The Halen Gwaed massacre

When you see wrong done, call it wrong and don't leave your enemies at peace!

— One of the Gwaed before the massacre

Summary

Halen Gwaed revolt also known as the Halen Gwaed massacre was an event undertaken by Gwaed — a group of 23-70 citizens of the Cymrian port town of Halen. At the night of the closed eye and the Winter Solstice, a mob gathered in the harbour and set some ships on fire, then moved to the Justice Square to lynch the head of the White Eel merchant guild. The offense was answered with the guards of the guild without mercy and everyone was killed on the spot. To this day the exact number of the Gwaed is not known. Around 23 bodies were recovered from the bay but another 50 were deemed missing on the night of the event, their whereabouts unknown.

Explanation

The massacre was started by the Tamer of the Depth, who prepared a concoction connecting depth from the blind catfish with the seemingly chaotic nature of the skalds' mead. It was set to get in resonance on the night of the Winter Solstice, when the night is the darkest and in the same time, on the night of the new moon. A very rare occassion of events, perfect for experiment with the concept of the Depth.

The skald still had the connection to the Llysywen Wen and learned how the merchant was using Halen as his base. He mixed the drink with a strong wine and disguised it to resemble some old barrels with a white eel emblem. In the tavern he drank with the local sailors and fishermen, and when they made a pub crawl (his treat), offered them something worthy of a merchant. They drank all night and cursed the White Eel, which stole from them and made their lives miserable.

Something had to be done and fast. The people who went against the White Eel called themselves Gwaed or Halen Gawed, the blood and salt of this town and of this land. Their ordeal was to end this theater of filth. Their motto: "When you see wrong done, call it wrong and don't leave your enemies at peace!"

On the night of the Winter Solstice, when the moon was thick black, they gathered barrels of oil and forced themselves onto the ships, of which they had heard that were owned by the White Eel. They started fire on two ships, but it spread to 7 more. During the incident, 23 people have burned alive, only three belonging to the Gwaed.

The main building of the guild, situated near the Justice Square was attempted to be set on fire as well but the weaves left it unharmed. This only infuriated the Gwaed, which started to storm the doors. All have been killed on the spot, their bodies thrown into the bay. The blood covered cobblestone was generously covered with sea salt and washed with water on the first sun.