The Eagle's Storm

EDIT Per suggestion, I deleted the dialogue, and instead stuffed in a bit about how Gwydion and Rhyfelgri met.

Late Winter, Year 752
Ridgeback Range, Glenmore

The dark stag stepped through the snow, carving out a path behind him. The teeth of a long forgotten bull shark dangled from various points of his body, clinking lightly as he moved. The shark had washed up on the beaches of Sharktooth Bay years before, still alive. It had flailed as Gwydion approached it, and the bay stag watched as it slowly suffocated in the open air. The teeth of the great monster had intrigued him, and he'd pulled a few from the cooling body, later enlisting Rhyfelgri's help in tying them to his antlers, and in pulling his mane, tail, and beard together, tying them in place with the teeth, on ropes of sinew. The gentle clinking of the teeth were the only sounds, as the mountains had quieted.

A storm was brewing over the Needle, and Gwydion was making a return trip to the mountains, after an... interesting spar with a fellow Glenmore stag. The seal bay stag didn't come down often; the mountains were his home. He'd been there since his second year, and wasn't planning to leave anytime soon. Gwydion crested the rise, turning back to view the land he had come from.

Storm-filled clouds soaked the sky, casting the world in a dark, foreboding shadow. It would be a long, hard winter storm, and he needed to head home soon. Against the grey skies, a spot of brown could be seen. It was Rhyfelgri, the golden eagle that had been his companion since his fifth year. As he watched the great bird soar upon the raging storm winds, he remembered the events that had led up to their meeting.

In his fifth year, he had found the eagle, then only a yearling, with a broken wing. Lost, alone, and confused, the eagle had shied away at first, afraid of the stag that had approached him. Gwydion had persisted, in the end able to inspect the eagle's injury. Using the bit of herb lore he had then, he patched the eagle up as best he could. As the next days passed, Gwydion turned from a peaceful plant eater to a hunter of small mice, doing his best to provide food for the creature in his care. He had many more misses than hits, but he was still trying. He managed to feed the eagle, and the fledgling slowly regained his strength and fire.

After a week, Gwydion decided to give him a name, Rhyfelgri. The golden eagle took to it, and as he healed, the two developed an odd bond. Still, Gwydion was concerned about Rhyfelgri's wing, both about whether it would properly heal and about what would happen if it did. Would he leave? Would he stay? Gwydion didn't know. When that day finally came, when Rhyfelgri took his first flight after his injury, Gwydion had watched nervously. The golden bird had flown away, almost out of sight. Just when Gwydion had given up hope, the eagle turned, and flew back to him. Rhyfelgri landed upon Gwydion's antlers, and the stag was overjoyed, knowing that the eagle wasn't yet ready to leave him.

Now, nearly ten years later, standing atop the ridge, Gwydion looked back at his friend, no doubt enjoying the storm winds. He stayed for a moment, soaking in the chill of the air and the eerie silence. The entire ridge seemed poised on edge, just waiting for the storm to break, waiting for the sky to fall down upon their peaceful lives. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and Gwydion glanced at his distant companion again. He trusted he would be safe, but he still held a reasonable amount of worry in his heart. The bird was, after all, his life-long companion, and had saved his live a few times. In all honesty, Gwydion would be lost without Rhyfelgri.

Gwydion turned his back on the storm and stepped forward, moving along the spine of the ridge. There was a cave not far from there, where he and the eagle had made their home for many years. The stag moved with a calm urgency, not afraid, just ready to get home. As he stepped through the half-hidden cave entrance, his antlers threatened to snag in the branches of the fallen tree that lay partway across the cave opening. With a grunt, he pushed through, the shark teeth on his antlers clinking vigorously. Now standing within the safety of their cave, Gwydion shook himself, before stalking across the space to the nest of moss and feathers that he called his bed. He stepped inside and circled a few times, before lowering himself into the soft nest. With a gentle sigh, he settled, gaze resting on the entrance, awaiting the return of his friend, and the breaking of the storm hovering nearby.

---

My bid for number 8 here. [link]

I didn't know what would happen at first, and this piece actually started out as one of four sketches I did. This was the only one I really liked, so I continued it. As I was writing the history, I really began to fall in love with the character, so I really hope I can snag him. His personality isn't completely set in stone, so if I win him, I hope a few RPs can help solidify it a bit.

Deer Ref: From Google images.
Golden Eagle Info: [link]
Translating: Google Translate

---

Name Gwydion
Meaning Welsh for magic
Gender Stag
Age 15 years
Birth Spring, Year 742
Height 12 hh
Build Medium-heavy
Breed #Fawnlings, by =Ehetere
Phenotype Seal bay fawn
Genotype EE/Ata/fwfw/Rxrz
Bloodlines Blackwood stag [Gavyn] x Glenmore princess doe; deceased [Celyn]
Herd Glenmore
Rank Outsider
Companion

Rhyfelgri. [Welsh, battle cry] [re-fell-gree] Golden Eagle 11 years.

