Of Bloom and Blood: The Fey Courts

[ladybug]

This thread documents the lore behind fey as implemented in Cormyr and the Dalelands.

• What Are Fey?
  
• Where Are Fey From?
  
• A Gift for a Gift: The Nature and Mindset of Fey
  
• Banes and Lures: Fey and the Tools of Mortals
  
• The Lords and Ladies:  Fey Rank, Society, and Culture
  
• Rose and Thorn:  The Summer Court of the Seelie
  
• Ashes and Oak:  The Winter Court of the Unseelie
  
• Hunt or Be Hunted:  The Wyldfae
  
• Shackled by Shadow:  The Shadar-Kai
  
• The Untamed:  Other Residents of Faerie
  
• The Adventurer Fey

[ladybug]

What are Fey?

"Fey are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Fey are marvellous. They cause marvels.
Fey are fantastic. They create fantasies.
Fey are glamorous. They project glamour.
Fey are enchanting. They weave enchantment.
Fey are terrific. They beget terror.
The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.
No one ever said fey are nice."
-paraphrased from Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies

The term "Fey" or "Fae" (pronounced the same, and both singular and plural) is the generally commonplace term associated with a group of creatures sharing similar traits and having origins in the world of Faerie, a parallel demiplane to the Prime Material that serves as an echo of the mortal realm, a place defined by rampant untamed natural existence uninhibited and unaltered by civilization. Fey are also known as fairies/faeries, the Fair Folk, the Green Folk, the Small Folk, the Good Folk, the Dancers, the Lords and Ladies, and the Shining Ones, among many others.

Fey are usually, but not exclusively, humanoid in basic shape and appearance, but often have one or more extra features such as wings, fins, tail(s), claws, fur or scales or feathers, or other additional or "animalistic" traits. Many fey can be easily described as some type of humanoid-animal hybrid, though more humanoid and less animal than something like a centaur, naga, harpy, or lamia. In contrast, some fey are also slightly less than humanoid, either fully bestial in appearance or resembling humanoids lacking something essential, such as a creature who is essentially half a person, being a thin figure with one leg, one arm, and half a mouth, nose, and one eye on its misshapen head.

In mechanical terms, fey are creatures with the Fey racial type or that possess the [feytouched] or [feyblood] subtypes (in NWN, these likewise will be added into the Fey type). They frequently possess magical abilities, either in the form of spell-like or supernatural abilities or innate spellcasting capability; the few exceptions usually possess some kind of magical weaponry that is native to their very nature, or rely on some kind of magical process to exist, be born, survive, or thrive. Most fey are vulnerable to metal in some way, usually iron and especially cold iron, while mithral or silver are often ineffective against them or considered harmless.

[ladybug]

Where are Fey from?

"The land of Feyland didn't seem to have a discernible ecology – instead, rushing waves and sunny beaches gave way in the space of moments to snowy mountainsides and harsh, jutting cliffs."
-Kailin Gow, "Bitter Frost"

"What's it like where they live?"
"It's everything you want it to be."
-Sarah Zettel, "Dust Girl"

Fey creatures sometimes reside on the Prime, but the vast majority live in and come from the neighboring sister-plane known as Faerie. Faerie exists parallel to and overlapping with the Prime, much like its fellow sister-world the Plane of Shadow. Like that dark realm, Faerie is geographically similar - but not identical - to the Prime.

The Plane of Shadow is an echo of lost and forgotten things--a realm of shades and outlines of fallen kingdoms and failed cultures, stalked by the dead and haunted by the empty remnants of long-forgotten histories. Faerie, by contrast, is a world unspoiled--a vibrant, wildly-living world untouched by the rise of civilization, ruled by the ebb and flow of natural events and cosmic patterns. Colors are brighter, darkness is deeper, and the wilderness goes on forever--uninterrupted by city walls or constructed obstacles. What established metropolises exist are built into the rioting landscape--as part of the environment and in keeping with it, rather than in defiance or opposition to the whims of nature.

This is not to say, by any means, that Faerie is a paradise. It is all things natural in their most uninhibited, and in many cases extreme, states. Animals are wild and untamed; they are often unusually large, primeval, dire, or exceptionally intelligent--if not a combination of all of the above. Plants are no less so--growing to impossible sizes and often possessing the semblance of or true intellect of their own. They are all too ready to protect themselves from predators or despoilers. The land itself is alive and has will and intent and desires of its own; often Faerie is uninterested or even opposed to the wants or needs of the entities living upon or within it. Fires blaze all the hotter, cold winds bite all the sharper, and storms rage all the fiercer. Nights are darker or lit by strange stars and impossible moons that change with the location and seasons in ways the Prime could never naturally mirror.

As well, Faerie is a highly morphic realm. Time and direction are malleable, often different for each individual and changing seemingly at whim. Tales of travelers lost in Faerie will speak of strange things, such as becoming lost despite traveling in a straight line, walking in circles for ages, losing days or even years by sleeping a few hours, or a single night of revelry that seems to last for actual centuries.  These are in many cases just as often accurate representations of occurrences in Faerie as they are wine-fueled exaggerations or magic-clouded recollections. This is all the more evident in realms where a particularly powerful Fey entity - such as one of the rulers of the Courts, a prominent Sidhe, or a potent genius loci - holds sway; such beings can direct the change and warping of realms within their control, often with little more than a thought. Faerie is particularly responsive to such things, and is generally driven more by emotion and instinct than governed by reason and logic. As such, the emotional, empathetic, or ethos-driven nature of a local power will determine the physical and ecological nature of their holding.

