Unseelie crown

The **Unseelie crown** is a literal crown and symbol of the power of a Unseelie monarch.

## Physical Description

Both the Seelie and Unseelie crowns are 'identical in shape . . . The only difference was the colour of the metal. One was a silvery gold, the other was a silvery grey-white. They both looked like they’d been delicately constructed from thin twigs and budding leaves and flowers, and then turned into gilt.' Since the Seelie crown is gold-silvery, the Unseelie crown is silvery grey-white.

## Abilities

The crown is an artefact, though it's unclear what this means. It's against fae law to take artefacts into the human realm.

Gwyn ap Nudd noted that he was able to feel the zahakhar more strongly while wearing the Unseelie crown, but this was was never verified to be an ability of the crown, or just something unique to Gwyn.

The crown is worn during the Coronation of a new monarch. The crowns have some magical connection to the Court itself, particularly during a Coronation. During an Inner Court reversal, the current monarch(s) must place their crown(s) upon the head of the future monarch, state that they are commencing the reversal, acknowledge the future monarch, and voluntarily cede their role. After the Court seemingly acknowledges the changeover, the crown(s) must/can be removed while the transition completes.

Since Ash Glashtyn and Gulvi Dubna Vajat wore identical crowns while ruling the Unseelie Court as dual-monarchs, it's possible the Unseelie crown has the ability to duplicate itself as the Court requires, or more crowns can be produced by the fae.

## History

There have been seven known Unseelie monarchs in canon: Thugine, Zahak, the Raven Prince, Augus Each Uisge, Ash Glashtyn, Gulvi Dubna Vajat, and Gwyn ap Nudd. Presumably the crown was in the possession of each monarch over the centuries.

The Raven Prince wore the Unseelie Crown often.

Ash wore his Unseelie crown to the human realm on at least one occasion.

Gwyn carried the Unseelie crown with him during the quest to deal with the ice plague and defeat Olphix.

The crown's current location is unknown, though it still technically belongs to Gwyn, even though Gulvi currently rules the Unseelie Court.

## Trivia

* Eran Iliakambar seemingly saw the King of the Forest for the first time after Gwyn granted him the Seelie crown. This may be related to Gwyn noting that Eran had the potential to be a future King of the Seelie, and not necessarily a power of the crown itself, particularly given Eran wasn't wearing it at the time. There's no evidence this is an ability the Unseelie crown has.
* Mosk Manytrees grew two oak trees in Esgrettio inspired by the crowns to symbolize 'the Seelie and Unseelie code side by side.' One tree had golden branches, leaves, and acorns. The other oak tree had silver branches, leaves, and acorns.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 22 October 2021. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/66297152. Chapter 5: The Dryad and the King.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 31 January 2014. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/2363349. Chapter 39: Alone.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 23 November 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/2115127. Chapter 28: Light.
4. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 26 December 2014. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/6404462. Chapter 23: Confrontation.
5. ↑ not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 13 January 2014. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/2292919. Chapter 36: Demotion.
6. ↑ not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 14 March 2014. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/2732377. Chapter 45: Coronation.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 5 August 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/102269367. Chapter 40: A New Season.
8. ↑ not\_poignant. "A Broken Feather, Straightened.” *The Fae Tales Verse - canon extras. Archive of Our Own,* 20 September 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/973180.