The Fairfolk Empire

From the sneaky Sluagh to the strong Ogres or the elegant Sidhe, all loyal fairfolk pay allegiance to the great Fairfolk Empire and one of it’s five Noble Houses. Though each house has a culture in and of itself, each race also has its own cultural ties, leading to quite the melting pot of individuals in any given location within the Silva’natu forests. It is not unknown for individuals to trade between houses, though only Sidhe can do so entirely of their own free will. This discrepancy in freedom is due to the roles each of the fairfolk plays in Silva’natu society.

The Ogres bred to be the perfect strongmen, serve as the builders and soldiers of the Empire, defending the other races with their valiant shields and walls. The Sluagh, born to be the spies and assassins of the Empire, none able to strike supernatural terror into their enemies quite like them. And both these “lesser fairfolk” serve humbly under the Sidhe, natural-born speakers and leaders who have led the fairfolk houses since arriving on this world from their former home in the Dream.

## **Social Structure of the Empire**

4 Major Houses rule their respective territories and follow their own goals, all swearing allegiance to the 5th and most powerful House, House Somnia. Each Major House is ruled by a Lord or Lady (who's children are Princes and Princesses), and rules over many Minor Houses who are constantly vying for power amongst each other, whether that be through marriage, trade, espionage, advancements in magic, or even assassinations. House Somnia, however, was ruled by the Emperor (who's children are Crown Princes and Crown Princesses)

Even the Minor Houses are divided into towns ruled by Barons, Dukes, Counts and all other array of Noble title and station that states their relative power over other minor houses and lands, who are often Princes and Princesses who have been promoted (though are sometimes simply key Sidhe attendants who have proven themselves worthy) by the Minor or Major House in charge of the respected town. Though one of the best ways to gain power as a Minor House is to gain favour with one of the Major Houses, just as the Major Houses seek to gain favour with House Somnia.

### **House Somnia**

The ruling house and the royal line, all other houses obey the will and goals of the Somnias and many will try to win enough favour to join their court. Their province of Sujera is said to be home to the lushest greenery in of all of Silva'natu, and their capital city of Levant is known to all of Haven as the Fairfolk seat of power. Though their goals focus primarily on keeping peace among the Fairfolk, they are not afraid to make themselves heard when a noble is giving the Empire a bad name through anything from simply romantically courting outside of the fairfolk race (once thought disgraceful for all fairfolk, though now only nobles) to outright treasonous acts. Until recently, House Somnia was ruled over by the benevolent Emperor Dae'avel Somnia, the longest-lived fairfolk after his late mother and adopted son of the former Empress Brea Somnia, who was herself once thought to be immortal due to her extraordinarily long life and immeasurable skill with magic.

After her husband's death by natural causes, Lady Runa Somnia has assumed the throne as Empress. Under her are her children, the houses 3 heirs. These heirs are Royal Crown Prince Adrius Heimus Somnia, who is the eldest child in his early 40s and current heir to the throne, Crown Princess Saria Fons Somnia, the middle child in her late 30s, and Crown Prince Cassius Somnia - the youngest of Dae'avels children in his early 30s, named for an old friend of the late Emperor Somnia, Lord Caeus Herena.

### **House Serta**

Headed by Lady Karia'san Vallius Serta, House Serta is widely respected as the military might of the five major houses. Their province of Battala borders both the Erac'sen Desert to the south and Fhomnair plains to the west, with influence as far north as southern Compass Rose, though their actual territory does not extend so far. As within much of the Empire, the Sidhe make up much of the house's command structure, serving as tacticians, generals, and battlefield commanders of the lesser fairfolk, which make up the bulk of the House's lower ranks. Ogres typically fill the rank of general infantry, their hearty constitution and unerring dedication to a given task being perfect for open battle. Sluagh, on the other hand, make up Serta's special operations divisions, using their natural stealth to operate behind enemy lines to cripple their supply structure and disrupt order with guerrilla tactics and sabotage.

In recent years, House Serta's prominence in imperial politics has fallen off somewhat after Emperor Dae'avel's rule brought many of the Empire's major conflicts to an end, reducing the need for large standing armies. Despite what some might try to spin as a fall from grace, Lady Karia has taken her house's transformation in stride, and now styles both herself and her people as proud defenders of the realm, whos watchful gaze protects the Empire's borders from raiders and bandits.

