Oridwyn Beth of Odon
Lady Oridwyn Odon
First daughter to Lord Carnach Odon and Lady Maraevyn Capall.
Wed to Lord Balor Beth. Father to Valoron, who would inherit the lordship. Mother to Sabrina, called Screamer, who died trying to take the chiefdom. Mother to Nodraigh, who would inherit the lordship. Mother to Maiden, who would become a hostess. Mother to Walthor, who is thought to have been murdered by King Ollaugh Wulk. Mother to Arthor, who was Mox Master to Nodraigh. Mother to Uthor, who was slain in Garland's Conquest. Mother to Barta, who died unwed.
Lady Oridwyn had been born of a very political marriage, meant to resolve one of the many conflicts between Clans Odon and Capall. Genev the Terrible would spell that "Though she had been conceived of peace, she was clearly born to sow chaos." Oridwyn was a willful girl, a speller and magician, and is said to have fled the hostel she had been given to in youth. Harra Squinteye spells that she would tell her Odon father that the Deinain were blasphemous and only the Hosts were real, then turn around and tell her Capall mother that the Hosts were silly fairytales and she only believed in the Deinain.
Lady Oridwyn's own marriage was as political as any amongst the nobility, yet she and young Balor were said to love one another passionately at first. This passion cooled notably as they aged, with Balor ever lamenting his "jangling, scribbling old harridan," and Oridwyn complaining "my valorous war hero has gone to fat." In their youth, before Balor inherited the chiefdom, it was said they would spend entire days in the bedchamber, but toward the end of Balor's life they slept in different rooms, and Oridwyn would repair to Cullan's Lake for the final three years of her husband's life, only returning after he was in the ground.
Oridwyn would attempt an active hand in governance under her sons Valoron and Nodraigh, each with mixed success. Valoron was said to ignore her counsel, only to later present her ideas as his own; one lord supposedly pointed this out eventually and was subsequently excused from the castle, though just which lord is not recorded. Nodraigh would rely upon her sporadically, seemingly as his mood dictated, and they famously fought loudly regarding the son's inability to govern himself, with Nodraigh threatening to send her to a hostel or even execute her; yet he would inevitably run back to her craving counsel when his mistakes returned to punish him.
When making a study of Clan Beth's history, Flaithe the Storm Queen would remark that Lady Oridwyn "was a woman out of time. Would she had wiser parents, a kinder husband, or more attentive sons."
Lady Oridwyn died in the mid-winter of 741 RA at three-and-fifty. She slipped on the stairs when exiting the old spellery, on a step under an arrow slit that was oft ignored ("the snow step," it was called). She had been hale and hearty despite her years, as sure of foot as she was sure of herself, and rumors supposedly sprang up blaming Nodraigh for his mother's death. Perhaps they quarreled once too often. Yet, though many crimes can be laid at Lord Nodraigh's feet, Lady Oridwyn seems likelier a victim of misfortune.
Social
Family Ties
Relationships
Ethnicity
Life
4688
4741
53 years old
Spouses
Balor Beth
(spouse)
Bartos Beth
(spouse)
Siblings
Children
Eyes
Dark
Hair
Dark
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Ghast
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations