List of Jewel Riders characters

The following article is the list of recurring fictional characters from the animated series Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders.

Main characters

The Jewel Riders

Princess Gwenevere (Starla)

Gwenevere (Starla) with Sunstar

Princess Gwenevere, also known as Starla (depending of version of the show), is the star of the show, the newest Jewel Rider and the champion for the side of righteousness, and is herself to be the queen of the magical Kingdom of Avalon when she comes of age. When the series begins, sixteen-year old Gwenevere, the upright and bold Princess of Avalon, daughter of Queen Anya and King Jared living in the Crystal Palace inside the castle of New Camelot, is only about to become a Jewel Rider and the heir to the throne must be worthy of being one. However, since Queen Anya's sister Kale was judged unworthy and went on to become an outlaw sorceress, the pressure on the Queen to test her daughter was very great and the pressure on Gwen was even worse.

It is during this tense time, when Gwen, although naturally lighthearted and fun-loving, proves herself capable of hard work and responsibility during the initial quest to win back the Crown Jewels of Avalon from Kale. Though she is the most inexperienced of the Jewel Riders, Princess Gwenevere becomes their leader after the first episode, and the other riders must follow her commands. She receives the sacred Sun Stone at the Friendship Ring Ceremony, handed down by her mother, and is bonded with Sunstar, her winged pegasus-like unicorn. The orange Sun Stone (the Jewel of Light) is most powerful under the bright sun and uses the different colors of the rainbow to create various effects. She also tried to find a boyfriend; this was more difficult. While she had always been attracted to Drake, the leader of the Kinghts of Avalon (the Pack), she also found his overconfidence annoying. In the second season she befriends and later falls in love with a werewolf prince named Ian.

Gwen is good-natured, but also somewhat spoiled and prissy. She has certain traits that she has inherited from her famous namesake: courage, a strong will, and impulsiveness, but she has also has a fiery temper and can sometimes be snobby and pretentious. She loves to dress up in fancy dresses and attend royal parties, obsessed with fashion and beauty. On several occasions, Gwenevere tries to reason with her wicked aunt Kale in the episode "Dreamfields", when Kale and Gwen compete for the Dreamfields Jewel in each other's shared dream, both even switch their roles with each other and Gwen must rely on her friends to help her fight off the corrupting nightmares of the Dark Stone (Gwen also becomes "evil" when she falls under Kale's hypnotic spell in the episode "Fashion Fever"). In the second season, she learns from a fortune teller aided by a Wizard Jewel of her destiny to become the ruler of Avalon. Motivated by this vision, she is able to gain the confidence and lead the Jewel Riders to the ultimate victory, first defeating Kale, and then re-tuns the powers of the captured Dark Stone for good, joining it with her Sun Stone and allowing the Jewel Riders to successfully challenge the power of Morgana.

She was voiced by Kerry Butler for the first season and by Jean Louisa Kelly for the second one, and by Pernilla Wahlgren for the Swedish version.

Fallon

Fallon is a tough, no-nonsense young woman and a sassy warrior with a soft tender heart. She is the athletic tomboy of the group, a tough yet graceful and agile Gypsy girl. Fallon owns the Moon Stone, a blue moon-shaped jewel that creates illusions and other tricks (like revealing hidden objects) and is enhanced at night. She finds herself a bit left out when it comes to Gwenevere and Tamara's more girly activities because Fallon prefers to hang out with the Pack's boys and go racing on her mighty unicorn friend, Moondance. Fallon can be very aggressive and active, balancing the more feminine and aesthetically-minded Gwenevere, and is very skilled in athletics enabling her to perform many incredible feats and acrobatic stunts. She's also interested in studying science and archeology.

Fallon is the toughest and most graceful of the Jewel Riders, very daring and resolute, trained in self defense and survival skills, and most likely to take on their enemies for a fight. She also has a kind heart and fights to protect her friends. Nature-loving, she knows the forests like the back of her hand. Fallon however doesn't get along with her parents, Alfred and Minerva, because they did not attend the Friendship Ring ceremony where she received her Moon Stone. Fallon's parents disapprove of her being a Jewel Rider as they would have much preferred for Fallon to have become a Craft Master like them. She eventually learns to get over it, though, and restores her relationship with them.

She was voiced by Laura Dean.

Tamara

The pink-haired Tamara is a bit older and more experienced than Gwenevere. She is the prettiest of the Jewel Riders and owns the Heart Stone, a red, heart-shaped "Wild Stone" (which means it is upredictable) jewel that contains the power of healing and understanding animals. Tamara is a well known as a gifted musician and artist in Avalon, and also works as a caretaker responsible for training baby magical animals. Her Heart Stone's main ability is healing and it can transform into or enhance the potential of any instrument, but is a "Wild Stone" (which means it's unpredictable). It also allows her to talk to any animal in Avalon (unlike the other Jewel Riders, who are only able to communicate with their one special friend, besides Archie the talking owl).