### **House Cirkaan**

Scholarly pursuits and near-constant research fill the daily life of the people of House Cirkaan, whose dedication to the miracle-working art of theurgy can occasionally be all-consuming, literally, in some dire cases. Among the greatest of the House's theurges is Lord Eltarien Samedi Dalius El Cirkaan. Not one for mincing words, Lord Eltarian is considered to be the ultimate authority on ritual circles within the Empire, having spent many of his eighty years on Haven within the magically sealed walls of Cirkaan's capitol city of Grecale, poring over ancient tomes in the House's Great Library, considered by many to be the greatest collection ever assembled by mortal hands, as well as a great many more working in the field with circles across Haven.

In spite of their Lord's reputation, however, not all of the minor houses under House Cirkaan are dedicated entirely to theurgy. Each specializes in their own brand of knowledge, with their members often becoming loremasters in their own right. While some houses may demand strict adherence to the family craft, others might simply preach that the pursuit of knowledge is most fruitful when driven by passion, rather than tradition. With all of this in mind, it should come as no surprise that the vast majority of Cirkaan's subjects are predominantly followers of Sensus; though devotion to the other gods is by no means discouraged, as each path can be enlightening in its own right.

### **House Finien**

As its mercantile headquarters, House Finien acts as the Empire's open hand, reaching out to the other races of Haven to build the Empire's economy through trade. Unfortunately, House Finien suffered the loss of its Lord, who named his youngest daughter as his successor. Lady Willow Akasha Finien, who at only age twenty has no children of her own, has set her sights on building a new golden age of trade within and around the Empire and has already proven her unwillingness to let her elders discredit her abilities based on her age, especially when the criticism comes from Lord Cirkaan. While she may be inexperienced, and her tactics imperfect, she has shown that her bold and demanding style of economics is worth pursuing, as trade with other powers continues to grow within the Empire.

Somewhat unrelated to Lady Willow herself, but nonetheless a contributor to her success is House Finien's limited control over the Town of Compass Rose which, while technically an independent state, serves as an active trade route from Finien's central province of Ventora to the rest of Haven, with the equally trade-focused human city of Ponente.

### **House Harena**

Built on a history equally as unknown as it is recorded, House Harena deals in the dark secrets of the Empire, simultaneously acting as its greatest informants and harshest critics. If House Serta is the Empire's sword and shield, Finien its hands, Somnia and Cirkaan its heart and mind, then Harena is its ears. Ever watchful, the House of assassins and spies lurks in every corner of the Empire's vast dominion, keeping its lords and ladies apprised to all that occurs therein. Chief among these spymasters is Lord Drukov Arseniak Harena, a calm and collected man in his late forties who's calculated management of House Harena's intelligence network borders on obsession.

Citizens under House Harena are often as secretive and mysterious as their Lord, using deception and subterfuge to further their own interests. In rare cases, operatives under the Harena banner will use the Empire's innumerable individual houses to their advantage, claiming to be from another, often completely fictitious, minor house to avoid their original house's unsavoury reputation among foreigners. In general, the sudden arrival of a known member of House Harena is taken as a warning within the Empire, as greater events are likely already in motion.

Some members of the House, however, choose to honour the more dashing and flamboyant history of their house, as it was under Lord Caeus Harena, the charmingly roguish friend of the late emperor Dae'avel.

## **Folklore & Cultural Figures**

### **Brea, the Eternal Empress**

Once viewed as a god among men, Empress Brea ruled over the Fairfolk with power unheard of among any other being. She was seen as immortal and beloved among the Fairfolk, despite her strong expansionist policies and derogatory views on lesser Fairfolk. However, her immortality was proven imperfect when she was found dead with the bodies of her guards as well as a collection of Gemna around her. There were no survivors and the ghosts could not be summoned, so the true answer as to what happened was never found, however many Fairfolk firmly believe it was the Gemna who killed her, for only they could concoct a weapon vile enough to kill the Eternal Empress.

