Changelings

THIS PAGE IS STILL HEAVILY UNDER CONSTRUCTION

A changeling is the reborn soul of a being that died at an extremely young age, given a new physical form by a member of the Fae. This phenomenon exists among all soul-bearing beings, though the physical, social, and cultural distinctions between changelings and their non-changeling counterparts will vary by both race and between that race’s unique cultures.

The seven soul-bearing races known to exist in the Mortal Realm and their changeling counterparts are:

* Humans - “Changelings”
* Merfolk - Merpeople
* Giants - Tree-Giants (Triants)
* Dwarves - Stone Walkers
* Unicorns - Nomes
* Dragons - Kings’ Eyes
* Fae Folk - N/ASome contest the existence of the Fae Folk on this list, arguing that, while they appear in the Mortal Realm, they are native to the Fae Realm, do not have changelings but rather are responsible for the creation of the changelings of other races, and are not tied down by the magical limitations of the Mortal Realm. However, they do have souls.

Regardless of a changeling’s soul-bearing race of origin, the process from which a changeling is created and many of their defining traits remain the same. Traits unique to changelings of a certain race will be described in more detail in their respective posts; this is simply to give context for the changeling experience as a whole.

## Creation

### Soul Origin

If a member of the Fae stumbles upon a soul soon after its physical form has perished, they can gather it up and bring it into the Fae Realm, where they will offer it a choice: to become a member of the Fae or to “pass on” as it would have done without their intervention.  Occasionally, however, the Fae will deem a soul worthy of a second chance at life. Most often, these souls had died in infancy, barely taking shape or forming into a personality before being released. The Fae offer them a second chance; be reborn as a changeling, with all memories wiped clean and the chance to actually experience life.

Souls that accept this offer are apparently given a choice as to where they would like to “appear,” though they have no memory of this decision after their rebirth. Quite sensibly, the vast majority of changelings appear relatively close to populated areas for this reason. The Fae then find a Fae Garden nearest to this location and begin creating a physical body for the changeling, careful to keep their work hidden from any untimely explorers.

### Changeling Bodies

The specific mechanics of how the Fae Folk create the body for a changeling are unknown, but four specific details are evident from observation and careful communication with cooperating Fae.

First, the Fae Folk cannot create a changeling body from nothing in the same way that the Fae can shapeshift a form for themselves in the Mortal Realm. However, this ability to mold the physical world is used in the process to transform existing matter into a living, breathing creature for the soul to reside within.

Second, the Fae Folk universally prefer to use actual remains of the intended soul-bearing race to create this body. In other words, they repurpose the empty, deceased corpses of souls that have already passed on to create these new bodies. In doing so, some trade seems to take place; corpses that are left in or near Fae Gardens do not decompose, but instead will be replaced over time by gorgeous works of natural art, such as colorful rock formations, spectacular wildflowers, or even the occasional bush or small tree. We still don’t know how they transform a dead, sometimes badly damaged body into a whole, unblemished changeling, but the Fae have always exhibited powers beyond our mortal understanding.
Third, the Fae will sometimes resort to using other, nearby materials if they cannot gather enough from the bodies of the target race. For example, dwarves never leave their dead in Fae Gardens; thus, dwarven changelings are entirely made from stone. Human changelings often look indiscernible from their non-changeling counterparts, but for a tiny cluster of scales on their cheekbone or a plant-like texture to their hair.
Finally, the vast majority of changeling bodies are that of children or young adolescents, old enough to survive on their own for a short time without robbing them of the majority of their developmental years. This means that their “birth date” is not representative of their age, and most changelings have to get help guessing what their actual age would be based on the growth and maturity patterns of their peers.

## Post Awakening

All changelings wake up fully clothed in Fae Gardens somewhere in the Mortal Realm, with next to no memory of how they got there. Most of their memories of the Fae Realm are already gone by this point, and what few remain fade rapidly, like a forgotten dream.  From there, most changelings either stumble into a populated area or are rescued, at which point they are either immediately recognized as a changeling or are presumed to simply be a lost amnesiac. Depending on the circumstances, a changeling might be taught about their nature by the first people they meet, or connect the dots years down the road. Some may never realize that they’re a changeling at all.

Despite their complete amnesia, changelings are born with a few instincts that non-changeling babies have to learn during their early development. They’re clumsier than average, but know how to do all basic motor functions, just like the Fae do when they build bodies for themselves in the mortal realm. Moreover, they are initially born with the Fae’s incredible talent for mimicry, allowing them to pick up on language, basic social customs, and survival skills extremely quickly. This skill allows changelings to “catch up” developmentally with their peers, but fades with time. Some changelings born in very young bodies will actually become aware of things faster than other children, making them seem extremely precocious before the effect wears off. On the other hand, if a changeling never learns a skill or custom before this social “growth spurt” wears off, it will be more difficult for them to pick it up later. This is why Lord Jameson is mute.

