Regions
Loch Achar
The largest lake in the Five Realms, Loch Achar stretches across the north-western shoulder of Uasa. The borderlands between it and Loch Cleamh are called the Lakelands. Its shores swarm with small fishing villages, and countless small rivers sprout from its eastern shore and flow into the rest of Uasa. The source of the Loch is not known, but the legend goes that a single tear of the Shaper filled a great hole dug by the Gwyllt to allow their minions to blight the earth.
The Black Fens
The Black Fens were once underwater for most of the year, before the work of Réig Leamh the Long-lived who drained Uasa via a system of dams and canals, and reclaimed much of the land. Even after so long, the land of the Black Fens is still marshy and inhospitable. Travellers through the area need to be wary of Drowned undead, even so far inland, as countless fisherfolk met their end here over the centuries before it was dry(ish) land.
The Blind Coast
The Blind Coast is so named because of the thick mists that cover it all year round. The seeping bogs of Uasa run into the Shaper’s Sea here, cutting up what dry land there is with deltas, waterfalls and treacherous mangrove forests. The Coast is a haven for smugglers bringing things in and out of the Crown Realm, and bandits are commonplace. There is less Gwyllt presence here than in other places in Uasa, although the revenants of drowned sailors and those who died untimely violent deaths are found quite often. Legends abound of terrible sea monsters that either wash up dead on shore or take ships whole, monsters that the dragons of old would once have kept away.
The Grey Lands
The borderlands between Siabhal and Uasa are called the Grey Lands. Here the swamps and moors of Uasa meet the valleys and grasslands of Siabhal in a land that is neither here nor there. Due to the elevated status of Uasa and the peaceful nature of Siabhal there is less animosity between neighbouring Ridings as there is in other borderlands, but there are still plenty of skirmishes to keep things lively.
The Gullet
The Gullet is an inlet from the Shaper’s Sea choked with hidden sandbanks and weed. 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.
The Lake Lands
The borderlands between Baol, Siabhal and Uasa are known as the Lake Lands, and is punctuated by a series of interlinked lakes called the Chain. As such there are only a handful of crossings by foot from one Realm into another, and these are over ancient stone bridges that many say were built by the Gwyllt in the time predating the Réig and are the locus of many strange tales of spectral warriors and feverish dreams.
The Shaper’s Pasture
The borderlands between Bruid and Uasa is one of the most densely populated in all the Five Realms… but more with sheep than people. This close to the capital cities of Corroch and Uaircinn there is less danger from banditry and strife between neighbouring Ridings, but roving Gwyllt and undead still pose trouble. Tensions can arise between Riders as to who is responsible for dealing with these incursions, and there have been years where the porous border between the two Realms has shifted north or south as Riders of one Realm or another decide enough is enough and take charge to put an end to a looming threat.
The Young River
The Young River and its tributaries drain a large portion of southern and central Uasa. Once, it was a mighty river, and a powerful symbol of Uasa and its culture. However, since the time of Léamh the Long Lived, it is much diminished. Dams and canals have been built along its length, and the banks have been altered to suit the needs of mortals.
Vercontin’s Pass
Vercontin’s Pass is the largest valley through the impenetrable wall of the Ring Mountains and leads down into Uasa. When the Réig embarks on their pilgrimage to Draíod to undertake the Way of Wisdom as did their predecessors, Vercontin’s Pass becomes thronged with pilgrims and caravans. These travellers can become easy prey for the Gwyllt and wild beasts that live in the mountains nearby. The Pass is trafficked all year round, although it can become more treacherous at certain times, particularly at high summer when the Gwyllt are most numerous.
Ridings
Deilgin
The Riding of Deilgin is situated to the north of Bealcaoch along the Blind Coast, where the swamps of Uasa blend with the Shaper’s Sea into a mangrove forest of convoluted waterways. The denizens of the Riding are expert fisherfolk, specialising in hunting eels and other delicacies among the mudbanks and rivulets. The Riding is also well known for the tale of the Shaper’s Angler, a spectral figure bearing a shining light on a fishing pole that is reputed to lure unwary fishers to their deaths among the riptides and quicksands of the coast.
Dionrua
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 a Weeping named Maoithneasa, famed for her deeds at the Siege of Lobhan.
Dunvahey
Situated at the eastern edge of Vercontin’s Pass, Dunvahey is part of a coalition of Ridings across Draíod and Uasa that patrols the Pass and tries to keep the Gwyllt, undead and wild beasts from harrying travellers, shepherds and trade caravans that pass through. Unusually for Uasa, the current Rider and her family are Vartach.
Glasgae
Glasglae is a Riding much occupied with farming, albeit of an unusual sort. The Rider is a human named Gloirín from the lowlands of Baol who saw a business opportunity when the Riding she earned for her service as a gallóglach turned out to be the only source of a particular kind of algae that is prized for its use in inks and other processed materials, and grows in great abundance here. The Riding is pocked with artificial pools where the algae is cultivated. Rider Gloirín is often looking for able warriors to patrol the Riding and keep away the strange beasts attracted to the algae, particularly during spore season.
