"I guess it's only fair to begin at the beginning." He settles in a bit, fishing for the water bottle hiding in his bag to take a few sips before offering to share.
"Owain Glyndŵr, or Owen Glendower for people who don't want to bend their mouth around Welsh, was a rebel and then the last King of Wales, and he led a revolution against the English. The popular stories make him into something of a King Arthur/Robin Hood hybrid. Stealing from the rich to give to the poor, fighting against the English bastards trying to take Welsh lands, et cetera. He was a scholar and a knight and possibly a bit of a magician. They called him the Raven King because he could supposedly speak to them."
There's something wistful about Gansey when he speaks about Glendower. This was his hero, his idol, and his holy grail all wrapped up into the legend of one man. He was everything Gansey wished to be: wise and brave, sure of his path, touched by the supernatural, respected by all, survived by his legacy. Other than 'touched by the supernatural', which at this point is beyond question, Gansey doesn't feel like any of those things.
"Anyway, his revolution was successful for a time, but he lost in the end. By the mid 1400's, Glendower just...disappeared. No confirmed death or burial site, just up and vanished." He grins and squeezes Iggy's hand; this is the good part. "I started researching Glendower when I was ten and actively searching around thirteen or so. Toward the end of my senior year of high school, we found his tomb."
no subject
"Owain Glyndŵr, or Owen Glendower for people who don't want to bend their mouth around Welsh, was a rebel and then the last King of Wales, and he led a revolution against the English. The popular stories make him into something of a King Arthur/Robin Hood hybrid. Stealing from the rich to give to the poor, fighting against the English bastards trying to take Welsh lands, et cetera. He was a scholar and a knight and possibly a bit of a magician. They called him the Raven King because he could supposedly speak to them."
There's something wistful about Gansey when he speaks about Glendower. This was his hero, his idol, and his holy grail all wrapped up into the legend of one man. He was everything Gansey wished to be: wise and brave, sure of his path, touched by the supernatural, respected by all, survived by his legacy. Other than 'touched by the supernatural', which at this point is beyond question, Gansey doesn't feel like any of those things.
"Anyway, his revolution was successful for a time, but he lost in the end. By the mid 1400's, Glendower just...disappeared. No confirmed death or burial site, just up and vanished." He grins and squeezes Iggy's hand; this is the good part. "I started researching Glendower when I was ten and actively searching around thirteen or so. Toward the end of my senior year of high school, we found his tomb."