Guortepir ap Gruffudd (ɡwɔrˈtɛpɪr ap ˈɡrɪfɪð)
King of Dyfed
"I believe his mother was badly startled by a toad while she carried him, and the incident left its mark on his features."
Guortepir ap Gruffudd is the King of Dyfed, one of the kingdoms of Ynys. Dyfed is a rich kingdom, with its wealth primarily based on the quantity and quality of their sheep and wool. Since ascending the throne, Guortepir has used this wealth to pursue his own obsessions, and has managed to alienate virtually every other nation in the archipelago in the process.
Early Life
Guortepir was the third son of Gruffudd ap Emrys, and was never expected to inherit the throne. The heir was his eldest brother Gruffudd ap Gruffudd, and should he die there was Bryn ap Gruffudd to take his place. He was thought to be an ugly child, and developed a foul temper early in life. As a result, few sought his company, and even his parents mostly ignored him.
Left to his own devices, Guortepir lurked in the corner while his brothers took lessons, and learned to read before his elder brother Bryn, despite being three years younger. He then began to explore what books were available to him. He developed an interest in history, particularly in the histories of Ynys under the rule of the Clarati.
As he grew older, he became more and more unpleasant to be around. Any interruption at his studies was met with screaming rages that could last for hours. When he asked permission to attend Foxbridge College, his father gladly sent him away, only to have him returned a year later having been forbidden to return at any price. He then went south to Sonnigtal College on the island ofAmwythig, where he was allowed to study for the next decade. During this time, his interest in the reign of the Clarati deepened into an obsession, one that has shaped his life ever since.
When Gruffudd ap Emrys died, Guortepir returned to attend his brother's coronation. At this time, he decided that he could no longer learn anything more from the masters at Sonnigtal, and besides, he found many of them to be intolerable foreign interlopers. Instead, he asked his brother for control over the royal library, and to be permitted to expand it to include a museum of Clarati artifacts. Gruffudd ap Gruffudd agreed to this, on the condition that Guortepir keep to the library as much as possible.
The Royal Archives
Keeping to the library was not a difficult task for Guortepir to follow. In his ten years of absence, he had come to believe that only those peoples who had lived on Ynys during the time of the Clarati had any right to be there, and that those who had settled there later should be removed with prejudice. This created multiple issues with the castle servants, as encountering Prince Guortepir often meant enduring an extensive interrogation about their ancestry, and whether they were fully of the Dhewen Peoples, or if they had any Þiodic blood. This led to most of the servants avoiding him, and none of the court reached out to make overtures of friendship.
During this period, Guortepir amassed one of the largest collections of Clarati texts on Ynys. He paid well for any authentic text brought to him, collecting everything from Fulmen's collection of laboratory notes to fragments of Lingua Clara poetry without clear attestation. He also sought out and collected any and all artifacts of the Clarati that could be transported, including many which had magical properties. Most of these he purchased outright, but when someone refused to sell, Guortepir had no scruples about having the item stolen and then denying any knowledge of it. His brother was strangely forgiving of this behavior, even compensating some of those who accused Guortepir of theft, and threatening to jail others unless they retracted their accusations.
King Guortepir
In 3971, tragedy struck the royal family of Dyfed, with a series of unfortunate deaths. Queen Dowager Blodeuwedd was the first to perish, growing ill one night before passing away as the sun rose. During her funeral, both Queen Gwenhwyfar and Prince Bryn also fell sick, dying within the week. Finally, King Gruffudd himself was struck down when he suffered a bout of illness and fell from the castle wall. This left his son Emyr ap Gruffudd as king. Emyr was barely eighteen at the time, but all agreed that he would not require a regent and could rule in his own right. But only a year later, King Emyr was slain in a hunting accident when a maddened boar managed to disembowel his horse and send the young king flying into one of his companion's spears. With this final blow, Guortepir became king.
He was crowned on the same day as his nephew's funeral, and quickly moved to secure his power over the court. Most of the servants and courtiers who had attended upon his father, brother, and nephew found themselves expelled from the royal residence, and not a few of the most powerful of them were arrested on suspicion of treason. Only a few months after his coronation, Guortepir held a mass execution, claiming that they had conspired to overturn the succession and prevent him from becoming king. When it seemed likely that protests and riots would engulf Caer Eiddyn on the day of the executions, he demonstrated the power of a few of his prized artifacts. Many had believed that these devices could not be used without having the gift of True Magic, but Guortepir was able to create balls of flame, invisible walls, and even choked one of the condemned to death from thirty feet away.
