Trow

**Trows** are a short, shy species of fae who can be either Seelie or Unseelie, and are notable for often disregarding this division and happily associating with each other, following the philosophy of being 'cousins across the river.' As they have a natural inclination toward tidying and looking after those in their charge, they are often employed as household servants. There are land and sea trows, with some of the latter employed by Ondine on the Mantissa. They have their own underground kingdom called Trowna, which other fae are rarely invited to.

## Physical Description

Seelie and Unseelie trows look similar, though the clothing of the Unseelie trows is described as uglier (though the trows themselves do not care much for appearances). Otherwise, they both have 'grey skin and wrinkled countenances, the same black eyes and hooked noses, the same fragile, long, clever fingers.' The trows who led Gwyn and his party to Trowna had greyish-dun skin, 'sometimes with less brown, and their large black eyes looked almost woeful, over snub noses and long, thin mouths.' They also had webbing between their fingers. They wore 'leather and linen clothing', and went barefoot, revealing 'spindly long limbs'.

They are about three feet tall when outside Trowna. Inside Trowna, trow children were 'tiny and spindly, but full of life and mischief and signing to each other so rapidly their fingers sometimes blurred. They never laughed aloud, but their eyes gleamed and sparkled, and their glee was clear.'

Sea trows are physically similar to land trows, but with giant drooping fins where ears would be.

## Abilities

Though trows are fragile, they also possess a surprising amount of strength and have ways of accessing materials and objects that most fae can't. They also have magic that allows them to preserve food. Their magic in Trowna also allows them to seemingly change the size of other fae who enter there, so other fae are of a height with, or shorter than, the trows while in Trowna. Trowna is also a separate realm of its own, and has various magical safeguards.

Trows are able to teleport: they put a finger to their nose as they do and leave a puff of pale gray dirt as they go.

Mosk Manytrees theorized that maybe the trows call Gwyn 'Gwyn of the Stars because they can see what [his] magic is meant to be.'

As service-oriented fae, trows are physiologically unable to betray their oaths to their employers. ‘They have an uncanny ability to intuit what someone needs and provide it for them.'

Trows 'live underground because the earth speaks to them, because they understand the spaces of the caves'. This is an innate ability. Gwyn ap Nudd said that ‘they make the light in their bodies.’

The trow understanding of silver is innate. Silver 'is part of their power. The more they have, the more powerful they are. It’s why they steal it, because the act of taking back something that becomes their power nourishes them.’ Gwyn noted that the trow were powerful before he became involved in their lives and culture, and Ash Glashtyn pointed out that once he started paying them. They can also 'speak through the silver' . . . They can hear it like a song, all the time. So whenever the song changes, they know like, who is coming, or what’s happening. Because there’s silver all through their homes and land . . . [Kids] have to learn. It takes them a really long time to learn what the songs mean, and… Some people are like masters, everyone else usually knows the silver song in their home and like, the area near them.’ They work silver into the very stones of Trowna.

Trows are fluent in many different languages.

## Characteristics (culture, habits)

Trows usually provide services such as cooking, mending and caring for clothing, fetching items, and tidying, though they are averse to dusting (but will polish). They are potentially a subspecies of sprite, and Eran Iliakambar noted that the ones his group met going to Trowna were of a height with Gille Dubh, another sprite.

Trows prefer to live private lives, associating freely with each other, but not often sharing in details of their culture with other fae. They are even secretive about their own names. They use their own, rapidly changing sign language within their communities while using a more common fae sign language to speak with others. Some trows will learn spoken fae languages, but they never speak out loud themselves, and use signs instead. Some are illiterate, but they are happy to decode letters (particularly when Gwyn ap Nudd leaves coded letters noting locations of silver). Unseelie trows are slightly more dour than their Seelie cousins, but still as loyal and caring. Trows are quite timid around other fae, and often choose to stay out of sight, though they will provide assistance if intentionally sought out and asked. Gwyn describes them as 'gentle creatures' and states that they are private, resourceful, and not prone to gossip. As the trows are repeatedly referred to as defenseless, it's possible that they're either pacifists or lack the strength or resolve to fight back against fae who hurt them. However, thousands of years before the story present, they tamed the standing stones in Trowna, and the stones 'rewarded them by crushing their enemies to death.' This got rid of the local carnivorous wyrms. The trows memorialize the event in 'ceramics and the rugs and the wall hangings' around their homes.

