“Few places in the whole of Tirneach are as changed since the beginning of the Five Realms as Uasa. Where once there was swamp and dismal terrain, now there is found some of the most beautiful towns and land that yields crops. The people of Uasa are justly proud of all we have accomplished, and of the service we perform for the Réig. Even the meanest peasant in Uasa has a loyal heart in their breast, something you cannot say for the highest ranked of other Realms.” – Treasna an’Fánach, A Survey of the Five Realms
Where is Uasa?
Uasa is the only Realm to border all of the other Realms. It stretches from the Blind Coast in the east to the Ring Mountains in the west, and from the Shaper’s Pasture on the border with Bruid to the Grey Lands in the north that form the oft-disputed border with Siabhal. It is called the Crown Realm, because it is the home of the Réig, the ultimate ruler of the Five Realms.
Uasa was once mostly covered in marshland, with rivers snaking their way through the landscape and bursting their banks at will. The Uasans adapted by living in raised houses and travelling in low-bottomed boats. In the past century, however, the Réigs have directed Leasiar artisans to construct a series of canals to drain the sodden land and leave more room for the people of Uasa to live. Most have welcomed this innovation, since they need no longer fear the floods of winter, but others mutter that the natural power of the land and the waters have been disrupted to the detriment of all. Uasa is full of old beliefs and superstitions, that are sometimes at odds with the mainstream faith of the Shaper.
Because of its status as the Crown Realm, Uasa attracts people of all species. The Drakeblooded of House Roaring Thunder are the most famous of Uasans because they guard the Réig, but humans are found here in great numbers, as are Creidhe and Leasiar. The Firetouched have found a toehold in Bealcaoch and other settlements along the Blind Coast, where their shipments come regularly from across the Shaper’s Sea.
The Uasaigh are proud of their homeland’s status as Crown Realm and they prize loyalty above all other virtues. In ancient times the Uasans were divided into tribes, each led by a family called a dearbhfine. While the political significance of those tribes has receded into the past, their importance as markers of loyalty and lineage remains, and they have left an enduring legacy on Uasa’s culture. Even today, the various regions of Uasa – the coast, Loch Achar, Corroch, and the watershed of the Young River – all have distinctive cultures said to come from the tribes that dwell there. All Uasans consider their fellows worthy of high honour for their realm’s loyalty to the Réig. They accord each other appropriate respect, particularly when in the presence of the Siabhlaigh. In Uasa even the most ruthless criminal considers themselves to be a loyal subject of the Réig, it is from this loyalty and duty that the Uasans derive their worth, rather than high birth or valorous conduct.
Origins of Uasa
The Uasans have lived in Uasa for time immemorial, the various tribes that inhabited the moors, swamps and coast were at first divided by species but through alliances and conquests they intermingled and now different species will claim the same tribal ancestry, united by custom and beliefs rather than blood.
The story that all the tribes have in common is that they were driven into Uasa by the Gwyllt, where their tribal leaders used the protection of the elemental water powers that suffuse the region to save their people in the nick of time. From that day on the tribes congregated around rivers, lakes and marshlands, jealously guarding their sources of power and planning for the day when they would retake the lands stolen from them by the Gwyllt. Their shamans spoke of the day when a great leader would arise and unite the tribes, leading them to victory and banishing the Gwyllt. The name of this prophesied leader? The Réig.
It was the tribes of Uasa who realised that the great general who came from across the Shaper’s Sea was the one who was foretold and proclaimed the arrival of the Réig. The Uasans drove off the Siabhlaigh horde that ambushed the armies who had come to spread the word of the Shaper. The general was anointed as the Réig of prophecy, and the Uasaigh became the new Réig’s staunchest allies. Using their cunning and knowledge of water magics, they waylaid the Siabhlaigh and propelled the Réig to victory.
It was at the holy site of Corroch that the Réig declared the unification of the Five Realms, and first took the oaths of the subject Iarlas. The Uasans claim that it is the power of the Crown Realm that keeps those oaths strong, and the unswerving loyalty of the people.
The Tribes Today
In the wake of unification, the people of Uasa began to identify more with the Realm as a whole than in their tribes in particular. However, the tribes remain a source of pride, and any old Uasan family could tell you which tribe their family is part of. Each tribe will have their own collection of songs and stories detailing the legends of their ancestors and the spirits they once worshipped. Some will have traditional symbols relating to their myths that proud Uasans may wear. Tribes will often have particular rites and superstitions in common, traditionally carried out by their shamans. The shamans play a key role in keeping tribal identity alive today, connecting people to the ways of their ancestors.
