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Ryhoreiral

History

During the Bloom Age, the Aos Sí established a civilization on Anterra after their arrival in Dheghom. To prevent conflict with the Fomorians, an Accord of Separation was established, allowing both peoples their own lands. This began a long peace that lasted for several millennia, during which the Aos Sí developed their society in relative isolation, focusing on art and the preservation of their histories.

The Aos Sí record the peace having been broken during the Blood Age by Fomorian expansion into Aos Sí territory. The initial conflict consisted of small-scale raids and skirmishes, where the Aos Sí's non-hierarchical, warband-style tactics proved effective for guerrilla defense, coupled with the Aos Sí mastery of magic. Later in this age, human refugees known as the Avenarians arrived on Anterra after fleeing wars in Oskara. Facing a common Fomorian enemy, the Aos Sí and the newly arrived Avenarians forged a military alliance for mutual defense.

Throughout the Blight Age, the nature of the war shifted as Aetheric Saturation became an impediment of the use of magic and the Aos Sí numbers dwindled. As the Fomorian threat grew more organized, the Aos Sí's inability to field a large, centralized army became a critical disadvantage. Their reliance on the more numerous and structured military of their Avenarian allies grew steadily. Under the strain of this prolonged, large-scale war, the Aos Sí nation of Ryhoreiral began to fragment.

In the current era, the Aos Sí are existentially dependent on their alliance with Avenar for survival. Their own nation continues to fragment, and their individual warriors now primarily serve within the command structure of the Avenarian armies to defend their dwindling territories. While still regarded as skilled fighters and advisors, their civilization is in a state of terminal decline, unable to mount a collective defense on its own.

Government

The Aos Sí practice a form of governance known as an anarchical meritocracy, guided by unwritten traditions and the principle of individual merit. Their society lacks a formal, centralized state, written laws, or inherited leadership positions. All collective action is voluntary, and leadership is never formally granted but is instead earned and situational.

Authority is granted by the community based on proven skill and is limited to the scope of an immediate crisis. A great warrior leads a warband in battle due to their martial prowess, while a wise elder's counsel is heeded during a dispute because their judgment has a history of being sound. Individuals follow these temporary leaders out of respect and personal conviction, not due to any legal obligation.

Disputes are settled not by codified law but by situational arbitration. For personal conflicts, aggrieved parties will seek out a respected elder known for their wisdom to mediate a settlement. For grave offenses such as murder, justice becomes a matter between kin-groups, who may choose to seek either direct retribution or a negotiated reparation. This system often results in localized feuds that can persist until a final resolution is accepted by all parties.

Ryhoreiral Assessment

Subject: Ryhoreiral [ry-ho-RAY-rall]

Capital: Inveleral [in-veh-LAIR-al]

Status: Prolonged War; Stalemate

Power Structure: Anarchical Meritocracy; No Central Authority

Assets: Land and resources; art and artifacts.

Liabilities: Dependence on Avenarian alliance; Aversion to modern arms.

Opportunity Analysis: The Aos Sí's antiquation prevents the Avenarians from modernizing, stifling the flow of technological goods into the region.

Recommendation

Remove the Buffer State:

  • Phase 1: Fracture the Aos Sí-Avenarian alliance, isolating the three states.
  • Phase 2: Exploit collapse and escalate technological adoption.
  • Outcome: The unprofitable stalemate is broken, converted into a multi-sided arms race.

~The Osprey Intelligence Dossier

Gilbert's Travels

The Aos Sí, by all accounts, are the great historians of this world, and I had heard a tale of a legendary harp, said to have been played by one of their most ancient heroes. A magnificent piece for my collection, I thought! Upon arriving in their capital, I made what I considered to be a most generous offer for the instrument to the warrior who was its current keeper—a sum that would buy a small vineyard back home. He simply looked at me with a droll sort of pity and explained that the harp was not his to sell, but was merely held in his trust until a successor of sufficient "merit" could claim it. Merit! Can you imagine?

