True FaeClassification: Fae
Tips for players to utilize Fae: True Fae can appear in one of three ways:
- Want to make a playable character? You will be creating a True Fae’s Actor.
- Want to make a magic item? You will be creating a True Fae’s Prop.
- Want to make a new area? You will be creating a True Fae’s Realm.
- A True Fae can make as many Actors, Props, or Realms as they have titles to distribute.
- Please see the next post under this for character creation tips!
Storytelling Notes:
- Fae cannot help but to covet. It is the sole trait that truly unites their species. If you are putting a 'good' Fae in your story, remember this if you need help making them 'realistic'.
- A Fae would be unable to enter the city with their full powers intact unless catastrophe struck the city. Keep this in mind when the Gentry come to visit - they are bound by their conventions and laws while in their Actor form.
- Your playable character would not be godlike in the city. All new character requests are subject to approval, so ensure you are making a well-balanced character. Please refer to the Powers and Abilities section below to see how powers work in various locales.
- Props have stronger powers than Actors, because they have additional restrictions placed upon them. When attempting to get a magic item approved, make sure the restriction is as serious as the power is strong.
- Realms exist inside the Hedge. A Fae would have significantly more power in their Realm.
- Realms can be entered via a portal in the city. The portal must be something that clearly stands out. Like a gate that has to be unlocked to enter, with the key in the keyhole for anyone to turn.
Points of clarification: Fae, when capitalized, refers to the True Fae. When fae is left uncapitalized, it refers to any denizen or creature that has origins from the Hedge, Arcadia, or beyond.
To aid in understanding something that is nigh impossible to understand, we will utilize three 'areas' of existence.
- Arcadia is any Fae realm, where their powers are strongest and reality shapes to their will
- The Mortal World, refers not to the people who inhabit the world, but instead refers to the greater universe that has a life (and eventual death) of its own. To the true Fae, the term 'mortals', then, do not refer to the cycles of life and death of the creatures described, but instead they are inhabitants of this universe. Vampires, Werewolves, Angels, Demons, and everything in between would be considered 'Mortals' by the Fae -- not because of whether they can live or die, but because they come from a world which will one day die.
- The Hedge, comprised of four seasonal areas, is the area between Arcadia and the Mortal World.
Areas in the Hedge:The Spring’s Thorns: An endless maze of briars, the last place you wish to enter if you are forced into the Hedge. It is here that time is at its least stable. It is here that Legend dictates the First Nightmare still wanders. It is here that the Fae often leave their traps, hoping to ensnare a promising servant. Due to the magics of the Thorns, a mortal’s pulse involuntarily races, adrenaline courses through them, and fight or flight instincts take over. The inexorable knowledge that this is a place of danger fills every creature with a desperation to leave the Thorns.
The Summer Demesne: Home to fortresses and battlegrounds forgotten by most. Where the Fae who have Dwindled come to plot their resurrection or are lost in games of their own making -- spending eternity unable to gain or lose power, but always seeking another to join their games - whether they want to join or not.
The Autumn Hedge: Probably the most 'traditionally fae' location, if you can consider the fae to have traditions. Home to the majority of the goblin markets. Only separated by vast forests, eternally shedding leaves that soak in the viscera and gore that the unbeaten path often accrues.
The Winter Wyld: Cold and unforgiving, the tundra upon earth are a reflection of the most habitable parts of the Wyld. This may give you just a hint of what wretched creatures and wicked beings make this land their home. Home to the Repentant Woman, the nymph-turned-Fae who lives in a permanent state of self-flagellation to atone for allowing the Hedge to bleed into the realm of Mortals that she loves so dearly — leading to the ability for Fae to step foot upon the Mortal World.
Origin: It is hard to consider Fae a species of its own. Indeed, they are as different as their various names -- Gentry, Keepers, Cousins, Strangers, Furies, Fair and Good Folk, the Lords and Ladies. It is not known whether the first Fae was born of a nightmare, or the first nightmare was born of an encounter with the Fae. The fact remains that beliefs, emotions and ideas of mortals provide the power upon which Fae sup.
Given this, one thing is known for certain that applies to every Fae, within the mundane world, it is best to avoid speculating their origin in ways they can perceive. For if you let your imagination run wild, the Fae can claim your idea to bring more of their powers from Arcadia into our realm. It is thought that mortals of ages long past that have given the Fae their unfathomable power that they wield today.
Everything that is Fae is driven by their Titles, which we will cover in more detail below. Fae are often seen as mercurial creatures -- and a great many can be -- however, a more accurate understanding would be that they are heavily emotional creatures. This is because they are embodiments of emotion — they receive their personality from their title. The effects of a title can vary: the title of Master may give one Fae the personality of a doting yet strict teacher who treats wayward mortals as their students, where it may give another Fae the personality of a wicked being who enslaves all who come across their path.