With all of that in mind, it is not surprising to learn that unlike the Plane of Shadow, very little of the realm of Faerie has direct physical counterparts in the Material; there are no echoes of specific cities, landmarks, or events from the Prime in Faerie. Rather, places in Faerie are connected to counterparts on the Prime by more tenuous, more metaphorical ties - similarity of evocation of emotions and thoughts, or a mirroring of purpose. For example, a Faerie gate located on the Prime in a miser's vault might lead to a Faerie dungeon or prison given its association with security and concealment, or to a Faerie market given its association with wealth and ownership.

Faerie gates overall are both rare and temporal.  These gateways often open and close on specific dates and times but in variable places, or available in set locations but unpredictable or variable in their time of activity; without the use of magic, ritual, or direct guidance from a fey entity, crossing from the Prime to Faerie or vice versa is more a matter of (un)luck or chance. Faerie gates are likewise almost always concealed, appearing at a glance or from any but the exact precise angle to be just part of the natural landscape. Common guises for such are rings of stones, trees, or mushrooms, hidden caverns and passages behind concealing natural formations like waterfalls or hanging plants, or well-disguised paths in otherwise-open landscape that only activate when the route is followed precisely.

[ladybug]

A Gift for a Gift: The Nature and Mindset of Fey

"Promises bind our kind as surely as iron chains or ropes of human hair. The fae never swear by anything we don't believe in. We don't ask for thanks and we don't offer them; no promises, no regrets, no chains. No lies."
-Seanan McGuire, Rosemary and Rue

"Tell a man your name and he will have power over you forever."
-Melika Dannese Lux, "Deadmarsh Fey"


Fey are, inherently, creatures of dichotomy. They are beings of nature and the unspoiled wild, but have distinct cultures, societies, and civilizations that (among mortals) would be expected to exert their will on the wilderness rather than yield to and mold around it. Their society, such as it is, is divided between the Courts. And while fey are inherently chaotic, disordered, unruly characters unbeholden to law or gods, they are irrevocably bound to the rule of their lords and ladies.  Similarly, fey are bound ironclad to their thrice-given word, their deals and contracts, and their traditions in a way that not even the most hidebound traditionalists or conservative backwater mortal villages can be.

For fey, Words and Names have Power.

Fey are always possessed of at least two names. One is whatever they happened to want to be called at the moment, or whatever they have allowed their acquaintances to refer to them as. This name may be more of a title, if the fey prefers or is possessed of a rank or role that provides one. The other is their Name - the one they have borne all their lives, the one that is truest to their Self. Fey are reluctant or unwilling to reveal their Name, for it gives power to the one who speaks or knows it - power they can use to force the fey to do as they wish, or to hold sway over its actions or thoughts. This level of control is of course limited to what the knower of the Name is capable of and the disparate level of skill and strength between the two can have an effect. A mortal who somehow managed to acquire the Name of a fey Queen, for example, might only be able to hold her under their sway for a matter of moments before she sundered the control and exacted her due vengeance--unless the mortal was particularly clever about how they used this power.

To fey, words are no less binding. Fey oaths, promises, and deals made are impossible to break--as long as they are spoken three times (or thrice-sworn)--their own magical natures binding them as tightly as any devilish contract would entwine its prey. Likewise, fey are incapable of lying--though they may obfuscate, bend, mislead, or simply refuse to answer unless forced. Once a fey has made a promise or agreed to a deal, it is incapable - physically, mentally, and magically - of failing to uphold its end of the bargain, driven by its inherent nature and the magic of its natural realm to seek out the solution or completion of the task required.

Fey are aware of their limitations in these regards and take special care with their speech. They use only aliases and titles as much as possible, and refer to themselves as "I am called" or similar terms in place of "My name is." They avoid the use of casual euphemisms of request; saying something like "I wish" within earshot of a fey is assumed to be permission for such an exchange to be had, placing the unwary wisher in the fey's debt. Likewise, fey avoid the use of giving thanks, as to offer such implies the assumption of a debt being owed (one other fey will be all too happy to claim due if offered thanks). Gratitude is instead offered in the form of praise or the providing of hospitality.

Fairness is of utmost importance to the fey, but it is not usually defined by them in a manner that is consistent with mortal notes of fairness. To a fey, the exchange of a mortal child with a fey changeling or a fairy doll is a perfectly fair trade (something taken for something given, a child of one world exchanged with a child or child-like entity from another); the emotional connection of a mortal parent to their own child and the lacking of that connection with the replacement is of no concern to the fey. Fey have little regard or need for coin - finding its uniform nature, appearance, and worth of little appeal - and often disdain the use of it beyond as a tool for trickery.  Fey know mortals desire wealth, and may offer to provide it (or a simulacrum of it, in the form of either illusions or transmuted baser materials or lookalikes such as pyrite) in exchange for something that gives the appearance of fairness and is fair in the fey's eyes. Instead, fey who desire payment often ask for it in the form of small but interesting trinkets, bizarre metaphorical requests, or the exchanging of favors or knowledge.

