Lady Rhoswen Fremiss the Brave
Lady Rhoswen Fremiss (a.k.a. the Brave)
Lady Rhoswen, daughter of the dragon Fremiss the Vibrant and the human Eira. Of all the first generation Swynfaredian nobles, Rhoswen's name is probably the best known.
Originally known as Rhoswen the Brash. Now she is called Rhoswen the Brave.
Lady Rhoswen Fremiss’ legacy in death far outstrips her legacy in life. Lady Rhoswen never married, allegedly never had any children and was not interested in politics. She was an adventurer. Opinions differ on whether she became an adventurer because she was bored, out of altruism, to avoid an unwanted arranged marriage, or because she secretly had a death wish. She showed open contempt for the day-to-day issues of running a realm and resisted attempts to be married off. Think of Merida from Pixar’s Brave, but make her a half dragon.
Rhoswen had some sorcerous abilities but she rarely used them. She had big muscles, functional wings, and a fiery breath weapon. She was far more likely to fight with her magical battle axe, Fremiss’ Bite, than to rely on her magic. The legend of Fremiss’ Bite is almost as big as Lady Rhoswen’s legend, a magic axe supposedly forged via Fremiss' fiery breath.
In life, she was considered an embarrassment to her House. When she died around age 70 (old for a human, but young for a half-dragon), House Fremiss discovered that decades of adventuring has made Lady Rhoswen a folk hero to the commoners. Tales of her great deeds became embellished over multiple retellings. After all, in the stories she is the knight, the princess, and the dragon. She became even more beloved generations later. Most Swynfaredian nobles were forced to memorize a lengthy family tree and recite hundreds of names on command. Most Swynfaredian commoners can only name one First Generation Dragon Blood, and that name is Lady oswen.
Eventually House Fremiss and the subhouses Fremiss spawned opted to lean into her legend. They named many of their daughters Rhoswen. They built monuments to Rhoswen in public places. They created a Rhoswen Medal to bestow on adventurers who provide a service for the House.
It just so happens that at least two Swynfaredian nobles are claiming that their magical battle axe is actually the "real" Fremiss’ Bite while others insist the axe was lost and are still looking for it. Greymoria’s Children in Swyfaredia leaked rumors that they found the axe and are saving it for a rainy day. Later a dwarf adventurer claimed to have found the shattered remnants of Fremiss’ Bite and re-forged it into an axe he named Rhoswen’s Memory, which was used in battle in the liberation of the Great Stone, but is now quietly sitting in the ancestral vault of one of Stahlheim’s richer clans. Among other things, Lady Rhoswen was one of few early Swynfaredians that got along well with the dwarves of the era having had adventured alongside dwarves many times.
Lady Rhoswen never married and she is quoted in family texts as saying she never wanted children. Over the many decades of her adventuring career, she worked with many famous human male heroes. A lot of minstrels like to imply or outright state that Rhoswen had steamy love affairs with her comrades in arms. A lot of peasant born sorcerers claim that Rhoswen was actually their distant ancestor. In fact, there are more unsubstantiated genetic legacies of Rhoswen than any other Swynfaredian noble, possibly because most commoners don't know any other ancient Swynfaredian noble's names.
Species
Conditions
Life
943 CE
1096 CE
153 years old
Children
Comments