Šešėlių Pardavėjas / Henė¶
Nature¶
Native Force: a splinter of Velnias that “learned to enjoy the trade”. He wears mortal masks: first Hanulas, the Riga-born Vilnius merchant who opened Vilnius to Jogaila in 1382, then Henė the jester (the English docs write “Henne”). He is the only being in the saga who can lie and make illusions; no mortal can (magic rules §1).
Šešėlių Pardavėjas / Henė
Šešėlių Pardavėjas / Henė · force¶
Type |
force |
Origin |
Native (face of a god) |
Note |
Henė: broker of unspoken deals, mortal mask and sharp shadow of Velnias. |
Wants¶
Deals, and through deals the dead (the past) to outweigh the living (the future). He serves the deal, never the man.
Takes (its price)¶
Threads: small obligations that compound. Every bargain is kept to the letter, is free at first, and is paid later with interest (magic rules §8). The price for Jogaila: his line inherits the crown and loses the land; for Skirgaila: to be used and discarded.
Signs & manifestations¶
A figure at the edge of the firelight; a voice like your own conscience (the Echo); sounds that die; warm coins; three blackened stones he juggles, one dropped for each bargain collected (three stones). The Krėva silence is his Breath of the Void (Book I ch. 14). The void under his mask is “the hollow where the dead keep the past” (ch. 30).
Vessels, servants, claims¶
Masks and masters: Hanulas; Jogaila’s court (1382), Skirgaila (1387–97), Vytautas’s court (from 1392), Sigismund (1429–30). Bargains: Jogaila, Skirgaila, Vytautas (the Vorskla vision), Žygimantas. Servants: pinčiukas, the aitvaras; objects: the golden chain and the Lutsk crown.
Weaknesses¶
He is beatable only by cleverness, never strength or faith, like the folk peasant who plants turnips then rye. A Praurimė seer can see through his illusions, at the cost of blindness. He fears Perkūnas, and he can be refused: Vytautas’s refusal at Lutsk is the point where the crown turns to leaves.
Arc across the books¶
I: Hanulas and the 1382 trap, the stones, the Breath at Krėva (ch. 5, 12, 14, 28, 30). II: Skirgaila (ch. 1, 10, 16). III: the offer of the cousins (ch. 8). IV: Sigismund’s court, the crown, the last bargain refused (ch. 17, 21–22, 30). V: the chain to Žygimantas; the last unmasking (ch. 19, 24).
Relations
Antagonist of: I · The Wolf’s Exile — mythic, collects · IV · The Invisible Crown — mythic, refused · V · The Wolf’s Legacy — mythic, unmasked
Bargained with: Jogaila (1380–1434) · Skirgaila (1382–1397) · Vytautas (1398–1399) — Vorskla vision accepted. · Žygimantas Kęstutaitis (1432–1440)
Created: Auksinė grandinė (the strangling chain) · Henė’s three black stones · The Lutsk crown (turned to leaves)
Holds: Auksinė grandinė (the strangling chain) (1397–1429) — Reclaimed at Skirgaila’s death; gives it to Rogala in Apr 1429. · Auksinė grandinė (the strangling chain) (1438–1438) — Returned to Henė c. 1438 (Book V ch. 19). · Henė’s three black stones (1380–1434) — Stones leave his hand: 3 (1380), 2 (1397), 1 (Oct 1430), 0 (1 Jun 1434). · The Lutsk crown (turned to leaves) (1430–1430) — Gold-painted chest, an illusion: the gold turns to leaves at Vytautas’s “no”.
Masks: Hanulas (Riga merchant) (1380–1382)
Patron of: Sandėris (bargain)
Servant of: Sigismund of Luxembourg (1429–1430) — Jester at his court; serves the deal.
Servants: Pinčiukas (clerk of small bargains) — The Shadow-Seller’s clerk.
