Arawn
CelticOtherworldPsychopompKingSpectral Hounds
Lore
Arawn is a Deity — the sovereign of Annwn, the Otherworld encountered where moor meets sea and river. Field naturalist note: his influence is more atmospheric than corporal; he reads like a season rather than a beast. Smell: wet peat, salt brine and the metallic tang of old iron. Sound: distant, echoing horns and the baying of spectral hounds (Cŵn Annwn), with water-on-stone cadences beneath it all. Temperature: a pervasive, bone-deep cold that raises the hair on the neck and steams breath in the air. When glimpsed he appears as a tall, courtly silhouette cloaked in deep shadow, often attended by pale hounds and riders of starlit aspect — regal, inexorable and quietly severe rather than feral.
Origin: Welsh (Brythonic) • Annwn / Wales
Classification: Deity (King of Annwn)
Field Notes
Observations
- A sustained chorus of faraway hounds and a sudden, unexpected damp chill at dusk or near standing water.
Encounter Advice
- taboo: Never usurp his hearth or bedchamber, and do not betray a trust offered under Annwn's hospitality (the tale of Pwyll warns sharply against such breaches). Violations invite long, subtle retribution rather than instant violence.
- reverence: Approach with measured speech and restraint: name him as 'Lord of Annwn' or by formal titles, make a small dusk offering at a liminal boundary, accept gifts from Annwn cautiously and refuse boons that demand secrecy or ownership of another's fate.
- offering: A cup of strong ale or milk, a smooth river stone placed at a riverbank at dusk, or a small salt-sprinkled loaf left where land meets water.
Abilities
- Hounds of Annwn (Soul-Rend)Summons a spectral pack whose jaws tear mortal life from flesh and drag souls to Annwn for judgement or feasting.
- Mantle of Annwn (Form-Exchange)Exchange outward form and status with a chosen mortal for a year-and-a-day, allowing Arawn to rule or act through that proxy while enforcing strict terms.
- Sovereign BargainLay binding Annwn oaths that reshape fate—granting boons, transferring claims, or corrupting rivals when the pact is honored or broken.
Weaknesses
- Year-and-a-Day CovenantA bargain fixed for a year-and-a-day is fragile: if its specific terms (for example, the proxy sleeping with the host's consort) are violated the bargain forfeits Arawn's immediate claim and power until restitution is made.
- Anchored to AnnwnRemoved from his realm, Arawn's magical command—especially over the hounds and local fate—diminishes markedly, with prolonged exile halving his effective magic.
- Rival HafganHafgan, a named rival of Annwn, can contest or negate Arawn's rulership in sustained conflict, forcing costly duels of claim rather than simple domination.