### **Shaata, the Frost Giant**

Brea's husband was the massive frost giant, Shaata. The only being to win her heart for eternity, leaving her pining for his touch as he left her for three months out of the year to rest in the Mountains, crossing mountaintops as though they were stepping stones until the Cultuni lulled him to sleep with their singing. His slumbering breath brought the season of Shaata's Breath (Winter) to the world until Brea and her children would come to wake him every Brea's March (Spring), but now he waits evermore for her to come to wake him from his slumber and bring him back home.

### **The Terrors, scourges of the Dream**

Legends tell of the entities that drove the Fairfolk from the dream. Though few true records of this time exist, it is known that these entities have power beyond even what Brea had been capable of. They each embodied a concept of suffering; War, Death, Pestilence, and Famine. These entities lurk within the Dream, hoping to one day escape into the world...

### **Dae'avel Somnia, the first mortal Emperor**

After the unexpected death of Brea, one of her adopted sons, the Crown Prince Dae'avel, was next in line to the throne despite the title being mainly symbolic as Brea was thought to be immortal. And yet, he took the throne in stride and led the Fairfolk out of the cultural divide the Fairfolk Civil War had caused years earlier and more recently his mother's death, leading them into a new age of prosperity. He ended his mother's expansionist policies in favour of a more protectionist method. He also brought more rights to the lesser fairfolk, allowing them to even gain some level of status, though still nothing near as high as the Sidhe could. All Emperors and Empresses going forward, unless the line is severed, will be descended from his blood.

### **Lord Caeus, the Heart of Harena**

A key player in the ending of the Fairfolk Civil War, the death of his cruel sister Grella allowed him to seize the throne of House Harena and end the conflict from the inside. He expressed narcissism in a different way than most Sidhe, often finding himself shirtless or in bed with anyone who caught his eye, his charms historically unmatched. However, his affairs often left him in bed with those of other races, which had he not been close friends with Dae'avel would have ended in his execution, for at the time acts of lust with "impure" races were considered a severe crime. But after Dae'avel became Emperor, with Caeus's persuasion it was decriminalized, though still considered taboo for those of royal blood, leading to Caeus being seen as a symbol for inter-racial lovers everywhere.

### **The Lingering Groom**

During the final battle of the War of Time, a man by the name of Lucidious Malvikon fell to the blows of the enemy forces. As his soul left his body, he saw the rest of the Grey Wardens entering the Gateway to Time's Realm, never to be seen again though ending the War once and for all by slaying the god who lied within. But his ghost remained stalwart and waited for his lover's return which most doubt will ever come. It is said even the harbingers of Death itself came for him in the over 200 years he waited, but he was too stubborn to leave. Many say his soul will never rest until he is wed to his love. It is possible that his soul was put to rest when the warriors claiming to be the Grey Wardens reappeared from an untraceable portal in town early in 2277, though many are skeptical that they were the true Wardens (though their resemblances were uncanny).

### **Caliban the Betrayer**

Once a loyal servant of the Empire, she turned her back on it all in order to lead the forces of Time & Fate in the War of Time as the leader of a foul cult. Said to be part jellyfish, part squid, and part Sluagh, this swamp-dwelling aberration will forever be remembered for the monster she was. However, in dark and treasonous shadows there lurk those who believe that Caliban's true aim was to free the lesser Fairfolk from their servitude to the Sidhe, calling her "The Chainbreaker".

## **Fairfolk History**

### **First Era (before year 0):**

When the people of Haven dream, their mind is whisked away to a faraway place. However, this place is not just in their minds and is a very real - and very dangerous - location. It is said that at this time there were 4 great forces that shaped the Dream, The Voices, the entities who guide the dreams of Mortals, who would later become the Sidhe, The Builders, who shaped the world of the Dream and expanded its boundaries, who would become the Ogres, the Anchors, who acted as sponges against the anxiety and terrors of the mortal world, who would later become the Sluagh, and lastly The Terrors; Entities born not of the Dream’s desires, but of its failures. War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death. These Terrors would wage war against the others, and worked to turn them against one another until the dawn of the Second Era.

