The Fey

The definition of “The Fey” has long troubled scholars. In the west, its a shorthand for any race associated with the Elven Empire, and this definition also spread to the northeast. However, in the south and east, many of these same, or at least similar races get lumped with “Animal Spirits”, “Beast Races”.
The most common traits associated with the fey are:
- strong ties to nature
- unwillingness to break promises or oaths (though many delight in misleading wording)
- innate, but often whimsical and inconsistent magic
However, some races not associated with the fey also have some or all of these traits, and many “lesser fey” have none of these traits and merely follow the orders of their masters.
Most scholarly attempts to categorize fey focus on lineage. At the top are certain gods strongly associated with the fey, who in turn are said to be responsible for creating the main Faerie Lords and the True Fey, who in turn created the Lesser Fey. However, even these attempts at categorization are riddled with exceptions.
=== The Gods of the Fey ===
Few true fey worship gods, but most acknowledge that a group of powerful gods were involved in the creation of the universe. There are many distinct creation myths among “fey” cultures, but there are certain reoccurring figures that all seem to have. There is an impartial “earthen” creator god that did much of the initial heavy lifting in the creation of the universe, a somewhat bipolar creator god (or perhaps two separate gods) associated with creating both magic and life (and the fey in particular), and a series of imposter gods who slipped in from other universes.
A common belief among the true fey is that they (and perhaps certain similar entities) were the original creations of the creator gods, and other races are just lesser copies of themselves, creations of the Faerie Lords, or creations of the imposter gods.
The line between the gods and the most powerful of the Faerie Lords can be somewhat blurry, with some Faerie Lords demanding to be treated like gods, and other Faerie Lords being added to the theology of certain cultures whether they ask for it or not.
=== The Faerie Lords ===
Another confusing term for many, it is often used by Azanese influenced cultures to describe any individual from the Elven Empires or various successor states who has enough political sway to be the equivalent to a senior Azanese noble. However, in the northwest it is usually used to describe a select group of magical beings whose powers range from “powerful wizard” to “demi-god”. Essentially immortal and often one-of-a-kind, they dominated politics in the northwest for millennia, and remain powerful to this day. Some of the oldest are said to have been directly created by the gods, but most were likely created by other Fairie Lords, via a range resource intensive rituals.
The most powerful magic wielded by Faerie Lords is their ability to manipulate the forces of nature. Some have created entirely new ecosystems over wide areas, or created whole new races. Although some wizards can be said to have done the same thing, the creation magic of the Faerie Lords is often innate rather than learned, and in some cases is subconscious.
Faerie Lords are typically treated with great respect by their followers, which often crosses the line into outright worship. This is done for a range of reasons, including:
- The Faerie Lord is seen as a paragon for a certain set of behaviors, ideals, etc.
- Faerie Lords can grant powers to their most favored followers, and lots of brown-nosing increases the chances of being one of said favored followers.
- Some Faerie Lords are more fond of tampering with the physical forms of their followers than others, and have essentially created new races, and therefore seen as creator gods by said races.
- Some Faerie Lords seem to have influence over death itself and are said to be able to reincarnate followers, though concrete evidence of this is hard to find.
- Some of the most tyrannical Faerie Lords simply expect it, so not being sufficiently worshipful is bad for one's long term health.
==== The True Fey ====
The True Fey see themselves as the first living creations of the creator gods. They are effectively immortal, and often very hard to kill, though luckily few in number and seemingly unable to reproduce with their own kind (but some can reproduce with other races, creating mortal half-breeds in the process). Like the Faerie Lords, creating new ones typically involves divine invention or resource intensive rituals. They often have innate magical abilities, which can blur the lines between True Fey and Faerie Lord in some cases. The line between True Fey and Lesser Fey is also blurry, as some True Fey physically resemble a race of Lesser Fey. There are many types of True Fey, most of which are exceedingly rare or one of a kind, but certain traits are relatively common, allowing some to be lumped into the below categories:
- Dryads and Ents – Tree-like fey of varying shapes and sizes, they can be found in many parts of the world, though are most common in Elfwood. They are often very loyal to a particular Faerie Lord, which can lead to a wide range of motives and behaviors. However, even the friendliest are dangerous when their favorite forests are threatened, while others are extremely territorial, or even sadistic predators. Aside from their own innate durability and strength, they often have innate magical control over the movement and growth of branches, vines, or grasses, which can make them even more dangerous on their home terrain.
- Hags – Sadistic and cynical fey resembling ugly woman (though many can disguise themselves with illusions), they can be found in many parts of the world and have a number of subraces adapted to specific climates, though are mostly found in the northern third of the continent. They are almost always unseelie fey, and most see the dark goddess of magic Murga as their creator (or equivalent depending on their culture), though many lesser hags were created by stronger hags via rituals, and others were created by rituals developed by the Bog-Witch and the Demon Lord Gogotha instead. In some areas, particularly the Bog-Witch’s territory, the terms “hag” and “witch” are used interchangeably.
- Nymphs – Fey that resemble stunningly attractive women and have an affinity for water. Sirens and rusalka are closely related. Nymphs range from friendly to murderous depending on personality, culture, and affiliation. They are almost always innately magical, with a specialization in mind controlling enchantments.