"A gift for a gift" is a common fey truism that summarizes their views on this subject succinctly. When something is given, something must be taken in return or in exchange. If the gift is not of suitable quality the debtor is considered to still be indebted; if the gift is of too much more value, it sends the message that the receiver finds the initial gift of poor value and that the payment needs to be increased. This is used by fey to establish the social order on the small scale, as well as to hold leverage over mortals who don't fully understand their rules.

Lastly, fey have a very different relationship with life and death than most mortals. In Faerie, fey who die - barring those who require certain strange or magical processes to stay alive to begin with, such as redcaps - are usually reconstructed or reborn within a relatively short amount of time, often with all their memories intact. This cycle of rebirth--coupled with their oft-immortal lifespan--both blunts the fear of death and the respect for the sanctity of life among many fey.  Similarly, this nature keeps them from traveling to the Prime unnecessarily or commonly, for it is well-known among fey that dying on the mortal realm is permanent. On Faerie, death is often treated as somewhere between a parlor trick and a light punishment. A high-ranking fey who disappoints a sídhe may be executed for their failure; fey at a ball or soiree might have a small array of troublesome prisoners or eerie performers who are slain one by one as entertainment. In both cases, this is done with the full knowledge that within a short time the dead fey will be alive again and ready to resume their necessary duties. Instead, true punishment for fey misdeeds, crimes, or repeated failures is usually based on torture, imprisonment, exile, or with death by a permanent means - usually a ritualized execution involving the use of fey banes to seal the victim's demise.

[ladybug]

Banes and Lures: Fey and the Tools of Mortals

"Crowns are for the valiant, sceptres for the bold,
Thrones and Powers for mighty men who dare to take and hold!
Nay! said the Baron, kneeling in his hall,
But Iron - Cold Iron - is master of men all!"
-Rudyard Kipling, "Cold Iron"

Fey are magical beings; as such, they are attracted or repelled by a number of items--magical and mundane. Any item that attracts a fey's attention is known as a lure, and anything that repels fey is considered to be a bane, perhaps the most notable of which is cold iron. It is said that a faerie is well aware of any lure around for quite some distance, but are usually completely naïve of any bane in the vicinity until they are right upon it. As one author is quick to note, fey do not make a habit of recording what these lure and banes are, and the following are merely the observations of humanoid scholars, many of which with little explanation.

Lures:
• Alcohol: Wine, mead, ale, spirits! Any of this is liable to attract the attention of fey in the area, especially that of satyrs and their cousins.
• Black Sand: Thought to attract the attention of any fey residing in water especially, perhaps due to its singularly exotic nature.
• Blackberry Brambles: Blackberries are thought to be a delicacy among fey, as well as the bush itself housing many of the smaller varieties.
• Blackthorn: Thought to be sacred to all faeries.
• Bluebell Flowers: Fey often delight in enchanting these tiny flowers to actually ring like bells when disturbed.
• Colorful Magic: All fey, though especially pixies and bogies, are attracted to brilliant flashes of light or displays of showy magic colors. It should be noted; however, that many fey view human magic in contempt in comparison to their own natural abilities.
• Eggs: Fey are highly attracted to the eggs of any mortal creature, if only because of the intense wonder and anticipation they feel when waiting for it to hatch. One story holds that chimeras and griffins resulted from eggs from the Material plane being transported to Faerie, where they hatched.
• Hollow Trees: Also called bull or bell oaks, these trees are thought by many to be the homes of fey.
• Holly: This particular plant is known to attract and even house a number of smaller fey.
• Love Poems: The act of reading these poems aloud has been known to draw forth many curious faeries in earshot.
• Music: Like poems, any faerie within earshot is liable to be drawn to the sound of music.
• Paintings: Due to the fact that many fey lack the dedication to complete such a task, they are often caught marveling over a particular skillful painting for hours on end.
• Rowan: Fires built of this wood are said to attract fey in the area.
• Sage: As above, burning a bundle of sage is said to attract fey, especially dryads.
• Salt: Oddly enough, salt is both a bane and a lure. When thrown across the face of ice, it is said to attract any fey who might be residing nearby, especially if they have ties to the element.
• Willow Trees: According to some lore, the wind whispering through the willows is actually said to be the voices of hidden fey whispering in one's ear. It should also be noted that performing any act of magic, song, dance or other artistic endeavor underneath a willow tree increases the chance that a fey creature will be attracted to it.
• Writing Implements: Many fey are fascinated by the idea of writing. While they are certainly capable of it and many do, in fact know how to read and write, it nevertheless fills them with curiosity and catches their attention.