### **Second Era (0-1499 P.E.):**

* **The Fairfolk Exodus (Year 0):** After their many clashes, the forces of good in the Dream tricked the Terrors into tearing open a gateway into the Mortal Realm, allowing all but the Terrors themselves to escape into the lands of Haven, their appearances similar to as we know them today. Zet’tallan saw these new peoples upon his back and granted them the Eastern Forests of the world, which they named Silva’natu. With their new lands in place, they sought out to forge their Empire under the most powerful of all Sidhe, Empress Brea. Into this new world they brought Tanana’s (one half of Galaena) concept of linear time, a concept quickly accepted by the world, and henceforth the Exodus became year 0, marking all years to come as “Post Exodus” or P.E.
* **The First War of Ten Houses (25-30 P.E.) -** Upon escaping from the dream, and after Lady Brea Somnia declared herself Empress of the new Fairfolk Empire, the fairfolk was divided. Four of the original ten houses (Serta, Cirkaan, Finien, and Harena) supported Brea in her bid for the throne. The remaining five houses (Maleficent, Goodfellow, Le Fay, Ayenta and Bareon, the last of whom they rallied around) opposed Brea's rule and, disappointed by their new mortal forms, wished to return to the dream and fight the terrors who drove them out. With both sides unwilling to concede, the First War of Ten Houses began, ending in the near utter annihilation of the latter five houses, with the remnants being absorbed into the remaining five.
* **The War of Tides (206 P.E.) -** Empress Brea of the Fairfolk saw the success of the Unda and the prosperity of their island abodes she became jealous. Who would dare to hold a kingdom larger than her own?! In her jealousy she sent ships of Ogres across the waters to attempt to claim the islands for herself, but the true power of the Unda was shown to the world that day. When Brea’s war ships left their docks and began sailing towards their brutal destination the waters began to boil and writhe with hundreds of swimming Unda. One attempted to board a vessel to investigate the Fairfolk’s purpose, but was captured and bound as they set foot on deck. Seeing their kin in trouble the waters surrounding Brea’s ships exploded as Unda launched from the sea, ethereal weapons drawn and one purpose in mind. The forces of the Fairfolk were utterly decimated as Ogres, Sluagh, and Sidhe alike began to be skewered or dragged down into the depths of the sea by these strange new creatures. Great Leviathans erupted from the sea to swallow fairfolk ships whole. Shamed and enraged by her defeat, Brea reluctantly agreed to send an apology and a truce with the Islander emissaries that were sent to her castle shortly afterwards. The Unda had proven their strength and had effectively left their mark on the rest of Haven to never doubt their capabilities.

* **First Gemna/Fairfolk War (305-309 P.E.):** After being on the world for a period of time, the Fairfolk witnessed the Gemna storm the Human lands in an act of “revenge” for driving them to the mountains and slaughtering their people. During this time, the new Empress, Brea, saw that the Gemna held an artifact of great power that could contact any keystone on Haven from one location. The Keystone. And after what they did to the Humans, she did not trust the Gemna with its power. While the Gemna seemed weakened by the first war,  Brea’s forces captured Compass Rose and the Keystone. However, the Gemna were still feeling the rush of war after defeating the Humans so completely, so the Gemna turned their armies on the single town. After retaking the town with their great machines of war, the Gemna pushed through into Fairfolk lands, clearing and burning the forest as they went. This war went back and forth for some time until eventually Brea and King Kerrick called a temporary end to the slaughter, signing an Armistice that could last a maximum of 100 years.

Every 100 years after the signing, it had to be re-agreed upon and signed again, leaving relations extraordinarily tense as a single slight could start the war all over again. After the war with the Gemna, the Fairfolk learned this world would not be so easily pushed aside, leading to the more advanced training of a far bigger army, as well as developments of new military strategies to deal with the Gemnan Machines of War when the two sides inevitably came to blows again one day. However, over time they became more open in trade, specifically with the repopulating Humans and, the Desertfolk, and though the relations were extremely tense, even the Mountainfolk.

