The Ruon Chronicles – Worldbuilding the Water Women, or Ai-Feijha
Or, the story of Ailala’s Daughters and a new Ruon charm IRL
Hello again Fellow Adventurer,
I hope you’re keeping well!
Spring is in full swing over here, so the garden is thriving again (and definitely needs some trimming next weekend). I’m also planning to do a whole new layout of the garden thanks to getting my hands on a whole variety of succulents, mwahahaha! (Water-wise, beautiful, and I can’t kill them that easily.)
The planting, however, will most likely only commence next weekend although I’m starting to get the beds ready this week since we had our first proper rain of the season. *Dances*
Anyway, this week I’m looking at the Water Women of Airtha-Eyrassa…
Worldbuilding The Ruon Chronicles: The Water Women or Ai-feijha
Also called Ailala’s Daughters after the first of the water women,, but calling themselves Ai-feijha, these women received their Nith (in the form of Nithran, like the Tellerassar) at the same time as the Tellerassar and they are originally from the same people.
(Read more about the shape-shifting Tellerassar in this newsletter.)
In fact, the legend that sprung up about the reason why the Tellerassar’s call is so sorrowful has some truth to it.
The Creation of the Water Women (Ai-Feijha)
The Tellerassar was given the Nith to shape-shift at the time of the Second Sundering. At this time, they were being brutally attacked by the Erewhar from what is now Treddian and Khallahna. Cornered in a gorge with no way of escape, the people that became the Tellerassar was taken pity on by Agrai (the creator of Airtha-Eyrassa) and given the Nith to become eagles and escape the Erewhar.
Not all of the eagles escaped, however. Ailala, the wife of the leader of the Tellerassar (called Ikaira), was shot by an Erewhar archer. She turned back into her human form as she fell into the river that flowed along the gorge, but did not die. Rather, she and others who fell that day became the first of the Water Women – those who can live both within the water and without.
A note on the name: “Ai-Feijha” literally means “water women”.
The Dwellings of the Water Women
The dwellings of the water women – who live in relatively large groups – are built in the semi-underwater and underground cave systems. This is because, although the water women can live outside water for a couple of hours, they do need to spend part of the day in water.
This is also why communities of water women are rarely found in the drier Farlands to the west and south.
A community of water women do live at the Shadowmere in Brenoth Wood and are the first of the water women to make an appearance in The Ruon Chronicle novels.
The Lifespan and Families of the Water Women
Water women live longer than most “normal” mortals for the most part.
Their daughters are raised with them and join their community, being water women themselves. Sons, however, are very rarely born and, when they are, they are only raised with the water women until the age of five. After this they are sent to live with their mortal/non-water women family. The sons may also go to the local Sanctuary where they are then raised as Keepers.
This is because many families do not want to take care of the boy as there are many superstitions about the males born to water women.
Allies and Enemies of the Water Women
As can be seen above, the Keepers of the Sanctuaries of Airtha-Eyrassa are the water women’s allies. As can be expected, the Erewhar and the Agravér (who were once one people) are their biggest enemies. In fact, although the lands of the Agravér is rich in water, there are no water women there.
Nith (Magic/Talent) of the Water Women
With the nith to breathe underwater, the water women also received the Talent to control water. This comes in handy at times…
Their nith is called “Nithran” and is in their genes and not something that they need to learn. What they do need to learn up to a point, is how to use the control of water. The larger the group of water women, the more water they can control.
Other Random Notes About the Water Women (because I’m stumped for a heading right now)
The water women usually wear blue or green and are almost camouflaged in the water in which they dwell.
Although the water women also have a written tradition, their oral tradition is extremely strong. They are respected for their knowledge of history and are often approached when clarity is sought on matters. This is because they are so well-versed in their local histories where they live. Some call them the Keepers of History.
The water women also take on some of the cultural uses of their “home country” even though they live apart from the general population for much of the time.
Right! Now that we’ve had a look at the Ai-Feijha, I want to show you what I’ve been working on with regard to the Ruon charms…
Worldbuilding The Ruon Chronicles: A New Ruon Charm! Charms of the Ruon’s Hiding Cloaks
I’ve finally started to embroider and test the Ruon hiding cloak charm! I wasn’t exactly sure how it was going to look once I’ve drawn it, but it turned out better than I had first imagined it, yay!
The charm is mostly in blue, with some red and green for the “binding stitches”. It’s also a charm that forms a repeating pattern over the whole hiding cloak.
Okay, fine, I prefer “hiding cloak” over “invisibility cloak” in this case.
It’s one of the most difficult charms to work as it takes so much nith, but it can only be worn by a Ruon as you need to use even more nith (a constant stream, if you will) to keep the cloak whole while wearing it.
It’s only taught in a Ruon’s senior year and only the strongest of the Ruon can actually make and wear one of these cloaks. So it’s not like there’s a whole bunch of hiding cloaks just floating about.
This is how the charm looks:
And this is how far I’ve come with the embroidery:
In Other News
I’m taking part in #Preptober2021 over on Instagram, so be sure to come check it out for more info about The Ruon Chronicles and Ruon charms!
Until next time, stay safe!
Love,
Carin
Ps. All photos are from Unsplash :)