Speír

Speír is the name of the home realm of the faeries, as well as other fairytale creatures.

The world soars over the lower lands of Talamh, sporting two continents - Newgrange to the east and Danann to the south - as well as two larger island systems, refered to by the nations inhabiting them. These are Glas and Tir na Nóg.

## Speir

Tir na Nóg, the former seat of power in Speír

The autumn map of Speír

### Inhabitants

Aes Sidhe, Formorians, Banshees, Merrows and Caoineag

## Cosmology

Not much is *known* about the creation of Speír and even less is agreed upon by its inhabitants. What is widely agreed upon is that Speír is connected to Talamh in an unbreakable bond, and that Speír exists at another plane from Talamh, like the Bog.

Few religions beside Gealacht really concen themselves with the origin of the world. The mainly glassian religion provides the following explanation:

*"Before our time a single star, called Dreige, floated through the universe, diving toward nothing. Lonely, all it wanted was a companion, and so the star pulled stone and ice together. The new, heavy planet fell through the sky, and so the star started to chase it, unable to slow it down. “How may I ever be with my Gealach, if she will not stand still?” It asked itself. “Perhaps she does not love me?” He thought long and hard as he struggled to catch her, but after years of pondering, he finally stopped. Again he pulled ice and stone together, larger than even his lover, larger than even himself. It fell too, down into the dark abyss. “My love!” He called, again chasing her down. “I have made you a companion too. He was made with frozen tears and earth, and so we shall call him Ithir!” Gealach stopped and looked up, her eyes shimmering with the star’s light. She fell in love now, for she could feel life in the waters of Ithir. It is said it was the music of Ithir that seduced the Moon, Gealach. The star bore such love for Gealach that he tied her to Ithir, ever spinning around it so that she may look upon the vast oceans she herself made move back and forth. The star got lonely soon again, and turned to his love to plead for her time. Grateful for the grace which he had bestowed upon her, she turned from the earth for half a day, to return in the evening. And so the celestial beings dance through eternity." - The Song of Love, the Moonsongs.*

The idea that Speír exists alongside a mulititude of unknown celestial creatures or entities, sometimes worshipped as gods, is not foreign across the lands. It does have different levels of importance to the people of the lands - unlike the First Folk which is commonly accepted the origin of the Fae species.

In the Old Religion - Danannacht - three other realms are mentioned; Tech Duínn, Neamhaí and Mag Mell, all of which have religious ties.

## Geography and Seasons

The realm of Speír consists of relatively small islands as well as two larger islands. One is long and thin, Newgrange, and the other is vaguely shaped like a bird in flight, Danann. The islands of Speír are not tied to any earth or stone, but is akin to marsh land. Therefore the locations of the landmasses constantly move - however not at random. There are maps drawn to showcase the movements of landmasses, which is circular in nature. At the south and north many, small and uninhabitable islands float around, changing their location quicker than in the middle. All the islands and continents are stuck in a dance, and dependent on the season, they may be closer or further apart than in other seasons.

The geography varies massively from land to land - from the high mountainpeaks of Danann to the inlets and headlands of Newgrange.

The seasons are;

Saol - the equivalent of spring, and broadly rekognised as a feminine goddess.

Teas - the equivalent of summer, also broadly rekognised as a feminine goddess.

Fómhar - the equivalent of autumn, also broadly rekognised as a masculine goddess.

Fuar - the equivalent of winter, also broadly rekognised as a masculine goddess.

All the seasons have different names in different toungues, these presented here being in the Old Tounge, and therefore originating from Tir na Nog and predating the Neamhaí Rebelion.

## People

#### Domninant Species

The dominant race in Speír is the Aes Sidhe, also called Faefolk, faeries or Children of Anu. They have mostly exterminated the possible competing race, though they still exist;

Fomorians used to be in abundance before the Great Geas, inhabiting small islands and lands, but after the sudden need for new land for the quickly expanding empires, kingdoms and fiefdoms of the Aes Sidhe, they are believed to be extinct. From time to time, fomorians resurface, though under the slightly less omnious name of Changeling.

See Other Races for more.

## Languages

The languages in Speír all derive from the same tongue, spoken worldwide before the NeamhaÍ Rebellion. Therefore there are similarities, though the further away from Tir na Nóg you get, the more the languages have developed.

Countries that still speak the Old Tounge is Tir na Nóg, Glas as well as Morrigaine. Dagda, Fódla and Nemain are multilingual, speaking both their own, new language as well as the Old Tounge.