Tamara is famous throughout the Kingdom for her talent to excel at any instrument, and is the only of the three Jewel Riders who sings in the series; the songs Tamara sings are "Feel the Magic" (from "Song of the Rainbow"), "Heartland Farm" ("Home Sweet Heart Stone") and "Nothing Like a Friend" ("Shadowsong"). Though she does not receive her special pink "zebracorn" animal friend (a hybrid of zebra and unicorn), Shadowsong, until the second season (when she needed to ride a unicorn in the first season, she usually sat on the back of Moondance with Fallon), Tamara is constantly surrounded by baby animals because her parents, Doc and Charity, run Heartland Farm; a sort of nursery for future magical animals. Spiritual yet practical, Tamara is very motherly and always supports whoever she is with, acting as the voice of reason. Gwenevere and Fallon often get into arguments because of their differences, and it is Tamara who must settle these arguments due to her constant drive for peace. The other girls also often turn to her for advice.

She was voiced by Debra Allison.

Villains

Lady Kale

Lady Kale is the evil twin of Queen Anya and the Princess Gwenevere's aunt who has been judged unworthy by her mentor Merlin and so Anya was selected by him to receive the Sun Stone (and the so throne of Avalon) instead of her, despite Kale's greater ability to control the magic. Banished from the Crystal Palace for plotting to seize power away from her hated "dear sister", Kale became a dark sorceress has dedicated her life to seeking revenge upon Merlin. Kale is coldly beautiful but very haughty, power-hungry and ruthless. She knows no limits to her cruel ambition and firmly believes that she, not Anya, should be ruling Avalon. Despite being an outlaw, she refers to herself as the Princess Kale of Avalon through the series and as the self-proclaimed Queen Kale for two episodes. At the start of the series Kale has discovered and attuned herself to the Dark Stone (first created by Morgana to destroy Merlin), which is containing dark magic so powerful that she sometimes has problems controlling it. She is being aided by her dragon Grimm and two "dweasel" creature servants, and resides in the Castle Thornwood, which is a part of Ravenwood she turned into a dark and forbidding place.

In the episode "Dreamfields", both Kale and Gwen get confused and temporaly swap their roles and Kale becomes good, wearing Anya's queen robe and defending the throne from Gwenevere and the Dark Stone; at the end of this episode, she also chooses not capture the Sun Stone when she can and has doubts over her wicked ways. Eventually, Kale is outwitted by Merlin while trying to use his own Enchanted Jewel and the power of the collected Crown Jewels sent her into the Wild Magic. Once trapped there, she meets Morgana and the two make an uneasy deal to work together, so Kale can return from the Wild Magic as somewhat of a sidekick to Morgana (and at once a "thorn in her side") in the second season. In reality however, both of them wants the Dark Stone for themselves, ready to get rid of the other. Since her return to Avalon, Kale acts as Morgana's hands and eyes in this world, and she appears in several episodes and with powers now inferior to these newly-acquired by the Jewel Riders. In the end she is finally defeated by Gwenevere and Ian and turned into stone statues together with her creatures, however it is unclear if permanently (other characters were de-petrified by Gwen in the same episode).

Kale was voiced by Corinne Orr. Some sources^[1][2] speculated that Lady Kale is an anagram for Lady of the Lake (who however actually appears in the show as a titular character in an episode "Lady of the Lake" at the end of the second season). In the Catalonian version her name is Caluixa.

Morgana

The vicious and ruthless Morgana is a legendary Enchantress who is out for revenge against Merlin and the main enemy of the second season. She is also the original creator of Dark Stone jewel, the only magic stone in Avalon that was not tuned by Merlin, even if she's no longer in capable of using it herself. Like the other Great Wizards, Morgana doesn't need jewels to use magic and is also capable of effortless levitation (later also while sitting on her flying flying throne). Morgana looks like a fantasy dark elf, as she has pointy ears, dark skin and white hair. Like Merlin (and the other wizards), she is apparently immortal, or at least aging extremely slowly (but while Merlin looks like an old man, she still has rather youthful and voluptuous appearance even over 1,000 years after their original conflict).

