Characters / Chronicles of the Kencyrath - Brandan

This is listing of Brandan Kencyr in the series Chronicles of the Kencyrath.

For the main character index, go here.

the Brandan

"Sensible Brandan,"

—Adric

Of the nine major Kencyr houses, the Brandan are the smallest of the big houses.

The Brandan are known for being solid and dependable, if somewhat unimaginative.

As a house

• Alliterative Family: B names—Brant, Brenwyr, the lordan Boden… Names beginning with the same letter as their house's name—Alliterative Names—are very common among Kencyr Highborn.
• Boring, but Practical/The Reliable Ones: Their hat.

---

Highborn

Brant

Brant of Brandan

Lord Brandan of Falkirr

"Brandan [will be swayed] by his sense of responsibility."

—Adric

• Ambiguously Gay: Or Ambiguously Asexual. Brant was willing to be The Beard and marry Aerulan—in perpetuity—for his sister's sake. 34 years later, he still has no kids of his own, and his heir is his nephew.
• The Beard (Invoked): Aerulan didn't live long enough for it to actually happen, but Brant planned to marry her so she and Brenwyr could be together consistently.
• Brother–Sister Team: He and his sister Brenwyr are closer allies than any other Lord and Matriarch that we see, except possibly Rawneth and Kenan. Brenwyr names her brother as one of the only four people she has ever loved, and Brant says, "I do whatever I can for her, within reason and beyond," such as marrying Aerulan for her. Years later, he's willing to pay Aerulan's staggering price for her death banner, purely because it would make Brenwyr happy.
• The Good Lord: Tori thinks so, at least, and we know he works alongside his Kendar, in the fields and the Southern Wastes. In his first appearance, he's reluctant to risk their lives by going to war—the only one of the great lords whose reluctance is so altruistic.
• Nice Guy: Tori says he's a good lord; Adric says he's honorable; Jame said he was respectful. His defining traits are devotion to his sister and his people.
• No-Sell: He seems to be immune to his sister's curse powers. Since Tori seems to share this trait, this might be a hint that he's a creative Shanir as well.
• Universally Beloved Leader: No one in his house has anything bad to say about him.

Brenwyr

Lady Brenwyr of Brandan

Brandan Matriarch

• Berserk Button: Oh my, does Brenwyr have these. Bringing up Aerulan, her deceased lover, seems to be a pretty reliable one here. Jame appears to be a Berserk Button for Brenwyr in general.
• Brother–Sister Team: She and her brother Brant are closer allies than any other Lord and Matriarch that we see, except possibly Rawneth and Kenan. Brenwyr names her brother as one of the only four people she has ever loved, and Brant says, "I do whatever I can for her, within reason and beyond," such as marrying Aerulan for her.
• Butch Lesbian (Downplayed): Brenwyr dressed up in her brother's cloths when she was little—much to her mother's anger. Now as an adult and the matriarch of her house, Brenwyr has to be a proper Highborn woman, but she still has hints of it, like the improper split skirt she favors.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Brenwyr gets mad at Jame for sleeping with her girlfriend—as in, Jame using her as a blanket when traveling. And on the night of the Knorth Massacre, she and Aerulan had an argument that stemmed from Brenwyr being jealous because Aerulan was being sweet to Tieri. Brenwyr, Aerulan's cousins aren't out to steal her from you!
• Curse/Words Can Break My Bones: Brenwyr has the ability to curse and kill with words, and when she has a Berserker flare, she does.
  • Power Incontinence: Brenwyr can usually control if she curses someone, but not what the curse will be. She loses much of her control around Jame, who both reminds her of her lost lover Aerulan and infuriates her simply by being a Knorth woman alive when Aerulan is dead.
• Iron Lady: Lampshaded—Brenwyr is known as the Iron Matriarch.
• Like a Daughter To Me: Brenwyr to Adiraina. They're in-laws (Adiraina's lover Kinzi was Brenwyr's grandmother) and Brenwyr calls Adiraina "grandmother-kin". After the Knorth Massacre, Adiraina took Brenwyr under her wing. Adiraina calls Brenwyr her "fosterling", and Jame calls her her "adopted daughter".
• The Mourning After: She's still completely heartbroken over Aerulan when we meet her 34 years after Aerulan was killed.
• Not So Stoic: Brenwyr is an interesting, perhaps Inverted, example. Brenwyr usually is The Stoic, but because Jame is a Berserk Button to her, and Jame is the main narrator, we pretty much only see Brenwyr's Not So Stoic moments, and none of her The Stoic ones—which puts a different angle on the trope.
• Psycho Lesbian: Her iron self-control has kept it just in check. The death of her sister-kin Aerulan, and Brenwyr's blaming herself for it, has left her very broken at the core of her being, and Jame—being Aerulan's close relative and in some ways very similar to Aerulan yet also very similar to Brenwyr—appears to taunt Brenwyr into a jealous rage.
• Self-Made Orphan: Brenwyr killed her own mother with a curse as a child.
  Brenwyr: When I was six. I borrowed my brother's clothes and dressed up in them. Mother caught me. She was furious, called me perverted, tore them off… I-I was so angry. "I hope you break your neck." I said that. And she did, going down the stairs with her arms full of shirts, and pants, and boots… Oh, Mother, don't! I take it back, I take it back…
  • I Wished You Were Dead: Although because Brenwyr is a maledight, in her case, she really did cause it. The Dark Judge confirms this, calling her a matricide, but admits that she is still innocent... so far.