St. Martram of Zevtwill

St. Martram of Zevtwill is a mythical figure in the Unexpector cosmology specifically assocated with the cult of Zevtwill, God of Verbal Irony.

Summary

Martram was a brewer who, over time, became increasingly addicted to his own supply. As his alcoholism increased, so did the potency of his brews until, eventually, he (anachronistically) invented whiskey. Despite his constantly tipsy state, Martram was held in high regard by his community, as he supposedly demonstrated a preternatural perceptiveness and wisdom with regard to interpersonal relationships when in the deep throes of drunkenness. Martram always attributed his 'clarity' to Zevtwill, the Honest Deciever - for in the lies of confusion could be divined the silhouettes of truth. Unfortunately, Martram's antics came to the attention of the local head man when he helped the head man's daughter abscond with the son of another village's head man. This made the daughter happy and served to establish more peaceable relations between the other village and Martram's own, but it ran counter to the head man's secret desire to foment war in an effort to drum up support for an invasion. As such, the head man decided to deal with the town drunk by force as a sign that he would not be dissuaded by the mere yearnings of a woman's heart. When confronted with the head man's soldiers, Martram warned them that what they were planning on doing was a mistake. The time would come, Martram said, that their village would ultimately be subsumed by the other in recompense for the head man's hubris in 'defying the sour truths of Zev' and resorting to tyranny and war when dialogue would be more effective. The soldiers paid no heed, martyring Martram by spearing him to the tree in the town square in a blasphemy against the gods' permitted means of bodily punishment. When the daughter heard of this turn of events, she wept, for Martram had brought her and her new husband so much joy. The couple, now the ruling family of their village with the retirement of her father-in-law, marched on the village where Martram had been slain, absorbing the residents and imprisoning the head man. The head man and his domain's name has now been lost to history; the couple's village is what is now known as Ambergrain.

Historical Basis

Zevtwill, and thus St. Martram, originated in a pre-Conquest belief system held by a few Old Voxelian tribes. Like with Lyvianne, Goddess of Misfortune and her Vyozha of True Fate, Zevtwill's St. Martram was syncretized into the early Unexpector faith by his appearance in Sokalyx the Learned's Incunabula of the House of the Unexpected.

Cultural Reception

Like many parts of the Zevtwillite doctrine, the question of whether or not St. Martram was a living, historical person is intentionally left unanswered. The tacit understanding among the faithful is that St. Martram's existence as an allegorical figure is far more important than any real life he might have led.