Uasans may use the name of their tribe, usually denoted by the prefix “Ó”. The tribes tend to be named after their homeland, or some central myth of the tribe, which are often lost to time. This most often takes the form of names evoking natural, watery features, either in the old tongue or the new. For instance, “Ó Tanaí”, “Ó Sacred-Shell”, or “Ó Srutha-Láidir”. Common Uasans would generally use the surname rarely, often on formal occasions, while the dearbhfines, the families of the chieftains, would use it in day to day life.
The tribes have left an enduring mark on the culture of Uasa. The regional customs and superstitions are usually informed by the rites and practices of the tribes that once dwelt there. While there are no hard and fast rules, most scholars think of four main regions with their own unique tribal cultures – the Blind Coast, the Young River, Loch Achar, and Corroch.
Read more about the tribes in The Tribal Legacies of Uasa.
The Dearbhfines
The dearbhfines are the families descended from the chieftains of Uasa, who led the tribes in times of old. Nowadays, this distinction is much less politically relevant. While old Uasan families would know what dearbhfine their family would have traditionally owed loyalty to, no one would ever dream of obeying a member of dearbhfine just because of that loyalty. The tribes are historic legacies that tie the realm together, not factions still ruled by their chieftains.
That said, the dearbhfines are high families since the coming of the Réig, and retain the right to send their children to the gallóglaigh. Thus, they have accumulated more power than most in Uasa, and tend to steer the politics of the realm. Despite this, they make a point of not holding themselves above the common Uasans, perhaps to spite the Ruby Courts of Siabhal. All Uasans are united by their loyalty to the Réig, from the highest to the low. Or so they say, anyway.
Succession among the dearbhfines is done by ancient rites, often involving drawing objects from water. Depending on the tribe, this is either said to be a way to tell the will of the water spirits, or to divine who will bring the most prosperous future to the tribe. Often both.
Superstitions and Heterodoxy
Despite being the site of the Citadel of the Shaper, in many ways the church has the least influence in the Crown Realm. Uasa is known to be the only realm to have had a religion prior to the coming of the Shaper. The tribes of old worshipped the water spirits, the primaeval forces left over from the Shaper’s act of Creation. Nowadays, particularly since the canals were dug and the swamps and rivers tamed, the idea that the spirits are still relevant is very much considered superstition and folklore. Nevertheless, many Uasans take their customs very seriously indeed, and will have little traditional rites that they hold to, which may seem strange to outsiders.
While Uasa has wholly embraced the faith of the Shaper, they may be a bit strange about it sometimes. There is a considerable amount of heterodoxy in the realm, and it is a hotbed of theological debate and ideas. Many ideas for Termonns have their start in these swamps. Reformist preachers often arise in Uasa, soon coming to clash with the seat of orthodoxy in Corroch.
Shamans are the keepers of the old rites. They are invariably drawn from the ranks of the dearbhfines, who are considered to be closer to the spirits due to the ancient bargains. They keep tribal customs alive, and are often called upon to perform ceremonies asking for the blessings of the water spirits. That is not to say they embrace heresy – many of them are indeed cinnirí, holding the Shaper and the spirits in their heart together.
Read more about Uasan faith in Faith and Superstition in Uasa.
Playing an Uasan Character
The gallóglaigh have their headquarters near the capital city of Corroch, and the bands of gallóglaigh that roam the Five Realms regard the marshalling grounds there as their home barracks. Many Uasans are drawn up into the gallóglaigh on the recommendation of fellow Uasans who have served themselves, as they are less likely than those of other Realms to scruple about a commoner joining a warrior band. Riders of the Crown Realms and members of the dearbhfines are sometimes known to foster their children with commoner families, and to take common children into their own homes, a practice that is largely unheard of in other Realms. The Riders of Uasa of course send their own children and foster children into the bands to serve the Réig, to prove they are worthy and loyal subjects. As a consequence, a higher than normal proportion of Uasa’s population have joined the gallóglaigh at some stage in their lives.
When creating an Uasan character, consider how close they are to the traditions of ancient Uasa. Anyone from an old Uasan family will be part of a tribe – consider what that tribe is like. Did their upbringing align with one of the tribal legacies, or is it a mishmash of many? Perhaps they hold to superstitions or rites that might be strange to their fellow gallóglaigh. Are they a member of one of the dearbhfines? Are they a shaman, and if so what kind of ceremonies and divinations can they perform? Of course, it is possible that their family are blow-ins to the Crown Realm, with no regard for the tribal legacy of old!
