Fynnien of the Meilyr

Fynnien (pronounced /'fənɪɛn/; Elvish for "daughter of the spring"), better known to her friends as 'Fyn', is a young Elf from Tirannwn. She belongs to the Meilyr, a small clan of herblorists and explorers.

Appearance
Fyn has the near-universal Elven physical traits of slim build and beauty of features. She has sea-blue eyes and dark blonde hair.

She tends to dress in greyish-greens, and generally her sense of fashion is slightly outdated, more in keeping with the style of dress of the rebel Elf clans in Isafdar around the end of the Elven Civil War than of the Sixth Age. She often wears her hair in the "flower of Lletya" style; the flowers themselves are in fact very finely-made imitations, rather than real ones. Most recently she has also taken to dyeing her hair and wearing it in more casual styles.

Prelude
Fynnien was born on 8 Ire of Phyrrys, in the year 54 of the Fifth Age. Her mother was a Meilyr explorer and her father a Cadarn ranger; she was named for the Meilyr at birth.

Fynnien lost both her parents when she was still very young. Her mother went missing on a dungeoneering expedition in a distant part of Gielinor; and her father went to try and rescue her. Neither of them ever returned.

As a young Elf during the Elven Civil War, before the regrowing of Prifddinas, Fynnien grew up among a band of Elven rebels in the forests of Isafdar. When she was old enough, she was apprenticed to her maternal grandmother Branwen, a leading herblorist of her clan. Fynnien never technically completed her training, as she was drawn away from Tirannwn with some years of her apprenticeship still to go.

Act I
One night, the adolescent Fynnien had a dream that Tylluan Hen, a wise old owl character of children's stories, was in danger. She believed it was a vision, but it seemed that no one else would take her seriously; so she left her homeland of Isafdar for good in order to seek him out.

It transpired that Tylluan Hen was indeed real: he had been dwelling in Polypore Dungeon, but had been kidnapped by a Zamorakian splinter group working with the then Lord Iorwerth; and Fyn determined to rescue him.

Her search led her all over Gielinor, including deep into Mort Myre, and more than once into grave danger. Eventually, the meddling of Fynnien and her allies brought her to the attention of Lord Iorwerth, who laid a trap for her; and she was captured and imprisoned in the Zamorakians' citadel, before later being transferred to the cells of the Mourners in West Ardougne. She was eventually rescued by one of her allies; but, wounded in the escape, she was placed in the care of the Tree-Gnomes to recover.

Shortly after her recovery, she was contacted - or rather, magically abducted - by a dashing young Elf magician named Mathonwy. Mathonwy knew all about Tylluan Hen, and offered to help her rescue him; and while initially alarmed, Fynnien fell swiftly in love. Eventually, with Mathonwy's help, the two of them were able to rescue Tylluan Hen from the dungeons of the Iorwerth.

Upon his release however, Tylluan Hen took Fynnien and flew away: he warned her not to trust him, and made her swear never to reveal his location to Mathonwy. Despite Tylluan Hen's misgivings however, Fyn returned to Mathonwy - only to be imprisoned on a splinter-plane when she refused to divulge Tylluan Hen's location. Mathonwy altered her perception of time so that she felt as though fifty years went by - although less than three weeks had passed by the time she was rescued by an Icyene named Gabreal and returned to Gielinor. She has been on the run from Mathonwy, in one way or another, ever since.

Interlude 1
With the start of the new God Wars, but before the return of Seren, Fynnien based herself at a house in Taverley in a bid to teach Humans the Serenist philosophy, believing this would help to bring peace; but this ambition was short-lived, cut short by the destruction of her home and headquarters by her old foes. At this point, having received news of the regrowing of Prifddinas and the end of the Elven Civil War, she returned to Tirannwn; but after a brief spell, she found she preferred the old wandering life with which she had grown up in the forests of Isafdar, and left again.

Fynnien returned to Kandarin, plying her old trade as a potionist; it seemed that her enemies had forgotten about her, or believed her still safe in Prifddinas. Eventually she joined the Elven colony of Hailawen near Camelot, under the rule of Nolfinwë Telemmaitë, as a field medic potionist in their elite guard.

Act II
While there, she happened to meet a young Human called Tyler Locke who visited House Telemmaite as a messenger of the Godless. The two of them became friends; and through him she met a Halfelf named Lyam. Lyam revealed to her a plot by his grandfather involving a powerful artefact known as the Crystal Heart; and eventually, he gained her trust enough for her to confide in him that Tylluan Hen was real, and she knew where he was. She traveled alone to Tarddiad, which is where Tylluan Hen had told her he would be, to ask him about the Heart, but found him gone; he had left her a message telling her that he had gone to the Underground Pass.

Lyam insisted on accompanying her through the Pass when she told him, and eventually, since he knew the way, she relented. The Pass played many tricks on them, but at long last they cut their way through - only to be ambushed by a band of Mourners, whom they had believed long-gone. Just when it seemed that they were both finished however, Tylluan Hen himself finally appeared, hurling the Mourners into the far wall of the cavern with one beat of his great wings. When they asked him about the Heart however, he informed them that he had never heard of such a thing; but when they described what it could do, he told them that if such a thing truly existed then it was more than mere Tarddian crystal: it must somehow contain the trapped souls of Elves. Tylluan Hen then carried them out of the Pass, and went to seek a new residence for himself.

Not long thereafter, while they were still deciding what to do about the Heart, Fyn visited Lyam one afternoon only to learn that Mathonwy had been to his house, asking for her. Lyam went to warn Tylluan Hen of Mathonwy's reappearance; but when he returned home, Fyn had already left. She had wasted no time in going into hiding, but left no word. Neither Lyam nor Tyler saw hide nor hair of her for many months, and Tylluan Hen denied all knowledge of her whereabouts. They were left to fear the worst.

