Tuatha dé Dannan

*Gaelic/Norse Mythology*

The *Tuatha* *[Irish: tooth-ah]* are the native peoples of Baile Dé Dannan - a land which was once tied inextricably to the World of Men.

Often mistakenly referred to as "faeries" this is a misnomer many of the tuatha take umbrage over. "Faerie" is another name for the Baile Dé Dannan, representing the combined holdings of both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Calling the tuatha "fae" is technically correct - much as describing a man who lives in England as English or a woman from India as Indian - but can also be offensive depending on the sensibilities of the tuatha in question.

Similar to mortals reserving the word “human” for themselves rather than any of the other species that can die from simply living too long (animals, lycanthropes, and even the lilin given a long enough timeline, for example), the tuatha are very particular about who they grant their name to. The sub-sapient species of Faerie like the kelpies, athachs, and muryans, while "fae" certainly do not qualify as "tuatha" and some of the more intelligent varieties (such as the swanmays and selkies, both former mortals either blessed or cursed to a fae existence) are a subject often furious debate.

## Biology

### Cold Iron

If there is one thing all Tuatha fear, it is the inescapable, all-encompassing power of “potential” and its stark contrast to their own unchanging nature.  It is for this reason cold iron is anathema to them.  Unforged and untempered, there is virtually no limit to what can become of raw iron in the hands of a Mortal.  Give a man an ingot of iron and he can accomplish anything in time.

Fortunately for the tuatha, a measure of this potential is lost once the metal has been heated and tempered. The wounds inflicted by an iron blade may never fully heal and a steel sword may pierce all but the strongest spells, but the simple touch of unforged iron sears flesh of the fae as surely as any flame, strips away their immortality, and peels the very Sa from their lungs.

Few agonies even among the supernatural world could ever be so absolute.

### Changelings

The spirit of tuatha in the body of a soulless, mortal child, Changelings are dangerously common in the aftermath of the End.  Faeries sneaking themselves into the bedrooms of mortals exchange the very divine spark of Mortality in a human babe for the undying, stagnant ember of their own children.

The unfortunate mortal child grows to maturity, bearing within its very essence a kernel of Faerie where its soul should rightly have been, allowing that fae ember to blossom and grow, to forsake its unchanging nature for the term of a single mortal lifetime.  And upon that mortal’s death, the thing which should have been its soul fruits into a tuatha fresh and new.

Meanwhile, the mortal soul is often disregarded and allowed to waste away, but, on some rare occasions, can be afforded flesh by a kind hearted tuatha and allowed to exist as a one of the rare humans welcome among the fae.

Two very different Faeries (though only one tuatha), for the price of one human infant.

Unfortunately, while such mortal souls may be treat

It is through Changelings alone that Faeries are able to effectively reproduce, and for this very reason that they have always sought to enslave what they can of humanity - as incubators for their own children.ed as welcome additions to their house (depending on who has “sponsored” them their flesh), the mortal bodied Tuatha is rarely so well received.  Mistrusted by mortals as potentially loyal to the Fae, changelings, once discovered, rarely survive long.

## **The Seelie Court**

Natives of the Summerlands, the court of Titania may tend towards the capricious but generally they are among the least maledictive of Faerie's inhabitants.  Although, with only their Unseelie brethren to balance the scales, such comparisons means very little.

### The Sidhe

*[Irish: shee]*

The blue-blooded nobility of the Seelie tuatha, the sidhe come in many shapes and wield many powers but all share the same distinctively pointed ears and hourglass pupils.

#### Aos Sidhe

*[Irish:a-ohh shee]*

The golden-haired Kings and Queens to the House of the Sun, the Aos Sidhe are powerful enchanters and illusionists, able to weave complex magics into mundane objects and transform the simplest possession to virtually anything their heart desires so long as they have its owner’s permission - a thing they are not above coercing or even stealing should the need arise. Unobscured by their illusions, the mere sight of the Aos Sidhe has been known to strike mortals blind.

