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Brothic Gandlebar

15,763 to unknown, likely dead by 15,970

History

Brothic was one of the most interesting figures ever to live in Battal. Born to a Giant, Danthic Gandlebar and a Troll Mandra Gandlebar. His father Danthic was Servant of the Elements, head of the Giant religion Petramina and chief of the Giants, raised him to be the leader of his people, and when he came of age he set about bringing his people to greatness. His first move was to join the tribes into a great army, led by the Giant's Council bearing the great Weapons of the Elements. He then led this army to conquer the Mountail Trolls of the Wang Mountains. On his way, he started the Great War of Magiks and Things almost by mistake when he destroyed the army of King Pentral Wellbarrel of The Kingdom of Parsonya in the Battle of the March. Upon arrival, he executed a brilliant campaign of political and military subversion and became Grand Chief of the Trolls in a speedy coup. In the next 10 years he transformed his position into that of Priest-King of the Giants and Trolls, and obtained absolute power over them.

His next move was to conquer the land of Blee, but he was thwarted by the Great Nation of Nar, who, as he was about to win the decisive First Battle of Blee, teleported his entire nation to the Mardath Highlands. There, they battled the Dwarves on their way southeast to Shadia, where under the trees he and his army would fight the 10 year War of the Shades, a horrible guerilla conflict that taxed both him and his super-human forces. They left the forest haggard, and he drove them on one final march to Blee, where they destroyed the remnant of the Nar and created a new kingdom, Bron. Upon his victory over the Nar, the Colossus of Blee, a massive statue in his likeness, was raised over the site of his victory and he was declared a living God.

Brothic's success was not to be long-lived, however. The combined armies of Parsonya, Morlond's Field and Gerge'a along with the dwarves, the Witch-Elves and Elf-Witches, under the leadership of S'yrf'yl the Immortal, invaded Bron and began the battles that would end the Great War. Bron was destroyed and Brothic, after a valiant last stand, disappears from history. Legends regarding his end are varied and range from him dying at his last battle to being spirited away to a cave out of time, waiting to return and lead his people to a final victory. Most accounts hold him as having fled the battle when defeat was evident and dying in exile around the year 15,970.

The Character

The character of Brothic, as created by Jenson Matthews in The Brothic Cycle, is one of the deepest and most intriguing in the canon. He is not a proper hero, and his magic, while powerful, is tied directly to the elements and enchantment. While he begins as a idealistic and inspired leader, he is corrupted by his power. He also fails to see the problems with his actions and the effects his movements across The Shield have upon its peoples. We have the unique position, also, of seeing him through the eyes of S'yrf'yl in Rivers of the Sword, where we see that in the eyes of others he appears as a terrible demon, wielding the Living Spear only to reap the souls of all who approach, and can thus understand both sides of the conflict.

His evolution from idealistic youth to Priest-King to grizzled war leader to living God is accompanied by a devolution of his morals and feelings. One cannot help but want him to succeed in the end, even though deep down you know he is evil by the time Bron is created. As the Colossus is destroyed in the Conflagration of Conult, however, he sees his hubris in the cracking statue, but too late. This is the tantalizing ending point of Jenson's books. The reader is left to wonder whether, as the very stone melts away in the heat, he becomes the good giant/troll he always was and leads his people back to safety and leaves the world of men. Jenson leaves the end of the story intriguingly open, and we are left to place ourselves in his gargantuan shoes, and imagine our actions.