### Personal Identity Struggles

In addition, while changelings remember nothing from their time in the Fae Realm, their souls were still shaped by their experiences during that time. Those preferences and desires that led to their decision to become a changeling are still a part of their soul, even if they can’t remember the context behind those instincts. This often leaves changelings with a strange, disconnected sense of deja vu, inner purpose, or sense of identity that they have trouble fulfilling or even articulating. Often, changelings compare this sense of disconnected identity to how it feels when you’re looking for a specific word, but can’t remember what it is, or when your body is craving something but you don’t know what. This feeling that they’re meant to be or to accomplish something will remain very strong throughout their lives, and many changelings will eventually go on a self-searching journey of trial and error to rediscover that identity.

For those who are aware that they’re changelings, this identity struggle comes with questions about their previous life. Much like adopted children, many changelings struggle with the understanding that they had a life in the Mortal Realm before this one, however brief it was. Unfortunately, there is no way for a changeling to uncover any details about their past life through simple research. There’s no way to know how long their soul was in the Fae Realm before their rebirth; they might not even be on the same continent anymore. The only way for a changeling to learn any details about their past life would be to ask a member of the Fae. However, most will either refuse to answer or demand you make a deal with them first. The latter is VERY stupid and will probably end badly, so please don’t do that. Especially because, even if you somehow managed to get an answer, find your birth family, and by some miracle, you had awoken as a changeling within a few decades of your original death… your family will have probably moved on, trusting that you’ll find a home among the Fae Folk. That’s kinda the whole point of giving young souls the opportunity to become changelings in the first place; not to send them into a life of uncertainty and sadness, but to give them a chance at finding a home of their own. Of course, like most adopted children, this part of their history will always weigh on them at least a little bit, but eventually, most changelings will make peace with their unknown origins, especially if they never find out any details. It’s hard to miss what you never had, after all.

## Human Changelings

Humans are a race of soul-bearing beings that exist all over the Mortal Realm, including the continent of Tirónar.

Much like how we have given our planet’s moon the name “moon,” human changelings are simply called “changelings” in most human languages. Humans tend to be dumb like that.

### Physical Appearance

Physically, mentally, and magically, changelings rarely differ from any other mortal human. They eat, drink, sleep, train to unlock their magic and find a focus (or live their entire lives without doing so), bleed, and die just like the rest of us. Upon their death, their souls face the same choices of fate that every mortal soul must face.

Occasionally, changelings will be seen with inhuman coloration, shape, or texture of the eyes, skin, or hair, but this is often imperceptible except under close examination. You’d be surprised at how much humans overlook their fellows’ appearances.

All known physical quirks of human changelings are derived from things that appear naturally in the environment surrounding the Fae Garden the changeling appeared in. Almost all of these traits appear in the eyes, skin, hair, nails, and teeth, with the most common being animal eyes, hair made from plants, animal fur, or feathers, skin with either distinct patches or a thin veneer of natural materials, and nails or teeth made from minerals, animal teeth, claws, or scales.

Even the most dramatic physical alterations a changeling might have will never violate basic human anatomy. In other words, no wings, no horns, no funny bone structure, nothing like that. Changelings have the mortal form of your average human and thus have the same two legs, two arms, one head, one heart, one brain, two eyes, etc; the only changes are cosmetic.

It’s as if you are building a lego set, can’t find a black 4x4 flat lego that you need, and end up using a green 4x4 flat lego instead so you can continue building. The lego set will be structurally identical, but there will be a funny color somewhere in there that doesn’t match. Depending on how many times you had to do this or where the replacement was, it might stand out more, but most of the time, it’s barely noticeable.

Additionally, just like you would prefer to build a lego set with the correct colors, the Fae prefer to build a body with all the proper pieces. In Duilintinn, where it is traditional to leave bodies in Fae Gardens if you cannot afford time for a proper burial (eg. victims of plague or battle) or or if they died in infancy, this leaves the Fae Folk with plenty of material to work with; thus, most changelings on the continent of Tirónar will rarely have more than one or two blatant “changeling features,” if any.

In fact, non-changelings will sometimes be confused for changelings and vice versa. A lot of non-changelings look kinda changeling-ish, and a lot, if not most, changelings don’t look any different from their non-changeling brethren. There’s something sweetly significant about those moments of confusion. It really emphasizes the fact that, at the end of the day, we’re all still human. The same souls, just with slightly different physical vessels housing them. Changelings are not distinct enough from their non-changeling counterparts to be considered a separate race of being, because they’re not, both aesthetically and spiritually.

One of the most well-known examples of this phenomenon is Lord Jameson, whose skin is made from a sandy mineral, so faint that it’s impossible to distinguish from the olive-brown complexion that’s common to Duilintinn until closer inspection reveals a distinct texture and complete absence of the undertones that usually tint one’s skin.

## Unique Changeling Traits

While for the most part, changelings are the same as their non-changeling counterparts, they do have a faint connection to the Fae Realm that others often lack.

For example, when a soul has decided to disperse itself in an area of the Mortal Realm after death, on average, changelings are better at sensing the faint echo of that soul than non-changelings.

