The Duchy of Truth and Loss

**Requirements:** Wyrd 2+, Resolve 2+, Investigation 2+, Occult 2+

**Origin tales:**

1. As the Inquisition moved through the land, the Winter court moved alongside them. One prisoner being questioned vanished from their cell and appeared in a new cell. One of the Winter Court took what they knew had to be a fetch and worked upon them, day and night, until they found the proof they needed.
2. As the black death swept the land, only those not mortal showed any resistance. While the humans grieved deeply, the Summer took the chance to remove as many of the fetches they knew about, hidden with the other deaths. The first Duchess of Truth and Loss killed more than 10 fetches before the plague left their town and spread the word through the Winter network of how to find them.
3. The laws of sympathy say that if you have something similar you have a connection to another. Autumn courtiers took the threads of their lost life and used their fetch to make tokens to find others who would have similar missing pieces.

**Legends:**

1. When the Pocked Man stalked through a town, he’d be seen and soon people would die. Every victim of his deadly hands knew their time was coming because they’d wake up with a small mark in the center of their hand. Yet no bodies were ever found. His victims would see him watching them but could not escape until one day they simply vanished. A quarter of the town disappeared that Autumn. Several years later, the village found a large assortment of junk and a broken dolls face out in the woods, almost like a mass grave.
2. The Fetch known as Geoffrey Gaunt had managed to kill his changeling self and was working to hunt down others. The local Freehold grew worried and Summer began to rally in defense. Then came the Duchess of Moonless Nights. She began to stalk Geoffrey, leading him to areas where she could test his defenses. Finally, she and her partner, a changeling woman by the name of Red Jennifer, led Geoffrey into the woods and engaged it in earnest. At the end, the freehold never saw any of them again.

**What We Do in the Shadows:**

Some changelings would argue that the worst part of the abduction isn’t the torment in Arcadia, but the realization that no one even knew you were gone. That some… thing was able to take over your life so perfectly no one realized it. Worse, that thing might still be connected to your Keeper and might be a beacon to take down everyone else you care about… or to help find you when you return.

The Dutchy of Truth and Loss seek to rid the world of fetches. The reasons vary; some feel its best to let the mortal family grieve for their lost loved ones, some to remove a tool of the Others, some want to study them, and some just hate the very idea that Fetches exist. However, most of the Dutchy will not go after a returned Changeling’s fetch unless asked and even then you must pay them for their work. Some will outright deny the request, as it’s not their double and one’s fetch should be dealt with by oneself.

The Dutchy seeks not to remove the fetch in broad daylight if possible. The entire point is for the mortals to be aware of a small piece of the truth without outright drawing the Others. Many will seek to abduct the fetch and kill them in the Hedge or away from civilization. A small minority will let the fetch live; selling them to the market as a slave/meal, convincing them of their true falsehood and letting them hunt other fetches, sending them to Arcadia, studying them. or even just letting them go live alone (if they are beacons, maybe the Gentry will go the wrong place).

Most Freeholds tend to be a bit leery of a Duke or Duchess operating from their location. Oh, sure, they are happy to know where fetches are and are always glad to see them go, but Fetches tend to be few and far between. The single minded obsession many of them display comes across as bitter changelings hunting down the objects of their hate. It's not like killing a fetch of a person who never returns really helps that abductee after all.

**Mask & Mein:**

Dukes of Truth and Loss value functionality over appearance and tend to wear clothing that is easy to move in and within which they can conceal weapons, lock picks, and similar devices. Most favor dark-colored clothing and because a few Fetches are profoundly dangerous and attempt to hunt them instead, most always carry various weapons and other useful gear with them at all times. The primary changes to a duke's mien are their armored breastplate and the face-shaped token (see below). In addition, their fingers lengthen and become somewhat skeletal and claw-like in appearance and their faces take on a slightly predatory appearance.

**Bequeathal:**

The first step in joining the Duchy of Truth and Loss is correctly identifying someone who is a fetch. Lacking the token that all properly initiated Dukes possess, prospective members must use a mixture of careful observation, keen deduction skills, and intuition to locate a likely fetch. Then, the prospective member must explain how she decided that this person was a fetch to three Dukes, who decide if her methods were sufficiently meticulous, or if she was merely lucky. The Dukes check and see if the target actually is a fetch. If the prospective member is correct, then these three Dukes tell her to go and deal with the fetch as she sees fit. The Dukes wait nearby, in case the fetch tries to escape or if the changeling calls for help. Anyone who can correctly identifies a fetch and successfully deal with it in the manner they choose is eligible to become a member. Changelings who fail at this task cannot try again for one year.

For their first few hunts, new members must work with experienced dukes who critique their performance and prevent them from either letting a fetch get away or mistaking an innocent person for a fetch. If the new Duchess does well, she is permitted to work on her own. If she does poorly, the more experienced Duke remains with her. Initiates who are insufficiently careful or competent are stripped of their rank. Hunting fetches is a dangerous business. Some Dukes who sufficiently distrust or dislike the new member that they are observing are said to be deliberately slow in coming to the aid of their apprentice.

**Token: The False Face of Truth [1-5]**

**Description:** This token always comes in the shape of a small badge or pin, around two inches in diameter, made in the shape of a disturbingly inhuman-looking doll face that appears to be made from painted porcelain. The face's mouth is slightly open. If the changeling touches a drop of blood or a strand of hair to the face, the changeling using it instantly knows if the blood/hair comes from a fetch, a changeling, a faetouched, or a mortal. They can do this a number of times per day equal to the token rating.
**Catch:** The user must feed the face a sufficient amount of his own blood, which causes him to suffer one point of lethal damage.
**Drawback:** After every successful fetch found, the changeling must endure a small fragment of the fetch’s essence, causing a 1 clarity attack.
**Blessings**

* [1] This blessing lets the changeling regain 1 Glamour whenever she regains Willpower through her Needle in direct pursuit of her role. She may spend the Glamour immediately on anything she likes or store it in her heraldry token for later use. The token can store up to her Wyrd in Glamour. If she can neither spend nor store it, it’s lost. All stored Glamour empties at the end of the story.
* [1] Choose one of the following specialties: Occult (Fetch, Changeling), Investigation (Missing Person, Forensics), or Stealth (Shadowing).The chosen speciality also gains exceptional on three successes instead of five.
* [1] Additional Thread.
* [1] Bane of Lies: The Duke/Duchess knows how to kill. They gain an instinctive understanding of how to hurt any fetch they’ve identified. They gain a bonus on all brawl or weaponry attacks equal to Wyrd/2(Rounded down) against any fetch they or another Duke/Duchess has identified to them.
* [1] Recovered Truth: This raiment is armor that always has the mien of an elegantly simple leather breastplate that looks more like a heavy leather vest than actual armor. It is decorated with polished bone buttons, which are each carved in the form of a smaller and simpler version of the same doll face as their other token, the False Face of Truth. To mortals, this armor appears to be either a simple but well made suit jacket fitted with Kevlar armor or a long coat with similar armor. Although not immediately obvious as armor, mortals trained to look for concealed armor, like most criminals and law-enforcement personnel, notice the armor if they make a successful Wits + Investigation roll. This grants 1/3 armor. (Conditional)

**Touchstone:** The first lover/partner of a fetch they have personally murdered.

**Clarity Curse:** Clarity attacks suffered while not actively engaging/pursuing a known fetch add damage dice equal to ranks invested in this Merit.

**WP:** The Duchess ends a fetch in a manner that will draw attention to themselves or their motley.