Eleonaris

A medallion showing Eleonaris as the Lion of Summer.

Eternal of Summer

Sobriquets

Eleonaris has many titles; she is the Queen of the Fields of Glory, the Lady of Pennants, the Commander of the Golden Armies, the Soverign in Scarlet and Gold and The Lion of Summer.

She has many other names besides; bards and Troubadours in her court and beyond compete to glorify her name with flattering titles. She smiles indulgently, but their adoration rarely turns her head.

Appearance

The Queen of the Fields of Glory appears as a powerful woman in gold and red. She has a golden mane reminiscent of a lion, and her skin is marked with swirling patterns that are said to spiral outwards from her heart. When she is calm these markings are golden, but when she is in a wrathful aspect or going to war, they are deep crimson.

She may be attired in a flowing gown or clad head-to-toe in plate harness. Usually she appears in clothing and armour reminiscent of The Brass Coast, although sometimes she appears as a resplendent Dawnish noble. Very occasionally she may appear in garb that echoes the leaders or nobles of other warrior societies.

Eleonaris is almost never alone; she is generally accompanied by nights, nobles, courtiers, soldiers and servants. Some of these are lesser Eternals, others seem to be more akin to magical creatures in the form of men. Like their mistress, they tend to be fierce and proud. Most bear banners, pennants, tabards or surcotes bearing some sort of image of a golden lion on a red background.

Concerns

Eleonaris seems to be the ruler of a great swathe of the Summer Realm called the Fields of Glory. She also claims parts of the Forest of Arden, and is known to contend with other Eternals for dominance of other territories. She is said to have a number of lesser Eternals who serve her as vassals - lords and ladies and knights of her court, each of which is responsible for a demesne within her greater Realm. Whether this is 'real' or not is never clear - it is possible that these Eternals simply play at being a feudal court for their own amusement, but if so they take their game so seriously that ignoring it can have serious repercussions.

The Commander in Crimson and Gold exemplifies ideas of nobility, civility, and, conquest. Her armies, resplendent in gold-and-red, fight beneath her leonine pennant in great tourneys, and in open warfare with the armies of other Summer Eternals. She seems to have a great deal of time for those who have earned the respect they are given through war or politics.

She is strongly associated with the runes Feresh and Tykonus.

During Summer Solstice 378YE, Eleonaris was made subject to the Declaration of Enmity by the Imperial Conclave. This status continued until Winter 378YE when the Declaration of Reconciliation was used to restore her to neutrality, primarily due to the influence of Corvus of the Spire of the Auric Horizon, Archmage of Summer.

Boons

Magicians consort with Eleonaris because she is an exemplar of the ideas of war and leadership. She can offer some of her warriors to fight in mortal battles, as well as giving boons that relate to command, majesty and the arts of war. She has a great love of banners, pennants, heraldry, livery and the like and her weavers are known to spin enchanted threads and dyes that can help a mortal artisan or weaver create magical standards of great potence. She is known to love both orichalcum and iridescent gloaming, and gifts made with these materials are sure to get her attention.

Eleonaris offers boons related to battle, leadership and nobility; she does not appreciate the idea of raiding, or of small bands that fight for their own glory - or worse for pay. Those who seek those kinds of boons would be better seeking the court of cold Cathan Canae, the Queen of Ice.

Jaheris

A figure often associated with Eleonaris is her consort-brother-son-father Jaheris. He 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 is sometimes her rival, and sometimes her ally. In some stories he is her father who 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 contrast to Eleonaris, he appears to be an Eternal magician rather than a knight or warrior - he is known to offer magical trifles to those who aid him in his schemes.

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.

He sometimes seeks to draw others into his schemes against Eleonaris, but it is perhaps worth remembering that (as the enchanter Lydia de Courland said in one of her studies of the Eternals of Summer) "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."

Eleonaris and Jaheris in Empire culture

• The Lion and the Unicorn - Song about Jaheris and Eleonaris becoming well known, especially by those associated with the Summer Realm