* **Second Gemna/Fairfolk War (809-827 P.E.)** - The strained relations between the Gemna and Fairfolk boiled over yet again in 809 P.E. when the Gemna had enough of accepting what they saw as “condescending” treatment from the Sidhe, and the Gemna simply refused to renew the Armistice. It took nearly a month for anyone to act, not sure of what was going to happen, and it was the Gemna who struck first this time, retaking all of the lands they’d lost to the Fairfolk and quickly pushing in on the Fairfolk lands again.
	+ **The Seige of Grecale (824-826 P.E.) -** It is recorded that they made it as far as Grecale, which they laid siege to for nearly 2 years, its supplies constantly refilled through magical means and it’s ritualistic wards refusing to yield. There has never been a finer example of an unstoppable force against an immovable object. However, this massive siege gave the Fairfolk forces, primarily made up of Serta troops, plenty of time to move around and encircle the attacking Gemna host. It was at this time that a large force of Cirkaan Sluagh was teleported inside of Grecale, who then used their genetic fear-causing ability to scare the Gemna back into the incoming Serta ranks. There were not many survivors from that main host, and the Gemna still hold a grudge against the fairfolk to this day for this “dishonourable” strategy.

* However, with the Gemna defeated, the Fairfolk marched into the foothills of the Mountains, torching Hillander villages they believed to be connected to the Gema. King Kerrick heard of this and saw no choice but to renew the Armistice to protect the cousins of his people.

### **Third Era (1500-2019 P.E.):**

    After the second war with the Gemna, the Fairfolk saw their best chance was to hold more land, as to not allow such a thing to happen again. So began Brea’s expansionist policies, working to expand their territories into neighbouring regions piece by piece, and though they incurred some resistance, the majority were easily thwarted.

* **The Faebane Conflict /aka/ the Age of Hate (1838-2019)** - It was not until they faced the Sheana of Clan Jackrabbit that the expansion dealt with true resistance. Empress Brea marched her forces into Jackrabbit territory, to which they responded with what they saw as necessary hostility. The invading force was shocked by the power of these desert warriors, having never faced them in battle, and had to request reinforcements. The Sheana with their golems and golden tattoos fought like none the Fairfolk had ever dealt with, and with reinforcements from the other Clans, they were able to keep the tide of Fairfolk at bay. Within the first decade of the year, the Sheana knew this conflict would end no time soon, and Jackrabbit renamed itself to “Clan Faebane”, a name which came to strike fear into any fairfolk who lived near the border and invoke respect in any Clan who heard it. For just short of 2 centuries the war raged on until a new Matron took charge of Faebane, Matron Jaydenn Aztlyn, who had spoken with Prince Dae’avel Somnia and convinced him of the war’s pointlessness. By the time she took power, Empress Brea was killed near the end of the Third Era and Dae'avel became Emperor, leading to the two newly crowned sovereigns agreeing to end the conflict. As part of the arrangement, Faebane became Jackrabbit again.
* **The Second War of Ten Houses (2017-2018)** -In early 2017 P.E. Baron Rolynd Finien of Compass Rose launched a series of secret excursions into Death's Realm using the keystone to open a portal to the other side. Originally intending on increasingly his own prestige, Baron Finien made the tragic mistake of assuming that portals to the afterlife, once opened, could only be used by the living. It was this tactical miscalculation that resulted in the release of five wraiths, each having once been Lords and Ladies of Ancient Sidhe Houses, who were slain in the First War of Ten Houses nearly two thousand years before. After their escape, the Fallen Sidhe Lords resumed their crusade against House Somnia and her allies, this time being joined by House Harena whose head, Lady Grella Harena, was swayed by the Wraith's traitorous words. And so began The Second War of Ten Houses, a guerilla campaign undertaken by House Harena alongside the Wraiths, which forced the Empire to consolidate its armies in hopes of capturing the rebels. On foreign fronts, this allowed a moment of respite to the Sheana Clan Faebane as the bulk of the force fighting in their lands was forced to retreat. Additionally, the empire was forced to cede the economically priceless town of Compass Rose to the Gemna, though they would eventually recapture the town and give it limited autonomy under House Finien once more. After months of fighting, with neither side being able to seize any significant advantage, the war came to an end when Prince Caeus Harena, until then better known for his unorthodox sleeping habits, was able to capture and assassinate his sister Grella, whom he believed to be mad. With their Lady and tactician gone, House Harena's near-perfect rhythm faltered, which gave the loyalist forces enough time to capture the majority of the traitors and hunt down the now mortal wraiths. After the war, Prince Caeus took the throne in House Harena and led the house to an unprecedented golden age, which continues largely to this day under his descendent Lord Druvok Harena.
* **The Game Master Reborn (2018)** - Much of the mystery of The Game Master wa
* **The Muldratha Incident**