Prabil Worthis

Prabil Worthis and Ben the horse

Scholars believe that Prabil Worthis was born in Helletiern City around Otellian calendrical year 835, roughly 10 years before the beginning of Lilhelndine's reign began. At that time, much of Perejin had been claimed by Gimmelthorpe's expansionist campaigns, but the northwestern areas remained wild and untamed. Helletiern City, positioned as it is at the fork of the Quentalno and Athenorkos Rivers, represented the last Elothninian settlement of any size on the northern frontier.

Prabil, like most who grew up the farthest reaches of the empire at that time, live the rough life of a pioneer. His childhood homestead was a small farm about 10 miles past the edge of town, where his family grew crops and bred livestock. Historians speculate that the early life of Prabil Worthis was uneventful, but that he, along with many other young men, got swept up in Lilhelndine's call to fulfill Elothnin's Manifest Destiny. Prabil struck out along the Athenorkos River with little more than a rucksack, a good hat, and Ben the horse.

From Prabil's letters home, may of which have survived and are preserved in the Historical Wing of the Royal University of Neerhemhind, describe the many strange discoveries he made on his journey: the elvish ruins, the magical fields of untamed wheat, and the elvish natives (see right). Prabil is credited with the gradual settling of the area and the establishment of good relations with red elves.

By the beginning of the Border Wars, Prabil was a major figure in Fethilian politics. He often spoke against the Border Wars, beliveing them to unnecessary and unfruitful. For much of his lifetime, the Border Wars were tempered by his forthright and rustic diplomatic strategies. He was especially integral in dealing with elves, as he had by then become fluent in several elvish dialects and had taken an elvish bride. soon after his marriage, Prabil strengthened the Elothninian hold over the Fethil by winning the northen reaches of it from elvish control through a traditional elvish drinking contest - a feat that drew Prabil respect from the elves and allowed them to retreat to the Klevarcht Mountains with dignity.

The true nature of the relationship between Drinella, the elf-bride, and Prabil is a debated: some scholars propose that it was nothing more than a nominal marriage, meant to bridge a diplomatic gap, while others contend that it was a love-match and the coupling was a happy one. These scholars point to the large, good-natured (and suspiciously red-haired) Worthis clan as proof of romantic chemistry.

His efforts in the Fethil, both the expansion into it and his even-handed maintenance of it, were recognized by Queen Lilhelndine in the year 885. On Prabil's 50th birthday, the Queen bestowed upon his lineage a vassalship (see left) over the area, an act which brought the Worthis line from common standing into the Elothninian elite. As Prabil paid little attention to such social delicacies, he abdicated the vassalship, passing it instead to his firstborn son. His later years were marked by contemplative seclusion. Drinella and Prabil remained in a charming thatch-roofed house on the outermost edge of the Fethil, and Prabil spent the rest of his days translating elvish folktales into the Common Tongue for the enjoyment of his grandchildren. On his death, Drinella joined her elvish kindred in the mountains