I then approached an elder to inquire what specific deed of merit might be required, thinking perhaps a generous donation to the city's coffers would suffice. She, in turn, offered me a rather unhelpful proverb about a song being worth more than the singer. The entire society seems to operate on these quaint, impractical notions. Boudreaux advised me to drop the matter, sensing, I suppose, that one cannot reason with such provincial attitudes. A terrible shame; it was a lovely-looking harp.

~Gilbert Auguste Germain Rivet

Interesting Facts

  • A renowned individual's symbol of their legacy (such as a famous weapon or a master artisan's tools) is never directly inherited by blood. Upon their death, the item is held in trust, often by the deceased's own kin, until a worthy successor can prove themselves. Any warrior may attempt the Legacy Claim by performing a great deed that echoes the life of the original wielder. It is considered deeply shameful for an heir to assume a legacy they have not earned through their own merit.

  • To strengthen their alliance and pass on their ancient knowledge, it has become a tradition for Avenarian nobles to send their children to be fostered and trained by the Aos Sí. These human children are raised in the Aos Sí's traditions, learning their history, their art, and their unique methods of warfare. This practice ensures that the Aos Sí's wisdom is not lost as their own numbers dwindle and creates a deep, familial bond between the leaders of the two allied peoples.

  • The Aos Sí believe their greatest souls, the Na Clúitigh, are reborn in times of need. This is not a mystical prophecy, but a recognition earned through deeds. When an individual performs an act of great renown that mirrors the feat of a past hero, a lore-keeper will declare the historical parallel. The community then debates the claim, and if accepted, the individual is recognized as a reincarnation, carrying the legacy and sometimes the name of that ancient soul in addition to their own.

Current Challenges

  • Fomorian War. The primary challenge facing the Aos Sí is the strategic reality of their war with the Fomorians. While their warband tactics are effective for guerrilla actions, their inability to form a large, centralized army makes them incapable of engaging in the large-scale campaigns needed to reclaim lost territory. This has locked them into a perpetual war of attrition, a conflict they are slowly losing.

  • Cultural Erosion. Their dependence on the Avenarian alliance has created a severe cultural crisis. Aos Sí warriors now spend their careers fighting within the Avenarian command structure, adopting foreign tactics and customs. This, combined with Avenarian settlers moving into Aos Sí lands to help secure the war front, is gradually eroding their unique cultural identity, threatening to turn them into a minority in their own nation.

  • Leadership Vacuum. The pressures of this endless war have caused a breakdown in their merit-based society. "Merit" has become almost exclusively defined by martial skill, marginalizing the traditional roles of elders, artisans, and lore-keepers. This has created a leadership vacuum; with the old generation of multifaceted leaders gone, and new warriors being killed faster than they can gain renown, their society lacks the respected figures needed to inspire and unify their fractured people.

Aos Sí Characters

As you create an Aos Sí character or NPC, consider the following:

A Society of Individuals. Your culture is an anarchical meritocracy, where respect is earned, not given. Have you already begun to earn a reputation among your kin, or are you still unknown? How do you intend to make your name? Is it through martial skill on the battlefield? Through wisdom and counsel in the halls of your elders? Or through the mastery of a specific craft? Are you ambitious, seeking to become one of the Na Clúitigh, or are you content to live without renown?

The Burden of Legacy. You are the inheritor of a golden age civilization now in decline. How does this legacy shape you? Do you revere the achievements of your ancestors, or do you feel crushed by a history you can never live up to? Are the ancient traditions the only thing holding your society together, or are they a cage preventing your people from adapting to a new reality? Do you seek to preserve the past, or are you willing to let parts of it die so that your people might live?

The Avenarian Alliance. Your people's survival now depends on an alliance with a younger, more numerous, and more structured human nation. What is your relationship with the Avenarians? Do you see them as allies? Do you resent them for being forced to rely on their protection? Have you fought alongside them? Do you see them as tools? Do you value their culture? Do you bristle at the thought of them walking your streets to protect your homes and gods?

Religious Practices

The Aos Sí view their deities not as beings to be worshipped, but as powerful, ancient peers with whom they share a relationship of mutual guardianship. They respect deities such as the bog-goddess Morríon, Glasán of Turfhinn, and mourn the fall of Réamonn. They have no formal priesthood, although elders act as spiritual guides, and all rites are personal affairs conducted by individuals or kin-groups. While during the Bloom Age, they sought out the deities to seek counsel and enjoy the peace of their sanctums, now their religious duties have become the physical protection of their gods' sanctums, a responsibility they are finding increasingly difficult to uphold.

