Faefolk
The Faefolk
The Faefolk, also simply the Fae, are the Sidhe, Dryads, Satyr, Pixies, Boggarts, and Inari who live upon the plane of Ælphyne. Dragons and Kobolds are also considered Fae, though in the current era they primarily call Antarok home. The mortals of Antarok have many grand tales about the fae, and many of these well-spun yarns have more than a few kernels of truth to them.
History
To the fae, all aspects of their society simply have been, and have rarely changed. Time flows faster in Ælphyne, and so the history of Ælphyne spans hundreds of thousands of years. When the fae think of history, they often point to the time a fashion changed, or a new delicacy arrived from Antarok. The fae rarely keep records beyond debts and tend to live in the moment due to their immortality.
The Grand Hunt
- Only the human empire of Dullahan has ever dared to attempt an invasion of Ælphyne. An army of ten thousand crossed over to establish a foothold in the fae realm, but they were easily slain. Only the Exodii returned to tell the tale of the merciless hunters wielding foul arcana who fell upon them. Dullahan trembled that day for fear such powerful beings might invade in turn, yet the fae saw the invasion as if these appreciative mortals had thrown for them a grand hunt and sent thanks - as crude sculptures of picked clean human bone - for the slaves, meat, games, and trophies the army provided. The incident was so minor to the fae that it was forgotten within a few years.
Psychology
Fae of all kinds do not experience emotion in the same way as a human might, whether they are a Sidhe, a Dryad, a Pixie, and so on. Each operates on the end of an extreme, whether they are extremely rational in a relative sense, or the inverse; the fae can be chaotic and unpredictable, or so ordered and inflexible with strange customs that they abuse the races they consider lesser.
Octahegonic Days
- Fae hunger and sleep patterns are spread out across a day that is eight times longer than that on Antarok. Fae are rarely in a rush to do anything at all, and when they sleep it can feel to mortals as if the fae are sleeping for days at a time; the fae by consequence see their mortal pets taking little naps throughout the day. This warped sense of time means that they tend to get stuck on a subject for far longer than a mortal might - even the most shy of fae have a habit of droning on about inconsequential things without end, as this is a normal aspect of their society.
Sexuality
- Attraction is not experienced by fae in the common sense - they experience adult pleasure less through physical stimulation, and more through a deviant reverence of emotional highs. While they still derive satisfaction from a true union, this is usually an expression of control rather than infatuation, and very few of them would prefer mutualism or sexual stimulation when compared to the aggrandizement of themselves; gender rarely has any say on compatibility. If labels must be given, they can be thought of as autosexual or grey-asexual, only rarely demisexual.
Reproduction
- All aspects of fae reproduction are similar to how humans reproduce, yet they are eight times as infertile and eight times more likely to have a miscarriage due to a gestation period that is eight times as long. Fae do not experience maternal instincts nor do they have a sense of wanting to leave behind a legacy. The resulting child usually ends up bartered as a curiosity or abandoned with the Spring Court. Sometimes they are deposited in the woods of Antarok - or worse - should the fae mother feel embarrassed or slighted over having spawned something from her body.
Culture
Fae society is entirely dysfunctional; it’s a gravid mess of strange rules and difficult personalities. They are a people who cannot agree upon anything without manipulation or the promise of something they crave. Murder is carried out in broad daylight, seen as a form of entertaining drama, just as one might be imprisoned for ten thousand years only to be released the very night on good behavior - the fae have no formal laws, only socially acknowledged customs which they treat as law. To be fae is to take something specific or nothing at all seriously, as intensely as possible.
Economy & Diet
- The fae are largely hunter-gatherers in a bartering based society as the fae need only eat once every dodecagonic Ælphyne day, and they see industry of any kind as a bother. Nearly all of them prefer to eat their meats raw and bloody, as fae biology is universally immune to disease and parasites. Prey is preferred fresh, best served living so it can be butchered on the table. Some even see culinary pursuits as despoiling the bounty of nature, and this is especially true of the Spring Court.
Fashion
- Fae wear all kinds of ridiculous things and have no sense of modesty. Fashion is one of the only forms of industry they care enough to invest their time in, and the manufacture of clothing is almost exclusively left to slaves. Excess or failed designs are discarded for other fae to gather, but there are those who are comfortable with being somewhat nude as reproductive anatomy is not sexualized in fae culture; to be fully unclothed is to be boring and uninteresting, however. Unusual materials like leaves, flowers, and even raw food can be found worn by fae seeking attention at the Masquerade. Fae often draw symbols of mud upon their bodies.
Language
- Fae speak Eudaimonic, a language that is written in spiraling glyphs where statements are written without picking up the brush. The length of the swoops in a given symbol indicates its emotionality, with longer curves indicating a yell, and short or small symbols reading as quiet and observational, like footnotes. Spoken, the words are poetic and flowing with rolled 'R's and trills. Songs sung in Eudaimonic are utterly serene, their raw emotionality carrying the meaning even when someone does not understand the words. Eudaimonic is the root of most languages on Antarok, as the fae invented language long before humanity ever existed.