Glengabhar
Glengabhar is in western Uasa on the slopes of the Ring Mountains. Vercontin’s Pass is far to the north, and by common knowledge there is no other way through the range into Draíod, however Rider Foghla has reported that since the Season of Uncertainty she has seen more Gwyllt on her mountain border than ever before. They must be coming from somewhere, but who would dare find out, when they might be stumbling into a den of Gwyllt?
Glorbuaife
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”. Recently the Rider of Glorbuaife, Cadhal Stoneface, became a leader in the Riverborn conspiracy, and since his downfall another Rider has yet to be named.
Scornach
Many say that Scornach has little to offer beyond Bealcaoch, the largest Port on the Blind Coast, and it is hard to argue with them. Most of the Riding not taken up by the port settlement or the canals is either rocky cliff or barely drained swamp. Despite this, stubbornness or duty has prevented the rest of the riding from remaining desolate. Numerous small hamlets and homesteads dot the land inhabited by former sailors and smugglers too old, tired, or sick of danger to continue sailing but too enchanted by the Sea’s song to stray far and two small settlements persist on the coastline, Solas Thuaidh and Solas Dheas, that house and proudly maintain lighthouses to prevent ships headed for Bealcaoch running aground on the mist cloaked rocks (though each claims they play a more pivotal role than the other).
Settlements: Bealcaoch
Tnuth
Tnuth lies on the northern border of Uasa, in the oft-disputed Grey Lands. The latest rider came to rule it through a complicated series of unfortunate deaths. Sile Ua 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.
Wolfseye
Wolfseye is a recently-established Riding in the Grey Lands. Rider Albert der Bogen is a Krieger who first came to Uasa as a hunter intent on taking down the greatest of all prey. Several years ago the Realm of Uasa was threatened by a great pack of wolves, led by a creature that had the form of a wolf but was the size of a great elk and seemed to have great cunning. One day the pack was threatening the Riding of Dionrua where Réig Maeláine Uí Chonchobhair was staying as a guest, and Albert slew the great beast with a single shot through its eye, dispersing the pack and saving the Réig. He was granted the Riding of Wolfseye as a reward. Albert is still growing into his role as Rider, and those who live under his protection grumble that he has turned the Riding into a game preserve, even if they acknowledge his bravery.
Settlements
Avonusk
Located in western Uasa near Vercontin’s Pass, Avonusk boasts of having the sweetest water in all of Uasa, and it welcomes many visitors particularly courtiers from Corroch who wish to have a quiet retreat. The purity of the water is perhaps due to the town’s location in the foothills of the Ring Mountains, where the river Usk has not had the chance to be sullied by the swamps of central and eastern Uasa. There is a tale of a pledge made to one of the ancient water spirits by the local tribe, a pledge that has kept the waters fresh and pure. No one now alive remembers what that pledge was, however, and what might happen if it is broken, whether accidentally or purposefully.
Bealcaoch
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.
Cillawn
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.
Corroch
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.
Points of Interest: Longshadow Lake
Finnegan’s Hearth
Finnegan’s Hearth is a small settlement to the north of Corroch, and is reputed to have been the site where the tribes of Uasa acclaimed the Réig as the one who was spoken of in prophecy. The denizens speak proudly of Finnegan’s Hearth as the birthplace of the Five Realms. Today it is little regarded, and if there was truly one hall where the tribes all came together with the forces of the Réig it has long since fallen into the swamp from which it was built.
Newtown
Built on reclaimed land taken from the swamps of Uasa after the reign of Leamh the Long-lived, Newtown has no great history of pacts made with water spirits to secure its survival, and is home to many newcomers to the Five Realms as a whole. For reasons that none understand, everyone in Newtown refers to one another as “Benn”. This behaviour begins after a person has spent more than one night in Newtown, and can only be shaken off after they have left it behind them for another night. Many of those who live there permanently eventually just change their name to Benn for convenience. Scholars have found no link between this bizarre behaviour and the Gwyllt, but are stumped as to what else may cause it.
Tonntuairt
A small fishing village on the coast in northern Uasa, Tonntuairt is the alleged home port of many fisherfolk along the coast of eastern Tirneach and beyond who want to get around the hated “Fish Tax”. Since the Season of Uncertainty, fishing boats have been returning to port with disturbing hauls: great tentacled monstrosities and enormous fanged creatures like eels. The town elders have written to the Réig of their worries that the Gwyllt are re-establishing their hold upon the waters.
Points of Interest
Longshadow Lake
The Longshadow Lake was once the Longflow River. It is held back by Leamh’s Legacy, the largest dam in Uasa, which was recently threatened by the Riverborn who plotted to destroy it and let the resulting torrent destroy Corroch.