GwenWald

GwenWald is the het ship between Oswald and Gwendolyn from the Odin Sphere fandom.

Canon
Gwendolyn is the Valkyrie princess of Ragnanival, the youngest of two daughters of Demon Lord Odin. She is also the wife of the Shadow Knight Oswald. She is very loyal to her father and dreams of nothing more than gaining his approval, but as her story progresses she begins to realize that there is more to life than being an obedient soldier and eventually finds her true purpose.

Oswald, also known as The Shadow Knight was the most powerful soldier in the Ringford army, he is also the grandson of the monstrous King Gallon, and the cousin of Cornelius. As an Infant, he was found by Melvin who raised him to be the ideal soldier.

At the beginning of Oswald's story, he was told by a dragon sage Hindel that his real father's name was Edgar, and 'to follow the bird', his destiny. Soon after killing the wise dragon, Oswald was sent on a spying mission by his adoptive father Melvin to Ragnanival, the rival kingdom of Ringford. Both factions sought the magic Cauldron that could synthesize crystals that the dwarves could use to forge psypher weapons.

After an encounter with Brigan, one of the generals, Oswald found himself in the throne room. It was here that he first saw Gwendolyn who was reprimanded by her father for wearing her mother's gown instead of preparing for war. They met again in the battlefield when after having lost her sister Griselda, Gwendolyn was overwrought with grief and recklessly faced the feared Shadow Knight who has already killed so many of their people. Oswald had pinned her down but was unable to finish her off, despite Gwendolyn taunting him to do so. Instead, he told her that the battle was over and any more lives lost would only be a waste.

Ragnanival lost the first battle in the Cauldron war, but ultimately won when the Demon Lord Odin himself joined the fray and seized the prized magic Cauldron. At this time, the Halja has appeared to Oswald and informed him of the contract his foster father had made with Odette, the Queen of the Dead, without Oswald's consent.

With the contract, Oswald has gained much power with his sword, the Belderiver, but at the cost of his own soul which was slowly being taken over, and his physical body slowly rotting away. Eventually, after finding out that his adoptive father merely used him as a tool to further his own selfish goals, Oswald succumbed to the curse of the Belderiver and was taken while still alive to Endelphia, the Netherworld.

Meanwhile, Velvet, Gwendolyn's half sister has shut down the Cauldron so no one could abuse its powers. Consequently, Velvet was captured and was about to be sacrificed to Wagner, the dragon in Winterhorn Mountain in exchange for the ring Titrel, which was the key to controlling the Cauldron. Gwendolyn rescued her half sister, knowing that her death would grieve their shared father Odin. This led to Gwendolyn killing Brigan to set Velvet free. Due to this 'treason' to the crown, Gwendolyn was punished with a sleeping spell. She'll be given away in marriage, a fate 'worse than death' for the proud Valkyrie race. But Gwendolyn did not regret losing her honor and position, as long as it spared her father pain.

She was placed in the Old Castle which used to be her late mother's residence. Tended by her trusted pooka maid, Myris, Gwendolyn lay asleep awaiting her fate.

Around this time in the Netherworld, Oswald met the old dwarf Brom who had forged his Belderiver. But filled with despair, Oswald refused to be pitied. It was in that desolate place that Oswald reflected on how empty his whole life had been, he would have been content to die as a servant for Melvin had he not known he was only being used. At his lowest point, Oswald spied a mirage of a blue bird, whose sight sparked some hope in him. Searching for the bird, he eventually found his way to Odette's courtroom, who has sent her on a mission to finish off the thief that has been stealing her crystals. The thief turned out to be King Odin who had somehow found a path that connected Endelphia to the world of the living. After a skirmish which Odin was losing he offered a deal with Oswald - his life in exchange for Oswald's way out from the Netherworld. Oswald accepted his terms. After their escape from the Netherworld, Odin made another proposition with Oswald. Initially uninterested in the rewards Odin offered—the Old Castle in Eldrit forest, a psypher spear, Oswald has finally shown interest when Odin offered his own daughter Gwendolyn in exchange for the quest.

His mission was to kill Wagner, the vicious dragon residing among the clouds. Odin refused to give any more details though Oswald asked for his reasons why he wanted the dragon killed.

Wagner has been lying in wait for the opportunity to kill the Shadow Knight who has killed his friend Hindel. Despite this, Oswald was unfazed, having decided that the battle with Wagner will give him a small flicker of hope. Gwendolyn.

Among the carnage, Oswald found the ring Titrel. When Odin demanded he hand it over, Oswald refused, stating that their deal did not specify any rings.

Though clearly displeased, Odin was forced to honor his deal with Oswald and gave him Gwendolyn in marriage, the Old Castle and her psyper spear Gungnir. Seeing Gwendolyn again, Oswald commented that the bird he saw, the one that gave him hope, was her.

Unable to wake her up from her deep sleep, Oswald kept a vigilant watch over his wife. Eventually, Myris let slip by accident that the only way to wake her up was to kiss Gwendolyn.

