Gawaiin Thielsson

The original founder and first King of Sacena, Gawaiin Thielsson was a reknowned general and warrior, a respected statesman, and in his day reknowned for knowledge and wisdom well beyond typical for his kind.

Gawaiin was born a penniless commoner in the region which would become the kingdom of Tassimar. He would gain fame and prominence in the 2nd century in crucibles of war. Thielsson was deeply involved (and some would say he orchestrated many of these conflicts) in a number of wars during this time, both big and small. He was involved in the Bricellian Dwarven liberation movement, and many accounts name him as a key player in the armistice signed between the Bricellian Dwarves and Caspians to reach piece. He was also involved in the War of Blood in Asim, playing a pivotal role in the union of the Barbarian horde under Warchief Grakkar. Grakker of course would later be victorious in his bid to remove his people from the edicts of the eternal flame, and Thielsson is mentioned and thanked by name in the Edicts of Lumin, which officially recognized the mutual sovereignty of the Flame and the Barbarian hordes, and established officially the Desert Code the agreement which despite the seeming lawlessness of Asim still holds the peace.

Thielsson of course is most famous for the unification of the kingdom of Tassimar, and the establishment of the great city of Sacena. The great tree of Sacena, was said to be have been planted by Thielsson himself, a tree which scholars agree must be of extraplanar origin for its species is unknown in anywhere else.

### The Origin Myth of Gawaiin Thielsson,

The true story of Gawaiin Thielsson is likely lost to history, but what has survived are a number of stories and legends about his legendary adventures as a young warrior. The most common story of how Thielsson was called to adventure is the story of the Maiden of Sacena (many will recognize this name as the name of the capital city of the kingdom of Tassimar, this is of course incidental to the story itself).

As the story goes, in his 16th year of life, the land which Gawaiin called home was enraptured in a endless winter. The seasons of the previous year had proceeded as expected, but as the new year grew long, the people of this land waited for a spring that did not come. Instead the land continued to be a frozen tundra. As the months wore on, and food stores dwindled, desperation set in. Hearing rumours that the source of the neverending winter was in the forest to the north, Gawaiin set out in desperation to find the source of winter, quell it, and restore the natural rhythm of nature.

Trough many trials Gawaiin faced by himself. The stories of his adventures during this period in his life are copious and surely could not all be true. But legends claim that he slew a frost giant in single combat, crossed a frozen rope bridge across an abyss while being attacked by undead horrors, became the vestige of the spirit of the sun itself, fought with demons and spirits, and many more. Regardless of the intervening adventures, the story continues that after many trials Thielsson would eventually find himself scaling up the arete of Mount Bianco in the Bricella Mountain, when he found himself drawn by a terrible song floating over the howling wind. The song was hauntingly sad, and he found his tears frozen to his face, and following the mourning song, he found himself at a tarn lake in the upper slopes. The tarn itself was sunken into the mountainside, and so afforded some shelter from the whipping winds, so that he could more clearly make out the song. A voice, otherworldly, frail and sad, but enduring. He followed this voice onto the frozen lake, and at the centre of the lake, he found the source of the song, and also the source of the endless winter itself. A Fey maiden, icy in her beauty and majesty, frozen in emotional anguish, THe song emitted from her still lips, for the song came not from her mortal mouth, but from her weeping soul within.

Gawaiin, facing this scene, felt the deep emotional chasm the maiden was trapped in, and was moved to emotion himself. Yet he steeled himself. For amongst him in this scene, where other figures, mortals who like him had come to this place, seeking an end to the storm, yet facing this scene, each of the ones who come before him were rendered to faceless figures frozen in the ice, without the fiery will to keep their wits moving, each frozen to the lake, like the fey maiden herself, each trapped in her overwhelming grief. And in that moment, it is said that love blossomed in Gawaiin's heart, for the maiden was not just terrible and cold, but her face was fair, her features whispered of strength and softness each yielding to each other, and Gawaiin approached, not with thought of harm to the maiden, but a burning desire to protect her. And it was this will burning in his heart that steeled him from the icy winds that whipped his body on that frozen lake, so that by the time he reached her, her song had subsided, and the winds had calmed. And at his touch, the maiden opened her eyes for the first time since her mournful song began, and the winter broke.

