Changeling

### Chimerical Landscape

The chimerical landscape of southern Maine around Portland is one of dramatic, rocky coastlines and dark, shadowed woods. In both the city and the surrounding natural areas, a fog or mist off the sea often drifts in, and the shadows are deeper and darker than they seem to mortal eyes, a contrast only heightened by sudden sites of bright sunlight in the midst of the shadowy, mist-shrouded gloom. The winds that blow off the ocean or the waves that crash against the shore sometimes seem to carry voices in them whose words cannot quite be made out. Caves and piles of granite rocks can be found in the woods: rumor has it those dark cave entrances might lead to anywhere. Strange lights are sometimes glimpsed in the woods—will o’ the wisps, perhaps, or something more sinister, or perhaps the gleaming eyes of unknown creatures.

This landscape doesn’t mean the atmosphere of the place is grim or dreary, but rather that something a touch eerie hangs around the area. The chimerical wildlife mostly follows the model of the mundane local fauna, but other incidental chimera are glimpsed who are in keeping with Maine’s reputation for being a deeply haunted state: these chimera, who appear and vanish swiftly, may seem almost like ghosts, the echoes of dreams from eras past, dressed in the clothing of other time periods. Interaction with these chimera is limited: they seem at times not to notice what’s around them at all, and when they do, they rarely have anything very useful to say, restricting themselves to cryptic, puzzling remarks. Unsurprisingly, they are glimpsed most frequently around historical areas, cemeteries, and the small family plots that dot the countryside.

It is, nonetheless, a place of some dangers: occasionally those ghostly chimera are, in fact, hostile nightmare chimera, and dangerous wild creatures lurk in the woods and by the shores; occasionally, these might venture into town itself.  Yet it remains, too, a place of moody beauty: the dark woods and craggy shores are brightened with bursts of flowers in the warmer months of the year, and the winter, too, has its own severe beauty that Kithain of either court may appreciate.

### Political Setting

Maine is considered to be Part of the Kingdom of Apples

* Ruler: Queen Mab Ni House Fiona

Most of Maine falls into the Duchy of Stonecoast, ruled by Duke Cainon Rhaevaern ap Eiluned, whose freehold is situated in Bangor, Maine. The Duke finds the work of ruling such a provincial area a bit too placid and tedious for his sake, or so it seems, and tends to spend most of his time at the court of Queen Mab, Caer Palisades, in New Jersey.

Knowing full well that this might seem an invitation to restless nobility in the area to unseat him, he has ensured that there are few Counts or Countesses in the region, dividing most of the territory into baronial holdings or commoner-held territories. In this less centralized model, smaller demesnes tend to vie against one another for resources and attention. The Duke’s favor shifts frequently, offering very few nobles any particular advantage. He does assist in times of crisis or emergencies, but only upon request, and the aid is carefully measured and considered.

In sum, he is not so profligate and generous as to be beloved by his subjects, but neither is he so miserly or tyrannical that there’s any persistent push to unseat him. Tensions tend to exist on more local levels, between comparable courts rather than between the Duke and his subjects.

In Portland, the longest-standing freeholds were for some time in the hands of commoners, both Heart’s Refrain and the selkie-held holding that became Drakehome. Since Jonivar ap Ailil’s arrival, heralding a more autocratic and traditionalist style of sidhe rule, relations between the aristocracy and modernist elements have become more fraught. The union of Drakehome and Wonder’s Respite has exacerbated this, as commoner kiths see a consolidation of aristocratic power, founded upon a hold usurped from non-aristocratic changelings, a deep insult in light of a past attempt by a noble sidhe to take over Heart’s Refrain. Commoners affiliated with noble courts and independent sidhe feel the effects of this far more than those cloistered in Drakehome; distrust runs high and hot on both ends, as extremists of either stripe find excuses to prod at one another, and unaffiliated moderates find themselves squeezed between the two factions.

* Known Counts/Countesses:

Knight-Captain Ciara Anmímhorálta ni Balor (DEM)
* Known Barons and Baronesses

Baroness Daira Willowbrook ni Fiona (Meg)
Baron Jonivar ap Ailil (NPC)