After the executions, Guortepir redistributed the titles and lands of the dead to those who would bend knee and neck to him as king. He placed Lady Angharad Trefynwy in charge of the capital, and appointed other capable and subservient lords over other aspects of the government. Once he had assured himself that they would not dare oppose him, he left these officials more-or-less alone. He would read their reports and make occasional comments, but the actual business of governing was of little interest to him. Instead, he chose to direct his attention to the problem of purifying Dyfed's population.
Over the first several years of his reign, he undertook a quest to drive out any ethnic minorities from Dyfed. He particularly targeted any descendents of the Þiodic mercenaries who settled on Ynys after the Age of Warlocks, calling them invaders and worse, despite having lived on the island for hundreds of years. On one occasion, he even used one of the artifacts in his collection, a wand that can summon fire, to burn the village of Walha to the ground with the Ðuring peasants still trapped in their homes. He has largely achieved his goal of driving them from his territory, and has begun to look at ways to purge the rest of the island as well.
An Isolating Force
Guortepir's obsession with the Clarati era has isolated him from the other nations of Ynys. Between his purges of Þiodic communities and his blatant seizures and suspected thefts of relics, he has made enemies in every corner of the island. His sister Gwawl is married to Rhys ap Maelgwn, the King of Cunedda, which represents the sole alliance, but this has been strained by the atrocities ordered by Guortepir against the Þiodic communities in Dyfed.
He has never married, and has refused to declare an heir, hinting that he has found the means to replicate the agelessness of the Clarati. If he were to die without declaring an heir, the crown of Dyfed would, by law, pass to his brother-in-law, the King of Cunedda. However, there are several within Dyfed who would oppose this turn of events, and would prefer a candidate from within Dyfed's nobility, although Guortepir's practice of eliminating anyone he imagines could threaten his power has left no obvious candidate for them to rally around.
Relationships
History
Rhys ap Maelgwn is married to Guortepir's sister, Gwawl. The marriage was arranged by Rhys's grandfather, Maelgwn the Tall, before Rhys became King of Cunedda. There is no love in the marriage, and Rhys feels burdened by it, as well as trapped in an unwanted and uncomfortable alliance with Guortepir. His friend and confidant, Princess Wynflæd of Bernicia (who serves as Bernicia's ambassador to Cunedda), is attempting to convince him to denounce the alliance, but so far he has not found the courage to do so.
A Friend to the Cult
The Cult of the Clarati is an organization originally founded in Lifworðig that seeks to resurrect the Clarati via Apotheosis, treating them as gods who they could manifest. This group has been banned and expelled from most of the kingdoms of Ynys, who have no desire to see the ancient mages return in any form, much less as gods. However, they have found an ally in Guortepir, and he has given them license to work within Dyfed's borders. You can read more about the Cult here.
A War of Acquisition
The international action Guortepir is best known for is the Destruction of Seisyllwg. Seisyllwg was a small kingdom on Dyfed's eastern border. Guortepir ordered his troops to conquer the smaller kingdom, which granted Dyfed access to the River Severin, as well as the valuable river port of Aberinwyr. There are rumors that he also believed there was a Clarati artifact somewhere beneath Aberinwyr castle. After the conquest, his troops rampaged through the small kingdom, killing hundreds and destroying every village they encountered on his orders. The refugees from Seisyllwg have mostly fled north into Bernicia, where they have rallied around Prince Rhys ap Gwawr, the nephew of King Gwennan and the sole surviving member of Seisyllwg's royal family.
After the invasion, Guortepir attempted to seed a rumor that he had been manipulated into the invasion by Godifu Klüpfuchs, Princess of Bernicia and ambassador to Dyfed. This was mostly to stave off criticism from Elmet, whose suspicion of Bernicia is long-standing. However, it has mostly served to enrage the Princess, who has vowed to bring Guortepir's reign to an end as revenge. You can read more about the entire affair here.
Mercenary Forces
Guortepir believes that given the opportunity, there are many who would steal his collection and his crown. To deter any such attempts, Dyfed employs several mercenary companies that work directly for the King. Among these are the notorious Blackthorn Company, which currently occupies Aberinwyr, and the Iron Guard, a company dedicated to protecting Guortepir and his artifacts. These companies, along with several others, have so far manage to forestall any attacks against Dyfed or Guortepir personally, but it is unclear how long they will be able to do so.
This article was originally written for Spooktober 2024. You can find all of my Spooktober Articles at Spooktober Central.
This article was originally written for Spooktober 2023. You can find all of my Spooktober Articles at Spooktober Central.
What an unpleasant man. I would hate to get on his bad side.
Explore Etrea | March of 31 Tales
I think I'd go for stronger words than unpleasant. I was shooting for monstrous.
I mean, I didn't want to be rude. XD
Explore Etrea | March of 31 Tales