Alan of Rin

Alan of Rin was born in the Old World, before the Seven Realms were defined. They were twenty-three, the borders were completed and the new realm came to be.

Alan of Rin was born to loving parents, who moved to the North for protection by Clan Glasslight, becoming one of their septs, when they defied their parents wishes in their home village on the coast, fleeing for their lives and their newly conceived child's life. Their parents were found when they were six, both of them killed by an assassin.

From the time Alan was thirteen, they were able to convene with the spirits, realizing it for the first time when they were fourteen, able to talk to the spirit of their mother. They trained with other spiritists and soon started communicating with the God of the Sky.

When they were twenty-six, they heard a voice uttering a prophecy that the name of the kingdom royal line would be revealed on the Isle of Ilona. That night, a storm rolled over the new realm, winds and heavy rains tearing through the lands. Alan of Rin found a horse and rode hard from their home near the border, to Land’s End. There, they found the seven Chiefs gathered for a meeting, and Alan of Rin explained the prophecy. The Chiefs pleaded with Alan not to go, showing the sea becoming angrier by the minute, but Alan insisted. Chief Torrent offered a small boat to Alan, and the Chiefs helped them down to the water’s edge, and waved to them as they left.

Alan of Rin got into the small boat, and launched from the beach below the cliffs into the angry waters. They paddled hard, their arms strong, waves throwing them about and almost capsizing them multiple times. When they thought all hope was gone and they would die in the waters, an extremely bright light appeared in the distance beyond them. Not knowing where it was coming from, Alan of Rin decided to follow it, hoping with all hope it would not lead to their death.

After days of going around in circles, Alan of Rin followed the glowing light up onto the beach of the Isle of Ilona. The light hovered just off the rock beach, drawing Alan of Rin further into the island, shielding their eyes from the blinding light.

From the light, voices start to call to Alan, calling for them not to be afraid. They announced themselves as the (eleven?) groups of Gods and Goddesses. The Gods told Alan they had been the ones to send the vision and prophecy, having chosen them as their representative in the human world.

Alan fell to their knees, listening to the light in awe, as the voices announced a further prophecy: that the line of the Sovereign they were about to give was the line that would rule with kindness, unite the clans, and bring prosperity to the new realm for exactly 1000 years. And so the Gods were ready to give Alan of Rin the name of the Sovereign family.

And the name that came out of the light was one that surprised Alan of Rin. The Sovereign would be the Skylock family. They were known as the small Clan that lived near the cliffs, known for gardens of vegetables and small herds of sheep. And it was not Chief Skylock who would become the first sovereign, but the Chief’s second son, Marin. Through the light, the Gods assured Alan of Rin that this was their decision and they believed that soft, kind rulers

The final thing the Gods said through the light was that the realm of the Seven Clans, defined in the New World treaty, would be known as the Kingdom of Skylock.

The light began moving, leading Alan of Rin back to their boat, helping them navigate through the stormy waters.

When Alan of Rin set foot on the beach, the sea calm and the deep grey clouds gave way to light rain, and softer grey skies. They made their way up the walking path as cautiously as they could, to find the Seven Chiefs, who informed Alan they had been gone for fifteen days and they had given up hope, believing them lost to the sea. Alan of Rin assured the Chiefs they were very much alive, and recounted the story of the light to eager ears.

Alan of Rin finally raised their hand and pointed to Marin, proclaiming him to be the first King of the new Kingdom of Skylock. Despite their differences, the Chiefs cheered. Over the next five years, the original castle would be built.

Alan of Rin communed with the Gods and Goddesses almost daily after that, spreading their messages of love, kindness, good harvest, and more across the newly formed Kingdom, bringing stories to every Clan and every Sept. Alan of Rin was widely considered the first High Priest. They took under their arm two young people who showed the same visions and thoughts Alan had heard as a teenager. These two trained hard to learn about the (eleven?) groups of Gods and Goddesses, learning to communicate with ancestors, the spirits, and the Gods and Goddesses. These two young people were anointed as the High Priest and High Priestess.

When their training was complete and they could continue to learn on their own, all while spreading the messages and practice further, and seeing the Sovereign family fully established and running a successful Kingdom, Alan of Rin decided their work was done. Alan of Rin convened with five Priests from the Old World, the six of them rowing to the Isle of Ilona across a calmer sea than the one Alan of Rin had crossed on their own so many years ago.

On the Isle of Ilona, they worked together to build a learning and worship centre, a building of 11 sides for the eleven groups of Gods and Goddesses. To finish the Isle, they build a lamppost where Alan had once been met by the bright light. Each of the Old World Priests worked with specific Gods and Goddesses, learning enough about them to have their faces revealed, and putting their likeness on the walls of the centre. The six Old World Priests lived and learned together, the Sovereign sending pairs of animals and seeds to the Priests to build lavish gardens and farms to sustain themselves.

As Alan of Rin aged, they made two trips to the mainland. The first was to find understudies for the Old World Priests and continue the practice on the Isle of Ilona, bringing two Priestesses and three Priests back to the Isle for them to take on the Isle Worship Centre come the death of the Old World Priests.

Alan of Rin returned to the mainland one more time on the suggestion of one of the Gods. Back in Skylock, they found the First King of Skylock, Marin Skylock, had passed away that morning. Alan explained to the castle staff and the royal family that the Gods had led them back, and he would take the body of their King to be buried on the Isle of Ilona. Before they left, Alan placed the crown on the eldest child of Marin, his son Valentine, officially establishing the line of Skylock.

Alan of Rin took the body of the First King back to the Isle and the Priests and their trainees buried him in the small field. A year later, the second King sent his mother’s body to the Isle for Alan of Rin to bury her with her true love. Alan of Rin and one of the young Priestesses carved a huge stone arch anointing the field as the Final Resting Place of the Kings and Queens of Skylock.

Ten days later, surrounded by the Old World Priests and their trainees, Alan of Rin took their last breath. The trainees took the responsibility to cremate their body, and spread the ashes over the land around the Isle’s lamppost. Two weeks later, flowers never before seen on the Isle sprouted around the lamppost, though their seeds never spread further than the lamppost. Soon, the voice of Alan of Rin joined the voices some young Priests and Priestesses could hear.

It is said that if someone ever hears the voice of Alan of Rin, they are destined to be a High Priest or High Priestess of Skylock.

After their death, the Priesstess who had helped Alan carve the arch for the Kings and Queens burial ground, carved Alan of Rin’s stories on two large stones, one placed at the entry to the Isle, one sent to the mainland to be placed outside the castle.

The third King of Skylock, King Euan, declared the Eighty-Third Day of Autumn as Alanmas to celebrate Alan of Rin’s life and death, and the implementation of the Skylock line.