Erling-himself

Erling-himself is the head of Erling House, despite not having been seen in Malfa in decades.
Early on, Maveren Houses tended to have a head of the House, despite the fact that all Maveren are supposed equals. There was a tradition for the head of House to use the name of the House as their common name—Leidh of Leidh House, for instance.
Erling House is one of the few Houses that still has a titular head, and the only one in which the name of the head is the same as the name of the House. The current Erling hasn't been seen in Malfa for more than eighty years—longer than sea-elf memory, and nearly as long as the longest-lived humans—so rumours about him abound. The only thing known for sure about him is that he's a full-blooded high elf (the only one amongst the Maveren) and he's very old.
How many Erlings have there been? Is the current Erling still the original Erling? Not even the other members of his House know, though some of them have met Erling overseas. Despite his absence from Malfa, Erling likes to keep an iron grip on his House, and one of his strategies for doing so is to surround himself with an aura of mystery and foreboding. More pragmatically, his decisions for Erling House are made known through Erling House's steward, a thrall named Thion af-Erling, who is Erling's own personal thrall. A personal thrall serving in a household role is very unusual, and would be frowned upon if it weren't Erling doing it.
There are stories amongst the sagas of someone named Erling doing various things at different points in Maveren history, but the stories don't identify Erling either as the only Erling, or as one of a series. The only clue is that in every appearance in the sagas, Erling is always male. On the other hand, if there is only one Erling in history, he would be very old, much older than elves generally last. (See On Elves for more on elvish lifespans).
When people in Malfa speak of Erling the individual, they often call him Erling-himself to distinguish him from Erling House. This is a non-Maveren thing that many Maveren have now also adopted, especially the younger ones.