Rhiamon ferch anFnwy

**Rhiamon ferch anFnwy** was the former matriarch of the An Fnwy family, mother of Adain ferch Fnwy, maternal grandmother of Crielle ferch Fnwy and Penarddun ferch Fnwy, and great-grandmother of Efnisien ap Wledig and Gwyn ap Nudd. She was also a servant of the Oak King.

## Appearance

Although Rhiamon was thousands of years old when she knew Crielle, she looked to be only 30. 'She was stunning, but carried an austerity about her which encouraged people to look beyond her beauty.' She had seemingly long, golden hair.

## Personality

Rhiamon 'liked to experience pain as much as she liked to inflict it.' Rhiamon insisted that Crielle and Penarddun call her 'Nain' or 'Mam-gu'.

## Life

Rhiamon was the first of her family to realize that something was wrong after Crielle was born, and used a charm to protect herself from some of Crielle's dra'ocht. She also distanced herself from the child, which disgusted young Crielle. Eventually she returned to the An Fnwy estate to find Crielle had been torturing her parents.

Rhiamon took Crielle away to help hide her nature and train her, and so that Crielle didn't send her parents, Rhiamon's children, to an early grave. Rhiamon found tutors in poisons to help train Crielle, including Egon. When Rhiamon discovered Crielle near Egon's dead body, and Crielle explained what had happened, Rhiamon only asked if Crielle was all right.

Rhiamon also explained the An Fnwy curse to Crielle.

When Crielle murdered Adain and Calder ap Cenn, Rhiamon ordered Crielle to take over the An Fnwy estate and its holdings until Rhiamon found her a husband, then largely walked out of Crielle's life, out of anger and hurt for the murder of Adain (and possibly Calder). Rhiamon still cared for Crielle, and hired Melchor the sixteenth and his team to look after Crielle and Penarddun, and hide their true natures, while helping Crielle commit her deeds. However, Rhiamon did not renew correspondence with Crielle for 1,000 years.

Rhiamon later found suitors for both Penarddun and Crielle in the form of Euroswydd and Lludd Llaw Eraint. She visited Crielle one last time during Crielle's wedding, but left before the day was out. She died a week later on assignment from the Oak King, and never met either of her great-grandchildren.

## Relationships

#### Adain ferch Fnwy

Rhiamon cared deeply for Adain, to the point where she went out of her way to protect Adain from Crielle, and cut off most ties with Crielle when Crielle murdered her.

#### Calder ap Cenn

Although Calder was not her blood relation, Rhiamon called him one of her children. When Crielle murdered him and Adain, Rhiamon took it poorly, and cut Crielle off from her life for a millennia.

#### Crielle ferch Fnwy

Rhiamon was the one who initially realized how dangerous Crielle's dra'ocht was, and was the first to refuse Crielle what the child wanted. Rhiamon took Crielle under her wing, to hide and encourage her true nature. Crielle longed for her grandmother's approval, and Rhiamon was one of the few people Crielle cared about. When Crielle murdered her parents - Rhiamon's children - Rhiamon cut off all contact for a millenia, as she could not forgive Crielle for it. But they both still cared for each other. She would sometimes write, but only visited at Crielle's wedding, then died shortly thereafter, making this the last time they saw each other.

#### Penarddun ferch Fnwy

Penarddun seemed to think of Rhiamon fondly, but seemingly less fondly than Crielle. Penarddun was grateful that Rhiamon picked Euroswydd for her, and mourned her death so much that it 'knocked her body into a disadvantaged position' during Efnisien's birth, nearly killing both Penarddun and Efnisien.

#### Rhiamon's mother

Rhiamon stated that the curse was strong with her mother, as well.

## Quotations

* To Crielle: ‘You may visit me, my dear. Whenever you like. Just send a letter to let me know, and my cottage will be open to you. Pass my apologies onto your sister for my quick departure. And oh, my bird, how glorious you look today. You and Lludd together – you’ll do incredible things for that Court. I just know it.’

## Trivia

* Rhiamon never met either of her great-grandchildren, as she died while Penarddun was pregnant with Efnisien, which was long before Crielle became pregnant with Gwyn.

## Folklore/Mythology

Not-Poignant has commented that Rhiamon is inspired by Rhiannon, from Welsh mythology. Rhiamon is not to be confused with Rhiannon, the Unseelie Court common fae servant.

'Rhiannon is a major figure in the Mabinogi, the medieval Welsh story collection. She appears mainly in the First Branch of the Mabinogi, and again in the Third Branch. She is a strong-minded Otherworld woman, who chooses Pwyll, prince of Dyfed (west Wales), as her consort, in preference to another man to whom she has already been betrothed. She is intelligent, politically strategic, beautiful, and famed for her wealth and generosity. With Pwyll she has a son, the hero Pryderi, who later inherits the lordship of Dyfed. She endures tragedy when her newborn child is abducted, and she is accused of infanticide. As a widow she marries Manawydan of the British royal family, and has further adventures involving enchantments.

Like some other figures of British/Welsh literary tradition, Rhiannon may be a reflection of an earlier Celtic deity. Her name appears to derive from the reconstructed Brittonic form \**Rīgantonā*, a derivative of \**rīgan-* "queen". In the First Branch of the Mabinogi, Rhiannon is strongly associated with horses, and so is her son Pryderi. She is often considered to be related to the Gaulish horse goddess Epona. She and her son are often depicted as mare and foal. Like Epona, she sometimes sits on her horse in a calm, stoic way.'

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 not\_poignant. "The Curse.” *The Fae Tales Verse - canon extras. Archive of Our Own,* 28 July 2014. https://archiveofourown.org/works/2034456/chapters/4416066. Chapter 1.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 not\_poignant. "The Curse.” *The Fae Tales Verse - canon extras. Archive of Our Own,* 4 August 2014. https://archiveofourown.org/works/2034456/chapters/4527081. Chapter 2.
3. ↑ Not-Poignant. "hi! I just read the First Branch of the Mabinogi, and I was wondering..." *Actually A Little Bit Poignant.* 1 Mar 2018, 8:00 PM. https://not-poignant.tumblr.com/post/171431776763/hi-i-just-read-the-first-branch-of-the-mabinogi.
4. ↑ "Rhiannon". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhiannon. Accessed 29 May 2021.