Meraud
Eternal of Summer
Sobriquets
Meraud is sometimes called The Summer Enchanter.
In addition Meraud is sometimes called The Golden Magician or The Lord of Summer Stars. In Varushka he is called The Fire Mage and characterised as a particularly meddlesome volhov. He is sometimes called The Lord of the Lake in reference to his tower, which is apparently built on a great shrouded lake in the Summer Realm.
Appearance
Meraud appears as a magician with golden skin and a leonine mane. His body is often marked with spiral designs that shift and change over time - he claims that each spiral represents the skein of a mortal life that he is observing. He bears either a bandolier of wands, a pair of rods or a single staff. In all cases, these implements bear enchantments that help Meraud in his role of the master of Summer magics.
Traditionally he appears in a flowing robe, with a pointed hat similar to those favoured by itinerant volhov. He also commonly appears as a resplendent Freeborn hakima in red and gold with a tagelmust, and as a Varushkan volhov with a glowing staff. His seal, which often appears on a banner or as part of his costume, is a lion with a staff in its mouth.
Sometimes Meraud likes to appear incognito, disguising himself with simple enchantments. When he does so, he is always marked out by his apparent strong changeling lineage, by his manner and by the fact that he cannot refuse to answer to his name if he is challenged.
If there is a danger to dealing with Meraud it is that he is extremely mercurial even by the standards of the Summer eternals. He is prone to sudden enthusiasms and obsessions and unexpected outbursts of wrathful temper. He is said to have a poor memory, and finds it difficult to focus on the past or the future, always being more concerned about the here-and-now.
Meraud is often accompanied by apprentices and journeymen. Usually these are heralds or eternals, sometimes they are mortal youths who study magic with Meraud. According to these apprentices, Meraud's tower is a great castle that stands in the centre of an enchanted lake and serves as an academy of magical study. The few mortal children who have spent a season as a guest of Meraud have reported that it is an impossibly magical place full of golden fire, strange adventures and majestic fantastical beasts.
Concerns
The Golden Magician loves magic. He loves the power that it gives an individual, and the way that it can achieve acts of unparalleled potence. He is capable of performing magic himself, and most commonly performs powerful enchantments or potent acts of destruction or creation. He is something of a paradox - he regards the process of becoming powerful as less important than the act of being powerful. He approves as much of the magician who uses his heal spell to support his allies as he does of the coven that masters a powerful ritual. It is using magic that is important, not hoarding it.
His primary concern, however, is with magic that is majestic and awe inspiring. He himself is not especially imposing, but he wields magic that can shatter castles and transform green troops into powerful champions - at least for a time. Magic grants anyone who masters it prowess beyond the physical - there is often little relationship between the physical presence of a magician and the power they can wield. Meraud in many ways is the iconic "book who should not be judged by its cover".
He is always pleased to hear stories of mortals using their magic to overcome challenges and obstacles, and is known to enjoy setting such challenges himself on occasion. His enthusiasm is not always a positive thing - he sometimes creates obstacles and challenges without telling anyone what he is doing, disrupting and endangering mortal lives in the process.
He is especially prone to offer patronage to the Rod and Shield order and the Celestial Arch, but also has a soft-spot for the Unfettered Mind, finding their enthusiasm and inventiveness endlessly exciting. Those magicians who consistently develop new rituals, especially in the Summer Realm, or find impressive ways to use existing magic to overcome challenges, often attract his attention.
In Wintermark he is associated with the runes Verys and Tykonus.
Boons
Meraud offers boons to magicians, enhancing and empowering their mastery of Summer lore. More than many other magically-inclined eternals, Meraud also favours those who specialise in raw spellcasting especially those who use empower and the various other offensive incantations.
He is known to have little interest in most crafted items, but to be endlessly fascinated by the items mortals craft to increase and use their magical power - robes, implements, mage armour and ritual paraphernalia especially. He is said to be capable of creating several unique magical staffs, and may do so for the correct inducements.
On occasion Meraud may be prevailed upon to help perform an impossible act - a powerful magical creation or destruction. In the past he has helped to call down a star to devastate an enemy fortification, created an unquenchable forest fire, and carved a great citadel out of the side of a mountain. He demands a high price for such assistance, and it usually involves a small fortune in crystallised mana.
The ritual From the Mouths of Babes allows communication with Meraud. Along with Golden Ramparts, it was entered into Imperial Lore at the urging of the Summer Mage.