Gwyn Frothac

Gwyn Frothac
Gwyn Frothac is a Tidevinnr, or Tidesage, of the Otjel people, who are skilled sailors and fishermen known for their sustainable practices and animist beliefs. He also serves as Drottin, or mayor, of Valtara, a settlement established by the Taralaget Fleet, who are the most commonly known Otjel population in Eldham.

Early Life
Gwyn's exact age is unknown, as the Otjel understanding of time and its passing is made complicated by their near-constant travel. However what is known is that he was born the elder of two sons to Ulfrblud Frothac, previous Tidevinnr and 'Pirate King' of the Taralaget Fleet, and Kristali Galbrin, his Lunezj wife. Ulfrblud was cold and distant to his wife and firstborn, but saved his anger and disappointment for his younger son, Nathaniel. Whenever the adults were busy talking abovedeck or gathering resources during a momentary landfall, the two brothers would play games and tell stories, becoming nearly inseparable. They both dreamed of the Tidevinnr that Gwyn would someday make, a kinder and more gentle ruler than their father ever was.

Before her early death to an unknown illness, their mother would often speak to them of her late father, Gwyn's namesake, and of her distant homeland, an island nation known as Lun'elnazj. There they venerated one goddess, a great being of silver, snow, and the cultivation of the higher and inner self. The image of the nigh-mythical place lodged itself in the memory of the brothers, its foreshores and fens serving as the new imaginary staging ground for their long games of Pirates-and-Sirens. In these days they also met and became close with Oog, a distant relative who came to live with them on the flagship Netirbri.

Rise to Power - Lunezj Expedition
Later, Ulfrblud's methods and policies led to a mutiny, one that resulted in the loss of a third of the fleet, and Ulfrblud's death in battle. Of the two thirds that remained, not an unloyal soul lay among them, and so Gwyn ascended to the role of Tidevinnr without challenge. The role of 'Pirate King' was shirked in favour of 'Poet King', and the fleet changed its aims and way of life in a drastic way. Gwyn's cresting ushered in an age of peace for the Taralaget, and, with Nathaniel and Oog as his advisors, an expedition to Lun'elnazj was mounted.

Lun'elnazj was an exotic and primal place, where the native peoples ran in hunt with the great flightless owlcats of the sunless northern planes, and their inhuman neighbours rode great shelled lizards through the western wastes. It was in the conifer trees of the great mountain forests where Oog found Cheeks, a baboon who he adopted and raised.

Living for a time amongst the natives, Gwyn learned more of their culture, and of his own heritage. Gwyndol Galbrin, his namesake and maternal grandfather, had been a great philosopher and tribal elder. It was believed that the Silver Goddess collected and 'Gilded' the souls of the honoured dead, however some made the choice to return to the mortal plane and aid their descendants. The vessels of these returned souls would be born with the silver markings of the goddess burnt into their skin, a discoloration that has been attributed by physicians to a condition known medically as 'Argyria'. Gwyn's own skin possessed these markings, and, while he hadn't just yet converted to the local faith, he was practically viewed as a saint, 'The Gilded', by those who he dwelled among.

Before the fleet's departure from Lun'elnazj, in which several new members accompanied them, such as Lilith and Rober, Gwyn fell in love and was married with a native woman, Theia d'Argentarie. It was a year later when, only a week prior to the next landfall, Theia's life ended tragically in childbirth, the end of a prayer to the goddess still on her lips. Despite a birthing night heavy with death, and a sickly disposition, Selene survived the night, and quickly grew healthy and happy. The Tidevinnr viewed this as a miracle, and, with his fleet behind him, gave himself fully to the nameless goddess of the Lunezj.

Founding of Valtara
Always paranoid that sickness would return to claim his precious daughter, Gwyn decided a life on the sea would be too much for her fragile body. They made landfall in Jupiters' Bay as planned, proclaiming the mountain 'Star-made', and settling Valtara within its ruins after pledging their loyalty to the Imperare of Simulami-Drakonia.

On the third night of its settlement, a battle for Valtara was fought, with the help of numerous foreigners, against two Kobold Assassins, cursed reptilian creatures presumably in the service of Segra and her Paxian Hordes. At great cost, the Valtari cut down their enemies, and continued with plans to restore and develop their new city.