Agathe the Elder
Wizard Agathe Eiren
Wizard under Garland II Ainros and Garland III Ainros
Agathe Eiren was a speller and eventually wizard to Clan Morroth of Ethelbrand for many years, until she was offered with Lady Sorena of Clan Morroth to Prince Erick Ainros. They came to Aerwoth at the beginning of the First Brothers Rebellion, just after Helena to Hand abandoned the castle to serve Young Garland, the rebel. Though not especially martial, she had a wealth of experience and expertise that could have contributed to Prince Erick's defenses, yet King Garland II declared that she take no part in the war: Agathe was the king's wizard, not Erick's.
Still, the war was costly, and Agathe found many means of allaying those costs. She famously improved trade relations with Ethel, and some say she laid the groundwork with Bastis that would eventually lead to King Gwydion the Great's wedding with Princess Maeve of Clan Timber (though this was many years away).
Agathe was revered as an exceedingly calm and dignified woman. It was said that, when Helena to Hand came to help negotiate the victory of Young Garland at the end of the First Brothers Rebellion, that the rebel wizard threw such epithets at Agathe that would have driven a man to draw steel, yet Agathe herself remained ever calm and collected. She had been ordered by her king to remain neutral, and so she would.
Many have said she went too far in this. When Garland II died in 837 RA, Prince Allad was entitled to the crown. Yet when he was awakened before sunset and rushed to the throne room for a hasty coronation, he there found his uncle Garland seated and crowned, Agathe standing beside him. Yanda the Sharp once spelt that, had she not been followed by Agathe the Younger, Agathe the Elder might well have been called the Spineless instead.
For all this controversy, the realm seemed to know some peace after this. Agathe Eiren would become best known, however, for facilitating the rapid marriage of Garland III to Princess Ellinor of Ethelbrand within mere days after Queen Leyla's death. Queen Leyla had born two daughters for Garland: one, Carol, was an intensely meek child oft said to be simple-minded. The other, Fianna'al, was betrothed to Prince Allad as part of the peace agreement; their love is the subject of many spells and tellings. Queen Leyla was unable to give her king a son, however, and after she died Garland and Agathe wasted no time in securing a new queen. It is said young Carol wept through the ceremony, and many noted that Ellinor was only a few years older than Carol. Yet she proved fertile, and in the Spring of 841 RA, Prince Gwydion was born. Prince Allad, the lawful heir, would flee Castle Aerwoth that night with his sister Eina and a speller named Ea, along with a few retainers.
Despite the rumored acrimony between them, Agathe Eiren and Helena to Hand remained in correspondence, especially after Garland III took the throne. It was rumored that Agathe sent word to Helena on the Green Isle to expect Allad's arrival, yet how Agathe could have known his destination is anyone's guess. Ea the speller would have been in her employ, and Ea owed her career to Wizard Helena. Was Ea a spy the entire time, delivering Prince Allad into Helena's power? If so, what happened on the Green Isle that allowed the young prince to slip through Helena's fingers? These things we may never know. Helena's ship sank on her flight from Souwoth, and Ea the speller never left the Green Isle.
Regardless, Agathe became a vital part of Garland's strategies, making it all the more shocking when she died of Devil's Dance in the Summer of 843 RA. The illness was unusual in anyone past thirty years, and Agathe was five-and-forty. It was also associated with carnal and unclean lifestyles, yet Agathe was known for her cleanliness, as most wizards are. It was as mysterious as it was unfortunate.
Less than a year later, Garland III would die of Springlight Fever, ending the Second Brothers Rebellion. Before that time, though, Agathe Eiren would be replaced by her first apprentice, Agathe Yulmer, and the two became ever known as Agathe the Elder and Agathe the Younger.
Conditions
Ethnicity
Professions
Life
4797
4843
46 years old
Circumstances of Death
Died of Devil's Dance at age forty-five
Birthplace
Ethelbrand
Children
Eyes
Blue
Hair
Wheat
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Ghast
Other Affiliations