Accessories

Eleven shark teeth, harvested from Sharktooth bay. Three on each of the highest prongs of his antlers, one attached to the end of his beard, and two each tying his mane and tail.

Personality

Gwydion is a wanderer, like his mother, and prefers silence to the company of others. Since his fifth year, he has traveled with his best friend, a brother, the golden eagle Rhyfelgri. The two have come to rely on one another, and if ever separated, it could be devastating to their psyche. When around other fawnlings, Gwydion takes on an air of cool indifference, becoming a strong, silent entity lurking in the background. When in his own terrain, the mountains of Ridgeback Range, he becomes more free, though still dark and brooding. As for does, Gwydion pays them little heed, uninterested in the complications that come with taking a mate or even breeding. As such, there are no little Gwydions running around, and for that he is grateful. With regards to the execution of his mother, Gwydion still feels a bit of resentment, both toward the leaders of his herd, as well as towards his father, whom he blames in part for his mother's death. He feels, though, as if part of the debt has been repaid, due to the fight between them that led to Gavyn's blindness.

History

Born to a wayward princess doe, Gwydion's birth never should have happened. Celyn, his mother, was unhappy with the stag she had been promised to. In an act of defiance, she slipped off to Blackwood during one rut season, eventually mating with one of the stags there. She remained with Blackwood until her lover left her for another doe. Heartbroken, Celyn took her two-year-old son and crawled back to Glenmore.

Celyn sought out the king and confessed her crime. Rather than the acceptance and forgiveness she had expected, she was met with anger and ferocity. With Gwydion being old enough to be weaned, Celyn was sentenced to death. Gwydion was spared from death, blameless. Though pardoned, Gwydion was frightened by the side of Glenmore he had seen. So, he ran.

Gwydion escaped to Ridgeback Range, eventually adapting to the harsh environment. He grew up in solitude, until he reached five years. In his fifth summer, he met a yearling golden eagle, injured and helpless. He called him Rhyfelgri and patched him up, taking care of him as he healed. They spent the summer together, then the fall, and then the winter. By the time spring came around, the two were an inseparable pair.

Around his seventh year, still living in near solitude, Gwydion decided to move down from the ridge to explore Blackwood territories. Though apprehensive about the possibility of meeting his father, he was willing to take his chances, to see what could have dragged his mother to the darker trees. He knew the stag's name, and what he looked like, but he was unsure of his feelings for him. He was his father, though he had abandoned his mother, and there was a lingering blame. Still, in the late summer of year 749, they trekked down the southern side of the mountains into Blackwood territory.

The pair remained unimpeded, until the moment Gwydion dreaded arrived. They had been wandering the forest near the Red River, when a ghost from the past seemed to materialize from the shadows. The stag issued a challenge to the trespasser he didn't recognize, and a fight ensued. After about an hour of vicious headbutts, the fight turned sour for Gwydion, and his father, Gavyn, gained the upper hand. Watching from the treetops, Rhyfelgri perched, ready to swoop in if needed. Antlers disengaged, and Gwydion stumbled back to collect himself. Gavyn charged, catching him off guard, and speared his shoulder. Gwydion was knocked to the ground, and Rhyfelgri suddenly appeared, wings flapping and talons scratching at Gavyn's eyes. The older stag retreated, allowing Gwydion to stand. Gwydion and Rhyfelgri retreated to the mountains, their familiar territory, leaving a blinded Gavyn in their wake.

Gwydion and Rhyfelgri continued to live in the mountains, living together and watching each other's backs. They lived and trained together, occasionally drifting from the mountains to meet with other fawnlings, for sparring and herb training purposes. Other than that, Gwydion and Rhyfelgri live solitary lives, hardened by the rugged mountains they call home.


RECAP
- Spring, 742 Birth in Blackwood
- Winter, 744 Return to Glenmore, Celyn executed, retreat to Ridgeback
- Summer, 747 Meeting Rhyfelgri
- Late Summer, 749 Begin Blackwood exploration
- Early Fall, 749 Fight with Gavyn, Rhyfelgri blinds him. Return to Ridgeback.
- Late Winter, 752 "The Eagle's Storm

Stats

Speed: 3 [limit 7]
Stamina: 3
Strength: 4
Experience: 2
Total 12

BREAKDOWN
+1 Strength [heavy build]
+1 Experience [starter]
+1 Stamina [starter]
+1 Speed [starter]

Herb Lore

Medium [11]

BREAKDOWN
+11 [starter]

Magic None [Bloodline cancelling act.]