The Lord of Jarayu

Bhanu, whose name means “Sun”, is a very young desert dragon, being only three hundred or so years old. He is the youngest of the ruling dragons, and often dismissed for his youth.

He is also very small, with a body about the size of a horse. He is colored like the desert: pale tan and browns on top, nearly white underneath, with sky blue eyes. He enjoys bright colors, and often goes out brightly painted, wearing jewels, precious metals, and colored ribbons.

He was born to Akashi, Lady of Jarayu, in the city of Aadi, the capital city at that time.

He had only just returned from completing the Trial of Yashaskar when Akashi was betrayed by one of her closest advisors. The battle destroyed the city; Akashi’s dying curse caused it to sink below the sands. Only Bhanu and a few hundred of the city’s inhabitants survived.

Bhanu is much more careful with the people he allows close to him, but he also rules Kerani, and Jarayu, with a much lighter talon than did his mother. He remembers the artists and craftsmen of his early home, and actively encourages his people in the arts. Although he doesn’t discourage religious movements, he doesn’t encourage them, either. His people believe he is the early manifestation of the Sun God, and he does not dissuade them from this. However, he does have the religious orders watched very carefully, and they are carefully groomed or pruned, depending on whether be believes they pose a threat to Kerani.

Bhanu’s closest ally is the Mother of Devidhyaan (God’s Eye). They have been mates, and produced three offspring, though only the youngest has survived. He is also allied with the lords to the north: Akshay, which includes the Vasu plains and borders directly on Jarayu; and Mahday, which is the northeastern part of the continent.

Bhanu is at odds with the lord of Mohanshu in the northwest. His bitterest enemy is Janesh, lord of Lalika, which is across the western mountains.

This work by Jean Headley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Artwork “Desert Love” by Jessica Headley.  All rights reserved.

You can view her work here:  http://aria-siaosi.deviantart.com/

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