The Uelairey are an Anbennarian human people of Damerian stock who live in the County of Uelaire in the northwestern Damescrown, typified by their close ties to the sea and their paranoid, isolationist nature.
History[]
The Uelairey originate from Damerian mercenaries under the command of Eustace síl Uelaire, who led a naval battle at the Damesteeth during the War of the Sorcerer-King. His men then occupied the depopulated Elkmarcher province of Minsford in preparation for an attack on Vertesk; objecting to their methods, Sybille Locke of the Oakfoot Halflings declared war on them, starting the feud between the two peoples.
Having successfully quashed the Oakfoot rebellion, the mercenaries fortified the lands, then participated in the Storming of Vertesk. Following the war, Eustace and his men would be recognized as rulers of Minsford with the Treaty of Anbenncóst, the land henceforth renamed the County of Uelaire.
Due to the naval nature of the mercenaries, the first Uelairey settlements remained close to the shore of the Dameshead or along the banks of the Minsroy River. Further inland, settlers met a quiet but hostile resistance from the Oakfoots, who would wage a guerilla war upon them: ambushes, traps, poisonings, all to drive the stubborn Uelairey away. The newcomers would hold their own, but a constant sense of vigilance and general mistrust grew within the people.
The Decade of Masks saw the county face a plot from Vertesk to undermine the then-Count Castén I síl Uelaire. The aftermath of its uncovering, which included the creation of the Wardens of the Storm, drastically reduced merchant ship traffic as well as the flow of people and ideas in and out of Uelaire, cutting it off from developments elsewhere. The decreased volume of trade goods also forced the Uelairey to develop a sense of self-sufficiency and independence.
Though their county joined the Empire of Anbennar in 1221, the Uelairey remained its the least elvenized and most isolated people in 1444, tied only through its Damerian heritage to other Anbennarian cultures.
Society[]
Save for their love of the sea, the Uelairey are characterized predominantly by their fears: fears of a halfling rebellion, fears of invasion over land, fears of foreign and domestic intrigues, and so forth. To that end, they trust no one but themselves, expecting neither oaths nor promises to not be broken. In relying solely upon oneself, they value self-sufficiency and independence to a greater degree than anyone else in the Empire—every Uelairey man and woman is taught how to fish to feed themselves. Though they prize privacy and safety of the home, the Uelairey are quick to accede to the interference of the Wardens of the Storm, who are trusted (somewhat) to keep the peace and remove destabilizing foreign influences.
Descended from marines, the Uelairey continue to maintain close ties to the sea. Men and women alike sport naval wear in daily fashion, dyed often in shades of aquamarine and dark teal. Though a maritime nation, the Uelairey do not consider themselves a mercantile one as they regard merchants as parasites. Instead, they honor their founder’s legacy through study of the Codex Navius, Eustace síl Uelaire’s compendium of tactics and observations made during the Battle of the Damesteeth. This document is the basis for all Uelairey captains’ training.
Despite worshiping the Cannorian Pantheon, the Uelairey also revere the Primordial Uelos, who is said to have created the waters of the world. His local priestesses are the Storm Maidens, who see sailors off to war with hymns to grant them courage and the Primordial’s blessing. These priestesses can also utilize magic to influence the tides, the weather, and even the conjuring of massive storms to unleash upon enemy navies.