{"id":272,"date":"2022-04-19T14:29:50","date_gmt":"2022-04-19T14:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fiveoaths.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=272"},"modified":"2025-08-11T23:19:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T23:19:53","slug":"vartach","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/fiveoaths.com\/wordpress\/explore-the-world\/the-species\/vartach\/","title":{"rendered":"Vartach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cRider Branduv,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I reject your summons to appear before the Assembly of the Saoi. How dare you command a fellow Rider to do anything at all, let alone travel across the Realms to answer to your jumped-up symposium? Yes, I burned the text you mentioned, because it contained dangerous and evil knowledge. If it was written by some holy madwoman of yours whose every word must be venerated, then it is the Saoi that need to reflect and ask the Shaper for guidance, not I.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tadhg Mac An\u2019Buabhalla\u00ed<\/span><\/i>
Rider of Seachnas\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n

Who are the Vartach?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n

The Vartach are a people with magic woven into their very bones, and they bear its mark upon their faces as proof. They are one of the playable species in Five Oaths, and if you\u2019re playing a Vartach you will likely be trained in the arcane arts, or if you do not have the ability to cast spells you will be dedicated to a particular pursuit or martial discipline. It takes a lot to bring the Vartach up from their subterranean home in the Realm of Dra\u00edod, and those Vartach who emerge into the outside world are often the most driven and determined.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every Vartach is marked by one of five birthmarks called \u201cbrands\u201d, most often on their forehead or cheek. These brands are seemingly random and they do not follow family lines, however traditionalist Vartach set great store by them and will judge individuals by the brand they bear. These brands begin as a jumble of abstract lines in childhood before resolving themselves into one of five signs. The five brands are the Sun Spear, the Broken Chain, the Clashing Swords, the Hook, and the Line Breaker<\/a>. Even as children, Vartach are expected to live up to their parents\u2019 expectations of what their brands will be. If you are branded with the Sun Spear, you are deemed to have a great destiny, and will receive intensive tutelage from a young age in order to meet your full potential. At the other end of the spectrum, Line Breakers born in traditionalist communities are considered cursed and will be blamed for any misfortune. Vartach with the brand of the Line Breaker often leave their homes at a young age, before someone else decides they cannot abide a pariah in their midst any longer.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other brands have less extreme interpretations. The Clashing Swords indicate a steadfast defender of Vartach kind, and often become guards. A Broken Chain foretells that the bearer will be a trouble maker to be watched. The Hook marks decent, solid working folk, who often become clerks, scribes or artisans.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vartach among the gall\u00f3glaigh run the gamut from the brightest and best to those who could find no other home. A natural desire to excel and to demonstrate their superiority means that the Vartach can be found among the most highly-ranked of gall\u00f3glaigh. It is unusual but not unheard of for a Vartach to join the gall\u00f3glaigh unaccompanied by at least one of the Fathach, the stone people brought to life by Vartach magic, and similarly dedicated to their life\u2019s purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

Origins of the Vartach<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n

The Vartach believe they were born deep below the surface of Tirneach, as the five elements flowed together through the ley lines and converged in Dra\u00edod. The Shaper wove the powers together and made the Vartach, a people with a thirst for knowledge of all kinds who could discover and appreciate the full breadth of the Shaper\u2019s creation. Some say that the Vartach were produced by the confluence of magical power alone, but they must still acknowledge that the power would not be there without the Shaper\u2019s influence.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The origin of the Vartach brands is the subject of disagreement. One of the most common stories says that when the Vartach first made it to the surface they encountered the Gwyllt and soon their terrible influence spread throughout the caverns. To protect future generations, a great ritual was carried out and all Vartach since have been born with the brands to ward off the Gwyllt. Other stories abound of an ancient caste system long since abandoned, or a terrible crime for which all Vartach are held responsible and marked forever, or many even more strange and unlikely causes. Each Vartach has their pet theory, and interpretation of their own brand.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vartach are still mainly found in Dra\u00edod. The Vartach currently make up the entirety of the Saoi<\/a>, the Dra\u00edodach term for Riders who have been invited to take their place in the Assembly which advises (or some say controls) the Iarla of Dra\u00edod. Many with the Line Breaker or Broken Chain brand find life easier amongst other people where they will not constantly be the object of suspicion, but every Vartach yearns for the power that sizzles through the caverns and tunnels of Dra\u00edod, and will return there at least once a year if they can.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

Playing a Vartach<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n

When you\u2019re playing a Vartach, the main expression of your heritage is the brand upon your face<\/strong>, which should be applied in black or gold face paint or some other non-permanent method (please do not get a facial tattoo just for Five Oaths!). The five brands are the Sun Spear, the Hook, the Broken Chain, the Line Breaker and the Clashing Swords. The exact form of the brands is not something we are going to prescribe, however your brand must be recognisable as one of the five, and you cannot have more than one brand. Your character may instead have chosen to reject the destiny the brands have allotted them, and had it removed, and in that case they should have a visible scar where the brand once was. <\/span>Optionally<\/strong>, you may also <\/em>have pallid skin, darkly lined eyes, and\/ or swirling black patterns on neck, torso, and arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vartach with auspicious brands generally have a high status in Dra\u00edod, and further afield they are respected for their knowledge and power. They are held in suspicion by some Drakeblooded, whose legends tell them that the dragons of old were sapped of their power before their disappearance or death, and wonder what role the Vartach and their precious ley lines had to play in that. We expect the Vartach to be a popular choice for players who want to portray characters with a magical background, or a character who is determined to achieve their personal goals.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

The Lifespan of the Vartach<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n

Average life expectancy: 70<\/span>
<\/span>Maximum life expectancy: 80<\/span>
<\/span>Common causes of death: Old age, magical fatigue, tunnel collapse.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

How the Vartach view the other Species<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n