Owain Penry, Ovate of Cainneach
Ovate of Cainneach Owain Penry
The Ovate of Cainneach, Owain's early life is ill-documented and largely unknown. Most reckon that he came from common stock, joining the faithful of the God of Skies and Glory. He lived through war as the last queen of Cymbar attempted to raise an army to defeat their Exodite masters, and failed. In the years after, as Cymbar rebuilt and adjusted to the reality of direct rule by the elves, the druids continued as always. Historically apolitical, and a safe haven to all, the druidic circle was left alone by the Exodites, seeing no particular reason to upset the humans further.
In 404, Owain had risen to great prominence in Cainneach's circle. A previous Ovate had died, and the loosely organized circle was looking for a new prominent religious scholar to assume the title of Ovate. A moot of Cainneach's faithful druids was convened, and Owain was named as Ovate of Cainneach in Cymbar. However, by this point, he was yet no more than a name to most people of Cymbar. This was about to change.
An important deliberation fell upon the druids. In whose guise had Cainneach walked in the previous two centuries? It was believed that the Khelish gods walked among their faithful, spreading their message by example, and whenever one avatar died, the god came back as another. The druids maintained genealogies, tracking the movements of these divine souls. And naturally, the power hungry and the deluded might often name themselves a Khelish god. But the druids never named a god until their death. Interfering in politics was not their business.
Naming Clavius Guld, the last free king of Cymbar as Cainneach was not a breach of this custom, but it sent a shockwave through the country. Though he had been dead for over 70 years when he was named Cainneach, his naming by Ovate Owain turned him into a symbol of Cymbar and its people in a way that most namings did not. Though many historical figures would get named in various divine genealogies, Clavius Guld as Cainneach would become part of the cultural identity of Cymbar.
The druids of Cainneach in Cymbar agreed, though druids further afield largely did not adopt Ovate Owain's reading of the genealogy. Many worried that the move would cause Exodus to regard the druids as a hostile force, and crack down on them. And while the then Minister of Fin-Allan, Ginead Synnde, did observe and infiltrate the circle, the tensions were largely diffused. Exodus however, did come to realize the power of the druids to move and motivate humans, and would be warier of them in the future. For the Cymbarites, the naming of Clavius Guld revitalized a sense of national pride that had been crushed by the failure of Brynwen's rebellion, and the story of Clavius Guld became known as one of heroic resistance to invaders. Today, his name is invoked as a symbol of Cymbar, separate from the empire of Exodus.
Ovate Owain is known to history for this one pronouncement. He would die in 437, remembered by the Cymbarites for reminding them of the power of gods and kings to lead them to glory. The Exodites would remember him as a great troublemaker, one who turned a symbol of cooperation and reconciliation into one of resistance.
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