Note: Eudaimonic sounds similar to Irish and is spelled similarly.
Arcana
- All Fae possess Glamour of some kind, depending on their species. Unlike those from Antarok, the Fae perceive all forms of supernatural ability as 'Glamour', even mundane deceptions and tricks that are so great as to confound the mind. They flaunt their arcana and use it in day to day life, often using it upon others without care for their safety or well-being. Practices and Theorems of all manner can be found upon Ælphyne, usually plied by performers and artists or Winter Court magi.
The Fae Courts
Faefolk are divided into four courts, each associated with a season. Each court has its own ruler, customs, and traditions, yet they all share a reverence for music, dance, and art. The fae are known for their love of intrigue and politics, each Fae Court facilitating a never-ending party known as the Masquerade. These parties are attended by nearly all fae who participate in society. They are known for their lavish excess, and are often the site of political maneuvering and intrigue. Each Fae Court does not care for territory, rather, they have different meeting grounds for the Masquerade and the fae move between them seasonally or stay near to their interests.
Carousers & Colourless
- Individual fae may not perfectly fit into one court or another. Many fae possess traits from multiple courts, traveling between two or more - a Carouser - or may not identify with any court at all, referred to as a Colourless. To be either of these as nobility often means disinheritance; no Fae Court has ever had its title pass on to a successor, however. Many of the fae who travel from Ælphyne to Antarok are Colourless, or they have been sent by someone with greater power to perform some strange or impossible task all on their own.
Summer Court
- The Summer Court is associated with raw emotion, trickery, and desire. Its members are known for being not only jovial, but confoundedly dishonest, possessive, and controlling. They are fiercely protective of who or what they consider theirs and are quick to anger; unlike the other courts, they will wear these emotions and praise each other over grand and violent displays. Many of them are even collectors who will protect outsiders to acquire their curiosities. The Summer Court is led by the Boggart King, Puck.
Winter Court
- The Winter Court is for the most inhospitable of conniving fae. Its members are known for being the most deliberately cruel and self-interested, so much so that some of them could overpower their king and yet they simply dread the idea of leading others to their benefit. They are known to be cold and calculating, playing long games of strategy over centuries and stopping at nothing to acquire power. Each of them has very few if any allies beyond the apprentices they treat like slaves, including amongst themselves, and while there is a Masquerade for the Winter Court, it is not a place of reverie but rather a proving ground for one’s talent with the arcane and a meeting place for the resolution of deadly rivalries; these are the only ways to earn recognition from potential masters who might mentor those with talent. These are the fae with the most permissive court towards mortals, provided they possess arcane talent. The Winter Court is led by the Sidhe King, Oberon.
Spring Court
- The Spring Court are a people associated with the bounty of nature. Its members are known for being wise and nurturing towards the young of any race - mortal children who wind up enslaved after wandering into Ælphyne are bought by them and raised with care as one might a beloved pet. Those of the Spring Court prefer artistic expression revolving around growth and renewal, yet they are murderously opposed to the mortal races whom dominate nature, only lending an ear to the Æld’Norai who maintain a delegation with them. The Spring Court is led by the Dryad Queen, Elphame.
Fall Court
- The Fall Court is associated with change. Its members are known for being aloof and silly, speaking in tongues and constantly playing games, taking little seriously and marveling at the ways people change through the infliction of trauma, loss, and elation. They are often seen as the most indecisive yet flexible of the fae, allowing outsiders to live freely in their midst provided they can survive any manner of cruel and harsh tests. The Fall Court is led by the Pixie Queen, Titania.
Mortal & Fae Interaction
Mortals and fae alike often end up in Ælphyne or Antarok simply by mistake, or they have chosen to explore the plane without heeding the warnings of others. Within Antarok and Ælphyne are so-called Arcadian Causeways. These come and go enough for parents to warn their children about, and mortals often dream of fae, as both have souls capable of reaching out to each other through Arcadia.
The Faefolk of Antarok
- Faefolk residing within Antarok are treated with suspicion or outright vilified for their strange and unpredictable nature. Even where fae are tolerated they are watched carefully by local governance or risk abduction by Maltricians or Ensorcellers looking to steal their Glamour.
Mortal Slavery
- Mortals who do not possess Arcana are immediately enslaved, hunted as game, or dragged off to the Masquerade to be eaten or toyed with upon discovery. To be a slave to the fae is to be regarded as a pet or a child, incapable of being trusted with the most simple of tasks. While rare as most fae consider the act repugnant and lowly, some slaves are kept for pleasure - but know that pleasure for them might simply mean having a slave draw their likeness over and over until said slave passes out from exhaustion to the berating ire of their patron.
- Fae rarely keep tight leashes on their 'pets'; escape can be as easy as wandering out into the wilderness in search of an Arcadian Causeway while their master sleeps.