From here, the story takes many paths. Some say that Gawaiin and the maiden Sacena fell madly in love, until her fey wiles returned, and he was forced to slay her and in his grief he returned to civilization steeled for war and brutality. And certainly in the official record at least, the accounts of Thielsson as a military commander were of brutal efficiency and steely decisions. Other stories talk more romantically about the entanglement of Thielsson and Sacena, of how they had many adventures together and that they eventually travelled to the Fey Wilds and ruled together for a thousand lifetimes of mortal men, her as a savage fey queen, and him as her mortal consort, made ageless by the magic of her kind, until he committed some sin so egregious he was thrown out of the Fey lands, and her deposed of her throne.

Regardless of the variation, Thielsson involvement with the Fey is enshrined with all of his stories, both mythic and historic. And however the story between Thielsson and the maiden Sacena ended, all accounts agree their dalliance ended badly for all parties involved.

## Military Life

### Early Career

Regardless of the truthfulness of stories surrounding his early life, Thielsson is first officially recorded in military records of Lord Heckler of Tunis at the age of 25. He was by all accounts incredibly martially capable by the time he first enlisted, and within a year of service, had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant knight, and then Knight Commander within 2 years. Thielsson, not only had a rare martial prowess, and skill with martial magic to match, he was a skilled tactician and strategist. He famously had a deep knowledge of nature and a strong relationship with druidic circles that he leveraged in many of his actions. With Thielsson at his side, Lord Heckler rose from a mid tier lord of a small region to being the main feudal power in the central region of what is now the kingdom of Tassimar.

Following the death of Lord Heckler, Thielsson would fall out with Heckler's successor, and recused himself from the house's service. This would mark the beginning of Thielsson's life as a military mercenary

## Political Life

### Thielsson's Reign as King.

Thielsson was an effective general and warrior, but historians generally agree that the minutiae of politics and rule were not to his liking. He had a reputation for having a short temper and a lack of patience for statecraft, preferring to "cut right to the problem". His reign is punctuated with many examples of Thielsson taking unilateral actions and sidelining many of the institutions and processes which had been previously established (many by his own administration).

Much of the political strife duing his reign was a direct result of Thielsson's tendency to act quickly without consulting proper political channels. The Scarlet Rebellion is one prominent example in which Thielsson's blunt approach to diplomacy resulted in disaster.

That being said, Thielsson's political instincts where often right in effect, if not in approach, and the Kingdom overall was flourished under is policies, where they weren't complicated by his bluntness.

Later in his reign, Thielsson, perhaps due to increasing shrewdness or insistent advisors, increasingly stepped back from public actions and appearances, and increasingly used intermediaries to administer the Kingdom. This trend continued until his abdication of the throne to his daughter Queen Arina I.

### Thielsson's Life Post-Monarch

Little is known about Thielsson's life after his abdication as he intentionally took a step back from public life. After a few years of continuing to attend important public functions as the previous sovereign (at the Spring Festival for instance), Thielsson would decided to completely stop his public engagement, and all news of him faded from public life.

Some rumours exist regarding Thielsson's continued operating politically behind the scenes with the organization: the Voices of the Three. Thielsson reportedly became involved in the group during his reign, and that he secretly supported the group and used the group to advocate for his own ideas and ambitions long after his public political career.

### Death

Thielsson died in Sacena at the ripe old age of 134 at his own residence. A public ceremony was necessary given his status, and he was held in state at the Cathedral of St. Vitruvio for 6 months before being interred. The cause of death was natural causes. It was said that his last word in his final moments was the name of the maiden who he once so desperately loved, and of the city that he founded almost a hundred years prior, "Sacena".