Groves of Uone

The **Groves of Uone** are the home of the strigikin. The current leader of the Owls is Premier Tyta Jow, of the Spruce Clan.

## History

The forests of Uone first sprouted many thousands of years ago. In the wake of the Contact Apocalypse, there was left an absence of any to clear the trees, and so they began to sprout in abundance. The Strigikin believe this was the work of Gaea itself; they make note of the fact that the area around Chernya was for centuries clear of any clear fel trappings despite being the place of first contact. In their tradition, Gaea poured its energy into areas in dire need, creating great groves. The Strigikin, then, were made to be guardians of these groves.

### Migrations

 That is not to say that the Uone we see today consists entirely of natural growths. Quite the contrary. The original forest was entirely Spruce. They was when only the spruce clan, lead by House Tyta, lived there. In the thousands of years since, communities from other Strigikin populations have migrated to Uone. These communities cultivated trees from their native climates to serve as homes.

#### Oak Clan

 The first clan to move to Uone from elsewhere was the Oak Clan, lead by House Peo. They were the original guardians of Syndrassil, the Iron Tree. It was from them that the Druids of Syndrassil learned their ways. The Druids today believe that the Strigikin left because they felt the Druids had sufficiently taken up their duties, and this is not entirely untrue. But House Peo remembers well the generations of slow ideological drift and a simmering resentment of the Owls among the humans, who began to see them as more of a privileged minority than a community of mentors and experts. (Human populations grow much more quickly than Strigikin ones). Seeing the danger to the ways of Gaea that would occur if the tensions ever boiled over, House Peo reached out to House Tyta and largely relocated to Uone.

#### Birch Clan

 The next clan was the Birch Clan, which originally lived near the Gaea Core, to the north of the Celestial Empire. Under the leadership of House Surnio, these owls had taught those from the Empire who wished to know of the ways of Gaea. Like the Oak Clan before them, the Owls soon found themselves outnumbered by their disciples. However, these disciples soon began to take a much more casual approach to their Gaean religion, becoming not a dedicated Druid community but a farming community named Mhend, based in the town of Brie. The Birch Clan became increasingly frustrated by their lack of zeal. The decisive split came when the people of Mhend refused to denounce the Celestial Empire’s harvesting of the Birch Forests in their drive to rebuild after the Apocalypse. Feeling betrayed both personally and religiously, House Surnio gave a scathing rebuke to the leaders of Mhend and embarked on a long, hard pilgrimage to Uone.

#### Jungle Clan

 After that came the Jungle Clan, lead by House Ninock. Their reason for migrating was simple: life in the Jungle was hard and dangerous. They used to live near to the Tree Dwarves. When they heard that Strigikin communities were uniting, they seized the chance for an easier place of living. They are perhaps the smallest community within the owls, both in terms of population and of stature.

#### Acacia Clan

 The final clan to come to Uone was the Acacia Clan, lead by House Syrtal. Coming from the southern lands near to Ballarat, they are the most different of all Strigikin, both physically and culturally. To the eternal consternation of the Birch Clan, they have been known to carve their trees to make them suitable for living, rather than using druidic magic. Though they have caused no trouble to the community at Uone, rumors persist that they were in fact expelled from their original home for unsavory behavior. House Syrtal is secretive and proud, refusing to comment on such speculation. But in truth, in practical terms they were expelled, but not for their behavior. The truth was that when a great force of conquest came upon their lands, they ran rather than stand to fight. They nurse shame and regret at this, and so are content to be thought of as criminals rather than cowards.

#### Spruce Clan

 The Spruce Clan and House Tyta accepted all these refugees freely, though not entirely without resistance. There are more conservative factions that disapproved of the planting of foreign trees in the sacred soil, but they are a minority. In truth, the Spruce Clan are among the least druidic of all the clans, above only the Acacia. They have a culture of curiosity and academia, and that curiosity overcame any reservations about becoming a multicultural community. Some speculate that their becoming the arch-protectors and leaders of the Strigikin, in effect, is the by-product of an insecurity on their part. After all, Uone never possessed a great Gaean site like Syndrassil or the Gaea Core.

## International Relations

### Fabulon

Home of the owls. Located south of Chernya. The strigikin think of it as a grove, not a city, and so those non-owl visitors often attempt to give it a different name. Sometimes it is called spawn. Fabulon calls it **Kemku**.

Uone considers itself sovereign, while Fabulon claims that it exists with their territory. The owls are a peaceful people, but they do not want what happened to Chernya to happen to them. They are approaching the situation cautiously.

### Dono'jet

The knomes are one of the few races that are actively unpopular among the strigikin, owing to the fact that the knomes consider the strigikin to be animals. Among the knomes, roast strigikin is a celebrated delicacy.