Prospero

Eternal of Autumn

Sobriquets

Known as the Golden Prince, Prospero is the master of influence, favours and serendipity.

He is commonly referred to as the Weaver, and the Lord of the Loom. He is the Sovereign Lord of the City of Bridges and the Prince of Ties. He is sometimes referred to as the Reckoner of Ebony and Bone in reference to the ledgers in which he records his favours and enmities. His love of influence sometimes leads to him being called the Golden Spider or the Threadweaver. Very old sources sometimes call him Cloven-hoofed, apparently a metaphor for the mountain-goat-like dexterity with which he navigates the difficult terrain of the halls of power.

In Asavean Archipelago Asavea he is called Polymitarius or el tejedor; in Principalities of Jarm Jarm he is called Jemný Pavouk which translates a something akin to Subtle Spider. The magicians of the Sumaah Republic consider him, along with Estavus and Ephisis to be an acceptable Eternal to treat with, and they call him Skredderen - yet while they may with him, it is illegal for any citizen of Sumaah to owe Prospero a favour.

Prospero always appears to be male, and uses male pronouns.

Appearance

Prospero is always finely dressed; he displays his wealth, power and influence in his garments and accoutrements. His curving horns are often gilded, and he drips with fine jewelry. He is invariably friendly, affable, gregarious and loquacious. He enjoys verbal fencing and clever conversation, especially when it is accompanied by food or drink. Debate and discourse are his meat-and-drink. He is slow to anger, but utterly implacable when his ire is raised. The angrier Prospero becomes, the colder his demeanour and the more cutting his comments. On the few occasions Prospero has genuinely lost his temper, he is said to turn his entire will to ruining the target of his ire.

Prospero rules the City of Bridges. Built on a thousand small islands, connected by bridges in an impossible variety of styles, it is a city-sized maze of white marble and gold. Said to be one of the richest and most beautiful cities in the Autumn Realm, it is an urban wonderland of well-maintained parks, plazas, fora, public buildings and princely villas. Traveling between islands is possible only via the bridges - no boats ply the dark waters of the allegedly bottomless lake. The layout is unchanging but incredibly intricate, and is said to be impossible for visitors to navigate without assistance from the residents - who of course demand favours or services in return for their guidance. While the majority of buildings are single storey affairs, the impossily tall towers of Prospero's palace dominate the skyline, a visible reminder to all the inhabitants of who rules here.

The Weaver is not a warrior, but is said to be the most potent magician of the Autumn Eternals, at least on par with Meraud in Summer, Sadogua in Night and Kimus in Day. He is always equipped with potent magical items that enhance his already formidable supernatural powers; the nature of these items changes regularly. On occasion he lends one to a mortal in return for some valuable service.

Prospero never appears alone. He is usually accompanied by two or three "nobles" from his city, chosen for their talents and unique skills. These courtiers share their Prince's love of conversation, and may have boons of their own to offer.

The Lord of the White City is associated with Pallas, rune of wealth and Lann rune of bargains.

Concerns

Prospero prides himself on being the image of a wise ruler, who exerts the maximum amount of influence with the minimal amount of effort. He is well loved by the inhabitants of his city, and respected even by his enemies. He stands at the centre of an impossibly complex web of favour, patronage and influence - what he cannot achieve by calling in a favour directly, he can often manage by calling in a favour from someone who is owed a favour by his target.

Wealth is useful to Prospero, but it is not an end in itself. As far as the Soverign Lord of the City of Bridges is concerned, being prosperous and secure allows one to security allows one the freedom to focus on politics and personal ambitions - the poor and powerless are trapped in cycles of desperation that prevent them achieving their goals. "There are few things more depressing than a farmer," he is often quoted as saying, "unless it is a slave. I would always choose the company of the landowner or the merchant over the farmer."

Prospero is also disdainful of the trade of goods - it is a usefu tool, but objects are nothing compared to the talents of individuals. Gold and silver are cold and worthless compared to the talent that lies in the hands and mind of the jeweller and the silversmith. It is the merchant who creates wealth, not the goods they traffick in - and the best merchants wield the subtle tools of influence to increase their prosperity.

The Echoing Market, which lies at the heart of the City of Bridges, is a unique bazaar where no goods change hands - rather, the merchants here trade in favours. Many Eternals associated with Prospero insist on writing down favours owed on strips of paper, which they treat as the physical manifestation of the favour. Anyone who presents the paper can claim the favour - and there is a brisk exchange with a complex rate. Two favours from a soldier might equal a major favour from a grocer, or a minor boon from a lesser Eternal; the favour of a Cardinal of the Way might fetch a price of six minor favours from various diplomats to the courts of Jarm. Mortal magicians may sometimes engage in trade for favours, but woe betide anyone who attempts to avoid or welch on an owed favour. A favour recorded on the papers of the Echoing Market is said to be able to reach beyond death, to call back a spirit or perhaps even to influence a mortal who has been reborn from the Labyrinth again.

