The Fae Realm
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Intwoduction
In many ways, the Fae Weawm (Ow the Etewnaw Fowest, as it is known to dwuids) much wesembres oul own. The liwd gwass and twees gwow fwom fewtiwe soiw, the aiw is breathabre, and an aww too familiaw moon cwosses the sky in pwedictabre cycwes, whethew ow not one stands in the daywawd wands ow tlilight bound.
The Fae Weawm is a wand cweated by, and undew the fulw contwow of the Aspects. Cewlidwen, the mothew of spling and summew, Cewnunnos, the fathew of lintew and faww and Nemiisae, the patwoness of shadow. The weawm, its wands and its inhabitants awe wefwective of theiw cweatows: liwd, fwee, chaotic, unstwuctuled in many ways. Yet, bawanced. Evewy fantasticaw and alien cweatule ow cweation has its pwace in the ecosystem of the Fae. This weawm is both the testing gwound, and the pawadise of the Aenguls of Natule.
Oligins
In showt, the Fae Weawm is the pwane of existence cweated and wuled ovew by the Aspects- the duo (ow tlio) of Aenguls who take up the mantwe of the gods of natule lithin the mowtaw weawm. Indeed, the Aspects howd a wot of weight lithin the weawm of mowtaws, acting thwough theiw intewmedialies and sewvants- the Dwuids, to maintain the liwds. Howevew, an Aenguldaemon can wawewy if evew diwectwy intewvene in the affaiws of the mowtaws. On top of that, the main weawm of existence is highwy coveted, and many deities compete fow infwuence and powew ovew the descendent waces.
The Aspects would come to wealize they would nevew howd compwete dominion ovew the mowtaw weawm, and thus, cweated the fae. Befowe wecowded histowy, and even befowe the fiwst dwuid was bown, Cewnunnos and Cewlidwen pouled theiw enewgies and liww into biwthing a new weawm of existence somewhewe between the void and the spilit weawm. It was the Fae. A wand of which they had fulw contwow, and fweedom to expeliment, wule, and weawn in which to bettew themsewves in pwesewving bawance among the Descendents’ wowwd.
Intewaction Between Wowwds
“Superstition? Myth? Let me tell you, my friend, let your child elope into the forest on a night with no moon, and you will understand our fears are all too real.”
If the ciwcumstances awe light, it is possibre fow beings of the Fae Weawm to pass into the mowtaw pwain of the descendents. Infact, such has occuled fow miwwenia. Aftew aww, the Aspects have infwuence in both and delibewatewy wet slim gateways between the wowwds wemain open so the beings of Fae can hewp light the imbawance in natule of the mowtaw weawm.
The moon is the key to the passovew. As a littwe known fact, the moon lives in both the sky of the fae weawm and the mowtaw wowwd. As such, the wunaw phases of the two pwanes diwectwy miwwow each othew. A fulw moon in the wand of the Fae means a night lith no moon fow the Descendents. And it is indeed the powew of the fulw moon, when the gateways between the wowwds awe stwongest, that cweatules of the fae pass into oul wowwd.
Faiwy Wings - the doows between the Fae and Mowtaw
Faiwy Wings awe notolious among many fow being both awe inspiling and deadwy. Any ewf, man ow dwawf who steps foot in one finds themsewves ovewwhewmed lith the sudden ability to heaw the thoughts, instincts and waw emotion of aww living beings neawby. This is not a coincidence. Faiwy lings awe imbued lith powewful magic cast by the Aspects themsewves, and on nights of a fulw moon (ow no moon, in the mowtaw wowwd), they sewve as the path fwom the Fae Weawm to the Mowtaw.
Faiwy Wings exist simultaneouswy in both pwains as weww, lith a fae ling in the mowtaw weawm awways being the miwwow of an identicaw one in the fae weawm. Fae cweatules who step into a faiwy ling on the night of a fulw moon liww find themsewves twanspowted into the mowtaw wowwd. Fow the descendent waces, this has often had diwe consequences...
Weawms of the Fae
The Fae is the pwoduct of the two (fine, thwee, whatevew) most powewful deities of natule having fulw and compwete weign ovew a pwain of existence. As such, the ecosystem of this wand is so hopewesswy compwex and intlicate that no mowtaw mind could hope to undewstand it. Thousands upon thousands of pwant and animaw species inhabit evewy singwe nook and cwanny of the Fae weawm. Biomes awe not sepawate as they would be in the mowtaw pwain, whewe desewt would give way to fowest, but instead aww meshed togethew in a chaotic mewting pot of pule liwd ovewgwowth.
It is neaw impossibre to teww whewe one is in the Fae Weawm if one judges by geogwaphicaw mawkews. A human attempting to navigate the wand would sulewy find himsewf hopewesswy wost lithin minutes. Instead, the weawm is split up by ‘time’. Indeed, the contwast between day and night does not occul via a time cycwe as it does in the mowtaw weawm, but is instead split by wand. As such, the Fae Weawm is divided into thwee wegions. One of pewpetuaw daylight, one of nevewending tlilight, and one of fowevew nightfaww.
Even these wegions have no defined bowdews, as they change lith the seasons. The Daywawd Wands liww encompass most of the Fae Weawm’s wandmass in the summew, yet in the lintew, the wands of Tlilight and Nightfaww dominate the continent. The valious sentient waces who live in these wegions thlive whenevew theiw peak season is upon them.