Banes:
• Ash Berries: Folklore states that by placing the berries of the ash tree around a sleeping child makes them less likely to be abducted or attacked by the Unseelie fey.
• Bells: The clatter of bells is known to drive away less hardy fey.
• Clothing: "Turn your cloaks, for the fairy folk are in the old oaks!" By wearing one's clothing inside out, it is said to so disgust any faerie that they will leave the wearer be. Also, wearing mismatched paired clothing (such as socks) or having them inside out will duplicate the effect. One legend also states that by tossing an inside out article of clothing in the midst of a faerie ring or dance will cause the revel to cease almost instantly.
• Cold Iron: This is perhaps the one nearly universal bane for all fey. Many legends claim that cold iron is deadly to faeries, and by carrying a dagger, a horseshoe, or even a sliver of this metal in your pocket is enough to make them leave you be. It is theorized that given its ability to disrupt magical auras and difficulty in being enchanted, cold iron damages the connection of fey to their own magic, or disrupts the natural magic keeping them alive. Others suggest that cold iron, being an inherently mundane and unmystical material, is anathema to the fantastical and inherently-magical fey. There are exceptions to this - coblynau are said to be the deep smiths of the fey and to work unharmed with the hated material, the dark and sinister ankou are molded with the touch of cold iron in their talons and teeth and serve the Queens as assassins, and the vile Redcaps are born with cold iron boots bolted around their feet for the entirety of their lives.
• (Un)Holy Objects: Symbols, prayer books, un/holy water, even mold from un/holy ground is said to be able to repel fey. Fey do not fully understand most mortal gods and their inherent moraltiies and mandates, and find them unnerving and difficult to understand and thus likely to avoid expressions of their power. Nature and druidic gods, on the other hand, do not seem to have this effect on them, as these gods are closer to the fey in nature and more comprehensible to them.
• Red Ribbon: When tied to the chests of livestock or infants, it is said that red ribbon will discourage fey from making mischief with the wearer.
• Salt: While many fey actually will eat salt in small amounts, a line of pure salt cannot be crossed by any fey, and a complete circle of salt will hold one in place. Fey magic cannot touch a line of salt, and will wash over it without effect.
• Silver: Silver coins in particular are said to repel faeries. By throwing them at the unfortunate being, it is often said that they will become terrified and flee from the area. Silver weapons, interestingly, will often have no effect against fey when wielded in combat, and many fey will use such weapons as their own tools of choice if they don't possess some sort of magical counterpart.
• Water: In some cases, running water is known to repel fey.
• Whistling: Perhaps the easiest way to drive the most innocent and sweet fey into a rage is to simply whistle. Surprisingly enough, fey, despite all their musical and artistic prowess, cannot manage this small task that many humans take for granted, and are so immensely jealous of it that they will become quite angry at the unfortunate whistler.
    [Originally provided by Goat in his writeup "Black, White, and Shades of Fey: A Guide to Faeries".]

It should also be noted that what works for one fey, will not necessarily work for another. Not all faeries are repelled by inside out clothing, just as not all of them will be head over heels for a handful of black sand. This is by no means a comprehensive list, and many species of fey have specific banes and lures that apply only to them. For example, the fox-tailed Huldra despises those who notice the open hole and wooden frame on her back and often attempts to cover it with her hair or clothes; those who notice, and even worse those who attempt to look into it or reach inside, risk provoking her wrath. The wary traveler who interacts with fey would do well to research the individual species they are likely to encounter and learn the proper ways to deal with them.

[ladybug]

The Lords and Ladies: Fey Rank, Society, and Culture

"It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness. A handsome woman talks nonsense, you listen and hear not nonsense but cleverness. She says and does horrid things, and you see only charm. And if a handsome woman does not say stupid or horrid things, you at once persuade yourself that she is wonderfully clever and moral."
-Leo Tolstoy, "The Kreutzer Sonata"

Fey society is, unsurprisingly given their natures, equal parts strictly regimented and highly disorganized. Most fey are creatures of the wilderness, beings whose existence is governed by and shaped around living in their respective habitats, entwined with the surrounding flora and fauna. Among small groups of local fey, any authority or hierarchy that exists (if one exists at all) is established via similar means as those of creatures in the wilds: a family hierarchy from parents to children; a pack hierarchy with an alpha determined by strength or seniority; or a territorial individualism, where the claimant of a certain small stretch of land is its holder and any intruder must overpower or outwit them to pass through or seize control. For the vast majority of fey, this is the day-to-day existence they enjoy and that most mortals will encounter them in; only rarely will they experience events from outside this perspective.

Where things become more structured are within demesnes (pronounced "de-mains"), territories where a fey ruler or other entity of power has established control and authority over both the land and the other fey dwelling within. In a demesne, the ruling fey has near-complete power, both over the fey living within it and the land itself. The fey and the land in turn often change in subtle or overt ways to reflect the personality, emotions, and nature of the ruler.

Such rulers are almost always powerful fey of the noble caste of their kind, the aes sídhe ("ayes shee" or "eyes shee"), or simply sídhe. All ruling sídhe are powerful, exceptional specimens of fey, many of whom also possess class levels or unusual templates that reflect their particular spheres of influence or distinct nature. There are various types of sídhe, some of which are numerous enough to be recognized as their own species--such as leanansídhe, daoinesídhe, and baensídhe. Others are rare individuals whose only counterparts are close family relations or a small clan, while others are completely distinct and unique beings with no others of their own precise kind.