Appearance:When upon the mortal plane, they have two primary ways of appearing: Actors or Props, which are one or more of the Fae’s Titles given form. Actors resemble the more mundane of mortal creatures -- often only capable of adding Fae powers that their Titles have bestowed upon them. Every Actor has some sort of 'tell' that gives them away as something slightly more than ordinary. Props are similarly constructed, but have some manner of restriction placed upon them to grant them extended access to the magic of Arcadia. A Prop will always just be an object of some sort, and rumor has it that several Props have turned the tide of human history.
Could one have been a sword, possessing otherworldly power, restricted to be stuck within a stone until a worthy hand pulled upon its hilt? Could it have been a plane, made to bear an extraordinary woman on an extraordinary mission, that went missing without a trace? What of the sword of a liberator, who was guided by visions of saints long dead?
The existence of Props left by mischievous or covetous Fae puts a suspicious lens on the oldest of unsolved mysteries.
Seeing the true face of a Fae within the city is next to impossible. They may enter the city, of course, but it would put them in considerable risk, as they do not have the protections of their full powers. A Fae may come to the Mortal World with all of their powers only in time of catastrophe, where the Hedge has bled over and the magics of Arcadia are thick across our realm. Omens are plentiful when the world is threatened thus, and those with a proclivity for magic are the vanguard for being able to react as their own powers wax or wane, depending on their origins.
Creation:Fae have several curses placed upon them, but none so painful to them as their inability to create something new. They are unable to create something original of their own. They must resort to mimickry and mutation of something first created by another.
There are three things the Fae are able to use to create their mimics: Actors and Props have been covered before, but they are also the architect of their own Realms. Realms are made of titles that the Fae have as well, but the previous stipulation remains true -- they may only 'make' something within their realm that they saw outside it. A Fae may make their castle a replica of the Eiffel Tower, or create a labyrinth using the designs of the Greeks, but they are someone else’s idea without exception.
On this vein, the Fae are sterile: unable to have a child of their own without resorting to some (usually incredibly insidious) manner of trickery. This is why many Fae steal mothers, children, artists, and the beautiful -- when you cannot produce something original for yourself, you get another who can do what you cannot.
Benevolent Fae, instead, may be more inclined to be midwives or 'fairy godmothers', capable of delivering miracles to children and expectant mothers who might not otherwise survive. Even these Fae must be treated with caution, for they are not capable of caring what happens after their intervention. Perhaps they grant a mother the ability to safely deliver the baby that would have been stillborn, but in doing so create a child unable to sleep. Oftentimes, changelings are created thus and abandoned by the Fae who moved on to get their next high.
Lifespan:As time flows entirely differently on Arcadia, the Hedge, and the Mortal World, Fae do not have lifespans as such. Instead, they have a set period of time before they Dwindle, or reduce in power and importance. They can greatly increase the amount of time with every Title that they hold or Legend that they compete. A Fae does not die when they have Dwindled entirely; the closest thing to Fae death would be when they are Devoured by another Fae -- either by having their Name (not Title) taken by a stronger Fae or by a particularly crafty Fae using the conditions of the Legend to claim a complete victory over their adversary.
Characteristics:The Fae get their appearance, personality, and most importantly their powers from the Titles they hold.
It is important to note that Titles are simultaneously exclusive and not. There is no singular kingdom in Arcadia, so each realm may have its own King or Queen for example. However, if the King of one realm enters another, they do not have access to their title of King.
There are many realms within Arcadia and the Hedge where Titles are simple. It is only when they come to our world that they get more convoluted. Where someone may be the 'Preacher' within their realm, they may have to have 'Bishop of Everlasting Chaos' within ours. However, this allows the 'Preacher' of another realm to come to our world and exist beside the other, if their title is 'The Cleric of Holy Flatulence'.
Fae can use this loophole to bring their title to another realm, walking through The Mortal World as a sort of train station -- carrying them from their realm to an opponent’s realm by taking a short traipse though our world. Realms have been conquered, assimilated, and overthrown by Fae utilizing this method. A Fae possessing the power to maintain a singular realm is terrifying. The Fae who have conquered multiple? Their power is what spawned our word 'unfathomable'.
Powers and Abilities:Title, in their Realm: Here, the Fae become as progenitor gods. Their title is not merely a designation, it is a claim. A King is not merely a king. They are The King. All must obey their every command, lest they commit treason. The Jester has the knowledge they need to make anyone laugh — which they can use for whatever they want. It is in the Realm that a title can most easily be challenged, or a Legend created.
Title, in the Hedge: Here, the Fae are as pantheistic gods. They have domain over their title’s influence but they are not the only one with such powers. Challenging another Fae with a similar title in the Hedge is often the most dangerous game, as magic is unpredictable and it’s so much easier to Dwindle.
Title, in the Mortal World: In these places, their title still affords them power, but it’s nowhere near as omnipotent. Instead, it gives them power over emotions. A Fae with the Title of 'Killer' will still retain their supernatural instincts, but would also instill an overwhelming fear in their victim that would make most uninitiated mortals lose their wits. This is dangerous due to their use of True Glamour.