Cities and Sites of Interest

The nation of Ryhoreiral is a land of vast, ancient wilderness, defined by mountainous land, such as The Drumfinn, the Turfhinn Peaks, and the Beanna Ruid Range, as well as the bog of Mona Rua and the seasonal forest of Fiodathraithe. The Aos Sí's civilization is centered on their capital, Inveleral, on the shores of Loch na Sith, but their history is written in the empty lands and ruined cities that are now largely lost to memory and war.

Inveleral

The capital of the Aos Sí, located on the southern bank of Loch na Sith. Inveleral is a city of elegant, ancient architecture, but its population has dwindled, giving it a quiet, half-empty atmosphere. It serves as the primary political and cultural center of Ryhoreiral, where the kin-groups hold their councils and where the Avenarian alliance maintains its primary diplomatic presence.

Drumfinn

A range of contested hills and mountains that forms the northern border between Ryhoreiral and the Fomorian lands of Khunland. The area is a perpetual, low-intensity warzone, characterized by skirmishes between Aos Sí warbands and Fomorian patrols. The lands are also the sanctum of the Tatarigami Réamonn, whose territorial fury makes it a danger to both armies, rendering large-scale military maneuvers through the region almost impossible.

Cathair Lir

Cathair Lir was the great eastern city of the Aos Sí, a center of high magic and art located on the coast. The city fell during the Blood Age when the Aos Sí's own uncontrolled magic tore a planar rift, unleashing a monstrous entity. In the ensuing battle, the city's deity, Alainn, was corrupted into a Tatarigami. The ruins are now a high-magic wasteland, the site of an endless war between the maddened goddess and the extra-planar intruder, making it one of the most dangerous locations on Anterra.

Na Clúitigh

The Na Clúitigh are the closest thing the Aos Sí have to a recognized leadership. They are those individuals whose deeds, wisdom, or skill have earned them renown. They hold no official power, but their influence is immense, and their names are recorded as the reincarnation of ancestors, born again to guide their people.

Aoife ní Mórdha, The Memory

Aoife is an elder whose mind is a living library of the Aos Sí's labyrinthine kin-histories. In a society governed by tradition and familial obligation, her ability to perfectly recall any lineage and its historical precedents makes her the final arbiter on matters of custom and standing. Her pronouncements on precedent carry immense weight in the councils, often settling disputes that would otherwise devolve into feuds between kin-groups.

Donnán ní Sheanáin, The Butcher

Donnán is a general whose renown was first earned at the defense of the Abhainn Glas River, during which the Avenarian soldiers under her command held the Fomorian advance for three days. While tales of her tactical acuity are often lauded, her epithet is often misunderstood as an attribution to her treatment of her enemies, when the reality is that those under her command often face heavy casualties. When Donnán commands a defense, it is understood by Aos Sí and Avenarian alike that the position will be held, but that the cost will be significant.

Iseult ní Chonagáin, The Speaker

Iseult speaks with corrupted gods. While the violence and destruction of the Tatarigami are well-known, Iseult has somehow managed to find their ear. She is the only known Aos Sí to have peacefully approached the Tatarigami Réamonn in its sanctum and returned unscathed. It is even said that she journeyed into the ruins of Cathair Lir, seeking to commune with the shattered consciousness of the goddess Alainn. There are those that doubt her deeds, who claim she is infected with the madness of the gods, yet she remains a figure of curious renown, viewed with both awe and suspicion.

Ríon ní Raghallaigh, The Arrow

Ríon does not engage in open battle, nor offer sage advice to the broken or hopeless. Rather, Ríon is an arrow pointed at the enemy with unerring precision, a tool to be used when other tools have failed. When problems must be handled with silence and darkness, The Arrow is knocked and loosed. They have never reveled in the glory of being Na Clúitigh, and their face is unknown to all but a few, but revered by those who have come to rely on their terrible mastery of life and death.