Seelie crown

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

## Physical Description

The crown is 'gold-silvery' and shaped like a 'wreath of leaves and twigs'. 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.'

## 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.

There hasn't been any evidence in canon that the crown lends the bearer any particular ability, though Eran Iliakambar seemingly saw the King of the Forest for the first time after Gwyn ap Nudd 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.

The crown is worn during the Coronation of a new monarch. The crown also seems to 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.

## History

There have been five known Seelie monarchs in canon: Cernunnos, Titania, the Oak King, Gwyn ap Nudd, and Albion. Presumably the crown was in the possession of each monarch over the centuries: Gwyn notably kept it in storage when he wasn't wearing it, and Albion wore it more often than Gwyn did. During the ice plague and the battle against Olphix, Albion gave the crown back to Gwyn, who later entrusted it to Eran Iliakambar.

The crown technically still belongs to Albion, as Gwyn was never formally re-nominated as King of the Seelie, and thus had no real authority to give the crown to Eran.

## Trivia

* Gwyn also 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. Given the zahakhar is unique to the Unseelie Court, there's also no evidence to suggest a similar power rests in the Seelie crown.
* Since Ash Glashtyn and Gulvi Dubna Vajat wore identical crowns while ruling the Unseelie Court as dual-monarchs, it's possible the Seelie crown has the ability to duplicate itself as the Court requires, or more crowns can be produced by the fae.
* 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 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.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 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.
3. ↑ 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. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 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.
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 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.
8. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 14 May 2020. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17959874/chapters/58235365. Chapter 32: The Dual-King.