Fae

"Fae" is a blanket term for many diverse creatures from the magic-steeped realm of Alfheim, also known as Otherworld or Tir tylwyth teg. The Fae kind have many other names, including Faery, the "fair folk," their respective faction name (Seelie or Unseelie), and the Sidhe. Fae creatures count among their number wood nymphs, giants, centaurs, fauns, goblins, and many other species!

When we refer to a someone's species specifically as a Fae, it generally denotes an elven race of tall and beautiful "Fair folk." This is converse to a Fairy, which is usually viewed as a very small and distinct species. **This sort of confusion about "what is a fae?" tends to be on-brand for everything to do with the Fae folk, who universally delight in pranks.**

## Fae Elves

These are the lords of Alfheim: the most powerful magic users of their realm. Most are split into one of two factions: The Seelie Court and The Unseelie Court, though some without a court are known to exist. The most important thing about a Fae is their court affiliation; it is more than a faction or culture to them. Their court is tied to the very magical balance of nature and seasons, and this magic impacts their appearance as well as many magical talents.

### Birth

Fae elves are created in one of three ways:

1. they are born to Fae elven parents in Alfheim,
2. they are born to at least one Fae elven parent and are called a Partling,
3. they were a child born of another species who has been converted into a Fae creature by being raised in Alfheim (also called a Partling).

The magic of the realm is particularly potent, and has an impact on the creatures that live there. Due to this, some theorize that all Fae elves were originally humans, though to suggest this to any of the Fae is to make an enemy for generations, as they are incredibly proud of their ancient lineage and claim to be much older than humans. Some Fae elves have counter claimed that humans were created by them. It is unknown which version is true.

The practice of converting a human or other species into a Partling is often considered dishonorable in most cases by the Seelie Court, who will only do so if it is to save the child's life, or as part of a bargained agreement that the child agrees. The Unseelie court, in comparison, has no such qualms and will readily kidnap or trick a child and raise it to become another sword in their armies.

As for halfbreeds, they can fully convert into a Fae in the same way a human child can, but tend to still suffer the same prejudice of not being a pureblood Fae elf. The nobles of the courts tend to dislike part-Fae (Partlings), or half-breeds as they call them. The Seelie are more inclined to be tolerant, but many do not acknowledge a born Partling's relationship to them, and see them as "not fully Fae."

There are claims that Unseelie Fae elves are incapable of breeding. It is unknown if this is true or not, as the Unseelie are extremely prone to kidnapping human infants and children to raise as partlings. The Unseelie court makes no distinctions on blood lineage, and is untrustworthy in its word about any claims to legitimacy of children raised by its members. However, it is known that some types of other non-elven Fae can breed, and they will often leave their own children behind as a replacement "Changeling" in trade for kidnapping the human child. In this way, the Unseelie gain both a Partling, and eventually their own Fae child will return to them as well. Human lore is filled with numerous accounts (sometimes false) of Changelings being discovered, and of parents striving to get the Fae to return their real child to them safe and sound.

### Appearance

A Fae Elf is slightly taller than a human of a similar growth stage. Their magic actually alters how quickly they grow and age, and can also impact their appearance due to the types of magic that are imbued into their being.

* Seelie Fae elves will grow physically until around 400 years old. They normally have a "healthy" pallor, and are valued on their beauty, in whatever form that may take. Powerful fae often have wings of some kind, often gossamer/insect or feathered.
	+ When officially representing their court, Seelie Fae will use blue facepaint to mark their faces.
* Unseelie Fae elves often bear twisted or imp-like features. Their natural hair, skin, and eye colors tend to be on the greyscale (anywhere from white to black), with colors washed out, or tinted blue and purple, or simply "unhealthy" in pallor. Some will use an illusion glamour or shapeshift themselves to look more like the Seelie Fae. Powerful members of the Unseelie court also often have wings of all kinds, but not always.
	+ When officially representing their court, Unseelie Fae will use orange facepaint to mark their faces. This is not to be confused with the red warpaint that some of the Unseelie court enjoy using just for fun.

### Diet

Faerie food is quite different from the food of our realm, though it may outwardly look similar. Like everything else in the Otherworld, the foods are steeped in magic.

