Bran Tuirseach

King Bran (d. 1272) was monarch of Skellige, the maternal uncle of Crach an Craite and the brother of Eist Tuirseach, with whom he had a friendly relationship and who led his army as Jarl of Skellige. Other than his brother, the king had a good friend and confidante in druid Mousesack.

Early life
Bran was born into Clan Tuirseach on the Isles and grew up with his brother Eist Tuirseach and at least one other sister, who gave birth to his nephew Crach an Craite. He also developed a friendship with native Mousesack, and this lasted even after one became king and the other gallant druid.

Also possibly around this time he met Birna, not his first wife but the mother of his first born son, Svanrige an Tuirseach.

Reign
They say the seas smashing against Skellige's shores would sooner bow to a ruler than its inhabitants. Yet they bowed to Bran. He united all the clans behind him and held them together in an iron fist until his death. He was seen as a strong and courageous leader and its said that the fewer warriors he led, the more fiercely they fought. He also had selected shield maidens serving him as his personal guards. They were known to be loyal and defend their king fiercely, fighting through any injury short of death itself.

When Queen Calanthe of Cintra organized Pavetta's 15th birthday feast in 1252, would-be suitors arrived. Bran sent Crach as well as Eist, Mousesack, Draig Bon-Dhu, and thirty seamen as an entourage for his nephew. However events went rather unexpectedly and while Crach didn't get Pavetta's hand, Eist married none other than Queen Calanthe. After this, Bran handed over the crown to him and Eist remained king for 13 years until both Eist and Calanthe died in the Battle of Marnadal and Bran received the crown back.

Death and funeral
He lived a long life but when he started to feel old and decrepit, he went into the woods to hunt a bear armed with only a knife, leaving the world on his own terms. Unlike his brother who was buried in a traditional tomb next to a cenotaph to his wife, Bran's body was put on a longship by his warriors with all possible things he could need in an afterlife on board. When everybody bid him farewell, his younger lover lied willingly next to his body as the ship was set out to sea and set ablaze by Crach.

Associated quests

 * The King is Dead – Long Live the King
 * The Cave of Dreams

Journal entry

 * King Bran, former King of the Skellige Isles, lived a long and storied life. When he finally felt decrepitude taking a hold of him, he went into the woods to hunt a bear armed with only a knife – and thus ended his reign. It was remembered as an honorable and respected one, though some complained he preferred raiding to confronting the Isles' long-term problems, and that he let his wife's tongue wag too freely. Some connected the two, claiming Bran sailed out to fight overseas battles to put off dealing with the ones awaiting him at home.