FIRST HERO - Gwenvred of Lozac'h

The first hero is associated with the first stanza of Guillaume Apollinaire's poem "Les sept épées" ("The seven swords"). The first incarnation of this character is Gwenvred of Lozac'h, a young noble heir of the Lozac'h family and living in the Principality of Permafrost.

CHARACTER PROFILE

Full name: Gwenvred "Gwen" of Lozac'h

Meaning: Gwenvred is a medieval Breton name and the Breton form of the name "Winifred", gwen means "pale, fair and white" in Breton. Lozac'h is a Breton surname which comes from a Breton word meaning “husband” or “patriarch”.

Titles at the beginning of the story: Heir of Lozac'h (disowned, because banished), Knight of Moorsley (banished), First Hero (active) and Leader of the Eight (active), the Wise.

NOBILITY, Knight, Vassal to the House of Moorsley

Date of Birth: 22nd December 13 B.S.E. [1]

Place : Permafrost, Domain of Lozac'h

Age: 29 years old at the end of the story.

Gender: Cisgender female

Orientation: Aroace

APPEARANCE

Height: 1,82 m | 5'9"

Body: Muscular, healthy

Eyes: Gray

Hair: Dirty-ish blond

Hairstyle: Viking-like, often tied in a high ponytail, she doesn't wear braids because in her culture, only married people do and she has no intention of ever marrying.

Skin: Light, scarred

Other: Scars (on the left side of her mouth, on her right cheek and on her body)

BACKGROUND

Mother: Lady Astrid of Polson (Foreigner)

Father: Sir Meurwethen of Lozac'h, Lord of Lozac'h (Permanian)

Siblings: Lady Madwen of Lozac'h (a year younger) and Mr. Nevenoe of Lozac'h (4 years younger)

Other relatives: Sir Cadwethen of Lozac'h, First Lord of Lozac'h. He helped fight for Permafrost's independence and as such was awarded knighthood and a domain, he is the reason why his descendants' are nobles.

Backstory: Gwenvred was born into an influential family. After helping the first High Lord win back Permafrost, Cadwethen of Lozac'h, her ancestor, was granted nobility. The family has been following and advising the Moorsleys since then, slowly building a reputation as a strong knight family.

A century before the Inheritance War, Achava the Eloquent, Guardian of the First, set foot on Permafrost, wed Eirwyn Lozac'h and declared that only a child of his name could hold the sword. What began as a promise shared between lovers took a turn towards greatness when the Lozac'h family joined nobility, and, indeed, it was a Lozac'h who soon carried the sword, though this particular child would more accurately classify as Eirwyn's great-great-[...]-great-niece, being born from his brother's lineage. In the centuries following the Lozac'hs' ascent to nobility, it became tradition for each child of the family to try their chance with the sword on the date of their 13th birthday. On occasion, the sword was shown to the public and other children could try to hold it as well, on the off chance a Lozac'h had been born away from their Lord's eyes.

Once Gwenvred turned 13, it was her turn to touch the sword and when she did, it became apparent she was a Hero. From mouth to ear and ear to mouth, the news spread like wildfire they say they found a Hero, up in the north, deep in the snow, the First has been found... Most paid the whispers no mind, the Swords were, at best lost, at worst, bedtime stories for unruly children or myths for senile scholars. But those who did listen, asked, prodded, questionned. Who? Who is this Hero I hear of? What can I gain from this knowledge, how much will you pay fro a name? How much gold to give me one?

But the Lords and Ladies remained silent and no name was given, for Gwenvred was still far too young, far too inexperienced and burdened, unable to protect herself from greedy hearts and bloodthirsty knives. And so her identity and role remained secrets, known only by a select few-her parents, her mentor and her Lord.

Amidst all this agitation, a quiet child resolved to take on the weight of the world, to carry the burden of ensuring peace, and to do so until she can no more, until the weight of the world's expectations cease to feel like a dull, aching pain between her ribs and become instead an oppressive force, crushing her into the ground.

When she turned 17, it was decided that she was ready to carry out her mission and her identity was revealed to the public. This event caused a renewal of the search for the swords and the discovery by [placeholder 1]'s emperor of the Third Hero. In the context of the tentative truce reached in [date not yet decided] following the Independence War, Gwenvred was sent to [placeholder 1] and met her counterpart, James of Scabiosa.

Role: She is the first hero found. Before her, the swords had slowly begun to fall into the darkness and most people had forgotten about their existence. Or at the very least, lost their belief in heroes capable of holding them.

Affiliations: Permafrost, the Moorsleys, the Lozac'hs, the Alliance, the Seven Swords' heroes (A.K.A. the Eight).

Home country: Permafrost

Country of Allegiance: Permafrost (formerly, it's complicated),None (officially, currently).

Religion: Duwism (Permanian pantheon)

Mainly worships: Permanians are often very pious and Gwenvred is no exception to the rule. She mainly worships Kendric, Argantael, Buddug and Urddas which is common among heirs, lords and warriors. The only difference is that Argantael is less often worshiped by those people and more by women which is why Gwenvred worships her. She also worships Idnerth, the deity of death.

PERSONALITY

Pessimistic, Cautious, Introverted

Traits: Calm, leadership abilities, strategic, serious, talented, pious, perfectionist, independent, overthinker, standoffish

Decisive leader, sometimes inflexible; workaholic; sometimes standoffish; her life revolves around her mission as the First Hero; her strategic mind and leadership qualities make her the ideal person to lead.

Her no-nonsense personality is important when it comes to convincing people but her cold attitude often deters people from liking her and they might end up helping her out of fear or because they feel obligated to.

Quirks:

Gwenvred is pious and very attached to her culture.
She always makes a prayer to her gods after fights, especially ones where she has to seriously hurt someone, or to kill them.
She is nervous and uncomfortable around people that are attracted to her and/or flirt with her.
People underestimate her physical strength and intelligence, though with time it gets harder to underdestimate her physical strength as she puts on more muscles.

ARTWORK

Artwork of Gwenvred of Lozac'h will come at a later date.

FOOTNOTES

B.S.E: Before Story Era, placeholder name before I figure out a calendar. ^