Herran stirred irritably, and then got up and went over to the water, looking at his reflected face for the third time that day.
There was nothing to see that had not been there before. Golden hair, pyrite eyes, the same adult but unaged face he had had since the year he turned fifteen. Nothing new or exciting or unfamiliar.
And that was the problem.
--Harper of Glory Forerunning.
Lord Herran was a descendant of the Turnlong line, the son of Costan and his wife Hakadi. Partially because he was born late, partially because his parents so loved and depended on each other, Herran was an only child, and he grew up knowing that the responsibilties for the Turnlong land would most likely fall to him. He learned duty and obligation- and loneliness- early.
He was born not long before the War of Acceptance, and fought in the Battle of Esshellen, where he lost his grandfather and mother. His grandmother and father began dying long deaths of grief. His father became a priest of Suulta hoping to have visions of his wife, which may have contributed to Herran's often-stated distaste for the Goddess. Herran became a patrol leader. He fell in love with Chemilli Glint, another member of the patrol, but because she had lost her love in the War, he was reluctant to approach her.
Unbeknownest to him, he had attracted the eye of Quirrin Shennalor, the master torturer of Rowan. Quirrin was looking for a new Councilmaster to replace the fallen Lady Eleriad, and Herran seemed as if he might be a candidate. Quirrin did eventually narrow the field and choose him, but Herran refused the position for as long as he could.
When he finally had to accept the Councilmastery, he worked to enact the (by-then-dead) Chemilli's goals, especially letting other races into the city. He endured numerous assassination attempts from those who thought he moved either too fast or too slowly, supported by the love of his wife Tandra Leafflower, the Captain of the Guards. Together, they forced Quirrin to release some of his power and struck down laws that prevented humans, and then curalli, from entering Rowan.
Herran also ruled his lands as Lord Turnlong, maintained an alliance with several key curalli leaders for a long time before their people could actually enter the city, worked against slavery until he finally gathered the power to abolish it altogether, and was the key figure in stopping several minor wars. The mage-school of Hyleana that trained mages gifted in the arts of destruction as well as the arts of creation was also of his founding, as were several inventive mage-techniques. The Lord Herran endured much pain and sorrow during his lifetime, including frequent misunderstandings with his allies, the death of one love and estrangement from another, and several months of torture, but in the end he did manage to accomplish most, or perhaps even all, of his goals.
Herran was generally acknowledged to be steadfast in character, keeping his vows as long as he could, unless outside circumstances (such as captivity in the hands of his enemies) forced him to break it. His loyalty to Rowan was absolute, enough to allow him to put duty before love on several occasions. His patience was also legendary, in that he was willing to wait to settle disputes and pursue grudges for hundreds or even thousands of years. His rage burned cold, the legendary rage of the Turnlong line, and most of his enemies learned quickly that he was not a man to anger; he preferred to kill them, even if later, than leave them alive behind him.
He was apparently also somewhat of a bard, though he felt he had no great skill with the harp and did not often show his composed songs to anyone but his wife.
