Introduction
Faerie lore is a distillation of superstition, tradition, and shared belief. Faeries are a way to use stories to impart the rules of communal living to the younger generation, and to mitigate the effects of tragedies that happen in the community. A mother who killed her child in a postpartum hallucination would be sentenced for infanticide, but a woman who recognized the child as a changeling and smothered it while it slept would be applauded for her insight and cunning.
Adventures in the lands of faeries are fundamentally human struggles that are told through an otherworldly internal logic. The victors are those who show their cleverness and moral virtue by both adhering to the rules and defining their parameters, lest they become a warning to those who follow in their footsteps.
Origin of the Feywild
When the world of Toril was created, the Primordials sorted its essence and cast out everything that they deemed too bright or too dark. These essences came to be known as the Feywild and the Shadowfell, parallel worlds that were inextricably linked to the Prime Material Plane. Originally these planes drifted over each other and folded over the Prime Material Plane like waves upon a shore.
The creatures who inhabited the Feywild occasionally passed into the Prime Material Plane, and it is from these lineages that we have elves and other Fey creatures on Toril. The times when these planes naturally overlap with the Prime Material Plane have waned with the passing ages, and the Feywild has drifted from the realm it mirrors. It’s no longer common for children to wander between the roots of large trees and find themselves in strange new lands, but some small villages along certain magical ley lines do still report these occurrences. Some creatures also have the unique ability to pass between the worlds, either through their own power or through a natural ability to find bridges between the planes.
Seelie and Unseelie
“Seelie” and “Unseelie” are classifications in the Feywild that refer to the way that they treat outsiders.
Seelie will tend to be warm and welcoming to outsiders, and are known to play games with mortals but largely appreciate them as a source of unending curiosity.
Unseelie will tend to be distrustful towards outsiders, and the games that they play with mortals are usually malicious.
Not just faeries!
Fey society is incredibly diverse. Although the faerie species can refer to tiny humanoids with wings, it is also a broad term for spirits in some villages that can include Hags, Vampires, and even Banshees!
The Sidhe
Highborn Fey are commonly referred to as "Sidhe". It is important to address them as such when referring to them if not using their official title.
Fey Factions
The Court of Stars
The Court of Stars is the name of the assembly of the Green Court, Summer Court, Gloaming Court, Winter’s Court, and any powerful unaligned creatures that wish to attend. Any two rulers of the other Fey Courts can call the Court of Stars to discuss matters pertaining to the wellbeing of the Feywild. In recent millennia, it has usually been called at the discretion of Titania the Summer Queen with the support of Oberon.
The Green Court
The Green Court is sometimes called the Spring Court, and is associated with spring and the dawn. It often symbolizes birth and the promise of new beginnings.
The Green Court is ruled by Oberon, King of the Faeries. As Oberon is often with Titania in the Summer court, the Green Man deals with day-to-day matters.
Fey Lineages
Fey society is mostly matriarchal. This means that men will tend to be of lower status than women of comparable rank, and children will usually take their mother's surname.
The Summer Court
The Summer Court is associated with summertime and midday. It often symbolizes life, strength, and journeys. The Summer Court is ruled by Titania, the Summer Queen. She is the primary Archfey of the Seelie, and wields a power that rivals most gods. The Summer Court is selective about who it allows among its ranks, and the hierarchy is mostly comprised of pure-blooded Fey creatures.
The Gloaming Court
The Gloaming Court is sometimes called the Autumn Court, and is associated with autumn and dusk. It symbolizes transition, liminality, the boundary between life and death.
The Gloaming Court doesn’t usually send a delegate to the Court of Stars. However, Cerunnos the Horned Lord is usually in attendance and speaks on the behalf of Gloaming Fey.
The Winter Court
The Winter Court is associated with wintertime and midnight. It symbolizes death, the end of journeys, and the clearing of the old to allow new life.
