Jaddar Jexiszuir was the leader of the Jaddari legions, the founder of the Jadd and the alleged heir to the Jaherian Empire by claiming to be the sole heir of the last Phoenix Empress. After the failure of his guardian, the Legionary Commander Erelessa to secure Bulwar in the Partition of Kalib, he was educated in the ways of the Masnsih people and the Jexisian legionaries, and would later become the head of the Desert Legion.
Having united the separated Jaherian and Jexisian legionaries, and their Masnsih and Harpy allies, he would gain control of the Salahad after vanquishing Zokka Devourer-of-Suns in personal combat. In his last years he extended the reach of the Jadd over the Upper Suran by conquering Sareyand and establishing outposts on the Raheni Coast and gathering allies in the Ghankedeni. His military and religious feats would pave the way for the rise of the Jadd Empire.
Ancestry Theories[]
The nature of Jaddar ancestry has agitated erudites for centuries and the truth has remained a mystery because of the unknown parts of his early life and the various claims that surrounded his origin.
According to Erelessa, his mentor and protector, Jaddar was the son of Jexis, the Burned Empress and an unknown elf. This theory was supported by the clear resemblance of Jaddar with his uncles and grandfather like this testimony from the archives of Vulzin of Elizna: "when I saw him I renegated my doubts in a second, for I saw in the boy, the young Jaerel playing in the palace of Bulwar, and the distinct traits that Jaher possessed throughout his life : his magnificent golden hair, an aquiline nose and a general look that inspired respect and the ability to rule". For the proponents of this theory, the identity of the father remains the biggest mystery, because Jexis was not known to have favorized any peculiar elf in her court. Various claims have emerged over the centuries, singling Bluetongue from Varivar, Birsartan the Secretary or even the old Gelmonias of Buranun.
From this theory, the Ioriellian pamphlet written by the "Anbenncost Burgher", an anonymous retelling of the Decade of Masks, suggested that Jexis conceived a child with her half-brother, Elizar the Blooded. This incestuous theory became the mainstream narrative in Cannor and added to the various "known" horrors of the reign of Jexis.
In Bulwar, the main theory of those who opposed Jaddar claims denied that Jexis was the mother. One could note that acknowledging it would have secured Jaddar as heir during the Meeting of Kalib, and it was thus natural that they did not share the incestuous rumors of the West despite their hatred of both Elizar and Jexis. All theories involved Erelessa : she either was the mother of Jaddar whom she would have conceived with Elizar, explaining the resemblance with the Jaherian line or she simply found an orphan boy who shared by chance the traits and tried to put him on the throne as a puppet for her Regency. Moreover, Birsartan of Imuluses was adamant in his testimony of the pregnancy of Jexis being a lie, for he had spent all his time at court during the Decades of Masks.
A myriad of legends and wild claims have been made from which we can take a few examples to show how the search for truth has also created some wild claims:
- A Jadd mystic from the Upper Suran, Hammuruni of Sadazar, explained that "there was no father" and that Jexis, had conceived a child on her own with the blessing of Surael, as to birth the last prophet of the Sun Cult. His work, considered heretical by the Lightbringers was put to fire along with Hammuruni himself.
- An obscure Raheni chronicler Bulumren the Bhuvauri, claimed that Jaddar was actually the son of Jaerel with Jyntas, the rumored dragon of Rahen. For Bulumren, Jaerel did not actually die in the Halessi Wars but eloped with the dragon with whom he had a child. This child would then have been taken by Nathalyne to Anbenncost.