* Seelie Elves tend to favor a vegetarian diet of fruits, nuts, seeds, vegetables, salads, breads, cereals, pastries, and berries, but ONLY if it is magical. (Game off: Students who play Seelie Fae do not have to be a vegetarian.)
* The Unseelie Elves tend to favor meats and root vegetables from their realm, but will readily scavenge and eat ANYTHING that has a magical essence. They tend to not have a taste for processed foods, even if magical, but will stomach it if necessary. There are accounts of some Unseelie who enjoy "junk food" from our world, however, and will take efforts to imbue it with Otherworld magics.
* It is NOT ADVISED for anyone not wishing to be magically altered or bound to the realm of Faerie to EVER partake of food from that realm. If nothing else, it will begin the process to become a Partling, and if offered by a Fae host, it likely has other mind-altering effects laced into it. It is often used as a trap.

### Personality

The Fae elves live for thousands of years, and such a lifespan has an impact on their outlook. They are in no rush, and take their time with their words and actions. While faeries and goblinoids may rush around, the Fae elves are slow and deliberate. They have time to kill, play with, throw away… everything. They even walk slowly and talk slowly. They're in no rush. The Fae in general don't have any investment in our short human lives other than entertainment, which, if they lose that, there are other things to do. So, their attitude towards the mortal world is 'oh dear, they've already died, how sad' and then they move on; they may mourn a human companion, but humans are like mayflies to them: short lived fireworks of life, living and fading just as quickly.

The Seelie Fae are big on community, loyalty, pride, and honor. They are led by a Queen, they would die before giving up their honor, and they would kill or die trying for others in their community. They are at constant war with the Unseelie, and these are some of the traits that separate the two factions. They also value beauty, and fight to protect it. This means people, things, places, objects, etc.

The Unseelie Fae are ordinarily very selfish. Loyalty and community are not part of their faction's core values, and while it is possible for them to exist in Unseelie Fae, it is not common. They are led by an Unseelie King that often changes due to fights over power, usually ending in death. To mortals, the Unseelie are a terror. They come in the night and steal their children, never to be seen again, and often steal adult mortals for entertainment. All children who are turned into Partlings, and are forced to fight each other for the amusement of the Unseelie Fae if they will not commit fully to the Unseelie Court as members.

### Interactions with Human Magical Society

There has been a long history of interactions between the Fae elves and human mages. Magical society has often had to hide the actual impacts of various pranks or outright destruction wrought by one or another of the courts to prevent the nonmagical world from panicking about the existence of magic.There is little trust, if any, shared between the humans and the Fae, though the Fae tend to help those in need when needed.

Mages are advised to be cautious in their dealings with the Fae. Those of the Seelie court tend to be more welcome due to their amicable and honorable natures, but are still treated with caution.

As for the Fae themselves, they tend to view humans as mere amusements, if not victims to kidnap, prank, torture, or kill. They are aware of the power of human mages and thus tend to not involve themselves in our world for more than larks or any pressing concerns; their actual focus is on the eternal war between their two courts, instead. They are usually uninterested in living among humans, though some "lesser species" within the courts (Brownies, fairies, etc) often do live among humans.

### Abilities

Every Fae elf has magic, even if they were originally a human born without magic. It is part of the very fiber of their being. They work magic without a wand, but do need a free hand to gesture and control their magics. Telekinetics and control of plants are extremely common abilities. Many can also cast wordlessly, though this is an ability they learn over time, just like humans do; it is easier for young Fae elves to verbalize their spells.

Many Fae elves find it easy to teleport themselves to other realms, or to create stable portals between realms. ***However, they do not all have this ability.*** The magic of Alfheim itself makes the realm tend to create its own natural portals at very predictable times and places, and most Fae elves (among other Fae creatures) make use of these natural portals to come and go between various realms as they please, or even to travel between two different portals while avoiding a bastion of their enemy court in their own world.

**All Fae are completely unable to lie**, and are exceptionally **weak to Iron and Steel**. Touching iron or steel will cause burning and scalding. Instead, most fae craft weapons and armor out of wood, ice, stone, bronze, and other metals.

* Seelie believe their should reserved for helping others rather than for self-serving tasks.
* Unseelie believe their magic should be used however they want to get what they want.

## Partling Fae Elves

Partlings are created when a human or part-human child is raised in the Faerie world of Alfheim, or when a halfbreed child of a Fae is raised in another world.

