Galvin Gwyar

"Generosity and love of fellow-men above all; his purity and courtesy were never lacking."

- Narrator, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Galvin Gwyar, legal name Haul Lloyd [he/him] is a 2020-introduced and all-around character.

He is the son of Sir Gawan, a Knight of the Round Table from British Arthurian Legend, titularly featured in the romances of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle. He is a Classic Year student at the time of the Rebel Movement.

One of the most prominent and popular protagonists at Ever After High, Galvin is a big-name champion for justice and is one of the most active “heroes” on campus and in Book-End, stepping in on an almost near-constant basis whenever trouble breeds, though he’s fairly clumsy outside a fight.

Considering himself an open-minded Royal, Galvin has plans to complete his destiny and honor his father, regardless of his death at the hands of a friend. Though, the thought of leaving behind those he's come to consider family while he's at it doesn’t quite leave him at peace, either.

Personality
As an individual and even more so a Knight of the Round Table, Galvin is rightfully regarded as intensely altruistic and righteous, if not supremely clumsy and accident-prone. Raised with the values of a working commoner, Galvin dedicates himself to combating conflict and defending others, and has done so since before he was even aware of his birthright as a warrior of Camelot.

Because of this, selflessness is his default, and he is often insistent on providing his services to those around him, to the point of personal exhaustion. He’s often found “on guard” during free time, escorting his classmates to wherever they need to go, or throwing himself between enemies, and generally ends up late to his own courses or other obligations because of it.

However, despite the related notion, Galvin lands nowhere near the "dumb jock" branch of heroes, and would actually flourish in school and geekdom if her ever allowed himself outside the duties of a knight. At least, on occasion.

In the same way Galvin's power is affected by the wanes and waxes of the sun, so is his ability to rely on his strength to assist him in his heroic endeavors. He’s far more powerful at some points than he is at others, and this means he could pose a danger to not only himself if he’s become weakened, but also to those around him if he can’t recognize how much to hold back.

As unfortunate as it is, the risk of truly harming another soul by mishap eats away at him constantly. It’s an issue he’s not particularly sure if other Gawains have faced, and because he has no one to inquire to, this only provides him with further doubts on his potential to carry out the legacy laid before him properly, and whether or it it will be worth it in The End.

Perhaps it’s just on a fundamental level that Galvin feels like he “owes” little pieces of himself to those around him. He owes his youth to his adoptive parents, his future to his father, his life to Camelot, and his abilities to essentially everyone who might need them at any given time. Due to this, he hasn't taken the time to research hobbies outside of his family's work or his destiny as a knight, and thus might come across as "bland" or "vanilla" to anyone who doesn't know any better.

In reality, Galvin is just a hero who's made himself victim to burnout. He was on track towards developing his own identity like any other teenager before destiny rolled along and robbed him of a future, and even after Legacy Day he still feels that it's not his to reject. For all his talk on "free will", he hardly follows his own advice, to his immense mental detriment.

But with his own demons aside, Galvin is still found perpetually optimistic and hopeful, and carries and motivates himself through his troubles with the thought of there always being another person he and the other heroes of Ever After High could inspire. He loves his family, loves the realms he has the privilege of defending, and most of all, loves humanity and their capacity for good. "After all," he thinks, "why was chivalry put here in the first place?"

Appearance
Galvin is a strapping black youth with a chiseled profile, a strong physique built from both farm work and knighthood, with wide, bright blue eyes that convey innocence and determination.

His attire places heavy emphasis on his knightly heritage, with plenty of chain mail, armor and religious imagery. However, he also likes to mix-in his more personal tastes if he can with preppy (and somewhat nerdy) influences present throughout his clothes.

Recurring statements include a vermilion cape, red boots, and Gawain’s own symbol, often pasted to his chest. He favors red, yellow, and silver shades, and his motifs are suns and sunflowers.

It should be noted that most of his clothes are designed by Lacy.

How It Goes
Main Article: Sir Gawain

Gawain is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table in the Arthurian legends. Gawain is one of a select number of Round Table members to be referred to as one of the greatest knights and closest companions of King Arthur. He is usually the son of Arthur's sister Morgause and King Lot of Orkney and Lothian, and his brothers or half-brothers are Agravain, Gaheris, Gareth, and Mordred.

Gawain is depicted as a proud and worldly knight and the leader of his siblings, who demonstrates through his failures the danger of neglecting the spirit for the futile gifts of the material world. On the Grail quest, his intentions are always the purest, but he is unable to use God's grace to see the error in his ways. Later, when his brothers Agravain and Mordred plot to destroy Lancelot and Guinevere by exposing their love affair, Gawain tries to stop them.

When Guinevere is sentenced to burn at the stake and Arthur deploys his best knights to guard the execution, Gawain nobly refuses to take part in the deed even though his brothers will be there. But when Lancelot returns to rescue Guinevere, a battle between Lancelot and Arthur's knights ensues and Gawain's brothers Gareth and Gaheris are killed (Agravain too is killed by Lancelot, either on this occasion or in a previous encounter).

