Gabhatine

The Gabhatine Clan is the last Oakenborn clan that hasn’t split off into different mentalities. The Galarach Isles clans, while also Oakenborn, have ended up changing significantly from what the old Oakenborn were like, where as the Gabhatine are fervently conservative and against change.

Home
Flame’s Berth is a former shrine-fortress in a mountain in the eastern Range, where there’s a dormant volcano they refer to as the Flame’s Berth in common. It’s said to be a gift from Kol’sir to the Oakenborn for their crafting. When the Wicker King went mad in the Second War of Thorns, the Gabhatine hid away in the mountain and survived his purge of the clans. They decided that the only way to continue their way of life was to live in the mountain, and built their entire society around it. They focus off the idea of something called Forge Speak, which is the use of ancient runes that they inscribe onto themselves and their armor to curry favor with the gods.

Gabhatine galuyns don’t go about things the same as other clans in modern times. They have three major leaders, the Runesinger, which is equivalent to a hierophant but it is that person’s job to preserve teaching as well as his students and their branch, the Grand Smith who is responsible for teaching the leagues of Runesmiths and the Great Preserver, who is basically the Waybinder, who is responsible for preserving Flame’s Berth.

Flame’s Berth is unfortunately falling apart due to the stress of time and age and the inability for the Gabhatine to receive the necessary supplies to repair it due to their staunch isolationism. As such over the years they’ve had to repurpose parts of the mountain for different things. Corridors and areas have completely collapsed to age, and because they’re too stubborn to leave the mountain for prolonged periods, they repurpose their own crumbling shrine to keep it working. They have NOT joined the Duchy where other clans have.

Among the Gabhatine is a prophecy that one day the clan will craft a master craft set of armor and weapons that contain the perfect saga, containing the blessings of all of the gods. When that happens, they will be ‘permitted’ by their ancient rite to leave the mountain and rejoin their people. Otherwise, they must stay where they are and continue toiling away.

Society
The Runesingers are those who teach the language, what they have of it, and teach the story of their clan. The Clan believes that they are to continue the ways of the ancient Oakenborn Rune-smiths, and that only by making rune weapons/armor will they please the gods. They teach that it is the job of the Rune smiths to make and etch grand tales of the gods and their exploits in order to curry their favor.

The Rune Smiths etch literal stories and epics upon their weapons and armor that they make. As such, most Gabhatine weaponry and armor is etched with hundreds of runes that tell a story when translated. In actuality, the stories they etch contain various runes that hold magical properties to them in the rituals the Gabhatine perform. Since each god corresponds to certain ideas, runes that cause Ice magic for example appear prominent in tales about Hod. It is believed one of three things happens when you do this. While those of the clan have noted the power coming from differing words and symbols, as well as the ornate rituals that seem to imbue these otherwise powerless words, to attempt to manipulate for power, outside of saga-etching, is seen as an affront to the spirits.

If your story is poor, you’ll gather no favor from the gods. This is, in actuality, because runes were crafted improperly or because incantations were not properly etched.

If your story is decent, you’ll find your craft to hold a small blessing from the gods. This means there were some, but not enough, runes to bring heavy magic. For example, a blade with a tale about Hod that is cold whenever you touch the metal, holds MINOR frost enchantment.

If your story is appeasing, you’ll find your craft to hold a blessing from the Gods. This is because you’ll have runes that are adequately crafted and placed. As such, to use the same example as last time, a blade that calls upon frost magic has several frost enchantments upon it, and is considered a “glorious tale of Hod.”

The Preservers are the last branch. They basically keep the mountain from falling apart and are the only ones who really go outside. They hold farms and hunt, and it’s believed that if they leave the mountain for too long, they’ll start to lose focus.

It’s not unheard of for Gabhatine to leave the mountain, but it’s frowned upon, as it is seen as going against the ways of their people.