Heddwyn ap Idris
Banestorm: Book II
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Heddwyn grew up as the son of a wealthy, very "Roman" Breton man and the daughter of a noble Welsh family trying to better their position through a political marriage—even though the husband was widely suspected to be a homosexual, unlikely to ever sire a child with his new wife. For the sake of family appearances, the two resigned themselves to a life of "romantic" misery. The parents on both sides pressed for them to have a child, for all the right reasons—family, inheritance—and a son was eventually born, Heddwyn; no others followed. It was whispered that the child was illegitimate.
Heddwyn spent his youth in chaos, envious of those he encountered who seemed to have happy, peaceful families at home. He often found himself the victim of his own compassion, as less-scrupulous fellows often took advantage of his desire to aid those in need. Once, a traveling druid arrived in court to set some things aright, decisive and confident, and well-respected (almost feared); the druid later took Heddwyn aside and prophesied greatness of him. From thenceforth, Heddwyn desired to become a druid himself. When he was nearly a man, the same druid reappeared at court and offered to take him away to become an initiate of the Order—his father allowed him to go, knowing he would have sneaked out anyway if he hadn't. In the course of his education as an initiate in the Order, he spent a great deal of time in the court of [Caddell ap Ioan], and made friends there (the PCs among them). Though far from "perfect," he saw in this family the possibility that peace and order could be achieved, even as the Roman influence in their world slipped away, threatening chaos.
Somewhat recently, word reached him of a man back at his family's home, Idris, who upon his death-bed, claimed to have begotten him upon his mother in secret. As a result, his not-father disinherited Heddwyn and adopted, in the Roman tradition, one of his trusted fighting-men (rumoured to be his lover, to none's surprise). He lost two fathers that day.
Now, he has returned from Ynys Môn after completing his Ordeal to become a bard, the first step toward his goal now complete, and finds the world slipping further toward chaos and fears he may not be able to save even his small part of it.
