Vyren Kiyrn

Vyren Kiyrn was an Utlian explorer, prophet and author known for being the discoverer of Azzta and the only one to ever speak with them. Vyren is also known for his Frish Expeditions, which were explorations the Frish Royals employed him to do so they could gather knowledge on the rest of the island, these explorations were one of the most important events in Frish/Utlian history.

Life

Early Life

Vyren Kiyrn was born 18-4 1821 TT to a merchant family in Unlaunen. He was the middle child of 3 boys, his mother died when he was 12. According to his autobiography, his father was a heavy alcoholic and it fell upon the boys to look after the family store. When Vyren turned 19 he left the family business, to the disdain of his family to join a group of traveling merchants who were active between the various Southern Utlia city-states. It was this experience that gave Vyren a love for nature and the land.

Expeditions

Azztan Expedition

At the age of 21 on 12-2 1800 TT, he was hired by the Frish Royal Family to search the lands north for a variety of reasons, mainly to fully map the island but also to find more valuable resources. He hastily agreed and began gathering men and resources for his journey. The men left Unlaunen and began heading northeast, after leaving the borders of the kingdom they quickly discovered mountains taller than any of the hills in their homelands. The passage through the central mountains was grueling but after weeks of hard travel, they came upon a clearing with a large crater in the center, surrounded by the mountains. The men rested in a cave near the clearing for 1 week, during which all of the men reported strange hallucinations and weird occurrences happening while they were there. Vyren himself had the most visceral visions, which guided him deeper into the cave. upon reaching what he thought was the end of the cave he saw Azzta in what he described as "a moment of true bliss". Vyren spoke to Azzta for 13 hours, during which he quickly wrote a book of all of Azztas guidelines, philosophy and ideals for the Utlian people. This book was Azztanism, which birthed a religion of the same name and became the best selling book in the Frish Kingdom once Vyren returned. After speaking to Azzta, the god gave him a piece of his shell as a gift for discovering him. Upon the morning, Vyren left the cave and shared his new findings with the rest of the men, who became the disciples of Vyren and the first converts to Azztanism.

Merri Expedition

After getting enlightened the men rested for 2 more weeks in the clearing, now no longer dealing with the harsh hallucinations. After their break they packed up and continued northward along the eastern coast. This route was only taken because they did not want to deal with more mountains. This choice proved to work out as the men discovered small communities along the coast of people who called themselves Merriyem. The Merriyem gave the men coats to handle the freezing winter temps of the region. The coats were made of Grylbo skin, an animal that only exists in these Merri communities. The men killed and took 4 Grylbo, among other newly discovered animal carcasses. The men rested in a small Merri village for 2 days before being approached by a messenger, who brought them a notice from the Merri Chief Council, the group who ruled the loose collection of Merriyem outposts from their home in the capital of Mersen. The men excitedly joined the messenger on a journey to the capital, where they wrote mainly about the Merri religion and culture. The Messenger brought them to an inn to rest till morning. When morning came the men were escorted to the Council Palace in central Mersen, here they met with the Council of 7 Chiefs, who interviewed the men about their origins and purposes there, after the interrogation the explorers ate a traditional Merriyem dinner with the chiefs. After completing their dinner the men were gifted 2 Merriyem idols, the highest order of gift to be given in Merriyem culture, the men thanked the chiefs and left Mersen.

Northern Expedition

Upon leaving Mersen and heading north, the men found themselves back in mountains, the highest they had seen thus far. Luckily for the explorers winter was nearing its end and they would be able to pass somewhat safely. Upon crossing the mountain range the men were approached by a group of Eutan patrollers on horseback, who interrogated the group about their intent. Upon realizing the men were members of the "southern kingdom" as it was called in the Eutan Kingdom , the men were taken to a nearby town where they got drunk in an inn with the patrollers. When morning came the explorers said goodbye to their escorts and continued to head west of Mt Balm, towards Balmor to restock on supplies. Once the men reached Balmor they met with local Lord of the city, Shresh Shote. In their meeting with Shresh they shared their findings and offered the Eutans a sliver of land in the northeast coast, currently occupied by Merriyem in exchange for the ability to spread the word of Azzta in the non-religious Eutan Kingdom. Shresh accepted and offered dinner to the men, who accepted. After dinner and a rest, the men gathered their supplies they began the journey home.

Return

The actual return journey was largely uneventful, they took the same route through the eastern mountains they took coming through. Once the men returned to the Crater of Azzta and the Cave, they rested for 2 more days and Vyren met with Azzta once more, in this meeting Azzta pledged to protect the island and its people, and all Vyren had to do was get people to believe in him. The men left the clearing and headed home. Once they arrived in Unlaunen the Frish family met with Vyren and he proudly shared his discoveries and founding of a new route to the Eutans. The Frish were incredibly delighted and gave the Kiyrn family noble status on the spot, when told about Azzta they believed Vyren and declared Azztanism the state religion. The explorers then had a week long parade held to celebrate their gathering of new territory for the Frish. Along with noble status Vyren was gifted a manor in central Unlaunen. The Kiyrn family had varied reactions to his newfound fame, Vyrens older brother was outright hostile towards him in what Vyren would later call "a jealous hatred", the younger brother was more receptive to Vyrens status, appreciating what he had done for the family but still choosing to run the business. Vyren's father was deceased by the time he had returned from his 2 year long journey, having died not long after Vyren left for the expedition.

Move to the crater

In 1790 Vyren had a small cottage built near the mouth of the cave near the Crater of Azzta so he could be closer to his god, it was here where Azzta and Vyren would speak for hours on end, however none of it was written down by the man like he had done previously. The cottage was the Republic of Utlias first protected religious monument, The Vyren Kiyrn Cottage Museum became a major section of the religious pilgrimages taken to the crater in the years after his death.

Death

Vyren died in 1740 TT after he didnt treat an infection in his knee. His body was buried behind the cottage, where it stays to this day. There was a large funeral held open to the public when he died, it was attended by reportedly 10,000 Frish citizens who paid their respects.

Legacy

Vyren is considered one of the most important people in Utlian history and by far the most important Frish person. He is still studied by modern Azztan scholars for his discovery and founding of the primary religion of Utlia. His discovery of the Merriyem people led to them being oppressed by various overlords for a thousand years. His modern descendants are generally not public figures, and simply manage his legacy. The exception to this is Luyen Kiyrn, a member of the Utlian Lower Cabinet and the UBP.

Works

-Azztanism (published 2-12 1800 TT)

-Merriyem Findings (published 3-4 1798 TT)

-Autobiography of Vyren (published 1-8 1760 TT)

-Azzta and The Light (disputed existence, possible publishing date between 1800 and 1795 TT)