//**[[Untir|Click here to return to the Untir page.]]**// ======Hen Eibar====== //(pronounced 'hen EY-bar')// >By blood, by word-wrought writ >Of rhyme, right we call ye >Chief among Bards, Skalí, all: >Ye who bleed sweet //arweníd//. //The incantation before a drop of blood is taken from the winner of the annual Hen Eibari Telling competition. It will be used to bless mead brewed in their honour.// ---- Hen Eibar is the north-eastern archipelago of Untir, inhabited by the Frontier Dynasties. They are sea-faring peoples in a region infamous for its storms, unruly seas, and snowy northernmost wastes. Recently, Hen Eibar has become more reliant on raiding other regions in order to survive the ravages of a widespread famine. ---- ====Karnmarín (Or Marín's Cairn)==== //(pronounced 'carn-MAH-reen')// The fortified capital in southern Hen Eibar, buttressed by sheer walls on one side and windswept cliffs on the other. It is where the Eithingar---the Hen Eibari parliament---is held. Within its warren-like streets, ramshackle markets vie for space with esteemed Bardic academies and the barracks of the Karnmarín garrison. Traders, raiders, and poets alike are found in abundance, alongside farmers selling their yields---though many have been forced to change livelihood or immigrate elsewhere in the wake of the blight. > And before the mighty Farín Diathan, gore-wreathed banner brandished, a thousand warlords swore themselves to her blade... //---an extract from 'The Song of the Farín', an epic tale associated with the Legend Over-Monarch Diathan who first conquered Karnmarín.// ====Skalmar (or the ‘Cleft Islands’)==== //(pronounced 'SKAL-mar')// A site of incredible cultural import to the Frontier Dynasties. Known colloquially as Puffin Island, it is home to a wide range of wildlife, and the resting place of various ancient Hen Eibari Legends. A permanent core of custodians tends to the island, ensuring the environment remains pristine. Skalmar also hosts a select yearly rotation of Bards (poets with patrons, bound to a specific court) and Skalí (wandering poets not attached to a court) honing their craft here. Not once in Hen Eibar's history has war reached the shores of this sacred isle. > Sea-skimmer, surge-strider, > Surf marks puffin's plumes, > Silver slivers, and sealed steel > Stirring in flaming flight... //—one of the oldest lyrics associated with Skalmar, known simply as 'The Puffin's Flight'.// ====Ístrin==== //(pronounced 'ee-STRIN')// The most densely populated settlement in the sparse northern reaches of Hen Eibar, and where the greatest fighters from across Untir are trained. Often beset by snow and deathly cold, there is little arable land; Ístrin has been hit hardest by the famine. Ístrin is also frequented by itinerant Skalí who provide vital entertainment through the long, bitter Winters, when sea travel is slowed due to the surrounding waters partly freezing over. > Lords landed from Ístrin, > Lightning speared, fired on mead, > Bloodied, slicing down the flank--- > I name none braver than they. //—Ístrin's Ravens, a legendary account of a failed raid into **[[the Steppe]]** repelled by the Legend Honour, the First Knight.// =====Ways of Telling===== Hen Eibar's favoured form of Telling has long been oral poetry, usually accompanied by music from harps, bowed string instruments, drums, or horns. However, Bards and Skalí also fulfil important cultural roles as mediators in conflicts between families or towns, as chroniclers and repositories of history and genealogies, and as advisers to the most powerful Dynasties. Some are even sent abroad as familial ambassadors and diplomats. Equally, where there are Hen Eibari, there is song. From dirges to shanties and ballads, sailors and mercenaries carry generations-old melodies well beyond their archipelago. Seek out any port in Untir, and you may well find an old Hen Eibari seafarer there, belting out a half-recalled shanty. =====Society At Present===== The Frontier Dynasties operate via an oligarchic parliament known as the Eithingar, established centuries ago by the Legend Marín Marwain. It consists of a few dozen of the most powerful Dynasties, mediated by the Marín---the chair of the Eithingar, who is chosen by an election every five years. The parliament convenes twice a year at the beginning of Spring and Autumn to discuss both internal issues and Hen Eibar's status in Untir-wide affairs. Hen Eibar historically has survived via subsistence farming, with raids largely to bolster the Frontier Dynasties' wealth. In the last two years, however, a blight has affected the major southern agricultural centres, leading to widespread famine. The Eithingar has consequently made deals with **[[Maer#the United Cities]]** to send more mercenaries into **[[Tekhayana]]** in return for rice shipments. Coordination of raiding is also led by the Eithingar, usually utilising Ístrin’s troops and Karnmarín's garrison. These include small, hit-and-run raids on **[[Bahlong|Bahlong's]]** eastern islands for food and valuables, while temporary settlements on the eastern coast of **[[the Steppe]]** enable larger raids deeper into the region to seize cattle. There are two warring traditions in wider Hen Eibari culture---namely, that of the Legend Farín Diathan, who represents martial leadership via a single Over-Monarch; and the parliamentary legacy of the Legend Marín Marwain, successor to Diathan. Lately, stories of Diathan have become more popular as faith in the Eithingar wanes. Moreover, there are growing calls to increase raids, and make the new settlements in **[[the Steppe]]** permanent. ===Character Inspirations=== * A wandering Skalí of Ístrin, who covets the Bardic crown at the yearly Telling competition * An heir to one of the up-and-coming Houses of the Eithingar, attempting to hold back new yearning for conquest---or wanting to spur it onwards * A mercenary sent abroad on a raid or hired out in Tekhayana, eager to earn a name for themselves as a great warrior * A trader of the Northern Seas, trying to get by and do business with Bahlong against the backdrop of growing raids * A farmer ruined by the blight, forced to turn their hand to another trade to survive, or to leave Hen Eibar entirely for greener pastures elsewhere ==Naming Conventions== Examples of the kinds of given names someone from Hen Eibar might have include: Kain, Morwin, Hildar, Llanwain, Galan, Rhínar, Kaldan. Those in Hen Eibar who use surnames take ones which denote their place of birth or family through the use of ‘an’, meaning ‘child of’ or ‘descendant of’. Examples include 'an Ístrin', or 'an Rhían'. =====Relevant NPCs===== ^NPC^Pronouns^Description^Physrep^ |Gwenllian an Ístrin|she/her|Heir to the House of Keitína. Selected as a teenager by the matriarch of the House and trained as a Bard; now the Keitína ambassador to Maer.|TBC| |Moragain|she/any |Another heir to the House of Keitína, and Kin-sister of Gwenllian. One of the fiercest warriors in Hen Eibar, and key agitator in the movement for greater conflict.|TBC| ~~NOTOC~~