Count Eberle
Titles: Count; Lord of the Stanley Estates Nation: Atrebla Appears in: Baron Von Monocle and the Island of the Fae
Count Eberle was an Atreblan noble, lord of the Stanley Estates in "the Atrebla Kingdom's wealthiest province". Rislandia needed aether fuel for its growing airship fleet, and Baron Theodore von Monocle was sent to negotiate with him.
Appearance and personality
Eberle had a refined look that contrasted with Theodore's youthfulness. His black hair was dyed, which stood out against his pale white face. He wore a finely tailored suit over a well-built frame. He was a former military man and fond of his military background, and he brightened when Theodore praised Atrebla's navy as "one of the finest navies in the world". For all his finery, his eyes were "dead", with "no joy there, no caring".
Eberle could not resist wordplay. He greeted Theodore with "I'm a huge fan of your propeller based aerial flight technology... Get it? Huge fan? Propeller?" Later, gloomily, he said the best thing Theodore could offer was "an heir-ship". He spoke of having "come to hate the sun in my old age".
His estate
Theodore found the estate bigger than King Malaky's palace back home. It had purple curtains with real gold trim, floral wallpaper, modern gas lamps, carved oak furniture, and servants offering appetizers.
Role in the story
Eberle told Theodore that it might be beyond his means to convince King Eakin to part with the aether fuel. Then he revealed his real need: his son, a boy of about twelve, had been taken to an island by "inhuman devils he calls fae". Eberle had apparently been to the island himself, because the Fae told Theodore, "He said your kind would leave our island and never return."
Theodore found the boy safe and content among the Fae. He traded Harkerpal's Electrical Field for a well of aether fuel and left the boy behind. Three days later, over spicy tea from Perryton, he told Eberle that they had found no creatures, only a fuel well, possibly left by Eberle's own men. The count, looking tired and deeply wrinkled, said: "I suppose it was folly to hope. Even the great Baron von Monocle couldn't rescue my son." When Theodore tried a pun of his own, "Life isn't faerie, as they say", Eberle's eyes went dark: "Get out... There's no humor in this."
Family
- Son: unnamed, about twelve, with long straight brown hair. He stayed with the Fae. Eberle believes the boy was not found.
In A History of Rislandia
According to A History of Rislandia, Count Eberle is identified primarily in relation to his son's fate: the sourcebook records that Baron Theodore von Monocle left the count's son with the Fae, and that the boy was happy and safe in their care.
This account is notable for what it states plainly as historical fact. Where the novel presents Theodore's report to Eberle as a deliberate deception — telling the count that no creatures were found and that the boy had not been rescued — A History of Rislandia records the outcome from an omniscient scholarly perspective, stating without qualification that the boy was left with the Fae and was happy and safe there. The sourcebook does not indicate that Eberle was ever told the truth.