The fashions in the court at Corroch tend to be in opposition to those of the great city of Iomra in Siabhal. Where the courtiers of the Ruby Court become more ostentatious with every season, the courtiers of Uasa compete on the basis of understated utilitarian elegance. Many courtiers will never allow anything except black to enter their wardrobe, so that they can wear the livery of Uasa and the Réig every day of their lives. The common folk of Uasa tend to dress for the weather as they spend much of their lives outdoors fishing, working the canals and rivers, or herding goats. They wear thick woollen cloaks in winter, either stealing or buying sheep from their Bruidigh neighbours, and linen in the summer when the crushing humidity of summer sweeps the Blind Coast.
All Uasaigh, not just members of the dearbhfines, are entitled to use the name of the tribe as a surname, usually with the preposition “Ó”. Commoners tend to use the tribe name more rarely, often on formal occasions, while it is more common for members of the dearbhfines to use it in day to day life. The names of the tribes are often based around watery features central to the tribe’s myth (in the old tongue or the new). If the tribe’s name has multiple words, they tend to be hyphenated together.
Uasan characters are focused on their duty at all times, and do not allow anything to distract them from it. Their Clarity of Focus Realm Feat allows them to spend 1 Vigour to ignore a Daze effect.
The Uasans value those skills which bring the most service to the Réig and the Crown Realm, and those skills that are needed for day-to-day life. Cinnirí of the Order of Teachers circuit constantly through the many villages of Uasa, teaching young children the value of personal scholarship and various martial and arcane disciplines, while they will learn fishing or weaving from their own family or foster family. People of the other Realms sometimes refer to the Uasans as “fish-ticklers” due to the common belief that an Uasach will never pass up an opportunity to see if any body of water contains fish. Uasans are most likely to have a general smattering of lots of different skills, rather than being specialised. The most important of the Five Oaths for an Uasan is of course the First Oath, sworn directly to the Réig themselves, swearing loyalty and service.
Uasan opinions on the other Realms
Baol (Highlands): Highlanders talk a lot, and they don’t talk to the right folk. Once they get down from their mountains and see how the rest of the Five Realms lives, they shut up fairly quickly about their Amber Hall and how the Réig has no hold over them.
Baol (Lowlands): Solid hardworking people, the lowlanders. What they lack in imagination they make up for in persistence. Just watch out for the Trade Guilds, they’d sell your skin off your back at a markup before you realised it was gone.
Bruid: Bruidigh often forget that the rest of us have to fight the Gwyllt, and undead, and other beasts too, and we don’t get any special land rights from the Réig for doing it. Their lives are hard, sure, but they signed up for it.
Draíod: You have to respect that the average Draíodach knows more about the Shaper and the winds of magic than you or I ever will, but do they have to be so dour about it?
Siabhal: Never let the Siabhlaigh forget that the first Réig chose the goatherds and fishticklers of Uasa over them, when they turn their noses up at us and talk about being the “Heart of the Realms”.
Some Uasaigh You Might One Day Meet…
Roghfas is a member of the Pilot’s Guild operating out of Bealcaoch, the largest town on the Blind Coast. Bealcaoch lays at the end of a long and tortuous bay known as the Gullet, but it connects directly to the river network that winds through Uasa so its value as a port is paramount. The Pilot’s Guild jealously guard the secrets of the ways through the Gullet, and Roghfas is an old hand in guiding others through and waylaying those who would dare the Gullet without a Pilot on board. Lately as he has guided ships through, he has noticed odd lights out in the constant mists. They can’t belong to ships, otherwise they would have run aground. He must alert the leadership of the Pilot’s Guild that someone else is operating in the Gullet.
Tuirmic is a goatherd in the Grey Lands, the rolling moor land that marks the uncertain border between Uasa and Siabhal. Lately he has been noticing goats going missing, and other goatherds in the area agree that it cannot be wolves. Many footprints in the long grasses of the moor have convinced him that there are troops on the move, but if they were gallóglaigh surely they would announce themselves, and what is more they would pay for the goats they had taken. No, there is some other force at work in the Grey Lands, and for what purpose Tuirmic does not know.
