Wealdwine Coinnaroc (Wailed-win Coy-nah-rock)
Freeman of the Autumnvale
History
Birth & childhood
Wealdwine was born in a small lodge near Penwold Place on the night of February 15 398, to the peasants Rhodri of Wythemore and Úna Nic Owain. Lady Elspeth Penwold, whom Úna often served as a personal attendant and confidant, insisted on being present for Wealdwine's birth, bringing along her personal midwife and her husband's barber. Lady Elspeth would remain a constant presence throughout Wealdwine's childhood and transition to manhood, a matronly figure to whom the young man could regularly rely on for advice and support.
As a child, Wealdwine enjoyed nothing more than exploring the moors and forests of House Penwold. His father Rhodri, tasked by the Penwolds to maintain the health of the House's woods and meadows, would often allow Wealdwine to accompany him on his lengthy patrols (provided the boy finished his daily chores).
Wealdwine would not be the sole issue of his parents, and by the age of 7 was the proud elder brother to three younger siblings: his twin brothers Merfyn and Harlan, born in 401, and a sister, Annwyl, born on the summer solstice of 404. Wealdwine loved all his siblings dearly, but the bond he shared with Annwyl was particularly strong. His sister was sickly as an infant, and Wealdwine considered himself her guardian and protector. When Annwyl was 6, she was taunted by an older boy from a neighboring household for her stutter. In response, Wealdwine marched to the Penwold's stables, borrowed a spare horseshoe from the farrier, and shattered the boy's nose. These types of incidents followed Wealdwine throughout his childhood, earning him a reputation as a defender of the meek and innocent.
Rise to manhood
In 415, a deadly pestilence borne out of the south swept over the highlands of the Autumnvale's southern shore, devastating House Penwold and its tenants. Both Rhodri and Úna succumbed to the sickness, as did Cyneric Penwold, Sir Osric's only son and heir. Distraught with the loss of his parents, the 17-year-old Wealdwine nevertheless took on the mantle of his family's patriarch. He inherited his father's duties as the Penwold's forester, and wholeheartedly devoted himself to his work. He also encouraged his brothers to take up a trade, and convinced Lady Elspeth to take on the young Annwyl as a cupbearer and later, a lady-in-waiting.
On the morning of his 18th birthday, Wealdwine was intercepted by one of House Penwold's couriers during his morning patrol near the banks of the River Rynel. The courier bore with him a dispatch from Lord and Lady Penwold, formally requesting that the young man accompany them as their guest to a banquet held by the neighboring House Caerstol in three days time. Believing himself to be unworthy of such an honour, Wealdwine beseeched Lady Elspeth to reconsider her decision and choose another to go in his place. His plea was summarily ignored, and for the first time in his life Wealdwine soon found himself in the company of knights, nobles, and foreign diplomats from across the Autumnvale's southern shore and beyond.
While dining alongside Lord and Lady Penwold, Wealdwine caught the eye of a young serving girl by the name of Kaelyn Nic Aldus. Enamoured by her beauty, Wealdwine excused himself following the meal's conclusion and sought Kaelyn out in a bid to strike up conversation. He found her in the storerooms beneath the manor, where they proceeded to drink and converse in equal measure deep into the night. Prior to his return to Penwold Place, Wealdwine presented Kaelyn with a small bouquet of Valic bell heather, formally initiating their courtship.
The young lovers visited each other as often as could be allowed during the following months: wandering the forests that joined their respective Lord's holdings or stealing away for the occasional midnight rendezvous. Unbeknownst to Wealdwine (who thought himself quite discreet), Lady Elspeth was well aware of the couple's escapades, going so far as to request her tenant spend extra time monitoring the woods bordering the lands of House Caerstol "out of a rising fear of poaching". By year's end Wealdwine had made clear to Lord and Lady Penwold his intention to marry Kaelyn, who, in their turn, procured the blessing of Lord Caerstol for the young woman to leave the service of his House. The couple were wed in a quiet ceremony the following spring, overseen by Kaelyn's father and witnessed by Wealdwine's three siblings.
Wealdwine and Kaelyn's first child, Tiarnán, was born in the summer of 418, followed closely by two daughters: Bláitha in the spring of 420, and little Íte in the fall of 421. Wealdwine adored his children, doting on them to the fullest extent his humble means would allow.
Death of Sir Osric & elevation to Freeman
In the early months of 420 AU, word reached Penwold Place that the neighboring kingdom of Bergeaux had declared war on the Autumnvale. Alongside the news came a summons from Lord Cynesige Walmoor, calling Sir Osric up to Stonethistle to aid in shoring up the city's defenses. The aging knight answered the call in spite of his advancing years, and set out from Penwold Place within a fortnight. This would be the last time Wealdwine ever saw his liege lord, as less than three years later a courier arrived at Penwold bearing ill news; Sir Osric had been slain on the field of battle, cut down by the Bergic Lord Jacques Le Rouge. Even worse, the old knight had been killed by Le Rouge after the latter feigned surrender, a dishonourable act that only served to sour Wealdwine's opinion of his foreign opponents.
