Aromyod of Pholyos

Aromyod of Pholyos is thought to have been an important commander of the navy of Pholyos during the Mast Wars between the Eleven Cities in the centuries before the Wesmodian Reformation. He is considered by some to be a pseudo-historical figure akin to the demigod Morogyad, as surviving sources about him contradict each other and even the most reliable contain information which is highly questionable. Given that no Pholyan biographers mention him until centuries after his death, and he is discussed solely by historians of other cities (principally Pholyos's enemies), it has been speculated that he was some sort of sea-going bogeyman invented by the captains and chroniclers of other navies to explain the successes of the small but seemingly incisively well-led Pholyan navy, or a composite character created from a variety of captains and marines. Having said that, Aromyod has been widely espoused within the Pholyan navy as an exemplar and inspiration, the widespread witticism being that if he did not exist, he probably ought to have.

Biographical details

Nothing is known for certain about Aromyod and, as noted above, the biographical tradition on him is remote, heterogeneous, and unreliable. The only historian who addresses his early life is the Ramoran writer Dorymon, who claims he was born on board a sip as its captain drove it before a terrible storm and that lightning surrounding the ship was a sign that the weather ogddess Ynglyas favoured the child. He interestingly fails to identify Aromyod's parents. There is little to suggest this is actually true, storms being a recurring literary motif in Dorymon's work signaling major changes in narrative direction.
Dorymon agrees with the other two major historians of the Mast Wars in his contention that Aromyod grew up to become the captain of a flotilla of the Pholyan navy. He and Kontrabas of Dyqamay argue that this flotilla was a small collection of vessels, possibly as few as three (Kontrabas argues it was twice that) and that this group was given free reign to roam the Sea of Jars and harry the shipping and navies of other cities. Conversely, Apryan of Chogyos, the author of the longest and most exhaustive history of the Mast Wars, suggests Aromyod was a senior shot-caller in the navy, commanding a fleet of "over sixty" vessels. This would have been a simple majority of Pholyos's strength at sea at the time. Given the absence of records of the navy at this time, it is impossible to accuse Apryan of variance from the facts, either by sincere error or propagandistic intent, though most modern historians lean towards the suggestion that he commanded a smaller flotilla as it seems to dovetail more neatly with the other stories about him.
Apyran and Dorymon both describe Aromyod as being the Pholyan commander at the Ramoran breakout of 405 BWR, when a force of Pholyan ships, harrying the port of Ramoros, found themselves blockaded by reinforcements from Chogyos. Faced with almost certain destruction, which would have been a disastrous loss of strength for the Pholyan navy, Aromyod steered his ships through the blockade, crippling two Chogyan ships, killing a large number of Chogyan sailors and marines, and escaping by sailing directly into a gathering offshore storm his opponents had taken great care to circumvent. The story is a favourite within the modern Pholyan navy, who have produced a number of songs and dances about it, even though the written literary record actually depicts Aromyod as an audacious and bloodthirsty individual worthy of respect as a dangerous foe rather than admiration as a hero. This, of course, may simply be because these chroniclers lived and worked in the subsequent Chogyan Hegemony and knew Aromyod primarily as an enemy of their state. 
Kontrabas never mentions the Ramoran breakout but rather places Aromyod at the Battle of Kozylon Strait, a decisive fleet engagement in the Mast Wars which conspicuously took place 108 years after the Ramoran breakout. Kontrabas argues that in the chaos of the battle Aromyod's skill in large fleet tactics were instrumental in keeping the Pholyan fleet in line and eventually breaking the coherency of the Hegemonic fleet. Whereas Apryan and Dorymon credit Aromyod with tremendous daring and audacity, Kontrabas paints a picture of a skilled, calculating tactician capable of performing extraordinarily well while those around them were losing their cool. This may have something to do with the fact that Kontrabas's native Dyqamay was allied with Pholyos in the battle, giving him a potential motive to be more sympathetic to the man.
Nobody discusses Aramyod's retirement or death. Kontrabas states clearly that he was wounded twice at Kozylon Strait, losing "at least two fingers" and bleeding profusely. It may be that he eventually succumbed to these wounds and did not live to enjoy the peace that ensured after Pholyos won the battle.
It will be immediately observed that these three accounts are mutually contradictory in that they place Aramyod at events separated by 108 years of history. This has led some historians to favour one version over the other two, while others see Aramyod as more of a literary being, a composite character made up of a variety of Pholyan officers. Partly due to its institutional efficiency the Pholyan navy was often described by its opponents as a faceless, mechanistic force, and Aramyod may be the human name they gave to the source of this order.  Still others suggest that all the stories about this man are true and that he enjoyed some sort of magical power or patronage that allowed him great longevity, although this school of thought is small and flatly dismissed by most serious researchers.

Thaumatological significance

Laying aside the question of Aramyod's sometimes-supposed longeivty, there are two points that make this mariner of interest to thaumatologists. One is the divine patronage he seems to have courted, and possibly enjoyed. Both Dorymon and Apryan of Chogyos describe Aromyod as praying before the Ramoran breakout, though they disagree over who he prayed to. Dorymon claims it was to Yngylas, goddess of fate, stars and storms. This would make sense insofar as Yngylas was the patron goddess of Aromyod's city, though Dorymon's frequent use of storms as a literary theme in his history is a point against the credibility of his suggestion. Apryan describes Aromyod as praying to Zargyod, the god of fortune and the sea. This might be a more credible idea, though the primacy of Zargyod in Apryan's writings counts against this. In both cases, however, the idea of courting the favour of a god at a critical juncture in one's career is of interest to thaumatologists.
The other point is the absorption of Aromyod into the folklore of Pholyan Sailors on the Sea of Jars. He is known to be the subject of a number of songs and dances conducted by those people. Researchers into this field of pre-Wesmodian thaumaturgy therefore find themselves drawn into debates over the nature and career of this enigmatically pseudo-historical figure.