Court Politics

The Seelie Court and Unseelie Court act as a central meeting place and source of some governance for the fae of each alignment, and are overseen by a monarch and their Inner Court. The Inner Court are the monarch's advisors, serve some of the most important roles in the Court, and can manage the Court in the monarch's absence.

## Governance

Monarchs can be voted in by the general Court, or nominated for the role by the existing monarch and then voted in, even without the consent of the nominee, and they must remain monarch for 250 years, unless they voluntarily cede the throne to a member of their Inner Court through an Inner Court Reversal, are removed through demotion, or killed.

The Debut is when a new monarch first meets their Court and typically gives some kind of speech to announce their intentions.

The Triumphal Entry is when a new monarch is 'able to receive new and old Noble Court families to present their fealty [and] gifts'.

King’s Hold - the Inner Court (Not-Poignant specifies the Monarch-in-Waiting) can freeze a monarch's power by calling an Emergency Court meeting of the Inner Court and Court fae, and vote to have the monarch placed in King's Hold or Kingshold. There is then a vote to see if they stay monarch, or if the monarch-in-waiting should step up to replace them.

The Coalition of the Classless, or Coalition of the Islands, placed sanctions on both Courts during Albion's war with the Unseelie Court, to end the war and stop Albion from wiping out the Unseelie Court, and thus maintain the fae world balance. The Coalition joins together in times of great strife, and the power of all its classless members is brought to bear on the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, who are otherwise seemingly ungovernable by other political bodies who aren't gods. The School of the Staff also holds some power over the fae realm, as they were seemingly the ones who made the Old Lore illegal, possibly in cooperation with the Courts, which is why the Bridge was used to store it, but is still accessible to monarchs.

## Building the Court and Permissions

Every Court monarch inherits – through their status – the ability to transform the appearance and structure of the Court palace, in the same way fae can create their homes. Monarchs place their hands against the walls and create whatever it is they wish, that will spring from the very soil itself.

Capital fae can go into the Court proper uninvited, while underfae and icturial must be invited. Monarchs can modify permissions as they wish by using the Court's innate permission system throughout their rule, limiting access to parts of the palace to specific individuals or classes. Permissions are a physical barrier that anyone without access cannot pass.

## Intra-Court Activities

* Summer Court - held by the Seelie Court, Unseelie are invited.
* Winter Court - held by the Unseelie court, Seelie are invited. Includes the Masque.
* The Wild Hunt - helmed ideally by members of both alignments, with attendance by all, followed by an inter-alignment celebration of feasting, drink, and general merriment, and was a symbol of inter-alignment cooperation. The King of the Forest holds ultimate authority over the Wild Hunt.
* After a monarch's coronation, it is typical for the new monarch and their Inner Court to meet with the opposing alignment's monarch and Inner Court, to acknowledge the transition of power.

## Asylum

Any fae can request asylum at a court, but it seems to be up to the particular monarch in power as to whether or not it will be granted. Fae who are born to families of an opposing alignment are meant to be surrendered to the appropriate Court as wards, to be fostered out and raised by a family of their own alignment.

Examples:

* When Mafydd Brant learned that Gwyn ap Nudd was Unseelie, he told Gwyn to come with him to the Unseelie Court and ask for asylum there.
* During the war with Augus Each Uisge, when Augus was destroying waterways with the Blight, which killed and hurt many fae, and left many fae homeless, Gwyn took in both Seelie and Unseelie refugees.
* While serving as King of the Unseelie Court, Gwyn repeatedly asked Mikkel, a Seelie fae, to come to the Unseelie Court for asylum to escape Albion's abuse.
* Iliak reached out to Gwyn to ask if Gwyn would accept Seelie refugees during the war with the Seelie Court, because Albion's Court was too unsafe, even for Seelie fae. Gwyn said he would accept anyone who asked.
* Gwyn's Unseelie Court reached out to Sounhaqh, a mixed-alignment city, during the ice plague to offer help with evacuation, but was refused.

## Monarch + Inner court roles

The Monarch is expected to nominate at least one member of inner court on their coronation. Inner Court members will have specific roles, and can hold many of them at a time, but those roles do not necessarily mean one is Inner Court (e.g., Augus was one of the Raven Prince's advisors, but was not Inner Court; Aleutia the Rat-Maiden is Unseelie Court Healer, but is not Inner Court).

Specified roles within the court include:

* King or Queen-in-Waiting
* Advisor
* Chief Judge
* Common Work
* Consort
* Court Mage
* Court Caretaker
* Court Healer
* Diplomat
* Executioner
* Land Management
* Magistrate
* Overseer of the Wild Hunt
* Polemarch
* Primary Interrogator
* Storyteller
* Treasurer
* War General

## Law

Not-Poignant explained that there is no 'written' fae law: the monarch's law is the law, and minor issues (e.g., land disputes) tend to be overseen by other members of the Inner Court, and Inner Court are often also Magistrates in different areas such as financial disputes, and intersea/land politics.

