Erlking

The Erlking, or Lord Herne, is a wyldfae. He is the Lord of the goblins, and a peer to the Faerie Queens. He first appears in Dead Beat.

Description
"And upon the throne sat a figure in black armor, covered from head to toe. He was huge, nine feet tall at least, and had a lean, athletic look to him despite the armor. His helm covered his head and veiled his face with darkness, and great, savagely pointed antlers rose up from the helmet, though whether they were adornment or appendage I couldn’t say. Within the visor of that helmet was a pair of steady red eyes, eyes that matched the thousands of others in the hall."

- The Erlking described

The Erlking is a hunter spirit associated with primal violence. According to Die Lied der Erlking, he isn't a part of the Winter Court or the Summer Court, but is described as a wyldfae. He can also be described as a Summer King.

The Erlking holds dominion over the spirits of fallen hunters, the energy of the hunt: excitement, hunger and bloodlust. He can call those spirits in the forms of great black hounds, then ride the winds and forests of the Wild Hunt. He carries great power as he does this.

The Erlking is devious, cunning, strong, and swift. He is not an evil being, he is a "force of nature, power and violence without conscience or restraint." Regarding children's deaths, the various tales say he either: preys on children, heralds their deaths, or he's a guardian making sure the souls of children aren't harmed or diverted as they leave their bodies.

Some say he's among the top faerie nobles other say he's equal to the Faerie Queens. He is one of the beings who can call up the Wild Hunt (a gathering of the more predatory beings of Faerie).

He is about equal in power to Mab: the Erlking is to goblins what Mab is to the Sidhe—he's their ruler. Die Lied der Erlking is the book written about him by Samuel Peabody. Eldest Gruff addresses him "Lord Herne."

While trapped in Harry Dresden's circle in Dead Beat, he is over eight feet tall. He looks more or less human dressed in close-fitting leathers and mail. He had on a bucket-shaped helmet that covered his face, and huge stag horns rose up from the helmet. His eyes shone like amber fires through the slit of the visor. When he spoke to Dresden, the words just appeared in his head.

In Changes, the Erlking holds court sitting in a great stone throne atop a huge dais, the side of which Dresden and Susan Rodriguez assume at first to be a big wall.

When he takes off his helmet, the horns are fixed to it. Though his face reflects the hideous asymmetries of his goblins, they were somehow transformed, "muted into a kind of roguish distinction." He has a crooked nose that is likely earned rather than born with. He had old faint scar, that added grace. Dresden feels he has been "hand-crafted by a true master." His face holds power, and so does his presence. He has the focus of a true predator who rarely misses his prey. He bows with inhuman elegance and kisses Susan's hand.

In Cold Days, with his helmet off, he has shoulder-length, shaggy, light-brown, grizzly hair. His asymmetrical features hold a roguish charm. He had gold-green eyes. The Erlking is dressed in hunter's leathers and his sword's hilt is made of an antler. Though huge, over seven feet tall, his physical presence suggests agility and grace, similar to that of a tiger.

Dead Beat
In Dead Beat, Mab tells Harry Dresden more about the Erlking. The Heirs of Kemmler (necromancers) want to summon the Erlking in order to raise ancient and powerful spirits to devour them for power in a ritual spell called the Darkhallow. Heinrich Kemmler had learned a way to bind his will to shades, not just the dead (written in The Word of Kemmler). Dresden plans to call the Erlking and secure him so that the Heirs can't call him. Dresden goes to see Sheila who has perfect recall to tell him what was in the Die Lied der Erlking.

Later in Dead Beat, Dresden summons the Erlking outside Murphy's house and traps him in a circle. He demanded to be released, inviting Dresden to join him in the hunt. Dresden refused. First he lets Dresden feel the excitement of the hunt, then lets him feel the experience of being the hunted. After three refusals, he howls in rage unable to escape. Dresden is hit on the head by Cowl allowing the Erlking to escape on his steed. He salutes Dresden with his sword before he leaves to run havoc through Chicago. After Dresden defeats Cowl, using a resurrected Sue the Tyranosaurs, the Erlking finds him tired and helplessly weak. Impressed with his resolve and his use of a great, long dead predator, the Erlking spares him for now.

Heorot
In "Heorot", one of the Malks hunting Harry Dresden mentions that the Erlking would grant them great favor if they bring him Dresden's head.

Curses
In "Curses", King Gwynn ap Nudd mentions to Harry Dresden that he is 'tickled to no end' by the fact that Dresden stuck a thumb into the Erlking's eye.

Changes
In Changes, Harry Dresden and Susan Rodriguez enter the Erlking's lair in the Nevernever by accident when attempting to flee from an attack by the Red Court led by the Eebs at the FBI Headquarters. The Eebs contested Dresden's claim that he and Susan came there by chance and as such, the Erlking orders a trial by combat to settle the matter. Dresden and Susan battle the Ik'k'uox and another vampire, emerging victorious. The Erlking releases them in order to hunt them himself some fine evening.

Cold Days
In Cold Days, the Erlking—Lord Herne—attends the "birthday party" for Harry Dresden, accompanied by Kringle and had a pleasant chat with Dresden, Sarissa and Eldest Gruff. Kringle invited Eldest Gruff on the Hunt, who declined.

Dresden and Murphy later encounter the Erlking leading the Wild Hunt against them. Due to quick thinking, Dresden is able to non-fatally shoot the Erlking and he defeated Kringle which established Dresden's dominance over the Wild Hunt. He leads the Hunt against the Outsiders, with the Erlking serving him as a lieutenant. The Erlking, relishing a fight with the Outsiders, holds the creatures off while Dresden tries to stop their plans.

After the fight, Dresden admits his suspicions to Kringle that he and the Erlking purposefully lost to Dresden, as a way to assist in his fight. Kringle responded that the Hunt would not have followed him if Dresden didn't take it, nobody gives command of the Hunt.

Word of Jim
In Faerie, the Erlking is sort of the Hunter King. He is associated with the summer season and is thus considered a Summer King, despite being independent of the queens and their courts.

Trivia
The lore about him was compiled into the book Die Lied der Erlking by Wizard Peabody. It is a collection of essays, stories, songs, lectures, accountings, sketches and poetry about him.

When Harry Dresden meets the Erlking again at court, we find out his name is Lord Herne. Herne the Hunter is a well-known figure in English folklore, appearing as an antlered man said to haunt and hunt in Windsor Great Park, which surrounds Windsor Castle; this is also a reflection of the Welsh Gwyn ap Nudd, who is lord of the goblins and of the Welsh Wild Hunt. The English name "Erlking" derives from the German "Erlkönig" ("Alder King"); the latter in turn was mistranslated from a Danish name meaning "Elfking".

The attributes of Butcher's Erlking strikingly echo those of Jareth, the Goblin King from the 1986 Jim Henson movie "Labyrinth." He is called the lord of goblins and even Goblin King on occasion; in myth, though not in Butcher's books, he is concerned, as is Jareth, with stealing away children. However, the Erlking's facial appearance reflects the asymmetry of his subjects, though it is said to have a "roguish charm"; while Jareth (played in the movie by David Bowie) is hauntingly beautiful, with long blond hair and mismatched eyes.