The King of the Forest

"*There has been violence between Seelie and Unseelie on my grounds, a death has been made, and it is unjust.’*"
―The King of the Forest[[The Court of Five Thrones, Chapter 54: Fraught]]
**The King of the Forest** is a large, sentient White Stag, who serves as prey for the Wild Hunt, and keeps order across alignments during it.

## Appearance

The King of the Forest appears as a large white stag - too large to be a normal stag - with large, white branching antlers, and a black nose. He has a muscular body designed for running, and his eyes radiate wisdom.

## Personality

The King of the Forest is sober, mysterious, and calm in nature, despite the fact that he knows he's about to be slaughtered before every Wild Hunt. He possesses no signs of levity and takes the sacredness of the Wild Hunt very seriously. He is a compelling judge of character, being able to, 'see into the hearts of those who run the Wild Hunt.'

## Life

The King of the Forest, also known as the White Stag, is a large and sacred white stag who often makes other fae feel incredibly aware of his sacredness and godliness. He only appears during the Wild Hunt, during which he is hunted to death, and then springs back to life anew.

When Crielle ferch Fnwy suggests making sport of Augus Each Uisge during the Wild Hunt in order to punish him for his crimes, Gwyn seeks out the White Stag, hoping the King of the Forest will refuse the idea. The White Stag does not allow Augus to be subjected to the Hunt, stating that he would never allow a soul such as him to be run down, never to get up again.

Gwyn helms the Hunt some time after becoming King of the Unseelie. Augus strikes the killing blow in his waterhorse form and Gwyn declares it to be a just death. After this, they return to the clearing they started in for their usual celebrations while the King of the Forest rebirths himself in solitude, to join them later. During this time, Prince Vane attempts to assassinate Gwyn with a mothersbane arrow, and Mikkel takes the shot, dying instead. The White Stag soon arrives and investigates Mikkel's body, after which he declares that the sacred bond meant to be maintained between the Seelie and Unseelie in his forest is broken, and there will be no more Wild Hunts. Gwyn tries to offer reparations, but the White Stag states that there are none that can be made. He bows his head to Gwyn and then walks away, and as he leaves, the magic of the forest goes with him. The cwn annwn, the hounds of the Hunt, are also called back.

Some time after this, the White Stag speaks to some of the classless fae about what occurred, which motivates the Seelie classless to fully back the Coalition of the Classless, as it makes them realize they too have something to lose if they don't support the Council. The Nain Rouge states that the White Stag was 'pissed' and recommended Gwyn avoid him.

Over four years after Mosk Manytrees and Julvia Dubna Vajat bring the Aur forest back to life, and after Gwyn gives Eran Iliakambar the Seelie crown to safeguard, with the suggestion that Eran might become King of the Seelie one day, Eran begins seeing a white stag in the forest sometimes, at a distance.

## Special Abilities

**Seeming immortality:** The King of the Forest come back to life repeatedly after being slaughtered. Possibly genuinely immortal.

**Aura:** The King of the Forest can create a feeling of eldritch sacredness in his forest, and in *The Court of Five Thrones*, also has the power to remove it.

## Relationships

### Eran Iliakambar

Although they didn't interact, the King of the Forest seems to show himself to Eran in the second Aur forest, after Gwyn gives Eran the Seelie crown to safeguard.

### Gwyn ap Nudd

The King of the Forest is only ever shown in the canon talking to Gwyn directly. Gwyn himself is often depicted with stag iconography (such as the antlers in Augus' collar, wearing a white hind mask during the Masque, and having the illusion of black antlers placed on his new armour), and Vane calls him the 'Stag King'. The connection between the King of the Forest and Gwyn is made even plainer when Gwyn says, 'I'm King of the Forest now, am I? I believe the position is taken.'

## Quotes

* ‘*For the first time since its inauguration*,’ the King of the Forest said, his voice steady and calm, ‘*the sacred bond to be maintained between Seelie and Unseelie in my forest has been broken. There will be no more Wild Hunts in my forest.*’

## Trivia

* During the Wild Hunts that Augus helms with Gwyn, Gwyn is often the one to capture and kill the White Stag.

## Folklore/Mythology

White stags are considered messengers of the Underworld in Celtic mythology. White deer in general are featured in many different cultures and mythologies all over the world. The act of hunting an animal that could never die is thought to represent a spiritual quest for those that hunt it.

## Image Gallery

Fanart cover art for "The Court of Five Thrones" by kazechama https://kazechama.tumblr.com/post/133732263753/this-was-supposed-to-be-done-for-inktober-and
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 21 October 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/2011577. Chapter 21: Roleplay.
2. ↑ not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 24 September 2013. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/1928111. Chapter 14: Aftercare.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 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.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 31 July 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/10152347. Chapter 54: Fraught.
5. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 7 August 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/10279800. Chapter 55: Refuge.
6. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 14 August 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/10409742. Chapter 56: Islands.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 5 August 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/102269367. Chapter 40: A New Season.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 5 June 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/9186013. Chapter 46: Masque.
9. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 17 April 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/8357779. Chapter 40: Intervention.
10. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 3 July 2015. https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/9645504. Chapter 50: Wayward.
11. ↑ not\_poignant. “Game Theory.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 31 January 2014. https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296/chapters/2083339. Chapter 26: Family.
12. ↑ "White stag". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White\_stag. Accessed 29 May 2021.