The Dwrgi-lûth (Otter-clan) are a small river tribe of fishers near Lhan Tarren, allies of the larger Caru-lûth (Stag-clan). Its chieftain, Awel Brenin, has long leaned on his champion to provide leadership. Until a year ago, that champion was Dderw, Cerrynt's father, a strong warrior known for being wise, temperate, adaptable, and thoughtful.
Dderw had no sons to train as a warrior, so he settled for training his youngest daughter, Cerrynt. Her temperament was entirely unlike his, swift to action, eager to prove herself, sometimes thoughtless, driven by forceful convictions and unearned certainty. Ever adaptable, he found ways to use her drive and swiftness in battle, making of her a promising warrior despite her being small, lean, and wiry.
By the customs of the Dwrgi-lûth, a champion could be challenged at any time, though it was uncommon to challenge one for any reason (short of a failure) unless he were seeking to step down. Dderw's beard was growing silver, and he asked for a challenger, and ceded to a bright lad named Trindân. Unfortunately, Trindân proved, once he had a taste of power, to be a belligerent, foolish bully, and almost immediately started causing discord with the Caru-lûth, on whose friendship the tribe depended. He was also cruel to others in the tribe, particularly the young, and especially women.
The day Cerrynt came of age, sure that Trindân would endanger the tribe and did not deserve to represent it, she challenged him. An audaciously unorthodox challenge, which is perhaps why Trindân felt he could defy custom in choosing the nature of the challenge, as was the champion's right. No one thought he would choose a race on foot or in water, as Cerrynt would easily defeat any in the tribe at such a contest. All expected him to honorably choose a contest in which they were evenly matched, as was the custom: a battle with weapons, a climbing race, or a contest of story or song, perhaps. Instead, he chose a bare-knuckles fight, clearly to his great advantage, and Awel Brenin did not object.
The fight was held on the riverbank. No one else could see what Cerrynt was sure she saw, briefly: a lump of iron hidden in his sleeve, pulled out and held in a closed fist, a blatant case of cheating to further his advantage. The fight was over quickly, but even when she was down and yielding, he continued to beat on her, breaking her nose beyond hope of a proper recovery, then cowing the derudh away from giving her proper healing attention, forcing Cerrynt to limp off and nurse her own wounds. And after the fight, he continued to deride and mock her, as any bully would. She left the tribe a week later, hoping to find some way to better herself so she could return to save her tribe from him, and reclaim her lost dignity.
