 |
|
| Species | Fay |
| Order | Faerie |
| Classification | Vaettir |
| Court | Seelie |
| Sphere | Dream |
| Origin | All faeries are born Nameless and must be given a True Name; fay are formed from dream-like names associated with the serf class |
| Lifespan | 2,000 years |
| Habitat | Fields, meadows, and small woods |
| Food | Fruits, nuts, cheese, lamb |
| Description | Ranging in description to a vast degree, a fay is rarely the same shape or size as the next fay. Humanoid in appearance, size varying from a few inches to a good 7 feet in height, animal features not uncommon, as are plant-like features. About half have wings and half of those have wings that work. |
| Procreation | Fays reproduce sexually. |
| Esoterica | Fays are beings of dream energy and poioumenon. Like all faeries, they are users of The Tradition, a form of poioumenonic lore empowered by dream energies. |
| The Tradition | Fays have these basic faerie powers:
Other fay powers include being able to mark a household by painting their True Intials on the threshhold. This mark allows them permanent access to the house, gives them an advantage on all rolls within the house, and lets them hear if their Name is spoken within the house. It also gives them the power to grant one boon to a person living there if that person guesses their True Name. They can also animate any household objects within the house into doing its intended job in that house by clapping their hands softly. If they clap too loud or too much, the objects overwork and break. Their marks also keep other fays or Unseelie Court faeries out of the house. All fays have one to three other powers that vary by their clan. |
| Glamour | Fays use glamours like humans use makeup, to slightly alter their appearance to the standards of their communities. This usually means a little more height, a brightening of fur or scale, a bit more emphasis on a nice animal feature, etc. |
| Weaknesses | If a fay does not speak their True Name backwards into the same mirror they vanished with in half a minute, they lose their True Names. If they lose their Names, they have a fortnight to get it back, or they will be susceptible to corruption by uafas (turned into unseelie), turned into a hag or a boggin, or taken by the Hunt. Iron or steel will bind a fay into powerlessness. An iron horseshoe nailed over a door will bar a fay from entering a house. Most fays detest tobacco smoke. Uafas harms or corrupts them. |
| National Culture | Fays come from a peasant tradition that is mostly forgotten as they have been assimilated into the Seelie Court. In their own communities, in the few rare ones that survive away from the aristocrats, they live in small villages where people live sustainably and trade what little extra they have for small treats. They have small thatch houses where extended families all live together. They live in clans led by elders; a clan controls about five villages. Each village has an alderman who answers to the clan elders. The aldermen are always men, but other genders are respected. Respected elder fay women are usually considered crones and honored as matriarchs. Other genders have a variety of associations with leadership roles. Elders belong to any gender. Children are raised by extended families, taught the clan trades and crafts, and encouraged to play and enjoy life. As they get older, they are given charge over basic responsibilities in the village until they are about 25. At 25, most fay take up traveling for a decade to see the world around them. They usually do not go far, but they often come back with a spouse. After a year living at home with their spouse, the village invites the whole clan and the clan of the spouse to a massive feast. During this feast, there is much drinking and dancing, and everyone swaps spouses. Village dances are very popular among the fay and usually involve a lot of love-making. Every clan has its own preferred sizes, shapes, and forms; these are mostly dictated by the Names they have. However, some fay decide to have glamours that make them appear much different. This is unpopular among the fay communities and usually makes these fay social outcasts. Fays love routine, predictability, and stability; differing from their norms frightens their communities. As such, most fay communities are named for the commonalities of the fays' appearances, like Horn Valley, Dovewing River, Foxtail Heights, etc. |
| Seelie Culture | The bulk of the Seelie Court serf/peasant class is made up of fays. They work the land and pay tribute to their feudal lords. They are craftsmen, gameskeepers, carters, porters, and other workers and servants. Outside of the watchful eyes of their masters, they try to replicate their national culture as best that they can, keeping to their families and enjoying feasts on the commons when possible, but the ruling classes keep them segregated and controlled. They are generally friendly with other fey folk among the peasant class. Some few fays are allowed to be guards or soldiers, and these are rewarded by the aristocrats for their service by being given preferential treatment, but most fay are not interested in warfare or combat. On rare occasions, a fay will acquire a sidhe Name and give it to their child. If they are caught, the child's Name is stolen and the child is given to a mortal couple. The parents are then banished. |
| Other Courts | Fays in the Summer Courts usually integrate easily, taking up work as gameskeepers, gatherers, gardeners, and so on, joining with the rest of the peasant class. In the Kindly Courts, they are treated as siblings to the trow. In the Unseelie Courts, they are enslaved, killed, or corrupted by uafas into being unseelie. In the Winter Courts, they are mostly enslaved, though some are allowed to be servants or free workers if they have useful skills for the ruling class. In the Unkindly Courts, they are tortured, butchered, and eaten. |
| Mortal Interactions | Fays treat mortals well. They will protect their houses and provide them services if the mortals leave out food and drink for them. If a mortal crosses them, though, they wreak havoc on their house before moving on. |
| Notables | Doony, Driver for the King and Queen, taken by the Hunt; Oibri, Crone of the Meadows, Fay Manifest; Sean-Jack, Adviser to The Queen; Oneagh, Old Lady of Violet Leaf; Brambleford, Head Disciple of the Unicorn |
| Special Classes | Driver, Wyrder, Thatcher, Alderman, Crone, Porter, Peasant |
| Sample Stats | PRO 8 ATH 9 STR 10 AWA 8 WIL 9 ROG 8 Glamour 9 Vanish (30 seconds) Cu Sith Call 8 House Marking 10 Other Powers [Varies] |
GrandGuignol
Copyright © by the contributing authors. All material on this collaboration platform is the property of the contributing authors. Ideas, requests, problems regarding Foswiki? Send feedback