| “ | Not that I don’t like the act, it’s a good one. Don’t doubt you’ve got a lot of eager fools taking you for quite the figure of fun. But we both know what y’are. | ” |
Jonas Clover was once known as Jonas Steepfield and reckoned a famous warrior in The North. After being defeated in the Circle, he developed a new perspective on life, and is now renowned as a sardonic do-nothing. Although never mentioned before A Little Hatred, he was apparently present during many of the events in the previous books.
Appearance and Personality[]
Clover isn’t tall, but solid as a tree, with brawny forearms and neck. He's tending to fat, with a great meaty gut and jowls. One of his cheeks is all puckered with an old scar. These days he wants nothing more than to lie low, sit on his arse, and avoid fighting as much as humanly possible. Yet those-in-the-know recognize this as all an act; Black Calder, Wonderful, Caul Shivers, and Yoru Sulfur. Clover warns everyone he meets that he looks out for himself, first and foremost, always. Yet they're somehow still shocked when he ruthlessly turns on them. Just ask Wonderful.
History[]
At 18 years old, Jonas Steepfield fought for Bethod in the First Northern War against The Union, and held a shield at the duel between the Bloody-Nine and Fenris the Feared. He has had a distinguished career since then, fighting for Glama Golden, then for Cairm Ironhead who he later killed, and now for Black Calder. Clover famously held the pass at Grey Breaks; wherever that is. Then he fought and lost a duel in the Circle. He can still remember the smell of the sweet clover as he lay defeated, waiting for the deathblow that never came. He lost his reputation and everything but his life. Since then, he’s taken a new Name, Jonas Clover, and tried to keep a low profile.
A Little Hatred[]
Jonas Clover’s easy life, as a barely-interested teacher of swordsmanship, is interrupted by Black Calder. Calder is in a sour mood over his wilful son, Stour Nightfall, and wants Clover to keep him on the right path. Arriving in the camp, he bonds with fellow veteran Wonderful, but despairs of the Great Wolf who’s an absolute prick. Stour tasks him with hunting down The Dogman’s daughter, Rikke, with all sorts of unpleasantness in mind for her. Clover does indeed find Rikke, but takes pity and quietly lets her go.
Arriving in a narrow valley, Stour Nightfall gleefully surveys the Union rearguard muddled on an ancient-looking bridge. To Clover’s consternation, he orders the attack, seemingly blundering into a laughably obvious trap. Ordered into the fray, Clover reluctantly makes his way to the front line, and runs into Magweer who sneers at him as always. The middle of a battle is a good place to settle a score, so Clover promptly stabs him in the neck. He then carries him back to the wounded, and decides to stay there.
The battle ends in a stalemate, and Stour agrees to settle the matter in the Circle. Clover and Caul Shivers are holding shields on different sides, but chat like old friends as folk gather at the appointed place. Clearly neither man cares much for their own champion, and Clover wonders why they’re loyal to their masters. Shivers points out that The Dogman is to be respected, and his daughter Rikke too.
After losing the duel, Stour Nightfall seems more thoughtful and Clover hopes defeat might finally have taught him some lessons. Alas Stour's chief conclusion is that he doesn’t want to be the king-in-waiting anymore, assassinating Scale Ironhand and taking his grandfather’s chain. The Great Wolf then turns his grin on Clover, saying he’s come to respect him, but needs a show of loyalty. You have to recognize your moment when it comes, and seize it. Clover immediately stabs Wonderful in the heart, impressing the new King of the Northmen with his coldness.
The Trouble With Peace[]
Jonas Clover is now the chief of his own little crew, or Dozen, which includes Downside, Sholla and Flick. Ordered by King Stour Nightfall to hunt Shanka, he proves quite an able leader, laying a well-planned ambush; halting them with a wall of spears, then giving them the arrows, and, as they begin to break, a charge. He makes sure to bag-up some Shanka heads to satisfy Stour's fondness for bloodshed.
When The Dogman dies of old age, Clover accompanies Stour and his men on a visit the Protectorate. Stour's swaggering entrance comes to an abrupt halt when he sees Rikke's face with the new tattoo; no one could look more like a witch. Rikke frightens him away with predictions of how his men will die. Only Clover briefly stays to give his condolences about her father. As he leaves, Caul Shivers reminds him that they still need to have a talk.
Later, Leo dan Brock and his new wife, Savine dan Glokta, visit Carleon to persuade Stour into joining their rebellion against the crown. Clover is on hand and among the many men, mesmerized by Savine's appearance and beauty. The Great Wolf ultimately agrees to help, having secretly been promised Uffrith by Savine.
As Stour Nightfall leaves with almost every Named Man, Thrall and Carl in The North, Black Calder once again asks Clover to look after his son. In Midderland, the Northmen are under orders to be on their best behavior. It doesn't quite go to plan, and Clover catches a man called the Dancer and his accomplice, who accidentally killed some peasants while trying to steal a sheep. When Stour arrives, he orders them executed.
At the Battle of Stoffenbeck, Stour Nightfall is on the left flank, attacking the well dug-in Union forces on a steep bluff. Clover is present, but avoids any actual fighting, of course. When it is clear the Young Lion’s glorious charge has come to grief and the battle is done, he trudges up the hill to find Stour, smearing himself with gore on the way. The Great Wolf is in no mood to pull back before they’re overrun, but Clover coolly helps him see sense. He has a boat waiting to whisk a few of them safely back home.
They cross the Circle Sea to Ollensand, with a crew, half Clover's men, half Stour’s bastards. Nearing shore, Clover tries to calm the agitated King of the Northmen, speaking softly and stepping in close. Then he butts him repeatedly in the face, while his crew kills Stour’s men all over the boat; sudden, quiet, and neat. Stour is left with his own sword brushing his throat and Clover’s boot on his chest. As they pull into the wharf, it’s not Ollensand at all, but Uffrith. They dump Stour on the jetty surrounded by men of Uffrith and the West Valleys, who reveal that Rikke has taken Carleon in his absence. The Great Wolf blusters and threatens, until The Nail yanks down his trousers, and Shivers casually slits the tendons behind both his knees; a cage in Skarling's Hall awaits him. Clover had been waiting for his moment to get even with Stour after the prick had forced him to murder his friend Wonderful.
The Wisdom of Crowds[]
To be added