Yāmasc Gypsy Clan

The Yāmasc gypsies are a matrilineal clan among the greater Gypsy community, who predominantly roamed in Lordaeron and Quel'thalas prior to the Third War. They are now a greatly diminished subsection of the greater community, having been badly affected by both the Third War and the subsequent conflict between the Grand Alliance and the New Horde rendering it unsafe for them to freely travel through Forsaken territory.

## History

### Uncertain Origins

When asked, the Yāmasc claim to have been wanderers since the world was born. This claim is false in its extent, but the actual origins of the Yāmasc and the other gypsy clans is uncertain. Some are known to have begun wandering in the Tribal period, others in the following centuries and the Empire's dissolution, but a number remain of uncertain origins.

One academic theory that may hold some promise is that when the initial human refugees were hidden away by their Vrykul ancestors, some bands took up an itinerant hunter-gather lifestyle and never quite settled down. However, for this lifestyle to have persisted for 15,000 years uninterrupted is unlikely. A variation on the same theme posits that some of the groups who settled in isolated areas that were located to the West of the current geography of the Eastern Kingdoms were displaced by the Sundering and this accounts for the Gypsies.

What is certain is that the earliest record of the Yāmasc specifically is a fragmentary record from c. 450AD, mentioning the Yāmasc passing through a border district of the Empire and into unsettled territory.

### Dissolution Period

During the centuries long Imperial Age, the Yāmasc appear infrequently in the Empire's records. Largely they are recorded as continually being found on the fringe of human settlement and consistently moving away from new settlements, with infrequent encounters in the Empire itself.

This status changed following the establishment of the Kingdom of Lordaeron. The Yāmasc were found to roam in large numbers in the lands bordering Quel'thalas, from the Tirisfal Glades to the coast of the region now known as the Ghostlands. As the Empire crumbled, these normally reclusive and unsettled peoples became a more frequent sight throughout the territories - as did a number of the other Gypsy clans.

Exactly why is lost to history, but the most common theory advanced by both Yāmasc and academics is that they had been fleeing the centralization of power that characterized the Empire's declining years (and which, ultimately, proved to be the downfall of the Empire as the outlying peoples grew aggravated by their disenfranchisement.) and that, this central control having been shattered, they no longer felt the need to remain on the borders.

This theory is somewhat borne out by the evidence. Throughout the growth of Monotheism, fringe groups had fled to the borders and the more secluded areas of the continent (e.g., the Harvest Witches of Gilneas and their hypothesized ancient roots), and certain tribes who refused to acknowledge Thoradin or his descendants had joined them in this exodus. Many of those tribes joined with the new Kingdoms, often taking prominent roles in their societies.

In Lordaeron, the same regions habitually wandered by the Yāmasc later proved to be among the most stubbornly independent of the minor human states. Though eventually conquered, remnants of this independence continue to the modern day.

## Distinguishing Practices

### Matrilineal Descent and Matrifocality

Though not a 'pure' matriarchal society, the Yāmasc are nonetheless marked by a strong preference for female leaders. Though they lack in an organized broader society, the majority of Yāmasc bands are controlled by the oldest woman present (barring mental incapacity), as is the home. This preference appears to extend from the idea that the oldest of the Yāmasc is the wisest, and that women are wiser than men.

Contrary to common perception, the Yāmasc hold that it is in fact the male nature to be volatile and emotional; and accordingly, to be prone to 'the dramatic'. Women are perceived as the calmer, more intellectually apt of the genders, and this belief tinges their culture significantly.

The exact relationship between the matrifocality and matrilineality of the Yāmasc is uncertain. Whether the matrifocality precipitated the matrilineality or vice versa is not known even to the Yāmasc, though the two are inextricably linked today. One's descent is typically counted through their female relatives *unless* they should be descended from a particularly notable male branch.

Their matrifocality and tendency towards female leaders should not be confused with a complete inversion of prevailing gender norms. Rather, it is perhaps more appropriate to view it in the light of the oldest Yāmasc woman in a band taking on the role of a 'communal mother', as opposed to a genuine gynocracy.

## Prominent Families

### Vashafna

One of the few Yāmasc bands to travel south on a regular basis prior to the Third War, the Vashafna were the frequent hosts of southern-bound High Elf immigrants, providing protection and company on the roads through Dun Morogh and into the Kingdom of Azeroth, where a small but significant Vashafna population developed in the valleys of the Barony of Whitewater. Today, the Vashafna are a much diminished band of the Yāmasc, found primarily in Westfall and, in a reversal of order, in Quel'thalas, where the relatives of Elves aided by them have seen fit to grant them sanctuary and safe passage through nominally hostile territory.

## OOC Disclaimer

This article is fanon created by Everen. It is not binding nor intended to be taken as such except by those who would like to enjoy it or use it for their own roleplay. While this article plays with the Romantic stereotypes of the Gypsy, no offence is intended to any actual Gypsy, be they Romani, Irish Traveller, or otherwise.