Deis is a gallóglach on the march with the Bluehand Band. She is known for her skill at fencing and for slinging spells. She carries herself with a quiet dignity, and few among the band know that she was born to a beggar on the streets of Bealcaoch and soon orphaned. She was taken into the home of a Rider named Eorbha, who raised her as a foster daughter. Eorbha had taken in many foster children over the years, so although Deis is human she has foster siblings who are Creidhe, Krieger and even a Weeping Fathach.
Notable Settlements and Ridings
For the full list, see Locations of Uasa.
Cillawn (Small town) – Once Cillawn was on the bend of the wide and winding river Gabharc, now reduced to a canal carved straight through the landscape. The old riverbed has a haunted look to it, and Cillawn itself is no more than a collection of warehouses around a scanty village and tavern frequented by barge-workers. Cillawn is famous because it was the venue of the first “Riverborn slaying”, where a barge worker was brutally murdered and her blood used to trace the old course of the Gabharc river through the village square. The Riverborn are a secret sect dedicated to the return of the natural order in Uasa, who spread their message by murder. They have been denounced by the priests of the Shaper as in league with the Gwyllt. How else to explain how they work unseen even in bustling towns and cities?
Bealcaoch (Large town) – Huddled at the end of the Gullet, an inlet choked with hidden sandbanks and weed, Bealcaoch is the largest port on the Blind Coast, and a natural haven for all sorts of ne’er-do-wells. The Young River washes through the town, and because it connects to Uasa’s canal network it brings goods from all over the Crown Realm to the Crafty Town, as it is known. Only the Pilots of Bealcaoch know their way through the Gullet, and they keep it a close secret. One of their number must be on every ship, boat or dinghy going past the Lips, the cliffs that guard the entrance to the bay. Bealcaoch is allowed to continue as a criminal haven because the Drakeblooded of House Velvet Mist also call it home, and their ships protect the Blind Coast from invaders.
Corroch (City) – Corroch is the capital of all the Five Realms, the home of the Réig. It was built to impress, and is full of grand boulevards and parade squares. The Citadel of the Shaper is here also, where the Council of Prelates divine the Shaper’s will and carry it out in the god’s service and also in service to the Crown. Here in Corroch the gallóglaigh have their headquarters, and before setting out for the first time each battalion makes their oaths and salutes the Réig’s palace, where the Réig will watch them go off in their service. Once every five years the Iarlas of the Five Realms are summoned here to pay their obeisance and renew the vows their forebears made to the Réigs of old.
Tnuth (Riding) – Tnuth lies on the northern border of Uasa, in the oft-disputed Grey Lands. Tnuth’s Rider is new to her position, having inherited it through a complicated series of unfortunate deaths. Sile Ui Dhubhgiolla was only a foster child of the last Rider, once a hostage she now feels more loyalty to her home of many years than the family she was born into, which was of Siabhal. She longs for battle with her neighbours to the north, who she says are surely responsible for the unlikely deaths of her foster father, foster mother and three foster siblings within two years. All she needs is one bit of proof.
Glorbuaife (Riding) – Though Uasa is greatly changed, there are still places where the marshes are pervasive. Glorbuaife is more easily traversed by flat-bottomed boat than any other method, and the few villages and homesteads are shoddily built, not intended to last more than a year or two before the seeping ground reclaims them. Here the traditional Uasaigh lifestyle is maintained, townsfolk refer to the denizens of ridings like this as “turfcutters, fishticklers and frogcatchers”. The former Rider of Glorbuaife, Cadhal Stoneface, named by his fellow gallóglaigh for his stern demeanor, seemed content with his sedate lifestyle after a lifetime of service. Sadly the rumours of his connection to the Riverborn were all too true. His plot was uncovered thanks to the newly formed Cumhact na Réige.
Díonrua (Riding) – Díonrua is one of the oldest ridings in the Five Realms, granted to its original Rider for an act of loyalty that many call villainous. Sheoran the Cold was a bannerbearer for the Réig in the days before unification, and he lured the generals of Siabhal to his home on a false pretence. There he and his warriors killed them in cold blood, until they said the roof itself was red with gore. The Réig made him a Rider for his loyalty, but many have viewed Díonrua as cursed for the killing of guests ever since. The descendants of Sheoran are long gone, and the position of Rider often goes to a gallóglach recognised for their service, though not so well-connected that they receive a more attractive riding. The current Rider is remarkable among the Five Realms: she is a Weeping Human named Maoithneasa, famed for her deeds at the Siege of Lobhan.