* Among the Seelie courts, most partlings are born as halfbreeds, else accepted as a willing child by willing parents (often for the child's survival, which may only have been possible by magic). The partlings in the Seelie courts tend to be treated as lesser members of the court and though expected to abide by all rules and serve with the Seelie armies in their eternal war against the Unseelie, they are rarely acknowledged by their Fae parents.
* Among the Unseelie courts, it is thought that the majority of its members are Partlings. Unseelie in particular will kidnap human infants and children, and raise them to become partling Unseelie Fae. They tend to be lesser-classed, but can earn respect through battle and win the approval of others through leadership in misdeeds. Skilled partlings who embrace the Unseelie way of life will join the court as members and may even be "adopted" by families, while those who resist will be kept prisoners and made to fight each other purely for entertainment.

### Conversion from Human

When a human is brought to the Fae world, the magical essence of the realm begins to seep in and become part of their lifeforce and body alike. This starts happening the moment a person eats food of the realm while there (so eating Fae food in another realm won't work, and nor will eating human-world food in Alfheim). The younger a person is and the longer they are in Alfheim, the more the magics will impact their development. There are even some certain Fae elves with magic that will hasten this conversion, though in most cases, the conversion takes at least 20-30 years, if not centuries. Their aging is slowed by the Alfheim's magic, so there are known cases of children escaping or being released with no memory of what happened, and they still appear as children even though 80 years have gone by!

The partling resulting from this is usually Fae-Elf in nature, though some have been known to become goblinoid or troll-like.

The conversion is both physical, mental, and magical.

### Appearance

The physical features of Partlings vary widely. Part of this is depended on their age and how far along their conversion is (if at all!).

Natural-born halfbreed Partlings often have rounded human ears and no wings, but that is not always the case. Similar to humans, they may take after the father or mother, or they may look like a combination. Most Partlings take after the human parent more. More rarely, some Partlings may develop wings similar to their Fae parent. Wings are observed to be more rounded in shape, with softer edges and a more graceful silhouette. If they spend more time in Alfheim, they may begin to convert to more Fae elf features.

Converted Partlings vary widely as the magic of the realm manifests changes in their bodies. Some will still look entirely human, while others develop monstrous features and might even change in size, with some having stunted growth and others becoming troll-like. Very rarely, they may develop wings, though they tend to be more pointed with sharp edges. After several centuries, converted partlings have usually settled in their shape. It is suspected that those who embrace the Unseelie faction's magic are more likely to distort from the "beautiful elven image" due to the chaotic magics of its ranks, though there are plenty of cases of Unseelie partlings who could rival the Seelie nobles in beauty.

### Food

Partling Fae, as they are the product of two worlds, can eat food both from the human world and the Fae world. They may have some dietary restrictions in terms of food with high-iron concentrations, and can inherent dietary restrictions from their human parent as well.

### Personality

Most Seelie court Partlings will tend to be more lawful and rule-abiding, with a strict set of morals that they will not stray from. This does not necessarily mean that they will be kind; however, most will inherit that trait from their human side. Seelie Partlings follow a more logical path of thought, but definitely have a creative side.

Unseelie Partlings typically keep their personality from before the transformation; however, several key parts will be altered. Their logic will be more spatial, and they will tend to be more chaotic or free-spirited. Morals may or may not change, but most Unseelie Partlings will have an act-first, think-after sort of mindset. They are obstinate, and will have a general distaste for strict rules that limit any independence. Most Unseelie Partlings will become more violent, not only because of the transformation, but also because of the "trials" they must endure. In the Unseelie court, survival of the fittest is key.

### Interactions with Human Magical Society

Magical society treats all partlings the same as fullblooded Fae elves. There is no distinction.

Natural-born Partling Fae are adaptable by nature and with caution, they can grow up and survive in a human community if they are living in areas without excessive amounts of iron and steel. Living in a city is usually avoided. Depending on what traits are developed, it becomes harder hide their odd features, and most rely on illusions to do so. Most opt for rural lives, and some decide to move to the Fae realm and petition to join one of the Courts when they are older.

### Abilities

Partling Fae are always magical, and some may find it easier to perform Wandless Magic and kinetic spells. Most Partlings will also have a talent or at least a love for flying, regardless of whether or not they developed wings. Nearly all are sensitive to iron, having at least an allergic reaction to its touch.