=== Lesser Fey ===
Lesser Fey is a vague term often used to describe other races associated with the Faerie Lords. Some of them were created by one or more Faerie Lords, but most are likely pre-existing races that often live in areas inhabited by Faerie Lords, and in some cases have been altered by Faerie Lord magic. This often creates confusion as many races are widely considered fey in one region, but not fey in another. Adding to the confusion is the fact that some True Fey have a strong resemblance to a type of Lesser Fey. The list of races and subraces considered in at least some areas to be lesser fey is long, below are some of the more common varieties:
- Elves – “Elf” has become a catch-all term for any race that is human sized or bigger and has pointy ears. It is unclear how many races of elf there was before racial mixing and Faerie Lord tampering, but there are countless subraces now. The main branches are drow, pale elf, wood elf, and snow elf. Drow and pale elves are at least similar aside from coloration and sensitivity to light, but wood elves are more akin to dryads and treants, and snow elves are notably larger than the others. True fey and Faerie Lords sometimes physically resemble elves.
- Small Folk – This is an incredibly wide category including brownies, pixies, fairies, wisplings, mushroomites, sprites, among others, whose main defining feature is their small size. They often aren’t taken seriously by other races, but sometimes can be dangerous due to their stealth or sheer weight of numbers.
- Goblinoids – A diverse category of races, they are generally only considered fey in areas where they have a long history of serving a Faerie Lord. Includes cave goblins, fungal goblins, coastal goblins, boglins, bugbears, and redcaps, among many others. They have a reputation for both cowardice and cruelty, though often one trait outweighs the other, and many serve benevolent Faerie Lords or are otherwise fairly harmless.
- Gnomes – There are several varieties of gnome, with the uldra and domovoy of Zemyland and swamp gnomes of the Dominion considered regional variants. They are around three feet tall, and tend to have tricksy personalities, though some groups are quite homicidal as well. They are a fairly magical race, who tend to specialize in illusion magic.
- Harpies – Another fairly common type of fey with numerous subraces, including the northern sirins, and the southern vulturefolk. They resemble a cross between bird and human woman, and require other species to mate. In the south they are more bestial and generally considered to be beastfolk rather than fey. Even in the north, they often don’t associate with other fey, and rarely have magic or other stereotypical fey traits, though when they do have magic it is often some form of wind magic.
- Pondlings – The pondlings and vodyanoi of the north are generally considered fey, though the vodyanik of the south are generally not. It is unclear whether the vodyanik are even related, or they simply remind Northmen colonists of the vodyanoi. Like most fey, there are a number of subraces with significant physical differences, but they all resemble some cross between humanoid, frog, and fish, with an unusually high degree of sexual dimorphism. Not a particularly magical race by fey standards, some of the more powerful ones do have some alteration magic.
- Satyrs – The most common name for a category of fey with goat or deer-like lower halves, horns, and other features. Other common names include chorts, fauns, and goatmen. They have a wild, unpredictable reputation, though just how dangerous they are depends on the individual and his or her affiliation. Not all are magical, though those that are often specialize in mind controlling enchantments.
- Taurs – A category of races with humanoid upper halves, and animal lower halves, most are considered beastfolk, but the centaurs, oviscentaurs (she-eep), and a few others have long been associated with the fey.
- Animalkin – A relatively common sight in the northwest, these fey are able to switch between an animal form, and a humanoid form. They are very diverse in ability, appearance, personality, and affiliation, so few general statements can be made of them.
- Gibberlings – Unpleasant, hostile creatures of unclear origin, they were likely created by one or more Faerie Lords as foot soldiers in the ancient wars, but are now mostly feral. Their main population is in the Baalps, but pockets can be found elsewhere in the northwest.
- Fungal Creatures – A notable example of how certain Faerie Lords have a strong physical impact on their followers, but far from the only one. “Fungal” subraces like the fungal goblins can be distinguished by the fungi that grow from their still living bodies. In extreme cases, they become more fungus than flesh.
- Swamp Fey – A vague term often used to describe the inhabitants of the Dominion and surrounding nations. Many of them were specifically created by the Bog-Witch and her followers from goblinoids, ogres, and humans, among others.
- Lycanthropes – Created via powerful curses used by certain Faerie Lords and their most powerful followers. Some only transform during full moons, but others become increasingly feral and under the control of their maker. Werewolves are by far the most common variant, but not the only one.
- Wisp – Often believed to be some sort of magical weapon created by one of more Faerie Lords, they serve little purpose other than to lure travelers into swampy areas to drown.
- Balachko – Distant relatives of the ettins, they are considered lesser fey mostly due to their frequent association with hags, and otherwise have few fey-like traits.
- Merfolk – There are many varieties, including the eel-folk. In many parts of the world they are considered beastfolk, but in the northwest they often associate with Faerie Lords.
- Hobbits – A generally pacifist race, although throughout history they often live in areas controlled by Faerie Lords, many consider them too mundane to be fey. However, some have been gifted with druidic powers by a particular Faerie Lord, and a few have even been physically altered by the Faerie Lords they serve.
- Humans – Although rarely considered fey, many humans did serve the Faerie Lords, and some still do. Like the hobbits, this has resulted in some gaining druidic powers or other magic boons, and others being altered to serve their masters better, like the bog people of the Dominion.
- Ogres – Sometimes considered lesser fey when they have been altered to serve a particular Faerie Lord, with the most famous example being the pale swamp ogres.
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