Rhys ap Maelgwn (r̥iːs ap ˈmaɪlɡʊn)
King of Cunedda
"He means well. It's just that he has no idea how to rule, and nobody is going to give him a chance to learn."
Rhys ap Maelgwyn is the current king of Cunedda, but his position is not secure. His nobles ignore him, and operate independently while paying bare lip service to the central monarchy. He is a gentle and soft-spoken person, and struggles to assert himself when his nobles do deign to come to the capital, and his ineffectualness has lost him the support of both the aristocracy and the populace. Many believe that he is destined for an early grave when one of his lords garners enough support to take the throne and hold it. However, his cousin Princess Wynflæd of Bernicia has chosen to take up his cause, and is both educating him and using her formidable diplomatic skills on his behalf.
Early Life
He was born Rhys ap Bryn, son of Celyn verch Maelgwn and her husband. Celyn was the only child of Maelgwn the Tall, the warlord who forged the Kingdom of Cunedda by force of will and arms out of the petty kingdoms of western Ynys. Maelgwn hated the fact that he had only a single living daughter, and when she had a male child, he demanded the infant be turned over to be his heir. He adopted Rhys and changed his patronymic to 'ap Maelgwn', marking the child as his own. He then sent his daughter and son-in-law to live in a remote castle, so that they would not have any influence over Rhys' upbringing.
Maelgwn was a domineering bully as a parent and as a king. He attempted to push Rhys into the same kind of behavior without success, and beat him for not being the heir he wanted. He isolated him, and subjected him to a series of tutors and teachers that either bullied the young prince into submission, or were dismissed for being too soft on the boy - in one notable incident, a tutor was 'dismissed' through a tower window by Maelgwyn himself for criticizing how the king treated his heir. This upbringing left the young man unprepared to rule when Maelgwn died one winter of a hacking cough that swept the country in 3982. Rhys was thrust onto the throne with minimal ceremony, while the nobles of Cunedda began to build alliances with an eye towards taking over themselves. So far none has made the attempt, but this is due entirely to not being ready to fight off the other contenders and nothing to do with Rhys himself. In the three years since being crowned, Rhys has been largely irrelevant to the power structure of Cunedda. The cantref lords rule their territories as petty kings, and have refused to convene the council in Caer Brynach. Worse, several of the southern lords conduct frequent raids into Mathrafal, despite orders from Rhys to stop antagonizing the neighboring kingdom.
Meanwhile, Rhys is stuck with an unwanted alliance with Dyfed through his wife Gwawl, the sister of King Guortepir of Dyfed. Maelgwn had arranged the marriage in his final year to solidify an alliance with Dyfed, and there is no affection between Gwawl and Rhys. Moreover, this alliance earns Cunedda more enemies than friends, but Rhys has not been able to break ties with his brother-in-law due to the objections of his wife.
Enter Wynflæd
His closest, and perhaps only, friend is Princess Wynflæd of Bernicia. Her mother was a cousin of Maelgwn the Tall, and she serves as Bernicia's ambassador to Cunedda. When she arrived in Caer Brynach, she took pains to get to know the young king, and decided that she liked him. In her letters to her brother, she describes him as quiet, easily cowed, and completely unprepared to rule - but also as a sweet, smart, and caring person. He is a lightning calculator, and has confided multiple plans for the betterment of the kingdom to Wynflæd, if only he could exert the authority to put them in place.
Wynflæd has used her own formidable training in statecraft and manipulation to shape Rhys' plans, correcting several naive assumptions and filling in details that were omitted from his fractured education. Wynflæd has convinced Rhys that she can guide him in becoming the king of Cunedda in fact as well as word, and has begun to ask some favors from her siblings in other courts as she lays plans to 'fix' Cunedda.
One major barrier in this endeavor is Gwawl. She is convinced that Rhys and Wynflæd are conducting an illicit romantic relationship, and has taken steps to separate the two. So far, this has not been succesful, but a recent poisioning attempt has signaled an escalation in Gwawl's efforts. Due to Wynflæd's training in Bernicia, she was only inconvenienced by the toxin, but she has taken the attempt personally. The few people in Cunedda's court who are aware of the battle between the two are watching closely to see what her retaliation against Gwawl will be. Meanwhile, Rhys has attempted to make peace between his wife and his cousin, but with only token agreement from each woman.
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.
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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.
Poor Rhys. I feel like being adopted by his grandfather was not a good thing for him. RIP to that tutor that tried to stand up for him. :( I am really sad his wife doesn't like him either!
Explore Etrea | March of 31 Tales
Yeah - he's starting from a rough place. I have plans for his future though, and I think things will be looking up.