber - but provides an array of effects depending on the species of spider, how much moonlight it is exposed to, along with a myriad of other things at the time.
The brews are similar to potions in some regards, and generally used in the same way. These come in a myriad of different flavours, but they are always in liquid form. Some of the more commonly known brews include:
- Shadowtouch: A deep, garnet red concoction with a sweet, fruity scent that provides similar benefits to golden apples when drunk during a ritual
- Last Kiss: A cloudy, golden white vintage with an overpoweringly spicy scent that invigorates reserves of personal power
- Guiltless: A hazy, pale yellow preparation with a delicate floral scent that enhances a magician's natural Summer lore, especially when dealing with curses
- Bittertouch: A clear, tawny blend with an earthy scent and potent almond taste that provides a great boost to physical stamina and fortitude.
- Kingsting: A rich, red mixture with a pleasant peppery scent and sweet cherry taste that grants a magician the limited ability to empower their allies
- Tenderblood: A strong, ruby vintage with a musty scent and a deep oaky taste that grants a warrior the limited ability to shatter weapons and shields
There are many kinds of brews which are rarer or less easily identifiable. Regardless, all of them ultimately come from Jaheris.
A New Demesne
For much of Imperial History, Jaheris was involved in a peculiar cyclic relation with Eleonaris in which one would take the role of a noble monarch, and the other their villainous opponent. Shortly after the death of Empress Britta, this changed. Jaheris became increasingly independent, and when Hayaak lost control of the Forest of Arden, Jaheris severed his ties with Eleonaris and claimed the demesne for himself. Since then he has undergone slow, but cumulative change, moving away from the spoiled and treacherous princeling to a monarch in his own right - albeit one that still values cleverness and ambition over brute force and duty.
Sobriquets
Jaheris is the Unicorn Prince, and the Lord of the Forest of Arden.
Appearance
The Moonsilver Prince is usually clad in blue-and-silver, and appears with the horns of a stag. His device is a silver unicorn on a blue background. He has white hair, which has earned him the moniker Silverbrow.
The Lord of Despite is closely associated with the eternal Eleonaris. He is sometimes her rival, and sometimes her ally. In some stories he is her father whom she overthrew to claim her throne, in others he is her son who strives to usurp his mothers' seat. Sometimes it seems he is her beloved consort, but he always plots against her and is cast down. Sometimes he is her brother, who seeks to take her throne by force. In recent years, their relationship appears to have undergone a fundamental shift, and Jaheris has quit the Fields of Glory for the Forest of Arden, which he now rules as his own realm.
Concerns
Until very recently, Jaheris had no realm of his own. Now, he rules over the Forest of Arden having claimed the demesne from the eternal Hayaak. According to rumour, the Forest has undergone a profound change under his stewardship. It seems to have become a significantly more dangerous place - the trees huddle together, and conspire with each other; the great boars, bears, and stags who once roamed there have been devoured by immense spiders which scuttled out from the mountains to the north; and feral unicorns now patrol the paths, hungry for the blood of intruders. Jaheris is said to have raised a pale white tower in the heart of the woods, tall enough that he can stand in the highest room and look out across his new domain - tall enough that he can see even to the edges of the Fields of Glory.
In addition to claiming the realm, Jaheris appears to have become the ruler of Hayaak's court. It seems only a fraction of Hayaak's servants have followed him into exile. Some have gone into hiding, others are likely to have been destroyed. Several heralds identified as serving the Hawk Lord have been encountered wearing the blue and silver of Jaheris. Those who have encountered them describe them as being more bitter, more spiteful, and more vengeful than before.
Jaheris appears to be filled with bitterness about his relationship with Eleonaris. Their armies and courtiers clash in open conflict - there is comparatively little scheming or plotting between them. Rather, their relationship seems to exemplify the clash of kings, the thrill of ambition, and the striving between powerful individuals to claim dominance over one-another and the world. Some key event appears to have shattered their relationship forever - scholars and students of the Summer realm agree that this seems to be a much more profound separation than any that has been seen before.
The new steward of the Forest of Arden seeks to draw others into his schemes. These schemes appear more steeped in bitterness and a desire for vengeance than before. Once, the enchanter Lydia de Courland wrote that: "Jaheris is treachery and ambition incarnate, but this is the Summer realm, not the Autumn realm; his schemes never succeed, and it may be that they never can. The only way he can ever usurp Eleonaris would be to become mightier, more noble, more powerful than she - and were that to happen I truly believe the only result would be that the two of them would swap roles. He would become the regal king of the Fields of Glory, and she would become the bitter rival scheming to steal his throne. In fact, I would not be surprised to discover that exactly that had happened before, perhaps many times. Indeed, it could well be that they are not two eternals at all, but one powerful magical spirit in two bodies." Now... the situation appears to have changed profoundly.
<bog>Boons
What boons Jaheris might offer now he appears to have laid claim to his own domain are not clear. It is likely he may provide boons that encourage revenge or ambition, but this is merely speculation.
Click Expand to see Jaheris' old page, which describes the eternal as he was understood for much of imperial history prior to his recent changes.
Further Reading
- The Lion and the Unicorn - A song about Jaheris and Eleonaris that has become well known, especially by those associated with the Summer realm
Winds of War and Fortune
- Golden magicians fayre - 387YE Spring Wind of Fortune concerning Jaheris heralds in Astolat
Plenipotentiary
- Has reared himself a throne - 387YE Autumn plenipotentiary with Jaheris
- Begin to speak - 384YE Summer plenipotentiary with Jaheris