Sídhe are always exceptional in appearance, primarily through the natural glamour or magical appearance they constantly and subconsciously produce. As a result of their glamour, all sídhe are either impossibly, breathtakingly beautiful or impossibly, horrifyingly terrifying or hideous. Glamour is extremely difficult to bypass; only true seeing and superior similar effects can pierce it, and in a sídhe's demesne even that cannot be guaranteed. Glamour cannot be removed, and spells such as dispel magic or antimagic field only suppress it momentarily. Without glamour, many fey look even more alien and unnerving than they normally do. This defines glamour as equal parts defense mechanism and hunting adaptation--allowing them to impress, terrify, or overwhelm mortals and lesser fey alike. The level of control a fey has over their glamour is also a representation of their strength. Most lesser fey and lower-ranking sídhe have only one appearance that their glamour manifests as; more powerful sídhe can alter their glamour at whim, or even tailor their appearance as they are perceived by each individual as they feel is most beneficial or important.

Young sídhe occasionally are sent into the world - either the wilds of Faerie or the Prime - to learn and travel. They are either given a task or quest by their ruler (often a parent or other kin, or one of the Queens or equivalent) or  expected to build up their experiences in preparation for an eventual taking of the role of sídhe lord or lady in their (distant) future. The nature of this traveling time can highly determine how the average fey reacts to the presence of a sídhe, even a young one, working among them.

The highest sídhe are the rulers of the Courts - the Queens and the Lord of the Hunt. So powerful are they that the area considered to be their demesnes contains the entirety of all lands dwelled in and overseen by their respective Court, including the demesnes of other sídhe within. They possess the ability to overrule, override, or sever a sídhe lord's or lady's effect on or control over their demesne, to disband or create demesnes, and to alter fey to become or cease to be sídhe. Within Faerie itself and within the lands of their Court, the Queens and the Lord are no less than gods.

[ladybug]

Rose and Thorn: The Summer Court of the Seelie

"They were beautiful beyond words, beautiful beyond understanding. So beautiful, I wanted to tear out my heart and hand it over, because after seeing them, I surely wouldn't have any more use for it."
-Sarah Zettel, "Dust Girl"

The Seelie Court, also known as the Summer Court, are often the type fey that most mortals think of when describing "fey." Seelie fey are nearly universally described as beautiful, enchanting, and pleasing in demeanor and appearance; they are likewise generally considered mischievous, playful, spontaneous, but not necessarily malicious. However, these assumptions are not necessarily accurate.

Seelie fey are residents of the Summerlands--the demesne of the Summer Queen, Titania, and her sídhe entourage. Summer fey are associated with the aspects of nature attuned to growth and creation, such as life, light, birth, and fire. They embrace and embody the primeval natural tendencies towards proliferation and expansion of the species, the tendency of creatures to develop into the hierarchy of their environment, and the persistence of survival in the face of obstacles and opposition.  The types of fey usually associated with the Seelie Court include dryads, blodeuwedd, nereids, calientos, siabrie, and shimmerlings.

This by no means implies that Seelie fey are commonly benevolent in nature. After all, rampant growth and unchecked vitality are not always healthy for mortals. Seelie fey seem to see little difference between the abundant proliferation of animals and useful plant life and that of disease, harmful weeds, and swarming insects. Areas under Seelie influence are filled with rampant, unchecked plant overgrowth, animals that grow to great size and produce immense amounts of offspring, and an extremely prolific volume of insect and vermin ecology. The weather in the Summerlands is almost always persistently clear and sunny, with the occasional sudden storm or long slow drizzle.

The ruler and leader of the Seelie Court is Queen Titania, The Lady of Skylight. Titania generally manifests as either a large (as in halfling-sized) pixie or small winged nymph outlined in a corona of sunlight, her gossamer wings scattering rainbows in all directions, clad only in either sparse garments of leaves and vines or nothing at all save the glow that constantly surrounds her. Her heiress is the Lady Verenestra, known as the Princess of Nymphs, and her consort Oberon the Noble Hunter. Her court is served by the trickster and herald Robyn Goodfellow, known as Squelaiche or The Puck. These leaders of the Summer Court are Chaotic Neutral and grant divine followers access to the Chaos, Charm, Fire, Luck, Plant, and Sun domains. Their favored weapon is a thorned rose (represented as a dagger).

[ladybug]

Ashes and Oak: The Winter Court of the Unseelie

"Think of every fairy-tale villainess you've ever heard of. Think of the wicked witches, the evil queens, the mad enchantresses. Think of the alluring sirens, the hungry ogresses, the savage she-beasts. Think of them and remember that somewhere, sometime, they've all been real. Mab gave them lessons."
-Jim Butcher, Small Favor

The Unseelie Court, or Winter Court, is the opposite and counterpart of the Seelie. Whereas the Seelie are seen as beautiful, kind, and benevolent, Winter fey are often described as cruel, vicious, evil, and ugly. Like those perceptions of the Seelie, such descriptions of the Unseelie are inaccurate at best.

