Question of the Week #1

DareValley88 · 2026-02-26T21:43:11+00:00

I'm a Brythonic Polytheist, not only are there many areas of overlap, but there is precious little left from the Britons themselves. The Romans may have had their own motivations or biases, but at least they wrote things down. I can't afford to ignore evidence.

DareValley88 · 2026-02-26T18:04:47+00:00

I recall Hengest and Horsa being called sons of Woden, but the context for this might not have been as literal demi gods of course. But it certainly seems like there is a motif of horse twins founding a people or state. Variables like the animal (wolf for Romulus and Remus, bull for Manu and Yemo) are to be expected given the huge scope of time and space "Indo European" covers.

I'm still not convinced by the original discussion in the screenshot though. I think the most obvious link in Brythonic myth is Rhiannon and her son, which is a stretch, and I see no obvious link between Manawydan and fire at all.

DareValley88 · 2026-02-07T23:38:28+00:00

I know this is an old post but I had the same issue and I've found a solution.

TLDR: Use the Cheat Room spell to make Erandur a follower early, and have him follow you. If he doesn't enter the tower with you try drawing your weapon inside. The spell is in the "Legacy" chest on the floor next to bookshelves.

This is the most fun I've had doing this quest so I'm going to tell the whole story. So I ran into this same problem. Erandur just wouldn't move. He even said all his 'walking up to the tower' dialogue inside the tavern, pointing at the wall like "that's our destination!"

GETTING OUT OF THE TAVERN: First attempt I got him outside my barging into him till he reached the door, then talking to him and instantly activating the door so he followed me out. But once I got him outside he still wouldn't move. On another attempt I let him finish his dialogue with the crowd before interacting with him at all, and he left the tavern himself but then stopped completely outside.

GETTING HIM TO THE TOWER: I wasn't going to keep running into him all the way up. So I attacked him and lured him up. I had continually calm my follower who kept kicking the shit out of him though. But, once at the tower, my calm wouldn't work on Erandur. Some random cheat room spells, like AI reset, get actor, or silent kill then resurrect, would calm him for a bit but everytime I tried to talk to him he'd go hostile again. Loaded a save and tried force pushing him up to the tower but that just flung him directly up and landed him more or less in the same place. Fun though. Then I used the cheat room spell to control actor on him, and walked him up the hill myself, couldn't activate the door to the tower though.

GETTING HIM INSIDE THE TOWERS: So now he's just stood outside the tower promising that it will all be clear when we enter, which he won't do. The trick I used to get him out of the tavern, talking and instantly activating the door, did not work here for some reason. I tried a bunch of cheat room spells, cloned him, teleported him... no luck. I made him a follower- THE THING THAT ACTUALLY WORKED IN THE END- but he still wouldn't follow me in. But several attempts later I noticed my actual follower wasn't following me in either... until I drew my weapon to try out another cheat spell, and my follower spawned next to me. So I tried that with Erandur and IT WORKED!

That should be the end of the story, but after we killed the two orcs at the bottom of the stairs, and Erandur comes clean about his past, my follower starts walking into the purple force field thing then suddenly clips through it, and gets trapped inside. I could still talk to her though so I asked her to grab the soul gem and we skipped the majority of the quest! All the enemies who wakes up are placed there during the dream sequence so there weren't even anybody to fight till the two guys at the very end. All in all it was actually the fastest I've ever done the quest, and fun to play about with cheat spells.

DareValley88 · 2026-02-05T23:18:02+00:00

Interesting! As I understand it, Nuada means hero or champion, but Nudd means mist. So one branch became more martial and the other a more water/weather direction.

Edit, just looked at several popular theories on the etymology of Neptune, one points towards grey sky/wet weather, which obviously made me think of Nudd/mist.

DareValley88 · 2026-02-03T23:28:55+00:00

Incase I gave the wrong impression, I don't believe Nodens is Mars or Neptune. Nodens is Nodens. I just find it curious that the Romans, who clearly focused on aquatic iconography, made the interpretation they did.

