When I first thought up Redwyn for Finn’s Legacy (working title; I’m still seeking representation), if was for two purposes only: 1. Hengest has children, Oisc and Rowena, and those children require a mother; 2) more importantly, I wanted to introduce a “work/life” conflict for Hengest. But how would Redwyn try to persuade her husband to not travel with Hnæf to Finnsburg? Inspired by the concept of seiðr, I decided Redwyn possessed True Sight, prophetic powers that manifested as dreams. Dreams sometimes difficult to interpret so often accurate you’d be a fool (or a torn by oath) to ignore them.
Then I set about writing my next novel, this one featuring the arrival of Hengest and his sister Horsa in Britannia. Imagine my surprise and delight to stumble upon this passage by Gildas:
📜 secundis uelis omine auguriisque, quibus uaticinabatur, certo apud eum praesagio, quod ter centum annis patriam, cui proras librabat, insideret, centum uero qunquaginta, hoc est dimidio temporis, saepius uastaret
📜 “With fair winds, and with omen and auguries—by which she prophesied with a reliable portent to the steersman—that they would settle the land toward which he directed their prows for three hundred years; but for one hundred and fifty years—that is, half that time—they would repeatedly lay waste to it.”
- Gildas, The Ruin of Britain 23
I took the liberty of using ‘she’ and ‘her’ because ‘uaticinabatur’ is gender neutral in Latin. I also invented my own prophecy because one cannot easily imagine ‘300 years’ or ‘150 years’ in a culture without abacuses or writing:
📝 “I dreamt we will take root in Britannia like a great tree, with branches spread wide enough to shelter a dozen generations. But at first...” She shuddered. “At first, blood and tears will water both seedling and sapling. After enduring generations of hardship, the mature tree will enjoy peace and prosperity.”
Redwyn began as a narrative necessity. She’s become something more: a fully realized character with a past of her own—born Rhydwen in Britannia—and a future she Sees in snatches of dream. If you’re curious where her Sight leads next, stay with me. The roots are only just beginning to take hold.