The Winter Court is the court associated with destruction, as the counterpart to the Seelie's focus on creation. It is comprised of fey who are associated with the aspects of nature attuned to death, decay, cold, and darkness. They manifest the aspects of nature that deal with the end of cycles, the destruction of life required for other life to thrive, the hollow cold that clears dead waste and old fading life from the world to make space for new growth, and the culling of the weak, old, ill, and infirm.

While they may seem cruel and heartless to the sentiments of mortals, Winter fey are not always malicious; they are simply pragmatic and calculating, understanding that their place in the cycle of existence is a necessary but unpleasant one. Many Winter fey are also plain and unprideful creatures, uncaring for the adoration or allure of mortal or fey (save their Queen), and as such often do not bother with the use of glamour to conceal or disguise. As a result, the perception of Unseelie fey as cruel, vicious, and horrific creatures in opposition to the beautiful, gentle, and carefree Seelie has been allowed to take a stronger hold in the minds of mortals. Most Unseelie fey neither care to correct this mistake nor care for how they are perceived; they have more important things on their minds. As the manifestation of growth and life among Seelie is not always to the benefit or happiness of mortals, so the focus on death and destruction among the Unseelie is not to their disadvantage, either. Rather than evil or malicious, Winter fey are better described as focused upon the "survival of the fittest", cutting away the dead, dying, and weak aspects of existence so that there is room and resources to spare for the rest to survive on.

However, this is not to say that Winter fey are in any way kind. Their pragmatism, focus on survival by strength and skill, and willingness to cull and cleave away anything that strikes them as weak, old, or useless makes them often sinister creatures--lacking any sense of mercy or capacity for gentleness. It is not in their nature to consider peace or coddling the innocent, if they have deemed them in need of destruction. While not universal, some species of Unseelie fey are actively malevolent in their methods--taking pleasure in death and pain and suffering; thus fear and care in dealing with them is often highly advised. Types of fey usually associated with the Unseelie Court include spriggans, winterwights, fossegrimen, redcaps, glitterhaunts, mimis, and rimefire eidolons.

The Unseelie Court is located within the demesne of the Winter Queen, the Arctic Tor. A harsh and unforgiving place, the Tor exists in a perpetual winter, alternating between cold dark nights to sharp windy days with vicious blizzards and thunderstorms that last for weeks on end. The wildlife there is harsh, hardy, and vicious; only the strongest specimens of each species are able to survive the unforgiving climate. What plant life exists is adapted to the extreme weather, powerful fauna, and unrelenting cold. They often form crystalline shapes and coloration that blurs the line between flora and ice formation that are regularly covered in barbs, blades, thorns, and/or natural toxins.

The ruler of the Winter Court is Maedbhb, the Queen of Air and Darkness; she is sometimes also referred to as Mab, Medbh or Maeve. Mab generally appears as a tall, icy-skinned sídhe woman of stern demeanor and sharp countenance, with glassy hair, a crown-like a halo of darkness, and wreathed in a robe of glacial blues and purples. Her heiress is Isolde, the Lady of Frost, and her consort a warrior sídhe known only as the Lord of Winter. The court is served by the trickster herald Greymaulkin, Cheshire Lord of the Caitsídhe. Winter court patrons are Chaotic Neutral and grant divine followers access to the Air, Chaos, Darkness, Moon, Trickery, and Water domains. Their favored weapon is an icicle (represented as a spear).

[ladybug]

Hunt or Be Hunted: The Wyldfae

"And he got going from there to America. Worked his passage, I s'pose, like a lot more. And I heard he did well in America, too. Got married there. Had a family. But never came back. And you know why? 'Cause if he did, if he ever set foot in Ireland again, you know who'd be waiting for him, don't you? That's right. The three of 'em. And their box. And the second time they'd make no mistake.
It is a much-overlooked fact that not all of the thousands who fled Ireland in former times did so to escape hunger, deprivation, and persecution. There were also those who went to escape the wrath of the Good People. Many stories illustrated this, the one here being typical."
-Eddie Lenihan, "Meeting the Other Crowd"

Not all fey are associated with the Courts; in fact, it might even be said the vast majority of fey are not. Between the cold and unforgiving harshness of Winter and the bright and unrelenting light of Summer, there exist the Wyldfae--all fey who are either not attuned to the two Courts or who have refused a place among either the Seelie or Unseelie (whether due to their nature or by active choice).

Wyldfae who are so by nature are the fey whose design or purpose serves neither creation nor destruction, life nor death, in any specific manner. They tend to be bestial creatures, strongly in tune with the natures of their animalistic traits. Wyldfae typically either lack greater intelligence or are beings whose natural state makes the desire for pursuing higher thinking undesirable or unnecessary.

Wyldfae who are so by choice, on the other hand, are more varied. In some cases, these creatures are members of one of the other two Courts who have rejected the nature of that Court without embracing the ethos of the opposing one. Finding no place for themselves in their Court of birth--and finding nothing worth seeking in the other--they instead drift toward a state of natural neutrality among the Wyld.

