Fae

Fae

Society

The Fae live in and through stories to an even larger extent than Named. Historically, they are split into two courts, which are in a constant struggle with each other. When they were first encountered in the story, the courts were Winter and Summer, but it was said that should one of them win, it too would soon die and the courts of Spring and Fall would take their place, locked in a similar contention, and when in turn they would die Summer and Winter would rise again. This cycle had apparently run through countless revolutions. Thus, when the King of Winter charged Catherine "with the defeat of Summer, /.../ with the making of peace, exacted from the battlefield", this could actually only be accomplished by breaking the cycle. Catherine's solution was to have the King of Winter marry the Queen of Summer, uniting the courts into a single one. The name and nature of this new court has not yet been revealed, but shortly after Catherine finally released her own claim on Winter (as the Sovereign of Moonless Nights) to Sve Noc, she helped Larat create a second new court, the Court of Twilight.

It is also noted that anything that occurs in fae lands is a precursor to creation itself.

Names

Fae names are exchanged frequently. The focus of the power is determined by the individual who bears it. Knowing an individual's title is very important as well as their specific modus operandi.

Fae nobles' power levels typically scale in accordance to the rank of their title. However, nobles with particularly strong story roles can be far more powerful than they should be. The Lady of Cracking Ice is a standout in this regard; she was by far the strongest in a party that also included the Duke of Sudden Rime, despite having the lowliest title present.

Powers

A fae can live eternally, constantly reviving and dying in a continuous story. They are interwoven with stories so much that simply attaining a title can give them a great deal of power. The average fae soldier is tall, skinny and adept with magic. A single contingent proved a great deal of trouble. Also the fae have an ability to "claim" locations in Creation, allowing them better access to the fae plane of existence allowing them to continually transport fae to Creation.

Weakness

Fae are susceptible to their stories. An individual who uses witty banter can cause a fae to give up vital information even if the fae knows what the individual is doing, thus individuals who know how to story-craft – such as Amadeus, the Bard, or Catherine – can oftentimes confront Fae who are considerably more powerful than them, if they know the story and role.

Fae, while extremely powerful in their own plane of existence, allowing them to draw on a far greater well of power, prove extremely weak by comparison when they enter Creation. On the other hand, in Arcadia, Fae nobles or armies can be defeated with storycrafting even more effectively than in Creation, due to Arcadia's sensitivity to stories. In the Battle of Five Armies and One, Catherine's numerically inferior armies smashed a sixty-thousand-strong Summer army with remarkably low losses.

Courts

• King/Queen
• Prince
• Duke
• Lady Winter
• Lady of Snags and Bones
• The Rider
• Duke of Sudden Rime
• Lady of Cracking Ice