Occupation:   Leader of the Lightning League

Known Relatives:   Audric (father) and Flora (adopted sister)

Equipment:

• Belt with Bungee Cord: Jayce's belt contains a line with an attached weight that is used for climbing. The front buckle shoots out a weight, dragging the line behind it, and the other end of the line remains attached to his belt. He uses this to get himself and Oon to safety after falling from a collapsing stone bridge in Space Thief.

• Communicator/Transmitter: Used by Jayce to command the Lightning League vehicles, which are programmed to respond to his instructions alone. He can also use this device as a normal communicator, talking to other people through their own communicators or the communications/intercom systems in buildings, spaceships, and vehicles. It cannot send signals through communications jamming fields or solid stone. It is taken from him twice, by Gash and by Orion the Hunter, but is returned both times. His communicator looks like a white-grey metal arm brace with a small keyboard and circular glass plate embedded in it. He wears it on his lower left arm.

• Laser Cannon: Kept in a side compartment of Armed Force, this small cannon emits a concentrated laser burst that can do enormous damage. In Steel Against Shadow, Jayce uses this cannon to trap two Monster Mind vehicles by shooting into unstable ground and opening a huge rift. Jayce almost falls into the rift himself, and is forced to let go of the laser cannon so that he can climb back up. It is unknown if the laser cannon was later retrieved or replaced.

• Laser Pistol: This emits a blue laser that burns through objects. Jayce wears it on a low-slung belt on his right hip when not using it. He is shown with the pistol in Early Warning and Children of Solarus II.

• Laser Rifle: Same as the Laser Pistol, only it does greater damage. Jayce slings it over his back when not using it. In Space Thief, Jayce modifies the rifle so that it will shoot a plant-weakening potion instead.

• Lightning League Vehicles: Jayce uses his communicator to command their movements and actions. All of them are programmed to respond to his instructions alone. Others may drive them only under manual control. The original vehicles -- Armed Force, Battle Base, Drill Sergeant, Quick Draw, Spike Trike, and Trail Blazer -- are given to him by Gillian in Escape From the Garden. Fling Shot debuts in The Stallions of Sandeen and Spray Gunner mysteriously appears in later episodes without explanation. All vehicles are programmed with various battle plans, defensive modes, operations, rescue plans, and other miscellaneous programs that can be executed with a single command from Jayce. For details about the individual vehicles, please see the Vehicle Profiles Page.

• Lightsword: The hilt of this sword emits a blade of solid blue light when it is activated. It is used for combat, slicing, and giving off huge energy discharges. Jayce tucks it in his belt on the left front side when not using it. The sword is given to Jayce by Orion the Hunter in The Hunt. He also uses one in A Touch of Madness. The lightsword is very similar to the Star Wars lightsaber.

• Ring of Light: This is a very powerful magical artifact that can assist Jayce and his friends as long as Jayce's heart and purpose are pure. It is only used as a last resort. To activate it, he usually says "Ring of Light, magic might!"

  There have been a few occasions where it acts of its own accord. It saves Jayce from a high fall in Escape From the Garden and helps the team escape a Epsilon IX prison cell in Lightning Strikes Twice. Somehow, the Ring always does the right thing at the right time -- even if it's not what Jayce may have originally had in mind.

  Its mystical powers will not work in places where magic is suspended, such as within a gateway. If it is near something that drains magic, such as Vantu's pyramid, Jayce can still use it by concentrating.

  The Ring has demonstrated the following powers:
  

  * Burning holes through magical force fields.

  * Causing localized, controlled earthquakes.

  * Creating a fire-breathing phoenix.

  * Emitting a blinding lightburst.

  * Emitting blue alpha rays (this radiation weakens Monster Minds).

  * Encasing Jayce in a solid energy "card" that could fly & slice through Monster Mind vines.

  * Giving energy to reactivate a planetary computer.

  * Healing an ancient dragon.

  * Holding a gateway open from the outside.

  * Overloading weapons.

  * Razing Monster Minds vines off the whole Nightmoon.

  * Removing restraining bolts.

  * Shooting force blasts.

  * Shooting lasers.

  * Shooting tractor beams.

  * Shooting solid energy disks to slice through Monster Mind vines.

  * Shrinking people long enough to escape a prison cell, then restoring them to full size.

  * Speeding up a planet's metabolism to make Monster Minds live through the entire cycle of life in seconds.

  * Surrounding a person with an energy "bubble" that allows him/her to pass through solid objects.

  * Telekinesis.

  * Teleportation.

  * Throwing magical shackles on the wizard Perawon.
  

  Gillian gives the Ring to Jayce in Escape From the Garden. It was worn by the leader of the original Lightning League. The Ring appears to be made out of a brown metal. It has a large, circular, faceted, violet-white gemstone in the center and several smooth, circular, sky-blue stones surrounding the center stone (there are usually seven of these stones, but sometimes six or eight are seen). There is also an outer circle of tiny red faceted jewels.