However, there is a third group of fey that comprise the Wyld Court--the fey who are neither bestial, stupid, nor uncaring, while also not naturally attuned to either Summer nor Winter. These usually tend to be fey who have more temporal natures, tend to dwell on the Prime rather than in Faerie, or have lifespans or personalities more akin to mortals. Fey with mortal blood, such as Half-Fey and Feytouched creatures, are among this group. These fey are Wyldfae as a sort of default; they are expected to either choose to align themselves to Summer or Winter either when they come of age (which can vary by individual) or to deliberately choose to remain among the Wyldfae.

The Wyldfae are well-known for the Wyld Hunt--a treacherous and harrowing pursuit where a vast horde of fey hunters gather together in search of exceptional prey in an untamed, chaotic cacophony of bloodshed and conflict. While Wyld Hunts can occur whenever the Lord of the Wyldfae calls for them, they are most commonly seen near the spring and autumn equinoxes. Competition is inherent to the Wyldfae, and this frenzy is contagious to any swept up into the Wyld Hunt: the only choice is to join as a hunter or be hunted as potential prey. Conflict among hunters is not uncommon, particularly over the chance to claim the most impressive game. As such, most of the Hunt is uncontrolled and haphazard, the very definition of organized chaos only loosely overseen by its leader.

The leader of the Wyldfae is known as the Lord of the Hunt, though he wears other titles such as the Horned Lord, the Stag Lord, the Erlking/Elf-King, the Lord of the Wyldfae, the Master of Hounds, and many others. A towering figure of enormous size, the Lord is easily identified by the patchwork armor made from skins of the most potent creatures he's hunted and his hooded helm topped by a pair of gargantuan antlers. A similar set of antlers also adorn his massive hunting bow. The Lord of the Hunt is an ancient being, possibly older than the current Queens of the Courts, and as untamed as the wilderness he calls his territory and where his people roam. The Wyld Court patrons are Chaotic Neutral and grant access to the Animal, Chaos, Plant, Strength, Travel, and War domains. Their favored weapon is the longbow.

[ladybug]

Shackled by Shadow: The Shadar-Kai

"His eyes were like a forest at night—dark, wild, and dangerous. They were as fey as the rest of him, calling to mind thoughts of terrifying legends and powerful magic. You could fall into eyes like that, she thought, and find yourself trapped forever. In that moment, he resembled exactly what he was: a witch prince, out for blood."
-Nenia Campbell, "Star Crossed"

While most fey live in Faerie or the Prime, there are exceptions. In ancient eons, there were more than the two Courts of Faerie. Once, in addition to the Summer and Winter Courts, the Courts of Faerie also included the Autumn and Spring Courts. Their purpose in the great cycle has long since been forgotten. The members of these forgotten courts are now scattered among the rest of Faerie with their roles subsumed into Summer and Winter; it's now impossible to discern between the tasks and roles of the old courts and current courts. Only one segment of these broken courts survives, with so many scars and alterations that tracing its past is impossible--the Court of the Shadar-Kai.

Whatever court they were before is long forgotten, even by themselves. What is known is that when the Spring and Autumn Courts ceased to be, the Shadar-Kai chose to flee Faerie entirely to escape whatever consequences awaited them. Rather than travel to the Prime--where they feared they might be tracked and found--they fled further still, escaping into the darkest recesses of the Plane of Shadow.  While this choice spared them from whatever fate Faerie once had in mind for them, the Shadar-Kai (or rather the beings that would one day become the Shadar-Kai) faced a grim reality in their new home. The Plane of Shadow is no friend to those attempting to survive within it, even its own natives. It was (and is) a realm of darkness, silence, and cold callousness--a clutching and grasping claw that seizes and does not release nor relent. At some point, the fledgling fey were approached by a great power of darkness - the truth of their identify has been lost to history, but speculation offers every theory from Lady Loss to an elder Nightwalker. Whatever the truth, a pact was made.

The Shadar-Kai (as they came to be known) became acclimated to the Shadow, gaining the ability to dwell in that dismal place without fear or harm. However, in exchange they were forced to bear a terrible curse. Those Shadar-Kai who became lost in contemplation, depression, or ennui found themselves wasting away--fading into the Shadow as their essence was consumed by the very plane they called home. Discovering too late the cruel nature of the bargain they'd struck, the Shadar-Kai quickly discerned they would have to constantly provoke themselves with greater experiences to avoid dissolving into the consuming dark; the method they found most effective at combating this was pain itself. The Shadar-Kai took to inflicting pain both on themselves and others, embedding their bodies with piercings of cold iron and silver, and lashing at foes with bladed chains and hooked swords meant to inflict bloodshed and harm. Years upon years later, these corrupted fey became known as the scourge of the darkest realms, beings whose very presence meant nothing but torture and agony for any who would cross their path.

Little is known of Shadar-Kai culture beyond their penchant for pain, pursuit of strong sensations, and their cruel nature. Their cities are small and scattered, lacking any hierarchy beyond individual groups or small organizations. If there is a lord or queen over the entirety of their kind, it is a figure who has kept its face well-masked by the darkness that would consume them and their people. Shadar-Kai have little interaction with their fellow fey, instead seeming to prefer the company of those mortals who share their dark inclinations or outsiders whose purposes work in accord with their own.  The most common such pairing is with the baatezu known as kytons or chain devils, whose attraction to pain and torment is little different from that of the Shadar-Kai themselves.