This turns his friendship with Lancelot into hatred, and his desire for vengeance causes him to draw Arthur into a war with Lancelot in France. In the king's absence, Mordred usurps the throne, and the Britons must return to save Britain. Meanwhile, Gawain is mortally wounded by Lancelot himself after a long duel.

How Galvin Comes Into It
Galvin was born very shortly before the current generation’s fall of Camelot, to the Gawain of that generation, Galvano, and his second wife, who would be the Morgause of the next (as opposed to Dame Ragnelle, who had perished before that point, per the story).

The attempted execution of Guinevere had just been held, and vanquished, with the deaths of Gaheris and Gareth as a grim but expected result. The entire kingdom was once more in disarray, and everything seemed to be falling apart. Burning, even, like their enemies the Romans had made a habit of.

As was the custom for Gawains up to that point, Galvano would be expected to unsuccessfully avenge his slaughtered brothers and take up arms against Sir Lancelot, his former friend.

Before proceeding to this encounter, which would certainly mean the death of him, he wished to ensure the safety of his infant child, and, along with his wife, attached him and a cradle on horseback to his loyal and intelligent steed, Gringolet: sending the both of them hurtling towards the lands surrounding - but separate - from Camelot.

Galvano would embrace his wife one last time before heading off to battle Lancelot. Morgause, for her part, though devastated at the prospect of losing both her husband and her child at once, knew it was for the best: her husband long had destiny to answer to, and she’d rather the child live a full life outside of the woes and sins of Camelot.

In particular, those of her family, the wicked Le Fays.

Gringolet rode as far as he could, speeding through England and eventually ending up in a rather unoccupied region of Welsh farmland. Exhausted in spite of his lauded stamina, at nightfall he prepared to rest, with the baby sleeping comfortably on his back.

After some time, it happened that a wedded pair of farmers were on their way home on wagon, and upon seeing the sickly horse and peaceful child, immediately opted to help them. They took the baby into their arms, and allowed the now-rested horse to help pull their wagon to their home; a secluded farm that lay nearby.

Upon arriving, they decided to adopt the child and raise him as their own, and Gringolet was placed with their existing set of horses in the fields. Both spent the next many years as a happy family unit.

Growing up, however, Galvin was quick to realize how the sun affected his strength and power, and used this to his advantage, both when working on the farm and when assisting anyone he ran into during his ventures through the realm.

Those witness to his deeds were also quick to decipher the nature of his power, and soon, the Camelot Division of the Fairytale Authorities was at their doorstep, informing them of Galvin’s heritage and destiny as Sir Gawain: kin of the Pendragons and Le Fays alike, and a noble Knight of the Round Table.

And, perhaps more principally, a sacrifice in the name of King Arthur.

Viewpoint on Destiny
Destiny’s already a tricky thing as far as identity goes. Does the individual define the role, or does it define the individual? Add in the fact that Galvin's spent many good years on a non-legacy farm before the reveal of a fatal destiny, and therefore finds himself relating more to the average commoner than a larger-than-life paragon of humanity and flaws, and you’re probably wondering the same things he ought to be.

He’s never really let the thought of 'not' fulfilling his legacy cross his mind, as its all he has left of his father, his roots, and would believe it unendingly selfish of himself to reject it. His parents back home have often attempted to remind him of the fact that his parents sent him away from Camelot for a reason, and probably never wanted for him to follow their story at all.

Galvin tries to heed his parents' thoughts, and above all hates the fact that his death would hit them the hardest. Overall, though, he’s still gearing himself up for destiny in spite of his doubts, and prefers to shift his focus to how to make himself a more efficient hero, in the present and for the duration of his destiny.

Parallels

 * Galvin was brought to the Welsh woods and raised there - Gawain’s earliest appearances were in Welsh precursors to the legends
 * Galvin was raised by two women - Gawain is the “Maidens’ Knight”, or a defender of women in particular
 * Galvin has a sunny personality - Gawain was literally said to be empowered by the sun
 * Galvin seldom judges anybody and strongly encourages free will - Gawain willingly weds Dame Ragnelle and breaks her ‘loathly lady’ curse by allowing her the choice to how she looks
 * Galvin actively defends and sacrifices for others - Gawain offers to fight the Green Knight in place of his uncle Arthur
 * Galvin is notably clumsy and messes up often - Gawain, perhaps more often than any other knight, demonstrates the potential for failure in chivalry and knighthood
 * Galvin has a pet unicorn - Some versions of the legends give Gawain a canonical son; Gingalain, who’s arms is the unicorn
 * Gingalain is commonly portrayed as having been raised unaware of his father. This is identical to how Galvin was raised

Pet
In addition to his father’s horse and several other animals back on the farm, Galvin gained through Animal Calling an equine of his own, a baby unicorn mare named Rescue.

Trivia

 * Though he goes by Galvin at school, as it was the name given to him by his father, the legacy-giver, he naturally prefers the name given to him by his mams: Haul. He tends to request this form of reference from those who end up close to him