Nuada
Warrior’s Friend, Silver Hand. N greater power of warriors, kings (He/Him)
Pantheon: Celtic (Tuatha de Danann)
Symbol: Silver hand on a black background
Realm: Outlands / Tir na Og / Mag Tuired
Known Proxies: None
Nuada—called the Warrior’s Friend and the Silver Hand—is the Celtic power of kingship, rightful rule, and warfare. His story is one of authority sorely tested by misfortune: the blood lost his throne because of a grievous wound, yet returned to leadership through his ingenuity, and perseverance.
Nuada was the first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the divine clan who came to claim Tir na Og from the giants. During the first Battle of Mag Tuired, he fought Sreng, champion of the firbolg, and lost his right hand. Because the laws of the Celts hold that the king of the Tuatha Dé Danann was must be physically whole, Nuada was forced to surrender the kingship to Bres, a half-fomorian whose rule soon proved oppressive. The healer Dian Cécht fashioned Nuada a replacement hand of silver, while the smith Credne gave it the movement and dexterity of a living limb. His silver hand represents kingship recovered—rather than inherited.
Nuada’s realm is Mag Tuired, the Plain of Pillars, a broad expanse of short grass scattered with immense menhirs and standing stones. An obscuring ethereal mist hangs over the plain, making distance and direction uncertain. The pillars are said to contain the spirits of Nuada’s favoured warriors, who awaken when the realm itself is threatened. Nuada’s relationship with petitioners is unusually direct. Spirits who arrive in the realm who are judged worthy, merge with a menhir almost as soon as they arrive, becoming part of the defensive force that sustains the realm. Those found wanting are expelled from the plain and cannot return, being forced to find a home elsewhere in Tir na Og.
Nuada has no known proxies, which is unusual for a power of his stature. His search for a successor has been long and fruitless. He believes that finding an heir will allow him to progress to the next stage of his existence. His hatred of the giant-kin, however, is legendary. If anyone bearing giant blood enters Mag Tuired, the menhirs rise and move against them. Whether this is a personal vendetta inherited from Nuada’s ancient battles or a deeper defence of the realm’s boundaries, the result is the same: giant-kin intruders receive little warning and no mercy.
Canonical Source: On Hallowed Ground [2e] p70,74-75,172 (full description)
Source: Jon Winter-Holt