The Winter Court was formerly ruled by the Prince of Frost, but has been recently overtaken by the Queen of Air and Darkness. Her real name has been lost to the ages, but she is said to be a sister to Titania although they are often on opposing sides. The Winter Court's hierarchy is comprised of any Fey creature with Fey blood.
The Court of Coral
The rulers of the Court of Coral are sometimes called the Sea Lords. They are comprised of a group of Fey Lords who represent the waters of the Feywild.
The Court of Coral is ruled by twin Lords Elias of Shallow Waters and Siobhan of Deep Waters.
The Argent Star
The Argent Star are a neutral collective who worship the World Tree, the cosmology that connects the planes. Legends say that Emmantiensien, the God of Treants, was a manifestation of their prayers to the world tree. Emmantiensien has not attended the Court of Stars for millennia, but followers of the Argent Star attend the Court of Stars to speak on his behalf.
The Argent Star is led by three ancient LeShay who are referred to as the Aldermen by those who seek their help. They await the rebirth of the World Tree at the end of time and watch his roots grow in the aether of starlit nights.
Unaligned
Although many Fey creatures choose to align themselves with a Court for cultural, spiritual, or political reasons, many others do not. There are plenty of powerful creatures that choose not to follow the Court of Stars, like Baba Yaga and Hyrsam the Prince of Fools.
There are also some races that do not recognize the legitimacy of the Court of Stars and do not abide by its rules. This includes the Fomorians, who are both at war with the Court of Stars and often engage in bitter civil wars for supremacy among their own clans.
Rules of the Fey Courts
Each member of the Fey Court must abide by three basic rules. Although the unaligned and non-Fey are not magically obliged to follow these rules, abiding by them is a sign that they will deal in good faith.
1. Speak no falsehoods
A Fey cannot tell lies. Words have power in the Feywild, and for a Fey creature to lie about the nature of a thing would be akin to insulting the thing itself. However, this does not mean that a Fey will not engage in falsehoods. Instead, they will tend tell incomplete truths and rely on the listener's willingness to deceive themself.
To circumvent this, a fairy can be asked the same question three times in succession. This will bind the fairy to answer earnestly, but will often provoke their ire and cause them to manipulate their answer by changing the circumstances.
2. Keep all promises
Breaking a promise would be akin to speaking a falsehood. Promises are sacred pacts among Fey that must be followed, though Fey will often manipulate the circumstances to ensure that they do not have to abide by the promise's intent.
3. Don’t harm outsiders
A Fey cannot harm outsiders. However, usually Fey creatures operate under differing definitions of what "Harm" entails, and often have conditions that allow them to stop regarding strangers as "outsiders".
Twisting the Rules
All Fey associated with a Fey Court are expected to follow these rules in good faith, although they often look for excuses to bend the definitions. For example, “Speak no falsehoods” means that Fey cannot tell lies, but as most Fey lack omniscience, this is generally interpreted as “Do not knowingly speak falsehoods”. These differences are slight but unmistakable, and allow many tricks that a clever Fey can use to gain an advantage in a battle of wits.
8 Rules of Fey Dealings
When dealing with any Fey creature, irrespective of their position in a Court, it is important to keep these rules in mind:
- Choose your words carefully.
- Never share your full name.
- Always pay your debts and don’t return more than you borrowed.
- Don’t accept gifts and never thank the Fey.
- Do not eat Fey Food or drink Fey Wine when uninvited.
- Don’t give Fey cheap clothing.
- Don’t mention that you have a newborn child at home or speak the names of children.
- Don’t step into a fairy ring.
Fey Weaknesses
There are three main weaknesses that creatures in the Feywild have: Cold Iron, Thresholds, and Running Water.
Cold Iron
"Cold Iron" typically refers to iron that has been forged into a weapon, but all non-magical pure iron has a supernatural effect against Fey creatures. In the Prime Material Plane, it is common in some villages to nail horseshoes above doors and windows to repel malevolent Fey that may attempt to enter the house. A death by iron prevents the Fey creature's essence from returning to the Feywild, and it is usually regarded as an open threat to brandish iron while in the domain of another Fey.
