Fae

Fairies are not so much their own race but a class of being all sharing of unifying characteristics. They have existed longer than mankind itself has been around though their lifespans vary wildly. The specifics to each fairy are largely dependent on what they represent. All fairies possess a role, something they represent that wholly defines them. The most common fae are representative of nature, shortly followed by those of the classic Greek elements.

The fae herald from a realm known as the Otherworld, a place where the four seasons are locations upon themselves. In the center of these lands where each season meets is the Castle of Seasons, home to the great fairy court. The two main factions that the court comprise of are the Light and the Dark. The Light fae embody the appearance of all that is believed good. The Dark fae stand as opposites to the Light fae, embodying all that is believed evil.

While fae are capable of reasoning and even having individual personalities that differ from one another a large portion of a fae's identity is shaped by what they represent. A fairy of winter will be cold and miserly whereas a fairy of summer will be warm and generous. They are born into and shaped by their roles, existing as living anthropomorphizations of the concepts they embody.

That is not to say a fairy cannot deviate from their assigned role. Though rare there are occasions where a fae will switch out their role for another, embodying a new concept altogether. This only really happens to fae who spend enough time in the human world outside of the Otherworld. The most common contributing cause for a fae to change it's role is when it discovers changes and ambiguous strains of thought attached to it's concept by humans. There are other causes for a fairy to change it's role however. When a fairy chooses to shed it's former role for another the new role usually ties in to their former role in some fashion. Never has a fairy abandoned it's natural born role for a concept completely foreign to the one it originally represented.

The Light fae are led in court by the Tuath De, a tribe of their most powerful fae who represent valiant heroes, brave knights, beautiful princesses and wise kings. The Dark fae are led in court by the Fomorians, an opposing tribe of powerful fae who have been enemies of the Tuath De since their synchronous origin. The Fomorians do not embody archetypes as the Tuath do but instead represent the harmful and destructive powers of nature such as chaos, darkness, death, blight and drought.

Despite their dualistic nature the court is ruled by a king and a queen, each also serving as the ruler of the two factions. The King of Summer rules over the Light fae and The Queen of Winter rules over the Dark fae. These two though often at odds with each other served to unify the four seasons in harmony, preserving the careful peace within the Otherworld. Under the king is The Prince of Spring and under the queen is The Princess of Autumn. They are the offspring of the king and queen, hence why their seasons hold elements of both summer and winter.

While fae might represent various concepts and ideas they are not directly connected. Fae are not the same as elementals who are the very essence of their elements given will. If something a fairy has chosen to represent changes the fairy will not change until it is made aware that a change was made. It is this that unites fae as beneath their roles they are all the same species no matter how different they might look or act.

As such all fae are also bound to the same rule. A feature ingrained in the arcane make-up of every fae is the Rule of Pacts. The Rule of Pacts makes it so that no fairy can break a deal once it is made. If a fairy makes a promise or loses at a game it is both physically and mentally compelled to fulfill it's end of the deal. Even if the terms of the pact are impossible to fulfill the fairy will be forced to use every ounce of it's power to try and fulfill it. While this is not all too impressive for lesser fae a powerful fae is something to behold when it puts it's mind to fulfilling a pact, especially considering that a fae will even change it's role if needed in order to uphold it's end of the deal.

It should be noted that while a fairy cannot break a pact once made it can interpret the wording of the pact quite literally and even cheat should it choose to. What it cannot do is go against the terms set by the pact in their most literal interpretation.

On the other side of the equation a fairy will automatically know if someone does not hold up their end of a deal made with the fairy, regardless of what magic is involved. If this pact is broken by a non-fairy then the fairy who has been wronged will exact a toll. The toll is not as demanding a trait of fairies as they are not wholly compelled to exact it like they are when it is them who need to uphold a deal. What the toll does do is indicate to every fairy in existence who the deal breaker is. Unless the fairy who was wronged exacts it's toll from the deal breaker the person responsible for failing to uphold their end of the deal will forever remain an enemy to all fae, a fate which can carry some fairly costly and enduring consequences. It is entirely up to the jurisdiction of the fairy who made the pact to decide what toll should be exacted from the deal breaker. Oftentimes this toll will be proportionate to the strength of the fairy who made the pact but it's largely based on the fairy's disposition towards the one who failed to uphold the pact.