Owain
Names: Owainthe MayorMayor OwainYour HonorGrand Master Owain
First appears in Book 1: The Dreaming Void, chapter 13 (Inigo’s sixth dream)
Appearances
What you know
Book 1: The Dreaming Void
- Ch 13Owain is Mayor of Makkathran and presides over the graduation ceremony; Edeard thinks him a politician who ignores the shortage of constables.
Book 2: The Temporal Void
- Ch 2Owain, the Mayor, rarely sat as chief judge but did so for Arminel's trial, with an election due in spring.
- Ch 4Owain declared no warrants would apply to Anemone and Majate so citizens can reach the seat of government.
- Ch 7Owain, the Mayor, opposes the exclusion warrants, arguing there is no final answer on what to do with excluded people.
- Ch 7Owain says he supports banishment too, but wants gangs and rural bandits tackled together, then exiled permanently to a remote island.
- Ch 7Owain says he will make Master Bise sign the exclusion warrants for Sampalok; he keeps his mind perfectly shielded.
- Ch 7Owain wants provinces to pay taxes to Makkathran for defence, complaining they give only grudging reimbursement for regiments' costs.
- Ch 7The Mayor argues for a single unified nation with equal costs and one rule of law across city and provinces to face a new threat.
- Ch 7Owain tells Edeard he hopes Edeard no longer considers him an enemy; Edeard says he never really did.
- Ch 7Owain is furious about the guns leaving storage and ordered a full inquiry, which may damage him in Council.
- Ch 9Owain, the Mayor and a Weapons Guild member, apologizes for the pistols stolen from his guild's vault and names senior journeyman Argian as the principal thief.
- Ch 9Owain, the Mayor, sent armed militia into Sampalok, which discredits Edeard and breaks the gangs while boosting his own political standing.
- Ch 9The Mayor threatens Edeard with arrest and banishment after the riots, and has set up a commission to examine the day's events.
- Ch 9Owain urges Edeard to stand aside and let the militia act; he is the Mayor-aligned force behind the militia deployment.
- Ch 9The Mayor's actions on this day shocked and disturbed many people.
- Ch 12Owain is the wily rival Mayor candidate whose militia scheme ended in debacle; he and Edeard keep up a scrupulously polite relationship.
- Ch 12Owain loses the mayoral election but stays composed and polite; Edeard views him as willing to kill innocents to keep power.
- Ch 12Owain lost the election but remains composed; as Mayor he had sent militia regiments to help provincial governors, setting expectations too high.
- Ch 12Owain's slogan 'One nation' is the bandits' creed; the bandits' aim was to crown an emperor ruled by those born with destiny in their blood.
- Ch 12Owain claimed the Orchard Palace and the Mayor's office, backed by gunmen and militia regiments, after the Mayor Finitan was killed.
- Ch 12Owain leads the new regime pursuing 'one nation' and has sent Weapons Guild guards with rapid-fire guns and two militia regiments to kill Edeard.
- Ch 14Grand Master Owain led a conspiracy of eleven guests to stage a revolution against Makkathran's elected government and to ambush the Waterwalker.
Connections
- family ofMistress Florellaunt
- leadsMakkathranMayor
- ally ofBise
- enemy ofGrand Master Finitanpolitical adversaries
- has memberCaptain Larosemilitia officer serving the Mayor
- member ofWeapons Guild
- enemy ofBiseformer Council allies, now Owain sacrifices Bise
- enemy ofEdeard
- ally ofGilmorn
- ally ofBuate
- ally ofSalranabetrayed Edeard to him and became his mistress
- has memberArminelleads his squad
- family ofRanaleedaughter
- leadsWeapons Guild
Key moments
- Book 1 · Ch 13Constables' graduation ceremony
Nearly eighty probationers receive bronze epaulettes from Mayor Owain in the Malfit Hall; Edeard pledges not to let the city down.
- Book 1 · Ch 13Reception meetings
Edeard meets Masters Graley and Imilan, the Pythia, who finds his potential strong, and is confronted by Mistress Florell, whom the Mayor steers away.
- Book 2 · Ch 2Arminel sentenced
After closing statements, judges led by Mayor Owain found Arminel and his four cohorts guilty; the others got twenty years, Arminel life in the Trampello mines.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Constable graduation ceremony
Mayor Owain awards epaulets to new constables, including Felax of Jeavons. Afterwards Masters divide into political groups at the reception.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Regiment departs for Talence
Mayor Owain sees off the Pholas and Zelda regiment at the militia stables as it leaves to fight bandits in Talence province.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Owain explains his policy to Edeard
Owain tells Edeard he supports banishment but wants a nationwide approach, promises to bring Bise round on Sampalok warrants, and argues for provincial taxes funding militias.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Mayor Owain speaks with Edeard
Owain outlines his vision of a unified nation to face a new threat and parts with Edeard on cordial terms.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Owain names Argian
Owain apologizes for the stolen pistols, names Argian as thief, and says the consent act is a formality; Edeard conceals that he holds Argian.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Militia sent into Sampalok
The Mayor orders armed militia against the rioters. Edeard, defying orders, travels underground with his squad to stop them, while Finitan explains Owain's political maneuvering.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Election day in Makkathran
Voting opens across the city's districts. Edeard inspects the ballot boxes in Jeavons, votes, and monitors other districts by farsight, finding trouble only in Sampalok. Finitan is leading in early indications.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Election results
After voting ends with 80% turnout, Malfit Hall counts the ballots; Finitan wins every major tally, reaching about seventy-two percent, and Sampalok elects Gregorie. Crowds celebrate in Golden Park.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Interrogation of the Gilmorn
Edeard crushes the trapped bandit leader with the boulder; he reveals the Owain 'one nation' plot and taunts about Makkathran before dying.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Edeard returns to a fallen Makkathran
Edeard races back, learns of Owain's coup and Finitan's death, bypasses the militia by jumping through the crystal wall, and finds Kristabel dead.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Salrana's betrayal
Warned by the souls, Edeard confronts Salrana, who admits she called Owain, scorns him and declares her ambitions. Owain's men and militia surround the mountain.
- Book 2 · Ch 14The conspirators are killed and the guns destroyed
Edeard rises through the floor of the sealed records chamber, kills Owain and the other conspirators with a rapid-fire gun, then has the city dispose of all the guild's weapons and designs.