As Lord and Lady Penwold's only son had been killed by the plague some years earlier, when Sir Osric died House Penwold was left heirless and adrift. The heartbroken Lady Elspeth, too old to bear children, opted instead to return to the home of her brother in Ardingly, and House Penwold was formally dissolved by the Walmoors soon after. As opposed to the Penwold's holdings being divided up amongst the surrounding knightly houses (as might have occurred prior to the war), House Walmoor instead chose to raise the Penwold's tenants to the rank of Freeman, splintering Lord Penwold's lands into dozens of small holds and farmsteads. Wealdwine, Kaelyn, and their siblings found themselves in possession of over 100 acres of forests and heather moorlands, centered around the headwaters of the River Rynel's southernmost tributary. They chose to take the name Coinnaroc in recognition of their new territory, and built numerous lodges amidst the birch groves near the center of their holdings.
However, ownership of their own lands came with certain responsibilities; Wealdwine, as the eldest member of his family, was commanded to march east and join House Walmoor's nascent army of yeoman soldiers. While not unexpected, the knowledge that he would undoubtedly face bloodthirsty orcs and foreign sorcerers on the field of battle filled Wealdwine with fear; despite his childhood reputation as a brawler, the young man steered clear of violence whenever he could, only utilizing his considerable strength and size when all other avenues had been exhausted. Regardless of his qualms, however, Wealdwine recognized the expectations set forth by his new status, and on the 1st of June 423 gathered what supplies he could and bid farewell to Kaelyn, his children, and the rest of his family.
War with Bergeaux
Wealdwine arrived at Stonethistle some two weeks later, having joined up with a small band of fellow yeomen soldiers at Sheercomb Crossing. Upon their arrival, Wealdwine and the rest of his makeshift company were placed under the command of Sir Vance Feohten, a stern yet honourable knight whom Wealdwine was delighted to discover had fought alongside Sir Osric during the opening years of the war. In the weeks and months that followed, Wealdwine gradually adjusted to the rigors of wartime service, all the while working to earn the trust and respect of Feohten and his fellow soldiers.
The latter goal came to fruition during the winter of 424, when Sir Feohten was captured by a roving gang of orcish mercenaries during a scouting mission beyond the walls of Stonethistle. While devastated by the seizure of one House Walmoor's greatest strategic minds, Lord Cynesige Walmoor, upon hearing that Feohten was being held prisoner in a heavily-fortified orcish encampment some 20 miles east, forbade any man under his command from attempting a rescue mission.
Fall of Stonethistle
In the early months of 428, Lord Cynesige Walmoor received word that a large Bergic force, supplemented by scores of Orcish mercenaries, marched west towards Stonethistle to reinforce the city's beleaguered assailants.
Battle of Cynestray Road
Physical description & equipment
Wealdwine is a tall man of imposing stature, heavily-muscled with a broad chest and shoulders. He has the signature fair complexion of a Valesman, with deep green eyes that are speckled with brown. His dark hair is long and coarse, with a strong jawline he makes an effort to keep clean-shaven to signify his cleanliness and station. Standing at just under six-foot-six, Wealdwine towers over most of his countrymen, a fact he is somewhat embarrassed of. He bears a small circular scar on his abdomen from where he was pierced by an Orcish arrow during the Battle of Cynestray Road.
Wealdwine regularly wears the grey-green cloak of Sir Osric Penwold, given to him alongside a jeweled brooch by Lady Elspeth after her husband's death. When Wealdwine was raised to the rank of Freeman and summoned to engage the Bergic invaders by House Walmoor, he could not afford to purchase armour. In the five years since, he has scavenged and bartered for various mismatched pieces, including a pair of boiled leather vambraces, a hauberk, and a plain steel helm with an attached aventail.
His favoured weapon is a hefty Valic long axe, crafted for him by his brothers as a parting gift. The haft is carved from an ancient oak tree near Penwold Place, which was felled by a storm the night Sir Osric was killed. The steel head was forged by Merfyn, and is engraved with a traditional Valic blessing. Wealdwine also bears a langseax, a badge of honour which serves to denote him as a Freeman, and six Valic war darts, given to him by a dying levyman as he travelled amongst the train of survivors from Stonethistle. Additionally, he carries with him a short one-handed billhook, originally used by his father to clear trails through dense thickets and underbrush.
Personality & traits
Wealdwine is a deeply loyal and chivalrous man, defined in equal measure by his measured principles, humble upbringing, and years of wartime service.
Genealogy
Etymology
Wealdwine is a Valic personal name of Ulnosti origin meaning "strong friend". It contains the adjective weald ("powerful, strong") paired with the oft-used suffix -wine ("friend"). Coinnaroc, (meaning "high heather woodland") is a topographical byname of mixed origin, crafted by Wealdwine and Annwyl upon their family's elevation to Freemen. It combines the Achiad phonetic reductions coi of coill ("woodland") and oc of raoch ("heather") with the Ulnosti element nnar, derived from the noun ennardd ("high ground").
Relationships
Valic
Imperial Wythian