The Golden Prince aspires to be a scion of subltety. Where his rival Basilius Kade rules with a fist of iron, Prospero weaves threads of favour and patronage to influence the members of his court - and indeed anyone else who interacts with them. Despite his emphasis on subtlety and influence, Prospero has little time for either deception or treachery. Wherever he can he encourages honest dealings, where everyone involved knows what they are getting in to. Only in the realm of trading favours does this honest approach begin to break down a little - but the assumption in the Court of Flowers is always that someone who offers a favour without placing limitations on it or defining how the favour can be spent - or traded - deserves everything they get.

Within the Empire, Prospero is known to favour the The League Leagues style of favour and influence, and appears to have a great deal of respect for the Net of the Heavens philosophy as practiced by the Urizen. He is believed to be fascinated by the The Marches Marches, and on several occasions has attempted to increase the power of the Market towns over that of the Stewards - although always through proxies rather than direct action. When it comes to the The Brass Coast Freeborn Prospero appears conflicted; he appreciates their directness and honesty, but finds their "obsession" with money to be a little off-putting.

The Imperial Synod is said to intrigue Prospero - he sees a lot to approve of in the teachings of Loyalty and Ambition, while viewing the virtues of Wisdom and Vigilance in particular as being largely irrelevant. His Heralds are always careful to remain polite to priests they encounter, and Prospero appears more than happy to assist those priests who treat him with respect.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Prospero is fascinated by the The_Throne#Creation_of_an_Imperial_Favour Imperial favour, and it is believed he will offer a valuable boon to anyone who willingly gives an existing favour into his control.

Boons

Prospero is the master of Spell list#Create bond bonds. He can effortless create and dissolve bonds between people and magic items, and between groups of people. He is known to be able to exert his will to forge bonds that are extremely difficult to unravel, or to carefully unpick complex bonds created by others. From time to time he demonstrates the ability to manipulate the bonds between members of a bands band in remarkable ways - for example, he once wove the bonds of the Whisper of the North Varushka magical traditions#Cabalists cabal with an enchantment that allowed them to perform more rituals than other covens, although the price he required in return allegedly involved the magicians influencing the Varushkan senate senators in some profound (but secret) fashion.

This facility for bonds also manifests in the ability to employ an effect similar to Ties that Bind at will, and to empower mortal magicians to perform the ritual with greater facility.

His understanding of the connections between people, places and things gives him an innate sense for synchronicity and serendipity - the way that events can combine to influence seemingly unrelated circumstances. This takes a number of forms, but he is known to be able to grant boons that empower rituals such as Streams of Silver, Rivers of Gold, Art of the Deal and Gift of the Wily Broker. Furthermore, his fascination with influence sometimes manifests in boons that strengthen the ties of loyalty between individuals such as Circle of Gold or Mantle of the Golden Orator.

Prospero sometimes accepts payment for his boons, but is much more interested in services or favours.An agreement to gain a boon regarding Rivers of Gold for example might include a requirement to perform the ritual once each season in a certain way for certain targets or types of targets. Those who

The Books of Ebony and Bone and the Loom of Stars

Prospero keeps two immense ledgers in his palaces. One book is bound in ebony with black pages written in golden ink, in which Prospero records all the favours he is owed, and who he has traded them to. The other book, which is covered in a thin layer of dust, is bound in ivory with white pages written on in red ink. This is where Prospero records all his grudges. The book of ebony is said to fill up quickly - there are said to be twenty-three volumes of favours carefully curated by Prospero's heralds. The book of bone, however, is unique; it is no more than half filled with grudges, many of which have been expiated in one way or another.

The Loom of Stars is an immense artifact that Prospero keeps in the centre of his palace in the City of Bridges. An incredibly complex machine made up of thousands upon thousands of coloured threads that criss-cross the chamber, sometimes crossing, sometimes tied in knots. Prospero claims that every strand represents the life of a single influential entity, and that by identifying which thread corresponds to which entity he can learn much about their relationships. The loom is ever-changing, and some Urizen Urizen magical traditions#Stargazers stargazers say that it is a model of a part of the Net of the Heavens. Accorsing to Prospero himself, the loom contains strands connected to mortals, eternals and "other creatures" and even he does not know where it came from, nor precisely what it does.