Fae

"The dreamer dies, but never dies the dream." — Dana Burnet

The Fae are a broad spectrum of creatures that are native to Faerie, one of the most stable and best-known realms of the Dreamlands. Mortals also refer to them as faeries, the Fair Folk, or the Good Folk, though this last term is more a matter of wishful thinking than accurate nomenclature. While the Fae are native to the Dreamlands, however, they are not imprisoned there, and they frequently pass into the mortal world for reasons both benign and foul.

Appearance

Height Weight Body Type Skin Tone Eyes Distinguishing Physical Traits
varies by type and current magic use varies by type and current magic use varies by type and current magic use varies by type and current magic use varies by type and current magic use varies by type and current magic use

Definition

In the most general terms, a faery is a creature of imagination brought to life by the primal force of creation. This ancient power permeates the Dreamlands, and when mortal minds draw close to the plane — as they do when mortals are dreaming, meditating, or in the heights of a drug-induced ecstasy — then the beings imagined by those mortal minds have a chance of being brought to life. Most of the time this does not happen: while mortal dreams can be seen and even entered from the Dreamlands, the constructs within them are usually vague and half-formed, and collapse like soap bubbles when the mortal wakes. It takes a strong mind, or a very fervent belief in the creature being imagined, for this dream-construct to amass sufficient creative energy to live on its own after the dream has faded. The Fae are the result of these successful acts of spontaneous creation.

Origins

Fae creatures are extremely diverse, ranging from the monstrously inhuman to the devastatingly beautiful. Some are birthed from fantasies, others from nightmares. All, however, are given life by a primeval creative force that is far older and more mysterious than any mortal magic, older even than the fallen gods of the Pantheon. This power cannot be studied by mortals, except in the form of the Fae themselves, so its nature and origins remain a mystery. Many Universalists believe it is the leftover "raw material" from when the Universe was created; others believe that it is the scattered essence of the Creator-god, cosmic soul-stuff in its rawest form.

It is not known whether the Fae themselves have a name for this force that gives them life, and mortal scholars favor different terms depending on their favorite theories about the power's origins. One term that has gained popularity in the last century is the Numen — a term that meant "divine essence" in Old Suielman, and which hearkens back to the Universalist concept of the Numen as the scattered fragments of a dead Creator (or, as many put it, a Creator who sacrificed its self-identity in order to become the universe). Only a few things are known for sure about the Numen: it is potent; it shapes itself in response to a creative mind; and it is wild and unpredictable. This last trait can be seen both in the terrain of the Dreamlands, which shifts and changes endlessly, and in the Fae themselves. Some Fae are good-hearted and others are irredeemably wicked, but none of them are what mortals would call safe — the chaotic energy that birthed them makes them feral and capricious, and even the fairest of faeries is a trickster at heart.

Subtypes

A few species of Fae are particularly well-known.

Sidhe: The sidhe (pronounced "shee") are the most human-like faeries, both in appearance and in temperament. Until the invasion of the celestials and fiends and the subsequent rise of the Dreamlands War, the sidhe were the dominant species of Faerie. They resent being called "faeries" to their faces; it is roughly as rude as addressing a human as "mammal." Most of the more powerful Fae are sidhe of one type or another.

Sylvan Fae: This is a broad group of forest-dwelling Fae, most of whom have some mixture of humanoid and bestial characteristics. The best-known of these the fauns and satyrs (amorous goat-legged humanoids), centaurs (who need no introduction), unicorns (which appear to be animals but are actually as intelligent as humans), and leprechauns (who don't have any overtly bestial characteristics but tend to get lumped in with the other forest-dwellers because they have more in common with them than with anyone else — they're at least twice as large as any of the wee folk, and mass at least six times as much).

Wee Folk: These Fae are humanoid in appearance, but tiny — no more than a third of a meter tall. Some, like pixies and ellyllon, have wings; others, like brownies and nixies, are bound to the land or water. These are what many people think of when they hear the word "faery", and they are some of the most common types encountered by mortals. Most of them are relatively benign — though a swarm of hungry pixies can skeletonize a cow in minutes.

Goblin-kin: These creatures are generally ugly humanoids ranging from one to two meters tall. They include a broad variety of beings that are known by many names — goblins, hobs, hobgoblins, gnomes, trolls, oni, and countless others. Most of them stay in the darker parts of Faerie, and they are usually hostile to mortal interests. Many of them enjoy the taste of human flesh.

Fomorii: Believed to be birthed from the dreams of the now-extinct giants, the fomorii are similar in appearance to goblin-kin but much larger and stronger. They have misshapen heads in which one eye is much larger than the other, and each fomorii has a supernatural power associated with its eye, such as a death-gaze or the ability to see into the future. Like the goblin-kin, they prefer the darker side of Faerie, and many of them have allied themselves with the daedra in the Dreamlands War.

Kamui: Most commonly found in the parts of Faerie touching on the eastern realms of the Hanese and Yamatoan peoples, the kamui are Fae shapeshifters that can take on the form of an animal, a human, or a hybrid form in between. There are many varieties, but two of the best-known are the kitsune (fox) and the tanuki (raccoon dog). The kamui can usually live peacefully alongside rural humans, but they dislike large cities and the pollution they cause. Many have migrated to the mortal world over the centuries, interbreeding with the human population; as a result, there are relatively few kamui left who can access the full range of powers that have historically been available to them.

