Oswin Fasthey

Oswin Fasthey (pronounced Fass-thee) was born in 1672 in The Green, in a town that was later recognised to be that of Mountainview Bay in the Dark Berry Islands to Maxwell and Angelina Fasthey, two well respected farmers. Fasthey is considered somewhat of a prophet in the Dark Berry Islands, where he has gathered a cult following.

Childhood and Murder

Fasthey grew up in the nearby village of Peaks-of-the-Gods on his father's farm as the fifth of six children. His older siblings, Cara (born 1661), James (born 1663) and twins Nathaniel and Irving (born 1668) took care of him before his younger sister, Sofia was born in 1678, during which is mother died during childbirth. Each morning he would rise before the sun and walk to the plot of land holding the sheep, and from a young age Fasthey was trusted to sheer his father's sheep. His father owned over 200 sheep, though the Fasthey farm held much more land for growing crops. After tending to the sheep in the morning, Fasthey would walk for several miles to school, after which he would return to the farmland to play with the other children of the village. His family was well respected by the other villagers, as the Fastheys would often donate spare produce to the village, as well as providing work for the unemployed on the farm and hosting village social events in their barn.

At the age of six, Oswin's mother died whilst giving birth to his sister Sofia. As a result, Oswin came to resent his younger sister, who he viewed as being the cause of his mother's death, whilst his older siblings, who had previously enamoured him with attention, switched to caring for their younger sibling. Consequently, Oswin became increasingly estranged from his siblings.

Oswin did continue to live at the family home though, as he maintained a positive relationship with his father Maxwell. As Oswin entered his teenage years, he began to travel with his dad to the farmer markets in Mountainview Bay. During this time, he became increasingly fascinated by the DBI independence movement, that often demonstrated near the farmers market. He eventually joined the DBI Youth in 1685 at the age of 13, and began travelling independently to rallies and meetings, hitching rides with other young independence activists.

Though Oswin's father also supported the independence movement, Maxwell was increasingly concerned that Oswin's activism would cause problems for the family, as some in the community were cautious about having to deal with the major world powers and the effects that international trade would have upon them. Furthermore, Oswin's activities distracted him from his role on the farm, and Maxwell, who had begun to develop arthritis, was in need of increasing assistance. Additionally, Oswin's social life that had been brought about through his activism had become the envy of his older siblings, who remained at home and working on the farm.

During the winter of 1686, things came to ahead. Oswin missed the wedding of his sister Cara to Michael Frenton, who came from a well respected family in Mountainview Bay, to attend a demonstration, his father banned him from leaving the house, and forced him to help his sister learn, as girls at this time in the Dark Berry Islands did not attend school. Oswin's resentment of Sofia led to him regularly beating her, causing the young girl bruises on her limbs. Sofia, however, was fearful of telling anyone, being so young and knowing that Oswin was well liked by both her father, the community and by the political rings of Mountainview Bay, tried to cover up her abuse. However, when James found the bruises on Sofia a few months later, he suspected that Oswin was behind it.

Maxwell in particular was furious. Ever since his wife had died, he had become particularly fond of Sofia, viewing her innocence and pureness as long reminders of his wife. When he found out, he confronted Oswin, beating him in revenge. However, Oswin had come prepared, an in the ensuing fight, he managed to draw his long knife, and stabbed his father in the heart, killing him slowly. Oswin immediately realised that the only family that had ever truly loved him, his father, was now dying on his lap, and despite his most sincere apologies, Maxwell succumbed to his injuries then and there.

Fleeing to the Keltian mainland and faking death

After murdering his father, Oswin had little choice but to flee the Dark Berry Islands. That night, he stole his father's horse and rode out down south through the island to Coxley Bay, losing his ensuing siblings along the way. From there, he stole a boat out to the Keltian mainland. Fasthey took to hiding in the forests of the far Western shores of Keltia. Oswin however kept in contact with members of the DBI Youth, who became known as the Coxley Crew. The Coxley Crew consisted of the more radical members of the DBI Youth, including Martin Rushford, a good friend of Osthey, who was 19, and a fisherman. Rushford was able to sail out once a week to the Keltian mainland where he was able to meet and liase with Fasthey, keeping him informed of the group's acitivities and seeking his opinion on things.

However, Fasthey's actions had created a scandal back on the islands. His abuse of Sofia had became public knowledge and his siblings were still publicly hunting him. The DBI Youth denounced Fasthey as a murderer, but suspicions were ripe amongst the people of the Dark Berry Islands that he was still influencing the policy of the DBI Youth, and so the Coxley Crew decided to stage his death. Rushford found a spare boat for Fasthey, and equipped him with a diving suit. Rushford then orchestrated a scenario in which he would "sight" Fasthey during one of his fishing trips, before alerting his family. Fasthey's family joined Rushford on his boat, giving chase to Fasthey to the north of the islands, shooting at him, until, when the waves grew larger and the rain and wind picked up, Oswin deliberately capsised his boat, and swam off into the depths of the sea in his diving suit. Rushford and the other members of the Fasthey family circled the spare boat for an hour, until no sign of him could be found, at which point they returned to land, whilst another boat then came to pick up Rushford and drop him back off in Keltia.

News of Oswin's apparent death circled the news of the Dark Berry Islands. As he had just turned 15, an outrage consumed the islands, and whilst the independence movement had been unaffected by the resulting scandal, suspicions fell onto the rest of the family. James, who had fired gun shots at his sibling, was tried for murder, and was found guilty, before subsequently being executed on the first day of 1688. Upon hearing the news of his brother's execution, Osthey became radicalised, angry that mob rule and moral outrage had caused two members of his family to die, as well as the portrayal of his younger, and in his view, spoilt, sister as a poor girl in need of saving, began preparing a return to the islands. However, with the formal independence and subsequent international recognition of the Dark Berry Islands, Fasthey's return had become less relevant. He was no longer a political force, but rather a story that would slowly be lost to time of a boy turned murderer who tore a family up. Oswin thus returned his nomadic life on Keltia, and for another two years remained detached from the rest of the world, save the odd visit from his confidents.

By 1691, a now 13-year-old Sofia had came under the care of Nathaniel and Irving, who remained living on their father's farm. Sofia had been well educated, in spite of her family's problems, and was starting to garner respect and admiration on the islands. Sofia was soft spoken and naturally shy, but she was looked after well by the islanders who lent money to the family in order to support her. Irving left the household at this time, as he became enamoured by a young woman by the name of Anastasia Hazelwood, moving in with her in a house in the city of Grapeseed on the South Island, having met and fell in love whilst she was visiting Mountainview Bay as a representative for a well-respected South Island business. Irving, who was still only 23 and thus only a young man, was left solely in charge of the farm, and as such, Sofia spent much of her days outside of school by herself, rarely interacting with others, particularly as she was weary of being recognised when she left the house.

Despite having enjoyed her schooling, Sofia was forced to drop out after stories about her began to penetrate her school social circle, and she became isolated from the other students at her school. As a result, she stayed at home, and began to help Irving maintain the farm.

Hurmu

The story of Oswin Fasthey, Maxwell and Sofia have captivated the Hurmu nation, after a documentary initially brought it to light in Hurmu in 1696. Since then, a book has been published, and newspapers regularly report on any developments, rumours, and even a theatre play (which might get adapted to cinema, pending funding).