Morgana, "the great witch out of legend", has been the leader of the Great Wizards who were vanquished by good wizard Merlin as she led the wizards in a coup to overthrow Merlin and usurp the magic of Avalon for themselves. Merlin proved too powerful, however, and they were all banished into the Wild Magic. Once here, she was unable to return to Avalon without the Dark Stone she lost, and left drifting in her palace as part of the magic itself. Even when she does discover her Dark Stone, it has already re-tuned itself to Kale, leaving Morgana to search for other sources of magic to return to Avalon. Because Morgana can only make illusions of herself in Avalon (she is able to appear via insubstantial projections), she sends Kale to find the lost jewels of all the ancient wizards, lending her some of her powers (Kale is however annoying her greatly as Morgana despises her arrogance, and both of them are treating their alliance as only temporary). Later on, Morgana is able to invade the world Avalon physically. With all seven Wizard Jewels captured, Morgana accidentally frees the other bad wizards (who first turn on her, before submitting to her as Queen Morgana), but shortly afterward they were defeated again and all of them apparently either exiled back into the Wild Magic or even destroyed forever.

She is based on the Arthurian character Morgan le Fay.

Other recurring characters

Humans

Merlin

Merlin is the wise, powerful, and good wizard who first discovered the land of Avalon and bound the Crown Jewels together. One thousand years ago he has banished the rest of the wizards into the Wild Magic for attempting to take over Avalon and use its great power for their ends. He also denied the young Kale the Sun Stone and thus barred her from becoming the queen of Avalon. At the beginning of the series Merlin has been training the new Jewel Riders, however the vindicative Kale used her Dark Stone to send him into the Wild Magic. He however managed to scatter the Seven Crown Jewels she needs to rule and now the Jewel Riders must find him before Kale succeeds in her attempts to destroy him. The jewel on his staff was also the key to the Jewel Box that held the seven Crown Jewels. After his staff breaks in the finale of the first season, Merlin is unable to return to Avalon until he is given the One-Jewel Staff by Gwenevere.

He is based on the Arthurian character Merlin. He was voiced by Roger Carel for the French version.

Drake

Drake is the dashing leader of the Pack, a band of large wolf-riding knights and protectors of the Crystal Palace, and has the biggest part in the show of the three. His wolf is named Thunder. Drake is rugged and handsome yet immature and somewhat arrogant, but his heart is always in the right place. He has a huge romantic crush on Princess Gwenevere, but hates when she tries to play games with his mind by flirting and teasing him. His charisma which is not lost on Gwen, although she would never admit feeling anything more than friendship. She also saves him on several occasions. Drake also has a friendly ongoing competition with Fallon in the field games put on by King Jared.

Queen Anya

Protective and caring Queen Anya is Gwenevere's mother and Lady Kale's sister. She is the good-looking and noble ruler of Avalon, married to King Jared. Merlin selected her to become Queen because of her compassion for all people and animals. Now, she strives to keep peace and harmony in Avalon. Anya has the face and earrings similar to Kale's, but differs by her blonde hair and blue eyes and wears mostly blue costumes (while Kale has black hair and violet eyes and wears mostly red). She is the ex-owner of the Sun Stone, and her purple-and-white-striped large tiger is named Wintermane. She also has a large collection of magical maps and studies ancient lore and legends in the Jewel Keep, to which only she knows the entrance codes.

In the Spanish language version Anya's name is Angelene.^[3]

Ian

Ian is a good-looking but mysterious young prince of the Forest of Arden who harbours a terrifying secret. When Gwenevere first meets him, he is a hunky blonde Fabio-lookalike, but it is later revealed that Ian is actually a werewolf who is using the power of a Wizard Jewel to be human. In his wolf form he is very strong, capable of even lifting and throwing a wagon. Kale and Morgana tempt him to give away the Wizard Jewel with the prospect of a permanent human form, which he nearly accepts in the hope of wooing Gwen. But when Ian sacrifices the jewel to save Gwen, she convinces him that no matter what shape he takes, she will she assures him that she always be his friend. Ian returns to aid the Jewel Riders in the second series' dramatic finale, when he rescues Gwen again and helps to rid the world of evil.

Other humans

• King Jared is the benevolent ruler and Commander in Chief of Avalon, respected by the people and aiming to keep the land in harmony with the power of goodness. Jared is married to Anya and father to Gwen. He used to be a member of the Pack and the name of his riding wolf is Goliath. Jared's name means "ruler" in Hebrew. He was voiced by Emmanuel Jacomy for the French version.

• Josh is a dark-skinned, very "cool" member of the Pack. He's very outgoing and isn't afraid to speak his mind, he also likes to play practical jokes. A skilled raider, Josh is well paired with his wolf Stormrunner.

• Max is the quietest member of the Pack. Loyal and gentle, he is a good friend and protector. His riding wolf's name is Shadow.

• The Outlaws are a gang or archers (several men and one woman) led by the man called Civello. They show up in the episodes "Badlands" and "Prince of the Forest" as mercenaries for Kale.

Magic animals

Archie

Archimedes (Archie) is a talking owl and familiar of Merlin who guides the Jewel Riders in his absence and helps the girls learn the magic of their Enchanted Jewels. Archie is the most humanoid of all major animal characters, even wearing clothes and spectacles.