They have a love for trow-henks, which are sort of like sociable dances they perform with each other, and while they are content to be only with their own kind, they are open to other fae joining in. Ash Glashtyn described the henk as 'a dance where no one cares about the music, and sometimes there isn’t any. You can do any steps you like, or you can dance to a reel, or you can all just be together and shuffle.’ They are events that can sometimes be run across accidentally, even outside Trowna. Trows also like playing different instruments, including the bagpipes and bells.

They appear to have a 'silver coin game' that they enjoy playing, as well. The children appear to have a game of slapping people's legs before running away, like a form of tag, and 'the slaps never really hurt.'

They hate when other fae lord their height over them. Out of respect for this, Gwyn often chooses to kneel when speaking to them, outside Trowna.

While trows will work for free, they appreciate reimbursement for their services: trows have an instinct to steal silver and will look kindly upon employers who intentionally leave silver out for them to 'steal'.

They seem to appreciate those who are respectful to them and seek their guidance, as Augus Each Uisge befriended two specific trows after asking their opinion on fabrics.

The appetite of Seelie trows consists of rotting, fermented fruit, while their Unseelie brethren eat meat and must also go to the human world to feed on the theft of others. In Trowna, they have local foods. 'Bubbling pale brown drinks that turned out to be a weak, sweet kind of alcohol. . . . Ash worked out it was brewed from certain roots. Likewise, there were root vegetables that had been candied, roasted, and turned into pickled long ribbons.' They also ate marinated 'legs and other hunks of meat from the goat-like creatures richly glazed with a fruit-sauce that was sticky and rich. There were small, barbecued birds, a kind of poultry Eran didn’t recognise. Whole bowls of orchid petals, harvested from the underground orchids, which – when gently smoked in Eran’s hands – tasted like watery honey, and left a powdery aftertaste on his tongue. The trows loved them . . . [They also had] grey fruits that glowed pale blue on the inside. . . . [They tasted] like agave and prickly pear.'

According to the Raven Prince, trows never referred to themselves as Seelie or Unseelie until Davix and Olphix forced fixed alignments upon the entire world, and the trows resented it and did their best to ignore the barrier meant to divide them.

Gwyn employed many trows to work in the Seelie Court, though once he knew he was facing demotion, he provided them as much silver as he could as a severance, knowing that whoever replaced him as monarch would likely not continue to employ them. They began leaving the Court shortly after this. Once Gwyn became King of the Unseelie Court, he was approached three Seelie trows and two Unseelie, and one of the Seelie told him that their cousins across the river had heard of his kindness and would like to work for him. Gwyn agreed to this, and 300 Unseelie trows joined his Court.

Gwyn later told Marika that he got his idea for the Coalition of the Classless from the trows, inspired by how the Seelie and Unseelie remain in contact with each other and even cohabitate. When Albion began interfering with inter-alignment communities, the Seelie trows were among those pressured to cut off contact with their Unseelie counterparts. When they refused, many were fired from their employment and were the first Seelie fae to seek asylum from the Unseelie Court, which Gwyn granted. After the Coalition of the Classless imposed sanctions on both Courts, the Seelie trows remained in the Unseelie Court, cavorting with their Unseelie brethren during the Winter Court, much to the joy of the others in attendance. Even after the Winter Court ended, many of the Seelie remained, and Gwyn did not have the heart to send them away.