## History of Speír

#### Age Before Time

Ihtir is in some way created, and and on it’s surface, called Talamh, roams mindless giants. One day a small, mindful, giant is born. She is called Danu. Religions differ on how they percieve the next generations, but most agree that she produces a relative that is named Anu, and that she is the first true faerie to ever exist. Some say they were created on Talamh and some say in Speír. Popular beliefs are also that the first fae were created by the Bog.

#### Age Old or Mythic

This age begins with the creation of the faeries, and continues until the age of war. During this time, the faeries flourish, especially once the Morrighan is placed as Queen of the Fae. During this time, the faeries figured out ways to utilise the world, particularly the Bog, as well as they developed a sense of identity in the arts, building, husbandry and more.

The origin of the Morrighan is unknown, perhaps even by herself. It is speculated that the First Fae gave birth to her or was granted her by the Gods, but there are no certain knowledge of it. Once established in the Mythic Age, her and her family ruled the world and expanded upon it, drawing islands out of clouds and granting favours to those who came to her court. It was a time of great growth and happiness for the Morrighan herself, which is now referred to as the Old Age and lasted for an inhuman amount of time. It ended with the Shattering, when the Dagda spread the riches of the world and hid them, so that the greed of the faerie would cease.

#### Age of War

The War Age began as soon as the Dagda returned to Ildathach. The nobles there waited for him, trying to politic and slither out details of the whereabouts of the hidden artefacts. But the Dagda had gone to an ancient one, the Elder, and asked to have his memory cleared of all trace of the Artefacts. And so began the Age of War, marring the rule of the Morrighan. During this reign her reputation as a hard, cold ruler with a lust for blood and revenge became established, as she mostly had to control the islands by force. The first wars pertained mainly to the artefacts, and this was a great era of innovation - the Aes Sidhe discovered most of their seafaring capabilities and types of ships during this era.

The second part of the age, pertained more to the actual power vested in the Morrighan. As a punishment to one of the warlords, she granted him immortal life, throwing him in a dungeon to rot for eternity. Soon the rumours spread like wildfire, and many people travelled to her court to be granted immortality or healing. When she refused them, they were angered and the old conflict arose once more.

The period ended when the Morrighan banished all she deemed unruly or seditious, throwing them in the Cloudy Sea and seeing them sink below the waves and down to Talamh. And thus the Small Folk was created during the Long Night. Following the uproar and uprising and Long Night, a number of Aes Sidhe ventured out, finding small islands undiscovered until now, inhabitated by a people they chose to call the Fomorians.

#### Age of Silence

During the period following the Long Night, silence grasped hold over the Morrighans court, her soul pierced and guilt ridden by the things she had done, and in her abscence two main factions emerged; the Seelie and Unseelie factions. The Seelies wished to part from the Morrighan, creating their own court to the east, whereas the Unseelies wished to remain under the rule of the Morrighan. Once the Neamhaí Rebellion of the Seelie Court, lead by a man named Conan of Ildathach began, the Morrighan had to respond, and an all out war emerged on the islands of Tir na Nóg, ended only when Conan and Morrighan decided to hold an audience to draw up country borders and agree on the two-part ruling system that would now be established in the Speír.

#### The Great Geas

During the meeting, The Morrighan is tricked by Conan of Ildthach into agreeing to the following:

*"You must keep every promise you make."*

The following day she held a speech wherein she proclaimed the newfound alliance and promised the following: *1) Not to set foot outside of Tir na Nóg for as long as the unrest in Speír shall last. 2) To send her closest in her place to advocate for peace and unity until it was achieved. 3) That her remote position on Tir na Nóg, made it so that any information she would have, would be useless by the time it got to her. 4) That she would come when called.*

These promises were made as ideas of unrest and seperation ran rampant and at the time were fueled by heavy debate pertaining as to how much power the Morrighan held over the world. As a way of appeasing her people, she made the speech, but has since been bound by it, even after the benefits of her passiveness was widely agreed to have faded. This passiveness led to civil and international wars that would traditionally have been settled by the Morrighan.

#### Conanian Era

After the splitting into two courts, the Unseelie court lead by the Morrighan was forced to keep their business mainly on Tir na Nóg, and had effectively lost all power except in name across the world. Only the countries led by her family remains in favour of unification of the countries, and only those act solely at the benifit of the Unseelie court. The Seelie court held togeher for a short period of time, but soon split out of the grasp of High King Conan, into several countries with different ruling systems. Ambassadors, spies and other riff-raff often come to Tir na Nóg to discuss business or spy on the Queen, This does not howeever mean that the Morríghan has given up in any way shape or form, and even as she wishes for her family to be close, she might have something even more important to restore to its rightful place in Síoraí Castle.