Archimedes is also the name of Merlin's owl in the novel The Once and Future King and in the animated Disney film The Sword in the Stone. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek scientist Archimedes.

Sunstar

Sunstar is a misfit white winged unicorn who becomes Gwen's special friend after Gwen teaches her to fly. Before this, Sunstar used to be afraid to fly, and for this reason was an outcast among her other unicorns. They meet in the first episode as Sunstar tries to save the key to the Merlin's Jewel Box from Kale, but is then captured and tormented by her. Kale attempts to make Sunstar her unicorn, but Merlin breakes their bond and Gwen and Sunstar save each other and escape from Castle Thornwood. Sunstar then becomes Gwen's special friend at the Friendship Ring ceremony, since then accompanying her on all of her adventures.

Moondance

Moondance is a gentle and patient unicorn princess and is very closely bonded with Fallon, just as brave and athletic as her. Built for speed, she is a Thoroughbred of unicorns, and is always ready for exploring. Together, they can overcome any obstacle, and they always tell each other everything and support each other. When Sierra, the Queen of the Unicorns vanishes into the Wild Magic after thwarting Morgana's efforts to retrieve a Wizard Jewel, Moondance returned to her home valley and undergo a series of trials to prove herself worthy of becoming the ruler of her race. Fallon's close bond with Moondance helps her to rescue Queen Sierra and obtain the Unicorn Jewel.

Shadowsong

Shadowsong, the zebracorn Tamara receives as a partner in the second season. In the episode "Shadowsong", Tamara hears a voice calling to her Heart Stone and finds a strange unicorn who rescues her from a giant spider monster. Though it takes some time before Tamara can convince the zebracorn she's a friend, they soon become close. When Tamara thinks Shadowsong has died, her Heart Stone breaks in half, but it quickly reforms into two separate jewels; one of them becomes bonded to Shadowsong, Tamara's one special friend.

Dweasels (Rufus and Twig)

Mischievous yet cowardly (or "daring", in their own minds) Rufus ("red" in Latin) and Twig (the green one) are a pair of bumbling "dweasel" servants of Kale. The dweasels have an uncanny ability to smell Wild Magic, so she uses them to locate the Enchanted Jewels and spy on the Jewel Riders. Treated roughly by Kale, they address her "Witchy/Queenie One" (and "Witchy Thing" when she's not listening). According to the Jewel Riders trading cards, dweasel means a "dino-weasel".

Grimm

Grimm is a huge winged dragon, capable of fire-breathing, who is very loyal to Kale. Grimm transports her around in the "dragon wagon" and is the only creature the otherwise heartless Kale showed warm feelings for, treating him as her "big baby". The dragon is not very clever and can't speak, except for a few words, and is also heavy and often rather clumsy, on several occasions crashing into things. In the episode "Home Sweet Heart Stone", when Kale and her animals form a gothic music band to compete with the Riders' pop music band in the magical duel, Grimm powers Kale's pipe organ while the dweasels play electric guitars.

Other animals

• The Babies (Cleo, Spike and Sugar), a trio of baby magical animals (a pink unicorn, a blue and white cat and a green dragon) being raised at the Tamara's Heartland Farm. She more or less treats them as a mother would and Spike once saved her by jumping straight into the Dark Stone's energy blast. They were voiced by Patricia Legrand.

• Gliders (Nubbin, Drifter and Floater), the flying (gliding) furry rabbit or flying squirrel-like creatures that live in the Wild Magic and aid the Jewel Riders.

• Kit is a cute little baby "prism fox", a special animal that talks with magical sounds and can transform into a crystal prism fox to ride the Wild Magic. After the Jewel Riders rescue her from Kale's captivity, the bond she formed with Tamara allowed the girls to call her for help later in the series and eventually summon the Gliders who gave them wings to glide through the Wild Magic.

Other beings

• Guardian, a magical genie keeper of the secret Hall of Wizards hidden in the ice cave labirynth inside the Wizard's Peak in the Crystal Cliffs. He answers to the Ancient Wizards.

• Travel Trees are rings of talking trees created by Merlin to open the portals to the Wild Magic, capable of transporting anyone anywhere across Avalon by acting as transport stations through the Wild Magic. To use the Trees properly one must ask politely, something what the proud Kale couldn't understand. One special Travel Tree is the original Grandfather Tree, which was almost killed in the episode "Lady of the Lake" by Kale but later revived by the Jewel Riders.

Sources

• The original official website
• (Catalan) Characters page on Super3 website

References

1. ^ King Arthur on Film: New Essays on Arthurian Cinema by Kevin J. Harty
2. ^ Adapting the Arthurian Legends for Children: Essays on Arthurian juvenalia by Barbara Tepa Lupack
3. ^ (Spanish) «La princesa Starla» salva el reino de Avalón, El Mundo, 31 March 1996