Shard of: Velnias
Nature Native Force (Layer II). The only being in the saga that can lie and make illusions; no mortal can
Born of A splinter of Velnias that learned to enjoy the trade
Vessels Masks: Hanulas, the Riga-born Vilnius merchant, then Henė the jester. Masters: Jogaila (1382), Skirgaila (1387-97), Vytautas's court (from 1392), Sigismund (1429-30)
Wants Deals, and through deals the dead (the past) to outweigh the living (the future). He serves the deal, never the man
Takes Threads: small obligations that compound. Every bargain is kept to the letter, free at first, paid later with interest
Signs A figure at the edge of the firelight; a voice like your own conscience (the Echo); sounds that die (the Breath of the Void); warm coins; three blackened stones; cap-bells silent while he works
Weaknesses Beatable only by cleverness, never strength or faith. A Praurimė seer sees through his illusions at the cost of blindness. He fears Perkūnas. He can be refused: Vytautas's no at Lutsk
Hungry and fair. Never cheats, drafts. The void under his mask is the realm of the dead seen from inside, all the past at once.
Anachronism. He shows off time-sight with deliberate anachronisms, such as maize in 1384.
The ledger of stones. Three black stones, one cousin's bargain each, dropped as each is collected: Skirgaila's 1397, Vytautas's 1430, Jogaila's 1 Jun 1434.
Courts and firelight. Wherever a deal is being drafted: the edge of a prince's fire, a jester's stool, the Echo in a man's own head.
Where he is strongest. At Krėva in 1382, the Breath of the Void; at Lutsk in 1429-30 with a crown and a flame on the table.
Book I. Hanulas and the 1382 trap; the stones; the Breath at Krėva (ch. 5, 12, 14, 28, 30).
Book II. Skirgaila (ch. 1, 10, 16); all three stones in his hand at Ostrów, 1392; Skirgaila's stone falls at Kyiv, 11 Jan 1397.
Book III. The offer of the cousins (ch. 8).
Book IV. Sigismund's court and the crown; the last bargain refused: the gold turns to leaves (ch. 17, 21-22, 30). Vytautas's stone falls, 27 Oct 1430.
Book V. The chain to Žygimantas; Jogaila's stone falls on 1 Jun 1434; the last unmasking (ch. 12, 19, 24).
Book VI. Only his small things: the Krivis recognises a small thing of Velnias at a pact (ch. 8).
Connections¶
graph LR
bargain["Sandėris (bargain)"]
book1["I · The Wolf's Exile"]
book4["IV · The Invisible Crown"]
book5["V · The Wolf's Legacy"]
golden_chain["Auksinė grandinė (the strangling chain)"]
hanulas["Hanulas (Riga merchant)"]
jogaila["Jogaila"]
lutsk_crown["The Lutsk crown (turned to leaves)"]
pincuikas["Pinčiukas (clerk of small bargains)"]
shadow_seller["Šešėlių Pardavėjas / Henė"]
sigismund["Sigismund of Luxembourg"]
skirgaila["Skirgaila"]
three_stones["Henė's three black stones"]
velnias["Velnias"]
vytautas["Vytautas"]
zygimantas["Žygimantas Kęstutaitis"]
shadow_seller -->|Shard of| velnias
shadow_seller -->|Bargained with| jogaila
shadow_seller -->|Bargained with| skirgaila
shadow_seller -->|Bargained with| vytautas
shadow_seller -->|Servant of| sigismund
shadow_seller -->|Bargained with| zygimantas
shadow_seller -->|Patron of| bargain
shadow_seller -->|Holds| three_stones
shadow_seller -->|Antagonist of| book1
shadow_seller -->|Antagonist of| book4
shadow_seller -->|Antagonist of| book5
shadow_seller -->|Holds| golden_chain
shadow_seller -->|Holds| golden_chain
shadow_seller -->|Holds| lutsk_crown
hanulas -->|Mask of| shadow_seller
golden_chain -->|Created by| shadow_seller
three_stones -->|Created by| shadow_seller
lutsk_crown -->|Created by| shadow_seller
pincuikas -->|Servant of| shadow_seller
style shadow_seller stroke-width:3px