Enya the Holy
Queen Enya Brédaskin (a.k.a. Enya The Holy)
Arven Legend and Culture
Enya Brédaskin, known by most as Enya the Holy, is one of the most famous figures in both Arven legend and Western Skal religious imagery. Daugher of Bréda, Daughter of Körvic, Enya supposedly had visions granted to her from the goddess Hellen from a young age. Accruing a large following among her clan, Enya gained the blessing of her mother and set out to follow her visions, determined to find Hellen's frozen body in the far north. Eventually she came to the Mountains of Hella, and settled in the caverns of Greta's Peak, founding in the process both the city of Nordhelm, and the nation of Skalbaard. Enya was declared by her followers as the first queen of the new nation, and the first Arven monarch in the West. Enya was disillusioned by the mercantile ventures and increasing love of excess she saw among her Arven peers, especially those who had come to the West in order to make profit, especially when she believed her grandfather Körvic had been brought to the land through divine providence. As such, Skalbaard was founded on the basis of a traditional Skal way of life. Subsistent living was offset by worship through prayer, ritualistic hunting, combat, and raiding. Some would choose to live a nomadic life, while others chose to follow Enya's example and settle in towns and villages A statue of Enya was erected over the gates of Nordhelm following her death, witch collapsed during an earthquake in 132 VL. Another was commissioned by Aloff Hurgenson in 182 VL, and still looks longingly up at the Citadel Flame on the walls of the Sheivar Granstaad to this day. Enya's likeness was also carved into the Wall of Saints, next to that of her mother, in 249 VL.Early Life
Enya was born in 254 PC, the daughter of Chief Bréda, Daughter of Körvic and Tyr Erikson. As her brother, Styr Brédaskin was two years her senior, he was raised to succeed his mother as chief. From a young age, Enya fell in love with the stories of the gods and ancient heroes, becoming increasingly infatuated with the Priesthood of Skal. Enya never met her grandfather Körvic, who died when she was four years old, but learned the story of the prophecy that led him to travel across the ocean to found Kör. Enya and her mother seemed to have little in common, and Bréda resented the Priesthood's part in indulging Enya's growing zealotry. They grew distant as Enya entered her teenage years, and the young girl began to grow uncomfortable with her mother's regime, and began seeking her mother's permission to spend more and more time away from Versimhelm. Bréda allowed Enya's wanderlust, seeing it as one of the few things she had in common with her daughter.The Great Pilgrimage
At fourteen years of age, Enya began receiving visions and hearing voices she believed came from the gods. One goddess in particular, Hellen, Goddess of Ice, became her predominant patron. Many members of her clan saw her as being a prophet, and Enya began leading a cult-like following. The Skal Priesthood became disparaged as Enya turned her back on the organised religion, which she believed had become soft, and began leading her own worships and rituals. Enya received one prophetic vision in particular from Hellen, in which the goddess decreed that Enya should travel and find her divine corpse in the frozen wastes of the north. Bréda, facing pressure from both her daughter and the Priesthood, had no choice but to accept her daughter's request to follow the voice of the goddess and travel north. Along with Enya came her devout followers. All of them were warriors or shield maidens, entirely loyal to Enya and her divine calling. Enya had warned them that only the strongest would survive the journey, but that those who died along the way would die proving their valour to the gods. Indeed, a great many perished in the journey, which took over two years to complete.The Bloody Lake
During the second winter, dissention had begun to creep among her ranks, and two factions seemed to emerge. When Enya counselled that they should attempt to cross Lake Gravann on foot, while the saltwater lake was frozen over, four men and two women died, solidifying the rebellion. Upon reaching the northern bank of what would become the southern border of Skalbaard, the rebelling party, led by Toldir Suerdigg, attacked Enya and her loyalists during the night. They set fire to their tents and Toldir assaulted and attempted to rape Enya. Enya managed to stab Toldir between his ribs, puncturing his lung, and proceeded to kill him outright by gouging out his eyes with her bare hands. Enya dumped Toldir's body into the frozen lake as an offering to Hellen. The other dissenters who were not killed in the fighting surrendered and were given a choice; serve the gods as an offering, in the same way as their leader, or offer a part of themselves to Hellen in place of their life and continue travelling north with Enya. A third chose to die, and the rest proceeded to cut off parts of themselves and dump them into the lake. Most opted for fingers or ears, though one man, Bailfry Ordonson, was so ashamed of his actions that he sacrificed his entire left arm, one eye, and, supposedly, one testicle. He would become known as Bailfry the Maimed, and one of Enya's closest advisors. Through many trials and tribulations, crossing three great rivers and the enduring two bitter winters, Enya and the survivors among her group arrived at the mountains of Hella, and found warmth within the geothermal vents within the catacombs at its roots. They settled the city of Nordhelm, carving out the mountainside and building tall walls around the cave entrances. Enya sent envoys back south, with a message that any who were devout and willing to make the pilgrimage as they had would be welcome in the city. The pilgrimage is still made today, with an annual ceremony honouring those who succeed in the halls of the Sheivar Granstaad.Personal Life
Little is known of Enya's life between her ascension to the throne of Skalbaard and her ultimate death during the Long Night. Upon her ascension she took up the monarchical clan name, Gjoldda. Theologians and scholars assume that she led her people in worship and a subsistent lifestyle, while building up the city of Nordhelm as the religious capital of Arvendell. What is known is that she married the son of her advisor, Trejdin Bailfryson. She gave birth to four children, two of whom died within their first named, unnamed. The two survivors were twins, named Rumig Gjoldda and Onig Gjoldda. The twins fought one another in honourable combat after their mother's death to determine the successor, with Onig ultimately forfeiting. Rumig wen on to become king of Skalbaard, and Onig became a warrior priest. His own son, Uldrid Onigson, was a apocalyptic prophet in his own right, and would establish the first order of the Osvallargareth.The Long Night
Enya's settlement was plagued by the feral semi-human inhabitants of Skalbaard known as the Golgorosgra, the blighted ones. Though scattered at first and resulting in little more than a nuisance for the first years of Enya's new nation, the Golgorosgra rallied in 199 PC during a famish known as the Long Night. With little food and suffering constant attacks, Enya forewent food so that her people could live, and undertook a desperate effort to drive away the Golgorosgra. Though she hoped to die in combat, her efforts and valour proved her victorious. Nevertheless, in 198PC she succumbed to starvation and died. She was immediately granted sainthood by the Priests of Skal at the moment of her death.Relationships
Species
Ethnicity
Life
254 PC
198 PC
56 years old
Circumstances of Death
Died of starvation during the Long Night, 254 PC
Birthplace
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Gender
Female
Aligned Organization
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