[ladybug]

The Untamed: Other Residents of Faerie

"Whatever it was, it was the size of a cow, and looked like what you'd get if you somehow managed to cross a beaver and a crocodile, looked at the results, and decided what your new monster really needed was a bunch of extra teeth."
-Seanan McGuire, Ashes of Honor

Fey aren't the only creatures that live in Faerie. The rest of the wildlife is just as strange and varied as the fey: just as much a product of Faerie's erratic climate and ecology, just as prone to fantastical changes and developments.

Most of the common wildlife in Faerie consists of various forms of highly-primitive or magically-developed animal and insect life. Dire and legendary creatures are common, far more so than on the Prime, and far outnumber their normal, more mundane counterparts within Faerie. Ancient beasts are rampant, thriving at a level and populace unseen on the Prime since eons long past. Magical beasts of all kinds are commonplace as well, thriving among and alongside the more potent fauna. These magical creatures usually dwell in areas where the native demesne or Court aligns with their natures: winter wolves are common among the realms of the Unseelie Court, while phoenixes are frequently sighted in the Summerlands.

While the wildlife within Faerie is impressive, the supernatural vegetation that grows within the lands of Faerie far surpasses the fauna's deadly beauty. Even the immobile, unintelligent flora of the plane is bizarre and splendorous; these plants are often magical in nature, possessing strange properties, unusual defenses, and supernatural traits. The medicinal and alchemical uses of such exotic flora are considered extremely valuable among both fey and mortals--making the risks of any potential dangers worthwhile for those interested in such things.

Likewise, the intelligent flora of Faerie are even more beautiful and deadly. Many mobile or sapient plants--such as treants, alraune, shambling mounds, and yellow musk creepers--are theorized to have originated in Faerie. Often the more intelligent or magically capable members of these species are considered fey, at least culturally if not by their true nature. Many fey, while acknowledging the place these plant creatures have in their society, will also take advantage of the fact that these beings are not truly fey.  As the intelligent flora are not true fey, they are not bound by many of the restrictions of the fey (including their speech and behavior); nor do these plant being bear many of the traditional weaknesses and banes of the fey. Through these alliances, the intelligent flora gain the advantages of access to fey magic and resources, a place of acknowledgement and respect within fey society, and a share of the spoils of whatever their trickery against mortals reaps.

[ladybug]

The Adventurer Fey

"Since the fall of Man and the return of Magery and our older ways, most disputes were settled in a civilized manner: sword to the face, mace to the neck, acceptable societal situational handlers."
-Adam P. Knave, "Crazy Little Things"

Fey who take up an adventuring lifestyle are, perhaps surprisingly, extremely commonplace. However, these fey are almost always limited in such meanderings to remaining within the world of Faerie. It is far more rare for a fey to choose to depart Faerie and take their adventuring ways to the mortal Prime; similarly, fey that live within the Prime rarely choose the adventurer's lifestyle.

Most fey adventurers--in Faerie or the Prime alike--are called among their own kind as Questers, as most adventuring fey are given a quest (or duty) at the behest of a sídhe lord or by the Queen of their Court. These quests can be often highly abstract or illogical to mortal views, asking the Quester to seek out strange goals (such as traveling to the sunset, acquiring the breaths of many seas, and such like) to bring back to their benefactor. In many cases even the Quester is unsure of the true nature of their mission, but the orders of the sídhe are not to be questioned; the paradox of figuring out how to complete such an incomprehensible task is often considered a part of the quest in and of itself. Furthermore, questing fey are bound--as fey always are--by their word; as a result, the promise of the completion of a quest serves as a geas that binds the Quester to complete the task or suffer the consequences. This drives the bound fey to take risks and make attempts they might not normally pursue--such as leaving the safety of Faerie for the Prime where magic is scarce, colors are dull, life is sluggish, and death is permanent.

Fey adventurers who are not Questers on behalf of the sídhe are far rarer, yet still exist. Many are fey native to the Prime, who pursue adventuring careers for the same reasons most mortals do: a task they wish to complete; a mission on behalf of their beliefs or faith; wanderlust and desire to see more of the world; to slake some need or want they that they cannot in their normal environment. The most common Prime-native fey who are found among adventurers are, by far, the Killoren: a newly-formed (at least in fey terms) species described as the "most human" of the fey.  Killoren are designed to be nature and Faerie's answer to humanoids' propensity for growth, innovation, and numbers. Killoren age rapidly to adulthood, reaching maturity in about ten years, and can live for eons if not slain. They are also more adaptable and more malleable than most fey; they are not tied to any one Court and (as a Prime-native race) not bound to the will or whim of any specific sídhe lord.

Most other fey who take up an adventuring lifestyle in the mortal world tend to be the types that can blend easily into mortal society, using only a little bit of disguise or minor glamour. Pixies are probably the most common of these, but nymphs and satyrs are not unheard of--especially given their propensity for seducing mortal lovers. Half-fey and feytouched members of mortal races complete fey called to a life of adventure, since they are often left with their mortal kin.  These children of Faerie take up an adventuring life when they find they do not truly fit in among their fully-mortal peers.