  Based on the ram-like humanoid face that hovered briefly above it at the end of the Bloodstone episode, it is possible that a magical spirit dwells within the Ring of Light to power it. This is reminiscent of the djinn (genies), the Ring of Solomon, and the magical jewellry of ancient times.

• The Root: Both halves of the Root are attuned to Audric's life-force. Jayce receives his half from Oon in Escape From the Garden. Whenever he is near Audric, some possession of Audric's, or the other half of the Root, Jayce's half will react by vibrating or glowing with a golden aura.

  The Roots are kept alive through their own magic. Jayce's Root is killed when its magic is used to save Soultree from the Monster Minds, but the tree repays the favor by restoring the Root to full strength. It starts to wither in Children of Solarus II, but the planet's healing winds make it healthy again.

  Occasionally, Jayce's Root is taken from him by enemies, but he always gets it back. Both halves of the Root joined together is the only thing that can put an end to Saw Boss and the Monster Minds. Jayce wears his half of the Root in a hollow medallion with a sunburst flame pattern.

Appearance:

Jayce is a young man who appears to be between seventeen and twenty years of age. He has blue eyes, medium-length red-brown hair with a white streak down the middle, and a good build. His face is determined, open, and thoughtful. Jayce wears a light blue belted tunic with light grey accents and deep sky-blue sleeves. He also wears deep sky-blue pants, brown boots, and a thin gold circlet with an embedded tear-shaped orange stone. He wears his communicator on his left lower arm, a gold bracer on his lower right arm, the Ring of Light on his right ring finger, and his half of the Root in a medallion around his neck. Jayce appears to be idealistic and intelligent, and proves both are true many times.

Strengths:

Jayce is an incredible leader and tactician, known for coming up with inventive plans and strategies that look impossible at first (as Herc points out in numerous episodes) but always work out fine in the end. He is an exceptional fighter, driver, and pilot. He has the knowledge to repair the Lightning League vehicles and knows both underwater and zero-gravity operations. He can pilot the Pride with a high level of skill. Jayce has great agility, strength, and endurance, as well as the ability to make very high jumps. He shares some of Audric's connections in the scientific community. Like his father, Jayce can count on reliable information from the spy Jal Gorda. Jayce is compassionate, open-minded, optimistic, and has an extremely powerful will. He also has a great deal of charisma and gets along with almost everyone. No matter what happens, Jayce will never give up hope.

Weaknesses:

Setbacks sometimes frustrate Jayce, especially if they delay his search for Audric. He often enters into dangerous situations for the sake of gaining a single small clue to his father's whereabouts. Jayce has a tendency to trust strangers, even against Flora's advice. This has led him into numerous traps. Jayce is especially susceptible to being tricked by Audric look-alikes. He occasionally behaves a bit impatiently and is known to be reckless.

History:

Jayce is the leader of the current Lightning League. His two goals are to find Audric and destroy the Monster Minds.

Little is known about his homeworld other than that it was a peaceful, technologically advanced civilization and had an excellent school (both Jayce and Audric attended it in their teens). That was before the Monster Minds arrived and conquered the planet. The human population fled, and Jayce went to his friend Gillian's garden for safety.

Jayce, Gillian, and Flora waited for Audric to return to Gillian's garden and take them away. Oon came in his place, told the tale of the Monster Minds' creation, and gave half of the magic Root to Jayce. Jayce was given the Ring of Light and the Lightning League vehicles by Gillian, who realized they would need them on the battlefield. After their first battle with the Monster Minds, the group escaped the doomed planet with the help of Herc Stormsailor.

Jayce and the Lightning League then began their quest to find Audric, along the way helping free oppressed people, planets, and civilizations from the Monster Minds. In the process, Jal Gorda taught Jayce advanced fighting techniques. After he received a glimpse of a possible future in which the Monster Minds capture Audric, Jayce changed it by luring the Monster Minds into a special trap and thus altering the present. On the Light-Eater's planet, he conquered his worst fear (of completely failing his father) by believing in the truth and dispersing the illusion with the Ring of Light. The evil spirit in Steel Against Shadow tried to dominate his body and mind, but with the Lightning League's help, his own strong willpower, and the Ring of Light, Jayce was freed. On a trip twenty-five years back into the past, Jayce attempted to warn Audric (who was his age at that time) not to do the experiment that would create the Monster Minds, but it took place despite this.

Jayce's compassion shines through many times in the series. He saves his friends and the people of Kyros from being turned into crystal, rescues Orion the Hunter and Gash, frees Doomflower Station and the scientists who are trapped on Geddon IV, tries to help Aragon, and saves the children of Solarus II. He has been attracted to a few women (Selena, from Darksinger, as well as Princesses Ina and Kiandra), but always leaves them to continue his quest.