Monarchs may execute those who break the law (with methods depending on the monarch's disposition), or place them in prison. Some prisoners will be displayed at the Court.

Examples of laws that crop up in the canon:

* All fae that are born must be written into a Court Registry, which can be read by other fae. The Registry also records land deeds and the comings and goings of various fae to the Court.
* Blood-oaths are illegal until a fae comes of age at 225.
* Fae who are born to families of an opposing alignment are meant to be surrendered to the appropriate Court, to be raised by a family of their own alignment.
* 'It was against fae law to attack another fae publically within a Court, particularly a throne room'.
* At least in the Seelie Court, fae can only request a public display for a particular fae about once a year.
* Licgancy is a Seelie crime: 'the crime of lying on a grand scale, considered separate to treason.'
* Matricide is punishable under Seelie law.
* 'Noble Court disinheritance can only occur upon the agreement of the mother and the father, in the cases where there are both; even death does not render this null.' This can be made by written agreement.

#### Military law

The Seelie and Unseelie military potentially punish things differently, based on the principles of each court.

* Gwyn noted that his actions with Cyledr might have led military leaders to demote his status.
* Objects won through battle (like Creiddylad) are considered battle gains in the Seelie military, and not property of the Seelie military or the court.
* Augus noted that abusive commanders are not uncommon in either military.
* Augus noted that 'civil matters attract disciplinary action far less than one would think.'
* It's not law, but general 'policy amongst the fae was that children weren’t allowed to battle.'

## Monarchs and Previous Monarchs

### Seelie

* Cernunnos
* Titania
* The Oak King (Quercus)
* Gwyn ap Nudd (technically current, unofficially appointed by Albion)
* Albion

### Unseelie

* Zahak
* Thugine
* The Raven Prince
* Augus Each Uisge
* Gulvi Dubna Vajat + Ash Glashtyn
* Gwyn ap Nudd

## Trivia

* King-in-Waiting is spelled 'King-in-Waiting' five times in canon, 'King in Waiting' four times, and 'King-in-waiting' twice, whereas Queen-in-Waiting is spelled 'Queen-in-Waiting' fourteen times, 'Queen in Waiting' six times, 'Queen-in-waiting' twice, and 'queen-in-waiting' once, so 'King-in-Waiting' and 'Queen-in-Waiting' are used here.

## References

1. ↑ not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 17 August 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/1809886. Chapter 4: Clean.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 7 March 2014. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/2655808. Chapter 44: Consultation.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 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.
4. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 29 August 2014. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/4865985. Chapter 7: Debut.
5. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 4 July 2014. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/4088631. Chapter 3: Disintegration.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Not-Poignant. "How does the.. uh, 'justice system', I guess..." *Actually A Little Bit Poignant.* 2 Oct 2013, 8:57 PM. https://not-poignant.tumblr.com/post/62949869279/how-does-the-uh-justice-system-i-guess-you-could.
7. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 14 August 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/10409742. Chapter 56: Islands.
8. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 6 February 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/7205945. Chapter 29: Classless.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 5 November 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/2059069. Chapter 25: Soldier.
10. ↑ not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 16 September 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/1904254. Chapter 12: Liver.
11. ↑ not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 7 September 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/1877188. Chapter 9: Hunt.
12. ↑ not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 21 March 2014. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/2808781. Chapter 46: King.
13. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 17 May 2019. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17959874/chapters/44756770. Chapter 6: The Raven Prince.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 not\_poignant. "The Drawn Bead.” *The Fae Tales Verse - canon extras. Archive of Our Own,* 10 November 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1035694/chapters/2074327. Chapter 4: Secrets.
15. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 15 January 2021. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/70548654. Chapter 11: Debts Unclaimed.
16. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 17 April 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/8357779. Chapter 40: Intervention.
17. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 5 June 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/9186013. Chapter 46: Masque.
18. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 1 - The Forest of Fire.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 16 March 2018. https://archiveofourown.org/works/12036105/chapters/32210853. Chapter 17: So It Is.
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 11 September 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/1886908. Chapter 10: Display.
20. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own*, 30 June 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/7101860. Chapter 28: Solidarity.
21. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 20 March 2015 https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/7890363. Chapter 36: Burden.
22. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 12 June 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/9291202. Chapter 47: Redirection.
23. ↑ not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 18 January 2014. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/2310680. Chapter 37: Recovery.
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 20 June 2014. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/3901096. Chapter 2: Orphan.
25. ↑ not\_poignant. "Deeper into the Woods." *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 5 April 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/3652500/chapters/8152002. Chapter 2: II - The Waterhorse.
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 not\_poignant. "Deeper into the Woods." *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 7 April 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/3652500/chapters/8188004. Chapter 3: III - The Waterhorse.
27. ↑ 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.