#23. Jhala

Lore

The Unbroken

"Ogedai's epic 'One Thousand Tales of Jhala Unbroken.' is the greatest literature to emerge from the Era of Trouble. Whether any real barbarian queen existed as the root these outlandish tales, we may never know."

– Aristophan's 'History of the Troubled Age'


"Don't write that down. No one would believe it."

– Jhala, to her sidekick Ogedai after slaying the Winter Ogre with a 'Beware of Ogre' sign

As the story goes...

Life was tough for the hardy villagers of the Ikrusk. They survived freezing winters in the shadow of Mt. Tragedy by huddling around pools of the hellfire that rained eternally from its peak. A good summer was when the scorpion swarms thinned out the vampires. By day they would tend livestock, and by night they would drive back the haunted suits of armor that fell from the sky. Hardship made them tough, and most potential enemies were awed enough to leave them alone.

Not so the Lord of Scales. Riding the Dragon of Conflagration, he burned the village to the ground and then some. Young Jhala survived only because she was safely suspended in midair, climbing the dragon's bulk with axe and knife. In the sky over her burning town, Jhala cast down the Lord of Scales and seized control of the Dragon. However, it was too late for her home. Astride the great wyrm, Jhala set off.

Thus began the greatest adventure epic of the age. Jhala stole the Scepter of Invincibility from the (formerly) Invincible King. She bested the Orc Warlord in single combat, earning the (purely honorary) title "Friend". She won the city of Dragonport in a drinking contest with the pirate queen. Apollo himself gave Jhala the title "Exalted Lion" after she led the armies of all Thera to victory against Ehzot, the Zombie Lord.

Jhala takes the glamor of Valhalla in stride, thinking at any moment she could be back to roast scorpion and improbably violent precipitation. But in the meantime this is fun too.

Connections

• Discussed with Ada and Cassidy the unfairness of Ragnir's participation in the Grand Tournament
• Spoke with Asuri when Rayman arrived in Valhalla
• Thor's favorite fight was his 2v2 Championship season with Jhala
• The time Jhala bested the Orc Warlord (Xull) in single combat was the only time he ever lost to a challenger, and he honored hiw wager, switching sides in the Undead Wars, despite being certain that she (Jhala) must have somehow cheated (loose connection in their respective lore pages, but a reasonable one, I think)

Context

Early concept sketches show that Jhala was, from the beginning, meant to be "the barbarian." A half-orc design was even considered for her (it's a skin now). 

Jhala is connected with many interesting pieces of lore here, including Ikrusk, Thera, and Dragonport. Each of those pages can shed more light on their respective locations. It is the connection with Ogedai, however, that is especially intriguing. Ogedai Khan was the second ruler of the Mongol Empire, after his father, Genghis. Ogedai lived from 1186 to 1241 AD. Ikrusk could possibly be real-world Irkutsk, just north of the present-day Mongolian border. Thera is a Greek place, further evidenced by the mention of the Greek god Apollo.

Sword and axe are great weapons for a barbarian. It think this is a rather obvious pairing, given that most warrior of the wild in fantasy art are depicted with large swords and other bladed weapons.