| abstract
| - Illwyn's best feature, among her many good ones, is that she does not have a jealous bone in her body. All of the other girls in the village (in particular her estranged twin sister Aelwyn Galadryn) resented Echo Aurora for her beauty and charm, but Illwyn merely admires her and enjoys the many benefits that come with being her best friend. Illwyn was raised primarily by her father Elgalote Galadryn, who is also a ranger. The two of them live a comfortable, simple existence with her father's wolf companion, Benji. He taught her to hunt and fight with a bow as well as swordplay, which she prefers. He also showed her how to use herbs for many different purposes and insists that she carry both weapons and herbs at all times. She is also not permitted to go anywhere without her chain shirt, which had been a gift from him. As a small child, the family of four had spent a great deal of time together, despite her father's discomfort about the situation. During Illwyn's early teens, however, two things happened. First of all, Illwyn befriended Echo and the twins became enemies instead of being attached at the hip. Second, her father had met Benji, and her mother Carawyn Galadryn had felt threatened by his relationship with the wolf. Since then, Illwyn and her father lived separate lives from her mother and sister, though they did get together occasionally for a very awkward dinner. Illwyn has two dreams in life. One is to become a famous adventurer; to become rich and famous and admired. Echo would come too, of course. Together they would conquer anything that stood in their way. The other was to marry Storm Aurora, the love of her life. Up until the Unfortunate Incident, Illwyn had thought this part of her life plan was coming along nicely. He was gentle and kind and always showed a great deal of interest in her. It wasn't until that night that she discovered he was only using her as a cover for his real feelings. She had taken the news very hard, much harder than even Echo ever guessed, and had not truly come to accept the situation yet. She was aware of her denial but reluctant to do anything about it. Illwyn knew that Echo became frustrated when she didn't attempt to lose Storm when he was following her, but she didn't have the heart to do so. She still loved him even though she was disgusted by him and terribly, terribly hurt. She carries around that secret, as well as the guilt she felt for her lack of regret over abandoning her twin sister. If given the choice, she would have done it all over again. Illwyn loved Echo and merely tolerated Aelwyn. And there was no hope of the two being friends. Echo regarded Aelwyn as a tragic accident. "Corellon Larethian liked the idea of you so much he tried to make two of you and something went wrong," she told Illwyn once. And Aelwyn hated Echo almost as much as Echo hated Storm. Illwyn is both a good student and a great athlete. She keeps up with Echo's mad dashes through the trees, can best any of the boys in their school in a swordfight, and knows more about the forest than any of their classmates. She is a very hard worker and her efforts have paid off, for she excels at everything she does.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)