Additionally, on very rare occasions, two changelings with a deep connection, called a “Changeling Pair,” are born around the same time. Souls in the Fae Realm often form platonic or romantic bonds with other souls, just like in the Mortal Realm. Unlike mortals, however, these souls aren’t separated from each other by physical bodies. Though the magic of each individual soul cannot be combined with that of another, two souls that spend a lot of time near each other can become “acclimated” to each other. If these souls become changelings, this bond between them will be preserved, despite losing all memory of the Fae Realm. Most of the time, this bond is simply a gut feeling of belonging; i.e. the stereotypical idea of a soulmate. However, these bonds are very rare. Most souls who have found happiness in the Fae Realm decide to stay there. Becoming changelings means trading the openness of the Fae Realm for two separate, physical bodies. Worse yet, there’s a strong possibility that the changelings will not be able to find each other in the Mortal Realm, thus dooming them both to a mortal life that’s plagued with a subtle sense of loss. In truth, this is not nearly as bad as it sounds; many changeling pairs have lived happy, fulfilling lives before finally encountering each other, despite the feeling that something was missing. However, for two souls who have known nothing but the incorporeal magic of the Fae Realm… the idea is unbearable to even consider. Plus, not every soul in the Fae Realm can become a changeling in the first place; both souls would have had to have died in infancy. So all in all, actual cases of changeling pairs are very rare.

Additionally, there is an even rarer phenomenon called “Changeling Twins,” in which changelings with souls that formed strong familial bonds will often appear in physical forms that look very similar to each other, if not identical.

## Changeling Acceptance in Human Cultures

Acceptance for changelings varies between human cultures.

Duilintinn is very accepting of changelings and draws very little distinction between them and their non-changeling counterparts. The phenomenon is public knowledge and extremely common, likely because of the extremely high amounts of Fae Gardens that appear within or near the kingdom’s borders. With the amount of magic that inundates Duilintinn’s environment and culture, changelings are not perceived as anything out of the ordinary. People do have to indicate their changeling status on their citizenship records, but only because a changeling’s “birth date” might not be indicative of their true physical age and maturity.

On the other hand, while nowhere in Tirónar has outright, government-mandated oppression of changelings, some cultures are less accepting of changelings than others. In most cases, this is either the direct result of a cultural mistrust of anything related to Fae Folk or a case of “othering” due to physical differences or superstition. Tandeli is a unique exception; while there was preexisting superstition regarding the physical quirks of changelings, a few areas of the kingdom saw a recent surge in mistrust for changelings after a changeling disguised himself as several government figures and forcibly took their place without detection for several months.

## Neurodivergence Parallels Disclaimer

Almost everyone knows that the changeling myth was a way of explaining developmental disorders in a time where they didn’t know anything about that sort of thing, right? Autism and Down’s Syndrome are the two I can think of off the top of my head, but I’m pretty sure there are more. Autism is the one I’m specifically familiar with (being on the spectrum myself), so I’m gonna be using that in this comparison, but know that this is not something that’s only related to ASD.

Now, as someone on the Autism Spectrum, I’ve always loved the changeling myth. It’s just such a cool thing to think of yourself as an otherworldly creature in a strange and boring world rather than look at yourself how the rest of the world tends to look at you. HOWEVER, there is the very nasty ableist part of that myth about how the “normal” children were replaced with “abnormal” ones, which echoes a lot of the ableist rhetoric propagated by Autism Speaks and their ilk. I really wanted to incorporate the changeling myth into this AU, just without the baby stealing bit, and the finalized concept of changelings that you see here is how I ended up finding that balance.

For one example of a parallel, it isn’t always super easy to tell if someone is autistic. Some people with ASD can be identified pretty easily, even by neurotypical folks, due to very visible/audible symptoms such as stimming, difficulty speaking, auditory stims, echolalia, severe sensory sensitivity, etc., while others will go completely unnoticed because their symptoms are much less obvious and usually explained away with, “they’re just a bit quirky/ditsy/unique/gifted/etc.” When we apply this to the changelings of The Watch AU, we see the same sort of variety. Some changelings might have really obvious physical differences and/or will have more difficulty adapting to the mortal world and the slight feeling of ‘otherness’ from spending time in the Fae Realm as a soul. Other changelings might have much more subtle physical differences or adapt quicker to the Mortal Realm and will often go unnoticed.

All that to say that my own experience with being autistic and just generally neurodivergent has influenced a lot of how I view changelings in this AU. However (and this is important), Changelings are NOT a replacement for neurodivergence in this AU. You can absolutely have a non-changeling character who is also ND. For example, my main Watcher and self-insert, Bard Emily Keyes, is ADHD and on the autism spectrum like myself, but is NOT a changeling. Whether you enjoy the changeling myth as a way to express your neurodivergence or prefer to have a character who is truly ND without any magical, otherworldly explanations is absolutely up to you and no one else.

## Trivia

In other lands, far from the Fae Folk near Tirónar, the occasional rumor will appear of a human changeling with extensive physical changes to their bodies, but these may just be that: rumors.