Tir na n'Og - The Codes of Ohma - The Factions - The tainted - To be chosen - Triads, Ironlords, & Triumphants
The Codes of Ohma
About Ohma
Ohma... the name by which she is known throughout human society -- was the daughter of the Fey Lord called Lugh the Golden or Lugh of the
Long Hand, a Tuatha Du Dannan, and the Human maiden, Bolianus, who had captured his heart. Ohma was raised as one of the fairy folk and grew into a
bright and beautiful woman -- and her father's strong right arm. In the early days, when the Fey factions often warred with one another, she fought
beside Lugh on the field of battle. In some chronicles, she is even referred to as 'the son of Lugh,' for she was a fierce warrior and a cunning
tactician whose courage, skill, and leadership turned the tide of many a battle. Her unswerving honor and chivalry won the respect of ally and enemy
alike, a shining example of heroism.
It was her mother’s death that made Ohma aware that she was half Human. Though she had always been appalled by the casual cruelty with
which her Fey kindred treated the weaker Human interlopers, it was only after she learned of her own heritage that Ohma realized that change was
possible. After all, if she could adapt to the ways of the Fey and take their beliefs for her own, surely even full Humans could change and grow, could
learn a new, better way of life. All they lacked was the proper guidance.
With that thought in mind, she set out to compose a set of guidelines for the re-education of humanity. Ever the apple of her father’s eye,
she convinced him, and then her aunt, Aine, that the way the Fey treated their shorter-lived cousins was not in accord with their own beliefs. With
their backing, she set to work on the rest of her people. A long-time scholar and student of both Human and Fey philosophy and religion, Ohma sought a
way to unite the best of the teachings and make them accessible to all. The Codes of Ohma, as they came to be called, were written in the years between
her mother’s death and the time of the integration of humans into selected city-states, somewhere between 1040 A.D. and 1275 A.D., by the Human
calendar.
At first her entreaties fell on deaf ears, but Ohma refused to give up. How she did it no one will ever know, but somehow she managed to
enlist the support of the Powers themselves. From that moment, the true revolution began.
The revolution
Her first step was to have the Powers put a stop to the Wild Hunt, or the Great Hunt as it is sometimes known, which had long been a favorite
-- if particularly brutal -- pastime of the Fey. This won for her the gratitude and trust of Humankind, and they began to pay heed to what she had to
say. Ohma threw herself into the task of teaching them a new way of life, even helping to select sites for their towns. Though eventually the effort
wore her out and brought her life to a premature end, she lived long enough to see her efforts bear fruit. The humans of Tir Na n'Og adopted her
teachings and her Fey kindred came to understand, if not always to share, her vision.
The Codes of Ohma became a way of life in Tir Na n'Og. New arrivals were indoctrinated in their responsibilities to the Codes. Those that
could not or would not change were exiled, to be hunted as outlaws.
Codes for humankind
Although Ohma was both intelligent and wise, she had a seriously romantic side, and this inevitably affected what she wrote. As a result, the
Codes that were to shape the behavior of Humankind and the very world were sometimes frivolous, and in a few cases, totally unattainable. Nevertheless,
they continue to be strictly enforced by the Powers and their Triumphants.
To most humans, Ohma's early history has been overshadowed by her gentler legacy, the warrior lost behind the vision of the maidenly scholar.
She is considered in much that same way as one of the greater saints, her memory revered throughout human society. Though not everyone follows the
Codes, most people at least pay lip service to them, and to curse Ohma or belittle her memory is a vile insult tantamount to blasphemy. Cavaliers, for
instance, will swiftly punish those who mock Ohma or her Codes.
By and large, it is the Cavaliers who most ardently dedicate themselves to living by the Codes. To a Cavalier, the Code is as much a
religion or a way of life as it is a set of rules. The Cavalier strives to become the living embodiment of the Code of Ohma and is, to the native
humans, a paragon; the ultimate in human behavior.
Certain aspects of the Codes are universal, and their counterparts can be found in the Code of Bushido, the Codes of Chivalry, and the
unwritten law of the American Indian Nations, primarily the Cherokee and Sioux. Naturally, many of the oldest traditions and mores of Fey culture have
also found their way into the Code of Ohma.
In early times, women were few in the land of Tir Na n'Og, and Ohma wrote the first Codes with that imbalance in mind. However, as time
passed, women became both more numerous and more powerful, and many of the ways of the land came to reflect this change in status. Although the Codes
pertaining to the treatment of women were never changed, the actual following of some of them was no longer prudent. Many of the inconsistencies in the
Codes can be explained by the fact that Ohma never rewrote them; she merely added new ones to cover the new situations.
Interpreting the Code
The true meaning of some of the Codes are often heavily debated. For instance, many believe that all people, upon reaching their sixteenth
birthday, should make the pilgrimage to Tir. Others claim that only those who seek to become Cavaliers, Rangers, or Mystics, or in some other way to
serve the Fey, are meant to go. Differences in defining "abomination" have caused great strife; while many insist that the Code refers only to such
things as trolkien, others place the tainted in that category as well. And the definition of a "maiden" seems to change according to personal
preference. We need not even mention the uncertainties that have arisen due to Ohma’s unfortunate inconsistencies in grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
That not all humans share the idealistic concept outlined in the Codes is a fact never mentioned in polite society. Suffice it to say that
the majority of the populace holds to this ideal, whether or not they choose to live up to it.