Domovoi: A type of "household" fae of the mountainous area near Vysehrad.

A Commonly Made Mistake

While they are often lumped in with the Fae, nymphs, neriads and sylphs are not faery-kin; they are the offspring of various members of the Pantheon,1 and are thus considered aedra or daedra (depending on who their ancestors were). Nymphs do, however, share a strong kinship with Fae creatures, and it's a safe bet that the fae and nymphs in a given forest will work together for mutual protection and defense.

Abilities

Fae creatures vary widely in their capabilities; some are frail and almost helpless if caught by humans, while others have power to rival the fallen gods themselves. Some abilities, however, are possessed by nearly all fae:

Illusion Magic

No mortal can rival the faery-folk when it comes to illusions; whether weaving a veil of invisibility around themselves, making a stick look like a sword, or conjuring shadows into apparently-solid objects, even the smallest of fae can hold their own against a mortal illusionist. Faeries are particularly fond of glamours — illusions that make one object appear to be something else. They can use this form of illusion to make themselves look like almost anything — or make anyone else look like anything. Even more remarkable, these transformations are actually solid and real as long as the thing that has been glamoured remains in the Dreamlands. Only when the creature or object is brought back into the sunlight of the material plane does the magic fade and the illusion become evident. Leprechauns have used this trick many, many times to deceive mortals who trapped them and demanded their pots of gold.

Plane-walking

The barrier between the Dreamlands and the material plane generally keeps celestials and fiends on one side and mortals on the other; rifts and portals open from time to time (and close just as quickly), but for the most part creatures on one side cannot pass through to the other without powerful magic. The fae, however, have no such restrictions; even the lowly pixie can pass between the worlds with little more than a thought. They cannot, however, open the way for non-fae without the aforementioned powerful magic, a fact that is a continued source of frustration for celestials and fiends who seek to escape their endless conflict.

Conditional Immortality

The fae are creatures of imagination; as long as mortals believe in them, they cannot die permanently. A fae who is slain will eventually be resurrected, or reborn as another fae of a similar kind. The smaller, weaker fae still fear death, because they often do not retain the memories of their past lives after they have regenerated. Of course, many fae do not retain the memory of what happened to them yesterday, but this does nothing to reduce their survival instincts.

This resurrection can happen quite fast for a fae that has a lot of mortals believing in him/her; see the entry for St. Nicholas below.

Limitations & Weaknesses

All fae creatures are bound by a set of common limitations and weaknesses. Scholars are unsure of the reasons for many of these limitations; it is thought that they are somehow related to the nature of the Numen itself, but since no one has ever been able to study Numen in isolation, they remain a source of mystery.

The Bane

The touch of iron is poisonous to all fae creatures. More information on this is given in the article on the sidhe.

The Truth

Fae are incapable of knowingly telling a lie, though they can phrase the truth in deceptive ways in order to create a false impression. They may also repeat a lie that they have heard, if they themselves believe it to be true.

The Word

A faery that gives its word is bound by it; they must fulfill their promises or suffer terrible pain, loss of power, and possibly even death.

Unchangeability

Faeries do not have souls; they lack free will and cannot change their essential natures. A leprechaun will always attempt to twist the wishes granted to a mortal who captures them, regardless of how well it might like the mortal otherwise; that is simply a part of its nature. For similar reasons, a unicorn cannot simply decide to start allowing non-virgin mortals to touch it, nor can a satyr decide to take up abstinence and sobriety. Generally speaking, the more human-like a faery is, the more complex its nature, and the greater leeway it has in its behavior, but every fae has certain inner drives and impulses that it cannot overcome.

Famous Fae

  • St. Nicholas, a Sidhe Lord, The Gift Bringer, the Holly King
    • On the night of the Winter Solstice delivers presents to children across the world, no matter what.
    • Janus Starson sees St. Nicholas as an incredible threat to the safety of Metamor. On the night of the Winter Solstice St. Nicholas can get into any location, despite any wards that have been placed, and other creatures follow behind the fae.
      • Before the Long Night of 1998 CR, Janus manages to behead and kill the Sidhe Lord… and the press got pictures of Janus bringing in St. Nick's head to HQ. St. Nicholas regenerated in time to still deliver gifts on time; this is accomplished through the sheer amount and power of the belief that children… he is the embodiment of the concept of the Winter Solstice and gift giving.
      • On the Winter Solstice of 1999 CR, The Gift Bringer goes to Lothanasi HQ, puts Candace into a trap so that Janus will leave him alone for the night, and leaves a lump of coal by Janus's office door. This is a rare example of a fae deviating from established patterns (then again, Janus has been a thorn in the Holly King's side- it's the trap part that's the deviation).
      • On Winter Solstice 2000 CR, Janus is relieved of duty for the Long Night by Lothanasi High Command, by recommendation of Merai Starchild. This personal war with the Holly King has become a PR nightmare to the Lothanasi (due to reporters getting pictures of the year before and St. Nick getting past the Metamor City Lothanasi HQ wards).

Known Fae

While not famous to history (yet?), these are the fae that have been seen in Metamor City stories:

Author's Notes


Sources: Original MK2K Bible Entry- Races/Sidhe, Dreams of Change, A Lightbringer's Christmas Tale, A Lightbringer's Christmas Carol, Whispers in the Wood

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