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| Species | Menehune |
| Order | Faerie |
| Classification | Vaettir |
| Court | Summer |
| Sphere | Emotion |
| Origin | All faeries are born Nameless and must be given a True Name; menehunes have island Names |
| Lifespan | 2,000 years |
| Habitat | Deep forests and hidden valleys on tropical islands |
| Food | Bananas and fish |
| Description | Menehunes appear to be short, hairy human-like beings. |
| Procreation | Menehunes reproduce sexually with one another, other fey, vaettir, and mortals. |
| Esoterica | Menehunes are beings of emotional resonance, poioumenon, and dream energy. Like all faeries, they are users of The Tradition, a form of poioumenonic lore empowered by dream energies. They also use rubedian aether, earthpower aether, greenlight aether, currents aether, pattern aether, bestial aether, Foundation, lunar aether, |
| The Tradition | Menehunes have these fey powers:
Menehunes are skilled builders, capable of crafting structures that will evoke a wide range of emotions, but only during the night. |
| Glamour | Menehunes can glamour themselves using certain ancient rhymes, but they rarely use it. |
| Weaknesses | If they do not speak their True Name backwards into that same mirror in half a minute, menehunes lose their True Names. They have a fortnight to recover it or they become targets of the Wild Hunt, corrupted into another kind of fey, or turn into a hag or boggin. Iron or steel will bind a menehune into powerlessness. An iron horseshoe nailed over a door will bar a menehune from entering a house. Most menehunes detest tobacco smoke, and it can be used to stave them off. This is just a preference, however, and not a weakness. If a structure is not finished in one night, it can sap the emotional energy from an area and kill many menehunes. |
| National Culture | Menehunes live in large tribes led by a council of elders (kahiko). They keep their communities secret from most others. They work only at night, building structures, including temples (called heiau ), fishponds, ditches, canoes, canals, and houses. Every structure is built to evoke a specific emotion. Heiau tend to evoke the awe of faith; fishponds call for peace; ditches demand caution; canoes bring boldness; most water structures create various forms of hope, affection, trust, respect, etc.; houses bring comfort. The elders decide the structure to be built, and for months the tribe plans how to complete it in one night (anything not finished in one night is a failure). Children are raised by their parents and taught building from a very young age, given toys that train them in certain skills. By the time they are strong enough to lift and climb, they are welcome to join in building projects. By the time they are adults at age 25, they are very skilled builders (mea kukulu). Some few take up other side tasks besides building: warriors (koa la koa), banana-pickers (mea ʻalaʻa banana), fisherfolk (lawaiʻa), and sailors (holo moana). All are considered equal in the society. Every tribe builds all kinds of structures, but they also have one structure they are most known for. Some examples include the Great Fishpond, the Ahi Wahe'e (fire ditch), the Ku Na Pohaku (standing stones), the Grand Breakwater, and the Pu'uwai Heiau. Each tribe takes its name from such structures, and those structures are imbued with specific emotions that connect them to one of the elders in the tribe. That elder represents the tribe at the national council, which comes together once a century to discuss needs of the islands. Menehunes are very emotional, but they have a deep cultural understanding that emotion is not a permanent state. They know how to feel without being controlled by it, how to feel and experience, and move on. This skill they teach from a very young age as well. |
| Summer Culture | In the Summer Court, menehunes swore fealty to Queen Mab after many years of keeping off attacks from invading nations. The protections they got from the alliance meant paying tribute and being considered peasants tending Mab's land. They tend to be aloof enough that this does not overly affect their national culture, but there are times they must send warriors, builders, and tribute to the Court. |
| Other Courts | Menehunes rarely try to leave the Summer Court, though some tribes are so remote they are effectively Courtless. The few who try to join other courts usually find themselves exploited for their building skills as either peasants (Seelie) or slaves (Winter, Unseelie). The Kindly Court welcomes them openly, and the Unkindly Court kills them eventually. |
| Mortal Interactions | Menehunes avoid mortals. |
| Notables | Mai'a, the Menehune Manifest, the Builder of the Great Fishpond |
| Special Classes | Kahiko, Mea Kukulu, Koa la Koa, Mea 'ala'a Banana, Lawai'a, Holo Moana |
| Sample Stats | PRO 7 ATH 8 STR 7 AWA 8 WIL 8 ROG 8 Vanish (30 seconds) Glamour 3 Whistle 7 Building 17 |
GrandGuignol
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