## Quotations

* 'My friends,’ Gwyn said, ‘I wish it could be stolen, but I do not have the time. This is...several centuries worth of silver that I have amassed over the years. High quality. I do not care what you do with it, only that it is yours, for your service. For I do not know that I will be here much longer, and I do not think any future royalty will keep you on as staff, which is their loss, just as you have been my gain.'
* '\**We have talked with our cousins across the river . . . We have told them of your kindnesses. They wish to work for you. They are like us. But they must eat meat, and they must leave for the human world to feed upon the theft of others. . . . It is not in our nature to give silver, we guard it jealously. But you gave us more than we needed, and we owed you a debt anyway, Gwyn of the Stars. To pay back that debt, we have paid them each in silver, securing their service to you for five years. After that, you will pay them wages comparable to ours.*\*'
* *\*We tidy. We cook. We fetch items and we find. We do not care for dusting.\**
* '*\*Gwyn of the Stars, I swear on behalf of those of us that will serve you and the Unseelie Court, that we will not betray your Court to our Seelie cousins, other Seelie, other Unseelie, or steal anything other than silver. We will serve you, and anyone you ask us to, and not just the Court itself as per your contract with our cousins. We swear by our sturdy caves and the grounds that sing to us. May they fail should we fail you.\**'

## Trivia

* Pia stated on their not\_poignant tumblr that trows 'have a ‘human-form’ where they’d appear taller, but they never use it.'

## Folklore/Mythology

'A trow [trʌu](also trowe or drow or dtrow), is a malignant or mischievous fairy or spirit in the folkloric traditions of the Orkney and Shetland islands. Trows are generally inclined to be short of stature, ugly, and shy in nature.

Trows are nocturnal creatures, like the troll of Scandinavian legend with which the trow shares many similarities. They venture out of their 'trowie knowes' (earthen mound dwellings) solely in the evening, and often enter households as the inhabitants sleep. Trows traditionally have a fondness for music, and folktales tell of their habit of kidnapping musicians or luring them to their dens.

. . . It was also considered unlucky to catch sight of a trow, though auspicious to hear one speaking.'

## Image Gallery

Fanart of trows by Em / Papayaparty https://samelliotsmustache.tumblr.com/post/70118779945/some-trows-jacks-little-helpers-from-iswf-i
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 24 July 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/10022663. Chapter 53: Arrow.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 1 - The Forest of Fire.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 19 October 2018. https://archiveofourown.org/works/12036105/chapters/38607599. Chapter 32: Somewhere Safe.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 30 September 2021. https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/85040659. Chapter 16: Trowna.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 18 November 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/2101316. Chapter 27: Compulsion.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 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.
6. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 18 June 2014. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/4283271. Chapter 4: Suspicions.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 14 October 2021. https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/85843123. Chapter 17: Singing Silver.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 25 October 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/2024572. Chapter 22: Stymied.
9. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 5 December 2014. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/6096881. Chapter 20: Mirror.
10. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 17 July 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/9893795. Chapter 52: Unravel.
11. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 28 April 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/96646797. Chapter 31: Two Hundred Years.
12. ↑ not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 16 December 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/2184505. Chapter 32: Forest.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 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.
14. ↑ 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.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 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.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 27 August 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/1843591. Chapter 6: Retaliation.
17. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 10 April 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/8227330. Chapter 39: Want.
18. ↑ not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 13 September 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/1894662. Chapter 11: Abandoned.
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 18 October 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/2002562. Chapter 20: Nightmare.
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 28 October 2021. https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/86595049. Chapter 18: The Silent Dances.
21. ↑ not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 1 October 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/1947734. Chapter 16: Rollercoaster.
22. ↑ not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 18 September 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/1909728. Chapter 13: Break.
23. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 24 October 2019. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17959874/chapters/50374646. Chapter 17: Just Like You.
24. ↑ 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.
25. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 21 August 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/10537971. Chapter 57: Grief.
26. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 4 September 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/10796753. Chapter 59: Epilogue: Futures.
27. ↑ Not-Poignant. "So I realised that I don't actually know much about the..." *Actually A Little Bit Poignant.* 26 Feb 2018, 3:52 AM. https://not-poignant.tumblr.com/post/171303392711/so-i-realised-that-i-dont-actually-know-much.
28. ↑ "Trow (folklore)". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trow\_(folklore). Accessed 20 May 2021.