Shalaman ruled the northernmost Haighlei kingdom of Kmbata. His reign began sometime during the Mage Wars. He invited representatives of White Gryphon to visit his court to negotiate agreements as White Gryphon was technically within his empire's northernmost boundaries.
He is described as "sitting like a stiff statue... He wore the pelt of the lion over one shoulder, but the rest of his costume consisted of a robe of a brilliant saffron color, belted with a sash made of thousands of links of pure gold, so finely made that at a distance it appeared woven. His pectoral collar was made to match, with the stylized mask of a lion on the front... It was difficult to believe that he was over sixty... she [[[Winterhart]]] would have assumed he was a vigorous warrior in his early thirties at most, and that his white hair was due to premature graying -- or to the fact that he was also an Adept-class mage..."[1]
He had ten sons and two daughters born to his Year-Brides, women chosen to give him children during his first decade on the throne. This insured that he could marry for love rather than to produce heirs. Initially he was very taken with Winterhart, and offered her the Lion Lilies. He was on the point of a marriage proposal before she and Amberdrake made him understand that they were lifebonded. He was horrified by his near misstep, as he and his people believed that his interfering with a lifebonded couple would bring curses raining down on all their heads.
In the end he took advantage of the Eclipse Ceremony to propose to Silver Veil, the close adviser he had loved for a long time, but thought was out of the question.
In the series[]
Shalaman appears in the following work:
- The White Gryphon, Mage Wars, volume 2
References[]
- ↑ The White Gryphon, chapter four