The Savior of Humanity
At the very peak of the only mountain in Tir, the island city-state in the center of Tir Na n'Og, Ohma’s tomb stands. Around the original small pyramid where her body was laid to rest, the humans who had loved her erected a temple in her honor; the Temple of Ohma, also called the Temple of Triads. It is to this Temple that pilgrims journey to learn their fates, and to which those who are Called to Triad service go to meet their fellow Triad members and the patron Fey who Chose them. A fitting memorial to the woman now known as the Savior of Humanity.
List of known Codes
-A Cavalier must honorably serve a just cause or a Lady or Lord fair.
-A Cavalier will honor his Lord and his Lord’s Lady, doing naught that shall bring shame or dishonor unto their house or name.
-A Cavalier must give service to his Lord or Lady with no thought of recompense.
-A Cavalier must willingly and with no thought of price go to the aid of the weak and helpless.
-A Cavalier shall attack not the weak or helpless, nor hinder them in their goings, for they deserve naught but pity.
-A Cavalier must always honor his word. An oath sworn apon the sword is an oath to the death, for the blade is the embodiment of the Cavalier’s honor.
-Place no lady in jeopardy either by word or by deed.
-A maiden should not be left unescorted at any time, lest she fall apon an evil, for it is the way of things that men will be tools of the evil and tempt her.
-Combat is glory. To win glory for thy name and the name of those in whose service thou art is all in battle.
-Thy sword is thy honor and thy glory. Treat with others in combat with weapons of equal strength.
-Use not the weapons of distance in any honorable combat or duel, nor use them against aught other than the beasts of the forest and field.
-Strike thee only from the fore where all can see thy doings.
-Cast not profanities apon the wind lest they be heard by fey.
-The first born of any house shall be the heir to all. But the siblings shall be trained as befits their calling and sent forth to make their own name and glory.
-Should the first born of any house perish before his third year, the second born shall be as the first. If there is no heir, all lands and properties shall revert to the state, to be used for the good of all.
-Apon thy sixteenth year, thou shalt begin thy quest for thy true calling. Make thy way to the temple of Tir to receive guidance apon thy path.
-Treat thee with the land and the fauna as it were thy life.
-Treat all above thy station with honor and respect thy peers.
-Order the respect of all of a lesser station that they may learn from thy example. Obedience must be maintained, that the workings of the world can continue.
-All challenges to thy honor or thy Lord’s honor must be met forthwith in the prescribed manner. Let no challenge go unanswered. As honor is the blood that flows in thy heart, death before dishonor!
-Meet death without fear for it may come in the guise of a friend to protect thee from dishonor.
-In a duel, if the challenger names the stakes then the challenged may declare the weapon of choice. If the challenger does not name the stakes, the challenged may do so and the challenger shall choose the weapons. If no weapon is in common an open duel may be declared.
-Remember that an opponent who has met thee with honor should be treated with honor. Name no stakes that shall bring dishonor apon thy self or thy opponent.
-Let all beware the duelists, for they will fall apon any that interfere with their honor and glory. Declaration of name and station, as well as those that are served, is proper.
-Killing a defeated opponent is not honoring life or that which gave it. Those who yield are bound by oath and honor.
-Craven is he that breaks oath and honor. These are outside the law and the ways of both man and fey. Killing an oath breaker is like unto killing a trolkien, for both are without honor and therefore without right to life.
-Blessed among both man and fey is he that shows compassion.
-Slay not needlessly, for life is a precious gift.
-Follow the examples of thy betters. Learn from their years.
-Suffer not an abomination to live, for they are the evil ones. Let them not into thy house nor apon thy fields.
-Cast from thyself all ways of evilness. Be true to thy honor and to thy way.
-To live by the sword is to die by the sword. Such is how a life should be lead for a leopard cannot change its spots.
-Thou shalt not fight apon holy ground. It is forbidden!
-Sanctuary is given to all who ask in the temples of the land. Those who are given sanctuary are guests.
-A guest will do naught to dishonor his host.
-As a host must serve both friend and enemies alike, so a guest shall not overstay his honest welcome.
-A host will do his utmost to serve a guest and protect them from harm. But woe unto the guest who breaks the rules of the house, for he will bring dishonor on himself and his name.
-The exchange of gifts is mete. Let those that may do honor apon their Lords and gift appropriately.
-Refuse no gift, but be wise in the acceptance of it.
-Strive not with a man without cause nor do harm if no harm hath been done thee.
-Withhold not good from them to whom it is due when it is in the power of thy hand to do it.
-The knowledge of alchemy is a great gift and benefit to all. Thou shalt not pervert the study of alchemy with the pursuit of knowledge of the dark arts of destruction and violence.
