Jalnab / John
Jalnab (whose true identity is John Ronald Reuel Tolkien or simply John) is a major supporting character in The Metalwood Saga. For much of the series, he masquerades as a mild-mannered, bespectacled aide to the Warlord Zel in the Remnant stronghold of Gulthurub.
In reality, Jalnab is an immortal, four-hundred-year-old human and the brilliant founder of the True People—a highly advanced, hidden underground society. A master linguist and author, he secretly invented the guttural "Low Remnant" language to protect surviving humans from the elves. Operating from the shadows, he guides humanity's technological development and ultimately helps save the world from the apocalyptic machinations of Orym.
Appearance and Personality
Jalnab’s appearance drastically changes depending on which persona he is embodying.
- Jalnab (The Remnant Aide): As a member of the People in Gulthurub, Jalnab blends in—mostly. He is shorter than the typical hulking Remnant warriors, with a round, craggy face and blue eyes. He wears his dark hair in the traditional Remnant dreadlocks (jata), often pulled back into a neat ponytail or a thick black braid. However, he is noticeably cleaner and more "oddly put together" than his peers. He wears silver spectacles poised primly on his nose and a black pinstripe vest—a relic from the old world.
- John (The True People Leader): When his true identity is revealed, John abandons the dirt and the jata. He dresses immaculately in black, three-piece suits or a clean suit jacket and jeans, with his hair newly trimmed and his glasses gleaming.
Personality-wise, John is a thoughtful, erudite intellectual. Unlike the brutal Remnant, he treats everyone—even the young Warlord Zel—with profound respect and politeness. He possesses a writer's soul, marveling at the world and speaking with a warm, scholarly cadence where every word feels considered. He is highly observant, managing to hide advanced technology (like glowing computer screens) behind the facade of writing with a quill pen when spied upon. He speaks in a perfect, sonorous British accent, having faked his halting English for centuries to maintain his cover.
Biography
Early Life, Death, and the True People
Before the Sundering destroyed the Earth over three hundred years ago, John was a student at King Edward's School, where he founded a group called the T.C.B.S. (Tea Club and Barrovian Society). At sixteen, he met an elf named Edith, whom he eventually married. Edith was tragically murdered at the age of eighty-two by an elf lacking magical Talent. Seeking vengeance in his old age, John tracked down her killers but was killed himself. However, because his killer was a Talented mage, and John himself possessed latent, undiscovered magical Talent, his soul was transported to the dimension of Ambarhal.
During his short stay in the realm of the Twins, John beheld the Prison Trees and realized that the fantasy stories he had written during his life were actually apprehended visions of this magical reality. He eventually returned to the physical world as a fully realized Prime Mage—granting him biological immortality—though he wandered for a time in ignorance before discovering his true nature.
Realizing the profound danger that elven magic posed to the world, John dedicated himself to protecting humanity. Utilizing his philological expertise, he manipulated High Eldrim to invent the fake, guttural "Low Remnant" language to ensure the elves could never understand the surface survivors. Decades later, upon discovering the elves' apocalyptic plan for the Sundering, John refounded his secret society as the True People. He restricted the group entirely to humans and led them underground to hidden cities like Gondor to survive the end of the world, guiding their technological advancement from the shadows for centuries.
The Aide of Gulthurub
Centuries later, John operated on the surface as Jalnab, serving as the primary aide and advisor to Zel in Gulthurub. He watched with growing concern as the ancient elven Prime Mage Cariel (disguised as Segena/Magona) manipulated the Remnant into a war against the Eldrim of Sylrantheas. Jalnab quietly tried to steer Zel away from Segena's cruelty while secretly maintaining his technological connections to the True People, hiding ancient relics like a copy of The Lord of the Rings and a working computer in his dilapidated shack.
Banishment and The Splinter
When Jalnab caught his son Martan (Martin) kissing the elven leafrunner Elanil, he harshly intervened, forbidding the relationship to protect their secret. Shortly after, the new brutal Warlord Relzeb banished Jalnab and Martan from Gulthurub.
With nowhere else to go, the pair sought refuge in Sylrantheas during the Remnant attack. Elanil returned the favor by showing them kindness and sneaking them inside. In return, when Sylrantheas was utterly destroyed by the Cothellon, Jalnab offered the surviving elves sanctuary at the Splinter—a hidden refuge for banished, peaceful humans, proving that humans and elves could coexist.
The Great Reveal and Final Battle
As the awakened Twins wreaked havoc across the planets and the threat of Orym taking control of the god-machine Xyclami loomed, the Prime Mages held a desperate war council in the hidden Valaraldan halls of the Eglaria. There, Jalnab finally dropped his Remnant disguise. Stepping into the room in a pristine three-piece suit and speaking in flawless British English, he introduced himself as John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, shocking Trey, Arra, and the gathered elven leadership.
Pledging the True People's advanced technology to the fight, John revealed that his people had secretly built an "Under inside the Under" of the sky cities. Operating from City Control in New Manhattan, John orchestrated the deployment of the Escape Module—detaching thousands of hidden, laser-armed fragments from the sky cities to swarm and distract Orym. When that proved insufficient, John opened the earth to reveal the hidden underground city of Gondor, coordinating with Chief Jefferson to deploy a massive fleet of high-tech Destroyers against the rogue god.
Following Orym's defeat and the permanent deactivation of magic, John met with the grieving underkid Dill in City Control. Acknowledging Dill's natural leadership, John recruited him into the True People, offering the young man a new purpose in guiding humanity into an era of peace alongside the elves.
Powers and Abilities
Though he relies almost entirely on science and intellect during the events of the saga, John is actually a Prime Mage. His immense influence comes from a unique blend of his latent magical nature and the technological achievements of the True People:
- Prime Mage / Immortality: Having been killed by a Talented mage while possessing latent magical Talent himself, John's soul traveled to Ambarhal. He returned to the physical world as a fully realized Prime Mage. This grants him biological immortality, allowing him to live for over four centuries while maintaining the physical appearance of a man in his forties or fifties. Despite possessing this god-like potential, he does not actively practice or utilize his magic during the series.
- Master Linguist: He single-handedly invented "Low Remnant," a fully functional, guttural language designed to sound like devolved English to ensure the elves could never understand the surface survivors.
- Technological Mastery: As the leader of the True People, he has access to quantum entanglement communication, advanced computing, high-intensity lasers, neutrino bombardment, and the massive Escape Module weaponry.
- Life Extension Science: While his own long life is the result of his Prime Mage status, John successfully guided the True People to develop highly advanced life-extension technology, allowing his purely human followers to live for hundreds of years.
Key Relationships
- Martan (Martin): His son. John is fiercely protective of him, pulling him away from Elanil to protect the True People's secrets, though the two share a deep, loyal bond.
- Zel: The young Warlord of Gulthurub. John acts as his aide, treating the insecure boy with respect while trying to quietly steer him away from his mother's (Segena's) dark influence.
- Elanil: The elven leafrunner. Though he initially catches her with his son and is angry, her kindness in saving them from the war earns his deep gratitude, leading him to offer the elves shelter.
- Edith: His elven wife from before the Sundering. Her family introduced him to the hidden world of elves, altering the course of his long life.
- Dill: John recognizes Dill's leadership potential and recruits him into the True People at the end of the series, acting as a new mentor figure for the grieving boy.
- Trey (Tarathiel): Trey idolized John's fictional works (like The Lord of the Rings). Trey is utterly flabbergasted to discover that the author not only survived the apocalypse but orchestrated humanity's hidden survival.