With no further sightings of Mathonwy, Fyn eventually came out of hiding. On her return, she discovered that Tyler had been kidnapped and turned to stone by Rosaline; but she eventually spurred Lyam into arranging a trade to recover Tyler, and with the aid of Celwyn they were able to reassemble and reanimate him - although the two men later fell out, and parted ways.

While basing herself at Lyam's house in anticipation of their move to capture the Crystal Heart, the two of them were among the first to journey to the island of the Lost Grove after its re-emergence and learn what had taken place there. While there, Fyn realised she had still not got over her parents' disappearance, and Lyam offered to help her find out what happened to them so that she could move on; but at that time, she resolved not to go looking for them.

"I never really had any closure... In a way, I've been trapped in time ever since they left. Deep down, I'm still just a lonely little Elf-child, waiting for her parents to come home."

- Fynnien, Year 5 of the Sixth Age

Interlude 2
The thought continued to nag at the back of her mind however, and she became increasingly restless; eventually, a plan took shape. She left her friends, and travelled alone to Daemonheim, seeking any sign of her parents' passage so many decades previously. She remained on the hunt for several months, but the trail was long since cold, and she was unable to find any firm trace of them. At length, a near-death experience forced her to admit defeat; she spent several weeks in recovery at the Fremennik camp, before beating a retreat to her friends in the West.

Act I: Epilogue
One afternoon, early in the sixth year of the Sixth Age, while visiting Ardougne market, Fynnien was approached by a handsome young human craftsman named Eric. He charmed her, in the usual ways, and requested a second meeting at a location of her choice. Fynnien suggested a bar she knew in Ta Quir Priw, and Eric accepted enthusiastically.

Fynnien showed up to the date unarmed and unsuspecting, and found herself drinking more than she had intended. Momentarily losing sight of Eric, she left the bar to look for him, but ran directly into two acquaintances who by chance were visiting the same bar. Sobered up, they parted ways as Fynnien continued trying to find Eric. As soon as the coast was clear, Mathonwy ambushed her, knocking her out from stealth and teleporting her away.

She awoke to find herself restrained and at Mathonwy's mercy in his secret workshop on Tarddiad. There, mingling violence and tenderness, he sought to persuade her that he was as in love with her as ever, that he was sorry for how he had treated her, and that he had discovered a great destiny for her which he would help her to achieve if she would but return to him, as he claimed to know part of her still yearned to.

But before he was able to break her resolve, Lyam and Tyler arrived on Tarddiad, distracting Mathonwy; they had been appraised of the investigations of the two friends Fynnien had run into at Ta Quir Priw, after they had grown suspicious of Eric's behaviour. Using a crystal ball, Mathonwy appeared to Lyam and Tyler as a spectral figure, attempting to persuade them to abandon their quest through manipulation and intimidation. But while Mathonwy's attention was on her allies, trying to find out how much they knew, Fynnien gradually managed to free her hands.

When his back was turned, the first thing Mathonwy knew of this was a blow to the head from the chair to which she had been tied. Mathonwy was knocked to the floor, dazed but protected by his helmet, as Fynnien threw herself upon him, striking him with her fists. The two of them fought: at first it seemed that Mathonwy held the upper hand almost immediately, but with a fury born of desperation, eventually Fynnien was able to pin him down. The ancient magician was finally strangled to death by the woman he had betrayed, ending his life.

With Lyam and Tyler's help, Fynnien transported Mathonwy's possessions back to Gielinor, claiming he had left them to her in his will. They then turned the secret workshop into a great pyre for his remains. Mathonwy was truly gone at last.

Key dates
V 54: Fynnien is born.

V 79: Disappearance of Fynnien's parents. Adopted by grandmother.

V 169 - VI 1: Act I.

VI 2-3: Regrowing of Prifddinas; Fynnien comes to Prifddinas and dwells there for a time. Return of Seren. Fynnien leaves Prifddinas.

VI 3-5: Act II.

VI 5-6: Fynnien seeks her parents in Daemonheim for the first time. Mathonwy is slain.

Combat
By Human standards, Fynnien is very adept at archery - and not too bad by Cadarn standards. She possesses a crystal bow that was sung for her as a gift by an old lover, although recently she has been using it as sparingly as possible to prolong its life before it needs re-singing.

She now more commonly carries a pair of long crystal daggers. Ostensibly, these are primarily for taking cuttings of plants and the like; but her martial skill and ferocity with them in a tight spot is not to be underestimated.

Herblore
Potion-making is Fynnien's trade - at least outside Tirannwn. As she never finished her apprenticeship, she is not especially advanced by Meilyr standards. Given the length of Elf apprenticeships however, she is quite an expert by the standards of other races.

Although potions are her living, Fyn has a great love for plants growing in the wild, not just for their usefulness. She loves exploring deep caves and clifftops to find rare species and varieties. She longs for a garden to grow her own, but has no fixed abode.

Aside from brewing useful potions, Fyn also likes mixing alcoholic drinks. Her speciality is something she calls outside Tirannwn a Meilyr cocktail.

"It's an alcoholic drink, about the same strength as fortified wine - it seems to have a slightly more pronounced effect, but I suppose that's just because people drink it faster since it doesn't really taste of alcohol. It has a rich earthy taste, sweet like honey and spicy like fresh wild rocket. I am yet to meet a person who will admit they do not like it, if I do say so myself... It will not make you sick no matter how much you drink, although following it up with a more mundane brew such as red wine or ale usually induces vomiting almost immediately. It also seems to be almost impossible to get a hangover, no matter how much you drink - as long as you don't mix!"

- Fyn