Jair

Background

Shadowgate/Shadowgate Classic PC

Jair's previous adventure was across the Sea of Blood. Jair is said to have a 'mother-in-law'. He may have been from Meadowdale.

Shadowgate--ancient keep of the Circle of Twelve--stands guard, a lone sentinel: waiting and watching for Jair's arrival. He is the "Seed of Prophecy," destined to fulfill the oracles of the ancients. His call--the only call--was to find the Staff of Ages and conquer the dreadful Warlock Lord, before he raised the great Behemoth, Last of the Titans, and destroyed the world. He reclaimed the castle and freed the world from the throes of the Warlock Lord. He was found worthy, and his name was honored throughout time.

Shadowgate Nes

As the last of the Line of Kings, only Jair possessed the power to prevent the evil Warlock Lord from raising the Behemoth and unleashing it upon the land. His quest lied within the Castle Shadowgate with its secret passageways, collapsing floors, and armed creatures. His courage and wisdom saw him through... but a good sword was helpful.

Shadowgate 64

Jair failed to destroy the Witch King (or as men call him the Warlock Lord), rather he was simply banished. But the the Warlock Lord’s power livdd on through his deadly minions. When Lord Jair confronted these demons, not even the Staff could stop it. Aided by the spirit od the Witch King, the demons struck out at him with insane fury. Lord Jair was driven back. The Staff of Thunder falling from his grasp. The staff may have been lost but the brotherhood could not afford to lose Lord Jair. One sorcerer acted as a shield to protect him and was burned by the creature’s hellfire.

Jair is described as Lord Jair of the Westland (either a reference to his title in Shadowgate/Shadowgate Classic: High Lord of Westland or that it was his homeland where he was from).

King Aronde had the prescience to make Lord Jair his heir as his health was failing, and upon the former king’s death Jair became king of Kal Torlin.

Westland is said to be the homeland of the legendary Lord Jair, a loosely governed confederate free to chart its own course-its own way.

Beyond Shadowgate (ICOM)

Jair looks roughly like the title screen red-headed “hero”/Jair from the Win3.1 release, kind shirt and stocky almost Dwarvish.

Titles

• Jair of the Westland
• Seed of Prophecy
• High Lord of the Westland
• Lord of the Westland

See Also

• Jairen of Wooddale of Kal Torlin.
• Jair Cuthegar of Windemere.

Behind the scenes

Jair was technically nameless in the original versions of Shadowgate and the Shadowgate Classic equivalents (note this discusses retro versions not the 2005 Shadowgate Classic Mobile or the Shadowgate (2014) versions, the latter of which certainly gives him a name). Instead the player is able to type out his own name for the character and print off a 'certificate' of completion.

Jair's name originated in the Before Shadowgate story (from Jairen), but shortened to simply Jair (one aspect of the novel taken into the general canon in later storylines). Jair is only specifically used by Shadowgate 64. He was still only a nameless hero mentioned in prologue for Beyond Shadowgate.

He also appears as simply Jair in the website story introduction and the related Shadowgate Classic hint comic made for the Gameboy Color & PC Shadowgate Classic release versions.

There are some backstory differences between the various versions of Shadowgate's stories. Either changes to where Jair's original homeland was located, or sometimes the list of adventures or things he had done in his past. Before Shadowgate for example gives him the background of "Jairen", and more or less sets him up his 'next adventure' to conquer Castle Shadowgate (this was relatively non conflicting with the less wordy NES version of the game, other than possibly reinterpreting the manual's background a bit). However, references within the PC versions (Mac/IBM/Amiga, etc) show that he had been on a number of different adventures before his journey to Shadowgate, and that he was a great warrior (and apparently even already married).

Technically Shadowgate 64 doesn’t necessarily mean that Jair is from Westland but could just be a reference to him being the High Lord of Westland as he was knighted by King Otto (or Aronde) in Shadowgate/Shadowgate Classic.

The referencd from the blue sorcerer to Jair losing the Staff of Thunder is likely a mixup and meant to be the Staff of Ages instead.