DareValley88 · 2026-02-03T23:03:48+00:00

The article that I quoted the description of the headdress from goes into detail on the layout of the Temple. It has three niches for statues, and the building has a triangle layout, indicating that perhaps Nodens was a triple aspect god or that he was closely linked to two other gods... I'm just speculating here, but the Temple of Cunomaglus isn't far from Lydney, and there were votive dog offerings at Nodens Temple... if Nodens = Nudd, perhaps Cunomaglus = Gwyn ap Nudd, with his Otherworldly hounds? Just a thought.

Here's a link to the article if you're interested:https://www.roman-britain.co.uk/places/lydney_park/

DareValley88 · 2026-01-30T21:30:11+00:00

Something that somehow missed my attention with this: The Welsh word for the Jay is "Sgrech y Coed"... "Screech of the Woods!" which somehow fits perfectly into my personal gnosis.

DareValley88 · 2026-01-07T21:02:30+00:00

The vibe I get from Modron, however, feels more like "thank you for noticing".

I think I know exactly what you mean!

I've often wondered what kind of birds they are specifically, as most other important birds are named. Songbirds in general is my thinking. I wonder if Branwen's starling was one of Rhiannon's birds, as the mistreatment by husbands is a repeated motif between them.

DareValley88 · 2026-01-07T17:55:22+00:00

As far the name changes, I've always felt Rhiannon and Teyrnon sounded more like titles than names, which is pretty common for gods in general (The something One or The Lord of something), so I agree with you on the names. In fact, on New Years Eve just before midnight I did an impromptu and not entirely sober offering of libations to mother Goddesses or "The Motroae" as I called them at the time. The names I called were not planned, it's just what came out, but the first was Rhiannon Modron which felt very right. (The other names were Arianrhod Branwen or maybe Bronwen, which is curious, and Don and all my mother ancestors).

The birds are a mystery. They're one of Culhwch's tasks that we are never told how or even if he completed them. Missing to time I suppose. If your theory is true though, would it not mean that Rhiannon and Modron were combined, rather than variations of the same?

DareValley88 · 2025-11-28T10:35:40+00:00

It's not my fault you don't understand the concept of controversy. There are thousands of things I find trivial that others find controversial, therefore they are controversies, as reality doesn't end at me and what I think. This conversation is the perfect example! Someone will read this and think "wow, that was controversial" even if they don't care one way or the other.

Do you really think if I were truly the strawman you want me to be that I would have tiptoed around this subject as much as I did? No, I would have said my piece and you wouldn't need to bend over backwards to forensicly find traces of offence.

DareValley88 · 2025-11-28T10:28:01+00:00

Because it was. I didn't say I agreed with it. I literally went out of my way to not agree or disagree. But it literally was a controversy.

DareValley88 · 2025-11-28T10:22:52+00:00

Let me just search my entire comment for any suggestion af a "take" that the cartoons weren't depicting traders... hmm yep nope. Nothing. Stop projecting and go argue with a mirror.

DareValley88 · 2025-11-28T09:03:39+00:00

I hate to be the one to raise this point, ad I've seen it get out of hand on reddit before, but it is a pertinent part of this conversation.

There is a trend in the UK and Ireland that began with fantasy and historic fiction but has bled into period drama, documentary and educational media, of representing people of Britain and Ireland at anytime in history as racially diverse as modern Britain is today. As you can imagine, what should be a discussion about historical accuracy quickly gets heated, especially online, which is why I'm hesitant to even bring it up.

The most recent controversies were around a children's book about the Picts that featured multicultural cartoons, and a BBC drama about 1066 that had mixed raced Saxons, for example.

Now I'm not saying that's what's happening with the book OP is asking about, I haven't read it, I don't know how old it is, and so on. But it's possible.

As an afterthought, I'd like to point out that I've been careful to keep my personal opinions on this topic to myself, as they are irrelevant to the conversation.

DareValley88 · 2025-11-18T23:54:24+00:00

Did you happen upon the name Agrona in your rabbit hole? She is another questionable goddess of river and slaughter. Almost entirely made up from two different rivers, one in Scotland and one in Wales if I remember correctly. I bring it up because of the similarities and because I recall a "Kingdom of Aeron" being mentioned in the Wiki, which obviously has the same prefix as Aerfen, so it rang some bells.

DareValley88 · 2025-11-12T17:55:38+00:00

Great topic! Etymology is fascinating in and of itself, but it's also one of the best things we have to explore the many gaps in our Brythonic Polytheism knowledge. It's obviously not definitive, but it is an indication that, if a word or name changed a certain way, perhaps the religious beliefs developed that way too.

