Roben

Roben was the lover of Deidre, of that there is no question. He was also employed by Deidre and Merwin's father to train his bear-hunting dogs. He lived above the dogs' kennel, and was also known to one Sabrina of Glevissig. The rest of Roben's tale is less clear as there are conflicting accounts. For Deidre, Roben is intimately involved in the reason for her hatred of Sabrina. For Sabrina, he was a toy, enjoyed and then discarded.

The tales agree that "something" happened to Roben which caused him to acquire an intense fear of the very dogs he trained. They also agree that Roben was attacked by his dogs. The stories diverge as to what caused this change in Roben and also the exact sequence of events on the night he was attacked.

From Merwin, we hear a sad tale from Deidre's childhood. It seems that at the age of 12 she was raped by a charlatan claiming to be a mage who specialized in oneiromancy, or diviner of dreams. Her father, who had hired the mage never believed her claim which caused Deidre to flee assisted by "a young stable boy, an excessively broad-shouldered oaf". This could also have been Roben.

Roben Roben