A Fey who has ingested iron will usually take great care to ensure that it is removed from their system. Likewise, an honorable Fey who uses weapons in combat will ensure that it is of a sufficient magical caliber to negate the effect of the metal within.
Thresholds
A Fey cannot broach another's threshold without leaving a portion of their power behind. Thresholds are physical boundaries that define magical borders within the Feywild's internal logic.
Just as words define concepts, thresholds define the borders between two lands. A Fey cannot cross another's threshold and it is more common for a Fey to trick the other individual into inviting them inside.
Running Water
Running water creates a natural threshold in the Feywild. It is for this reason that many courts use the path of rivers to define the boundaries between their lands.
Some Fey also believe that ley lines, the flow of magical energies across the world, are their own form of threshold and refuse to cross unfamiliar ley lines for fear of leaving themselves behind.
Traveling to the Feywild
Many who travel from the Prime Material Plane to the Feywild do so accidentally. Those who attempt to follow will struggle and usually fail to recreate the exact circumstances that allowed for safe passage between the two Planes.
Some believe that the Feywild chooses who is worthy of entering its land and that individuals must gain its trust before entering.
Time is Relative
Time in the Feywild exists differently than on the Prime Material Plane. Some places in the Feywild exist in a fixed point in time, and the time in others may change depending on how far one is to the east. Regardless, all Fey agree that there is no universal rule of what the time is at any given moment.
This makes travel to the Feywild dangerous for anyone with attachments in other Planes. One could leave to the Feywild for a fortnight and return to find that their family died seven generations ago, their kingdom has been long since forgotten, and that they no longer speak the local language.
Wise travelers agree that it is practical to ensure that all of one's affairs are in order before embarking on new adventures in the Feywild.
Stay Together
Because time in the Feywild operates differently than on other planes, travelers are wise to take precautions to ensure that they enter and exit at the same time. Due to the extraordinary qualities that iron has when protecting against Fey magic, many explorers have opted to bind themselves together with iron bands to prevent them from separating during the journey.
When traveling through the Feywild, it is likewise appropriate to stay within close proximity to your friends, family, and anything you might want to see again. If someone leaves for a night, they can't be assured of how old they will be the next morning.
Returning Home
The magic of the Feywild has a strange ability to make travelers forget about it. Those who are not physiologically acclimatized to Fey magic will often forget about the time they spent in these lands, and often only realize that something happened when they find themselves significantly older and adorned in unfamiliar garments.
Traversing the Feywild
Distance
Like time, distance between two places in the Feywild is very relative. The season, weather, and even the traveler's mood can have a significant impact on how long it will take to reach their destination.
Faerie Paths
Faerie Paths are passages through the lands that are used by the Fey. They are usually brighter and greener than the surrounding landscape, and often have lines of toadstools on their borders. Traveling along an established Faerie Path can significantly expedite a long journey.
Although anyone can use another Fey's faerie path, it is generally regarded as unwise. Some Fey may feel as though they have been followed and take offense to the violation of their privacy. Others may feel that the traveler has used something of theirs, and expect something in return.
Camp, Food, and Rest
Due to the relative time between places in the Feywild, it is generally unwise to stop to rest while traveling unless absolutely necessary. In this case, it is important to create a circle of salt or iron around the camp to mitigate the effects of Fey magic while resting.
Most Fey can conjure food and water while traveling to ensure that they do not owe for any meal. However, if a traveler must forage while on the road, it is important to ensure that they leave an offering in equal payment for what they have taken.
Fey Currency
Some Fey do recognize the value of certain metals and may accept coin for payment. However, most Fey will trade in favors or acts. Travelers who find themselves in the hospitality of a brownie or leprechaun may offer to clean their house as payment for a meal.
Clever travelers all agree that it is important discuss payment with fey before engaging in any verbal contract and to be clear about its terms. A bard who offers to play a song to pay for a bed to sleep in should be careful to note which bed and whose, lest they find themselves slumbering in a nearby riverbed and in the company of something disagreeable.