The Curse

## Summary

Crielle ferch Fnwy is a common fae of Seelie Court status living under the An Fnwy curse, a distant magic that forces cruelty and horror into a bloodline of fae who are supposed to be good, honourable, virtuous citizens. Managing her darker proclivities with the reputation of goodness she is expected to present to the rest of the world is not easy, and she cannot do it alone.

## Characters

* Adain ferch Fnwy
* Calder ap Cenn
* Crielle ferch Fnwy
* Delphine
* Efnisien ap Wledig
* Egon
* Euroswydd
* Lludd Llaw Eraint
* Melchor the sixteenth
* The Oak King
* Penarddun ferch Fnwy
* Rhiamon ferch anFnwy

## Details

The story tells the history of Crielle from her birth to when she became pregnant with Gwyn, along with the story of her maternal grandmother, Rhiamon, how she killed her parents, her sister, how both Crielle and Penny met and married their spouses, and the birth of Efnisien.

## Quotations

* 'Crielle’s heartsong complicated her already fastidious nature. She had never liked blood on her hands, she had never liked sweat or the other many juices of the body. Even her own saliva disgusted her when she noticed it as drool on her pillow. Bad enough, but with a core energy of appearance, she suddenly became far more concerned with presenting herself as well-composed to others at all times. Sex did not lend itself to composure. Nor did hands-on torture or violence or murder.'
* To Crielle: ‘Glamour is first and foremost a defensive mechanism to protect fae from humans, as you know,’ Melchor said, scratching at his opalescent scales, trailing a finger down to his chin thoughtfully. ‘Of course your own glamour, being what it is, simply blasts their will from their minds. You’d have quite a career in world domination on the human side, were you ever interested, my Lady.’
* ‘Can we speak candidly? I’m probably asking the wrong person that question,’ the Oak King muttered. ‘Look, Crielle, you’re valuable to the Court, but you’re a risk. You think you can play me, but you forget I am King and I *allow* myself to be played by you. It is an enjoyable meeting of the minds whenever I engage with you, even as I know you wish to elicit certain reactions from me. But, despite all the danger you present to us, you are a fascinating woman, a powerful one. I *want* you here. I’m not the kind of King to drive away my peers because they threaten me, do you understand?’

## Trivia

* This story provides a great deal of backstory on Lludd and Lludd's family in particular.
* Most canon details about Euroswydd and Penny come from this story.
* Crielle's personality is greatly explored in this story, including her seeming touch and sex aversion, and her apparent asexuality. Her relationship with Lludd is also greatly explored.
* The story also shows one of the longer direct appearances by the Oak King, and his actually meeting with Crielle.
* Overall, the story provides a great deal of the canon info on Gwyn's family tree, including his parents, maternal aunt and uncle, an unknown number of paternal aunts and/or uncles, a little more about his cousin, his maternal grandparents, his maternal great-grandmother, his paternal grandfather, and his maternal great-great-grandmother.
* This story is where most information about the An Fnwy curse affecting other family outside of rumor comes from.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 *The Curse*, Chapter 2. Accessed 23 July 2021.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *The Curse*, Chapter 1. Accessed 23 July 2021.