#### Baen Sidhe

*[Irish: ban shee]*

Soothseers and necromancers beyond compare, the baen sidhe are nevertheless best known for their skill at manipulating sound, able to turn their voice into a weapon, twist the words of their foes into completely new shapes, or even route the direction in which sound travels. The fewest in number of all the sidhe and often devote themselves to guardianship of specific family lines or sacred locations, leaving them relatively free of the Courts. Often mistaken for Daoine Sidhe, even among many of their peers, very little beyond their innate talents differentiates the Baen Sidhe from their Lunar counterparts.

#### Caith Sidhe

*[Irish: cayth shee]*

Shapeshifters and peerless hunters, the caith sidhe hold dominion over many of the Fiain “houses,” building their own tiny courts in pockets of the Otherwhere. As the one of the only high tuatha species capable of using anything other than humans in their lifecycle (the caith sidhe can perform the changeling’s exchange with cats, similarly to the cú sidhe use of dogs), they are one of the most numerous of all the sidhe races. Unfortunately, those caith sidhe who develop as animals may be more numerous and develop much more quickly, they often lack the ambition and thirst for knowledge of their human-reared counterparts - despite being no less intelligent.

#### Daoine Sidhe

*[Irish: duun-ya shee]*

Shadow weavers and light benders, the Daoine Sidhe are mind readers of the highest order, allowing them to twist memories and perceive the thoughts of others with casual ease - talents they have leveraged to rule the House of the Moon with iron fists in velvet gloves. Their hair comes in every shade imaginable but tends towards the darkest gem tones and though they may be painfully lovely, even intoxicating to behold, their touch alone can pull the life from a mortal should they so desire.

### **Others**

#### **Murdhuacha**

*[Irish: muroo-cha]*

Also called "merrows" or "mermaids."

#### **Púca**

*[Irish: poo-kah]*

Shapeshifters and fortune eaters, these tuatha can appear as horses, goats, cats, dogs, or rabbits in addition to their more human-seeming forms, touched with similar characteristics as the animals they favor. Usually extreme in their dispositions, the púca are either benevolent caretakers or malicious monsters. Able to consume luck, either good or bad, and take the effects upon themselves, the more kindly among them are a often a great boon to rural villages and fishing towns, but in such fragile locales a cruel púca can easily spell the end for the hapless mortals who dwell there.

#### **Trolls**

Noble defenders, honorable warriors, and gifted smiths.

## The Unseelie Court

Born from the Hinterlands, the Children of Mab were monsters in the truest sense imaginable. Creatures driven by insatiable lusts for violence, suffering, and carnal indulgence, unruly hosts of the Unseelie tuatha once ravaged the Mortal world - until the Daughters of Ernmas unwove the very fabric of these unholy beasts from creation itself.

Unlike the Seelie Court, whose sometimes volatile nobles have always bickered among themselves as well as their rivals, the Unseelie tuatha were tightly bound in allegiance to one another and the greater havoc they can thereby wreak.

### **The Fomoire**

#### **Coróin Dearg**

*[Irish: coh-rohn dah-rugh]*

Lords and Ladies of the House of Blood, the Coróin Dearg were the most graceful, mightiest, and above all deadliest tuatha in all of the baile dé dannan. Cruel and cunning, they were known to meet their foes in battle, torture prisoners for decades, and ensnare innocents with equal glee, reveling in the suffering and bending the blood of their victims into horrific magics. If rumor were to be believed, these cruel killers were born with hair white as the driven snow, only turning red once it had been dyed in the blood of their victims. The truth of the matter was that the dark red tresses of the Coróin Dearg were nautral, though they were more than content to allow the myth to persist.

#### **Leannán Taibhse**

*[Celtic/Irish: leh-naan ty-ouh-shuh]*

Uncontested rulers of the House of Sin, the Leannán Taibhse preferred to lure their victims to their own destruction through enticements of excess. Mortals touched by the Leannán Taibhse were known to live bright, inspired, if woefully short lives - their souls captured in the moment of death to be later twisted into powerful, manipulative magics at the fomoire's whim.