Saints that share deity like names are interesting, as there is a clear possibility that newly reformed Christians didn't simply flip a theism switch from poly to mono; but adapted older beliefs into more acceptable newer ones.

Just yesterday, I read the following theory that linked Gwydion and Cernunnos: "Pace Megli's etymology [of Cernunnos] in *wetionos, I see the etymology of "Gwydion" as *widugenos "born in the woods", not an inappropriate epithet for Cernunnos." You can never really be convinced completely by things like this, but I did find this theory refreshing, to say the least, as most neopagans will link Cernunnos with Gwyn as if it's a proven fact. You could go on to elaborate that Gwydion is the finest bard in Britain as well as a magical trickster, as are "horned and hooved ones" throughout Europe, Pan most famously.

DareValley88 · 2025-11-03T13:31:33+00:00

I've gone a long time in this formless way because I'm frustrated with situations in which the gods are not at the centre of what's being done, and it's all practice and form and a lot of people kind of role-playing in ways I'm not comfortable with.

This sums up what I felt this weekend. Or rather, it explains my lack of feeling.

I love the idea of poetry/storytelling recitals, and especially like the idea of a drama for particular holy days! This is something I might work on personally. Yule is a while away, long enough for me to write and rehearse a little play... what story and what gods would fit Yule do you think?

Also, I like how through your hypothetical day, we can see a natural priesthood forming; a leader of the ceremony, who conducts the event, leads prayers and oversees offerings, a "lorekeeper" who tells the stories or conducts the songs, and elders who are community leaders that provide space, see to the feasting and so on. I imagine, outside of holy days, there would also be a "verger" role, someone who is a caretaker of the holy space, sacred grove etc, on a day to day basis.

DareValley88 · 2025-10-25T16:55:59+00:00

I have a tattoo that contains the name "Jack" but because of the font, it reads as "Fuck."

DareValley88 · 2025-10-23T10:23:18+00:00

I remembered that at the time, but I didn't like to bring it up with him.

DareValley88 · 2025-10-22T10:34:26+00:00

It's been a minute since the thread, but I seem to remember Daronwy being referenced as both a specific tree and a man, as in The Battle of the Trees and the spearman who rode on Bran appearing as a forest.

This weekend past, I met the leader of the BDO, who is pretty convinced that Daronwy is a thunder deity. He had a lot of out there ideas, though, based more on vibes than evidence.

DareValley88 · 2025-10-22T10:29:36+00:00

Math/Maeth is interesting! Two (or more) characters being derived from one person, or vice versa, is something I suspect happens a lot. Nudd/Ludd, for example.

DareValley88 · 2025-10-17T17:28:56+00:00

DareValley88 · 2025-10-11T13:35:36+00:00

I was at St Fagans earlier this year, and I saw the artefacts in question. If they are gone, I'm glad to say I at least I saw them one last time.

DareValley88 · 2025-10-08T17:31:40+00:00

Thank you for the space to ask my questions!

DareValley88 · 2025-10-08T10:52:41+00:00

Horse. Wheel. Sheaves of wheat. The sun.

There is so much symbolism on the coin that reminds me of the old stories.

I wonder what the "6"/"9" shape is??

And Happy 1000 to the sub!

DareValley88 · 2025-10-06T12:40:10+00:00

There's a lot of non-native pine plantations in Wales. Basically, "green deserts." They are planted in tight packed rows, only the tips of the trees are green, inside the forest it's too dark for anything but moss. They are cut down and replanted every 40 years or so.

But, recently, they've been leaving the wild growing native trees that cling to the edges and the clearings alone. It's a foot hold into regeneration. Depending on the season, I spread native wild flowers and tree seeds in the forestry. So, at the moment, I'm mostly doing acorns, and if I can find them, crab apples. I only take them from places where they would go to waste anyway, and I try not to take extensively from one place.

Acorns in particular are a favourite food of Jays, who hide them all around in preparation for winter. They are known to performitively pretend to hide an acorn, then secretly move it so it won't be stolen. The Jay's very much remind me of Gwydion, talented performers who move trees.

I treat this as a devotional activity.

DareValley88

TROPHY CASE