Myris tried to stop him from waking Gwendolyn up, stating that the spell will cause her to fall in love with whoever wakes her up, regardless of her true feelings.

Hearing this, Oswald desisted. After knowing how it was like to be used like a pawn, an object, he refused to do the same to Gwendolyn. He wanted her to love him naturally.

It was at this point that one of the Three Wise Men kidnapped the sleeping Gwendolyn and left a message to tell her father Odin that they have her.

Oswald traced their path which led him to Titania and eventually to the Fire Kingdom ruled by King Onyx. Onyx told him that Gwendolyn has been his betrothed but Odin did not honor their agreement. After a battle in which Oswald emerged as the victor, Onyx declared that he has feelings of love for Gwendolyn, and that he hasn't woken her up because there was no spell that could manipulate her heart. Odin himself has told this to Onyx, and so he has kept her asleep, because he knew that she would run away once she has woken up.

Hearing that no spell could control her heart, Oswald was pleased. Commiserating with Onyx's feelings for Gwendolyn, Oswald made a pledge to wield his sword for Onyx once. But that as long as he lives, he will never let Onyx near Gwendolyn again. Back in the Old Castle, Oswald hesitated at first to wake her up, wondering if she'll run away, if she'll hate him. But ultimately decided that to think such thoughts were futile, and that he wasn't the same man he was before. From now on, no one controls him, and he wanted to live his life for Gwendolyn. With that pledge, he woke Gwendolyn with a kiss.

Gwendolyn was initially disheartened to discover she was married to the enemy's elite soldier: Oswald. But gradually started to have feelings for him, feelings that she thought was due to the spell her father has placed on her.

Some time later, Onyx took upon Oswald's offer to fight for him, before he set out to fulfill his pledge, Oswald presented the ring Titrel to Gwendolyn. She immediately recognized the ring and its importance and asked why he gave her something so precious. Oswald replied that he wanted to see her happy. Obviously flustered by his reply, Gwendolyn said that her joy is only found in battle.

Oswald asked her to wait for him, to which Gwendolyn replied that she belongs to him now and that she'll obey his commands. This obviously upset Oswald and told her that she's not an object and will not allow anyone to treat her that way. He took his leave soon after.

Knowing that the ring could restart the Cauldron, Gwendolyn made the decision to return to her father. Odin revealed to her that Oswald killed the dragon for her and that the ring was a spoil of that battle. Odin also restored her honor and position as a reward for bringing him back the ring, Titrel.

Realizing that Oswald wasn't manipulating her emotions for his own end, Gwendolyn refused her father's offer and told him that she no longer belonged in Ragnanival, and returned to the Old Castle to await Oswald's return.

Days has gone by and Gwendolyn grew anxious over Oswald's continued absence. She mentioned that her heart ached with each passing day until she could no longer bear it. She pressed the elderly dwarf, Brom for answers which led her to follow Oswald to the Fire Kingdom.

Onyx was delighted to see her and offered to entertain her as an honored guest. But Gwendolyn was more anxious to locate Oswald and asked Onyx if he knew his whereabouts.

Once again, Gwendolyn was stunned by the revelation that Odin had already betrothed her to Onyx but her father went back on his word. Oswald made a pledge to Onyx in exchange for his amicable acceptance of her marriage to the Shadow Knight. The pledge entails that Oswald fights for Onyx to the death which he had exacted. He revealed that Oswald was fighting a newborn dragon that is rumored to be Leventhan, the one that is prophesied and no magic or weapons could harm it. Onyx had thought Oswald's Belderiver might have some effect, but since there has been no news, it is assumed that the sword was useless as well. Onyx then offered to release Oswald from the death trap if she agrees to marry him. This infuriated Gwendolyn and told him she's not an object then ran off to search for Oswald.

Gwendolyn was able to defeat Leventhan, intriguing Onyx even more. Onx informed her about Oswald's contract with Odette, the source of his sword's power and told her to leave him. She refused Onyx's proposition with more vehemence the second time, angered that he would insult her husband.

Back in the Old Castle, they nursed Oswald to health. While he was still unconscious, Gwendolyn asked Brom about the contract.

Fanon
As one of the main couples in the videogame, Gwendolyn and Oswald are received fairly well by the fans. At the height of the game's popularity (around release date) there have been cosplayers dressed as Gwendolyn and Oswald in conventions.

Gwendolyn appears to be a fan favorite probably more so than Oswald, as there are quite a few models of her action figure released, both in her armor and evening gown versions.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Gwendolyn/Oswald on FanFiction.Net
 * Gwendolyn/Oswald on FanFiction.Net

PIXIV
 * グウェンドリン tag on pixiv

Official Art
Artist: George Kamitani Cropped from Official Artbook.

Trivia

 * The remastered/updated rerelease of the original PS2 game, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir refers to one of two humans who were foretold to survive Ragnarök and repopulate the world: Leif / "Life" (a woman) and Leifthrasir / "Lover of Life" (a man). At the end of the game, you discover Gwendolyn and Oswald were Leif and Leifthrasir respectively.