True Glamour: Mortal emotions fuel a bridge between Arcadia and the Mortal World. While changelings use glamour to cast magic, the Fae use glamour to bring magic to this world from Arcadia.
Creating Contracts: Must always have beneficial terms equivalently powerful to the stipulations. Fae will often make the requirements of the contracts impossibly hard to keep, so that they are broken and the oathbreaker becomes the Fae’s to take.
Bestowing Blessings: A Fae may deliver a boon without any price, and often will if they feel that they would otherwise be indebted to the recipient. Even the smallest of blessing is often enough to pay any debt, but the blessing must be initiated before the debt is to be claimed.
Incite Bedlam: The ability to cause a specific emotion in an area to be kicked into hyperdrive. The incited emotion is unable to be collected by the Fae, but they can collect tangentially related emotions. For instance, a Fae in dire need of glamour can incite lust in an area. They may be unable to collect any of the ensuing desire, but when dawn breaks and reality hits the involved parties, the Fae can sup upon the feast of regret that has pooled.
Hedgespinning: Where changelings can create from the materials within the Hedge, Fae are able to create Chimeras from raw glamour. If they choose to start with materials already present, the chimera they are able to create are that much stronger.
Dreamwalking: Though there are many things that prevent Fae from manipulating your dreams, the only thing preventing Fae from entering your dream is a circlet of iron around your head, or an iron charm hanging from your window. While within your dream, they may alter and shape an unprotected dream to their desires, and they may feed from glamour regardless of the protection, if they have the ability to enter.
Hospitality: If the Fae can convince the magics of Arcadia that someone has entreated on their hospitality without first arranging payment, the Fae may use this opportunity to bind the other party to a contract.
- The greater the act of hospitality, the more unfavorable terms the Fae can put into the contract.
- Food, drink, and lodging in particular are seen as high acts of hospitality, often due to the supernatural properties the Fae can imbue within them.
Liabilities and Weaknesses:Iron: a foolish Fae, underestimating the power of breaking an oath upon their name, cursed all Fae to be burned by the touch of iron. Even holding it through layers can cause such extreme discomfort by the Fae that it cannot be weathered for long. Changeling have been spared such pain, though many species of lesser fae find themselves suffering lesser effects of the curse. Actors are affected to a lesser degree, and Props least of all.
Technicalities: if the Fae deal most with words and puzzles, then technicalities are the most deadly of weapon. While this may explain their penchant for finding loopholes, one must be incredibly careful that they do not offend the Fae when exploiting a loophole themselves -- or at very least to amuse the Fae such that they do not bring their power to bare against them. Because yes, you may have found a way to keep the firstborn child you promised the Fae, but the Fae may take revenge by 'blessing' the child with the breath of fire that leads to your murder in the depths of night.
Harvesting Glamour: cannot harvest from an Actor, Prop, Realm, or anyone claimed by another Fae. Cannot harvest glamour from an emotion they created.
Lifestyle:The Fae require adversity to survive. A constant struggle, fighting for life and limb, putting something precious on the line -- this is what allows the Fae to sustain their timeless, powerful forms. This is where Legends come in.
Legends are competitions between two Fae where they take their lesser forms (Actor, Prop, or Realm) and put a title (or multiple) at stake.
The feud, as it may sound due to the terminology used, is little more than theatre for the Fae. The stakes must be real, let there be no doubt, but the if the Actor dies, the Fae may still survive. And far too often, it is mortals who are swept up in the conflict, where they have to exist in a life-or-death struggle while the Fae merely may lose some modicum of their power.
An example of a Legend may be if two Fae agree to sponsor a mortal war -- one Fae’s Realm (the Axis) against another Fae’s Realm (the Allies). Axis wagers their title of Supremacy, where the Allies (a singular Fae’s Realm, which may be a point of confusion) wagers their title of Righteousness. The mortals are the ones who are fighting, dying, killing, struggling: all unwitting pawns whose losses are seen as insignificant by the Fae. In fact, most Fae are unable to empathize with their plight whatsoever.
Common Personality:Fae are naturally greedy beings. Even the most benevolent of Fae, of which there is not an insignificant number, have trouble resisting adding to their hoard of power, influence, or wealth.
Additionally, it is difficult for Fae to consider the effect of their actions on mortals. There are exceptions when their Titles give them some manner of empathy; however, by and large, even the most well-meaning of Fae can’t consider the future problems that are caused by their actions to the mortals they use.
Outside of these facts, Fae can be unpredictable, unknowable to the Mortal World. As you may never know what to expect, it is smart to be guided.
Vampire Interaction: Fae blood houses a great and terrible magic, even outside the realm of Arcadia. While the exact effects would vary from different beings -- drinking from the Red Prince of Dreams (before his rather timely death) may have caused unending terror, where drinking from Grandma Mara might give you prophetic dreams of your very demise.
However, one would have to be very careful if one were to try to consume it, lest you be considered entreating upon the Fae’s hospitality. One must take every precaution to avoid being indebted to a Fae at all costs, for those debts are often resolved by unbreakable, involuntary Contracts.[/list]
