Garonius Yev

Name: Garonius Yev

Born: 10th of Golden Glow, 18 A.W.

Died: Eventide, 61 A.W.

Gender: Male

Occupation: Founder of Winleigh, Faydale, and Heathersage Keep, Ancestor of Joseph Yev.

Marital Status: Married to Heather Yev

Religious Views: Unknown

Political Views: Unknown

Heredity: Kelselorian

The origins of Garonius Yev are not known by any historical account, save for a census in 30 A.W. that marks him to be of Kelselorian descent. By the time he was twenty-three years old, Garonius had risen to prominence in Prosau, a small province northward of Kelselor with the capital town of Nantwich. Garonius was a servant of law enforcement - a guard, loosely, at the time. When report of a rogue Tenth Eye member spread to Prosau, Garonius hunted him down, spending every waking moment searching for this man. He sold all of his possessions for a ship, which he gave the handle 'Dastardbreaker.' Aided by his only close friend, Elias Bent, he followed a lead nobody was willing to track - the idea that there was a former Wilder island off the coast to the northeast, in the Shallow Dregs - a large mass of high seafloor that is littered with crashed ships, the water too thick in colour to see the land just beneath. Elias, a mage dedicated in research to studying the earth, was able to guide Garonius through the Dregs. As the fog cleared, they found an island, and when they disembarked, Garonius scoured the island's entirety until he inevitably found the intelligence agent. Before he slew him, according to the account of Elias Bent, Garonius approached him and said: *"Deception and betrayal are the most disgusting of evils, for they cause error where truth should be and snapped bonds where trust should be. From broken bonds and a mind of error comes all other sins."*

After hauling treasures from the island and collecting the bounty on the head of the rogue agent, Garonius and Elias went to Kelselor and - with permission from the Tenth Eye - told their tale and promised that any who followed them would be safe and the founders of new territory to be held in Kelselor's name. They took the first four hundred who wanted a better life and led them north, far north. There, they established a lumber village by the name of Winleigh and named the new province Zacet Forest in 44 A.W..

Rumour of Wilders in the area became prominent, and Garonius soon went with Elias to follow the rumours just as they did with the Tenth Eye traitor. This led them far north, and in a clearing of trees, they could see the fires and huts. While documentation is unclear whether these were true 'Wilders' or simply wild men, it's known through Elias' account that he let Garonius go alone to speak with them unarmed. Garonius returned, beaten physically, as the enemy believed Garonius merely to be a messenger bearing the word of his lord. At this, some critics would object and say that this is very much unlike Wilders. Regardless, attacks began - people went missing from their homes and off the roads. Caravans were attacked, stripped clean of supplies, and demolished violently. Garonius and Elias teamed together again. Garonius snuck into their camp, killing a few guardsmen and deploying reagants Elias instructed him to plant. He then fled the camp and let Elias do the work. The last of their treasures from the Dregs: a few gems cut from a faraway mountain, likely dwarven, were consumed as Elias began to cast a spell. The ground shook, tremored, and the entirety of the land collapsed on itself, leaving a massive crater, killing all of their foes. Two of the moons that were present in the sky, Elias recounted, turned *"a deep crimson, as if they knew how much blood I spilt. I swore that night I'd never put any innocents in harm again."*

Garonius, however, was amused and decided to build his castle atop the cliff that overlooked this lake. During this time, Garonius became fond of a woman who followed him by the name of Heather, a farmgirl that he found to be surprisingly intelligent. Elias was cautious of her, acknowledging her intelligence but believing her to be a fool, and that her lack of wisdom may come to cause stress on Garonius's wit. Garonius spited Elias, and they split ways. He named his castle Heathersage, referring to both Heather and Elias, despite their division. Elias left his journals behind, which Heather later discovered and urged Garonius to release to the public in remembrance of his friend. Garonius agreed, and they built another town in 57 A.W. called Faydale, which sat upon the spot where Elias cast the spell that created Kravys Lake and killed the 'wilders'.

Faydale grew to prominence as Zacet's most intriguing attraction, scorch marks held in the center of the town that showed where the mage had performed his spellwork. Followers of the Student and a few small magic schools have since taken tours to Faydale to remark at the sight, the earth forever scorched, the markings burning away anything that dares cover them, as if the spell refused to let the world forget its own existence. Due to the presence of the followers of the Student, Faydale eventually built its first school.

In the year 61 A.W., Heather continued to press onto Garonius the release of Elias' possessions, believing that it would further increase Faydale's popularity. Garnoius conceded, and at the beginning of that year's Eventide, the guard placed in charge of his artifacts was killed, and all of it was stolen. Furious, Garonius rushed the first trail and rumour he heard, hearing that to the northeast, people felt tremors. Believing they were using Elias' earth magic, he rushed headlong into the endless sunset, and he never returned.