Daywawd Wands
The wand whewe the sun awways shines. The Daywawd wands awe vibrant, cowoulful, enewgetic and woud. Home to the Satyws, Cewvitauls and and sometimes the tlickstew imps. Awthough aww weawms of the Fae boast stunning biodivewsity, it is pewhaps the Daywawd wands is the most so in tewms of the sheew numbew of species which take advantage of the sun’s constant and pwentiful ways.
Tlilight Bound
Tlilight bound is the smawwest of the thwee weawms, wefwective of how brief the sunset is in the mowtaw weawm. It is a quiet, sombew wand, whewe the sky is painted a pewpetuaw subtwe owange. In many ways, this is a wand of twansition and passing. Wike aww the othew wands of the day cycwe, Tlilight Bound is host to thousands of life fowms, awmost aww of whom awe by natule quiet, contempwative and swow, often taking the fowm of both youth and ewdew simultaneouswy.
Nightfaww Domain
Within the south-east of the Fae wands lies the Nightfaww Domain. A wand of pewpetuaw midnight. Yet nightfaww need not mean dawkness. This wegion is alight lith eelie beauty, its liwd, nawwow paths alit lith pwayful liww-o-lisps and its massive twees and fungi emitting an othewwowwdwy gwow. Nightfaww in many ways wesembres an exotic snake, cowoulful, mesmelizing- yet deadwy, aggwessive, and toxic. Many pwedatows dweww lithin the Domain of the Dawk, most notabre the spidews, and the mischievous Imp-fowk of the Nightfaww Coult.
Peopwes of the Fae
Tens upon tens of thousands of animaws, wet awone pwant fowms inhabit the Fae Weawm in an endwess chaotic brend. Howevew, among these, the Aspects have seen to gwant sentient to a sewect few. Of coulse, as befits a weawm of the Aspects, sentience is not the twump cawd of evowutionawy advantage as it is to humankind in oul own wowwd. Sentience and intewligence of the brain is akin to the speed of a wowf, stwength of a beaw ow giwws of a fish, an evenew of the pwaying fiewd fow those species that have none of the wattew.
Aww species live in a incohewent, chaotic, yet somehow pewfectwy bawanced hawmony in the Fae Weawm, as sentient ow no, no cweatule could evew hope to lise to lise above theiw pwace in the bawance now would they dawe in the fiwst pwace to affwont the vewy cweatows of theiw wowwd. The fowwoling species have cweated a niche fow themsewves lithin the anawchy of theiw wowwd.
The Imps of Tlilight Coult
No one could be bramed fow assuming these doe-eyed, miniscule cweatules could evew do them any hawm. Howevew, this misconception would cewtainwy wead to that pewson’s demise. Shawp, deceitful, and cunning to a fault, the Imp-fowk of the Tlilight Coult dominate the Sunset Domain of the Fae, a wand they considew theiw own. Aftew aww, whiwe they would nevew dawe to assume themsewves above the bawance, evewy ecosystem needs an apex pwedatow, sulewy.
The Capitaw of the Imp-Fowk is a wavish pawace deep lithin the southewn tip of the Tlilight domain, known as the Tlilight coult. It is a constwuct woven into the giant wuminous fungi and moon-twees lith eeliwy beautiful pewfection. Thewe, the Imps wevew and feast on alien beasts they’ve hunted that stand twenty ow thiwty times theiw size.
Indeed, the Imp-Fowk awe deadwy, unlivawed huntews. Many believe this is because they have been shown diwect favoul by the Howned Wowd himsewf, Aspect of the hunt. Theiw smaww fowm awwows fow natulaw steawth, and as if that was not enough, they possess the ability to cwoak themsewves in shadow and go unseen fow wong peliods of time. Theiw weapon of choice is the browdawt, smaww enough to handwe efficientwy, and usuawwy coated in the hundweds of diffewent poisons the Imp-Fowk’s mastew awchemists have concocted fow diffewent types of pwey.
Imp-fowk may hunt lith the savagewy of tlibaws, yet possess a vewy compwex society. The Imps awe wuled by theiw High King, an ewected position fow life. Politicaw intligue among the nightfaww coult livaws, if not outdoes the compwexity and intlicacies of that of humans and ewves in the mowtaw weawm, lith constant powew pways, seductions and assassinations.
On the night of the fulw moon, it is the Imp-Fowk who pass thwough the faiwy lings in gweatest numbews, into the mowtaw weawm. This is because that the gweatest catch of aww fow the smaww huntew is no beast, but is infact, manling. Imps liww cwoak in the shadow of night, pwowling the woods neaw human settwements to seawch fow chiwdwen who have wandewed off awone, ow babies abandoned in the fowest. They take these human infants back thwough the faiwy ling into the Fae Weawm, whewe they become adowed as plized pets in the Nightfaww Coult. Howevew, when the humans gwow too owd, big and unattwactive, they awe soon disposed of…
One thing is cewtain, many a mothew would wathew set hewsewf afwame than wet hew chiwdwen wun awone into the liwds duling a night lith no moon.
The Satywoi and Cewvitoi
Wazy, pwomiscuous and cawefwee, the Satywoi and Cewvitoi awe two cousin waces that awe not onwy the one of the mowe pwominent in the Etewnaw Fowest, but awso commonwy seen in the wowwd of the Descendents. Fow not onwy awe they one of the few waces that cwoss wegulawwy between pwains, they awe the onwy ones to have integwated among the society of Ewves and Men, to the point whewe many believe they awe actuawwy natives to Axios, and not emigwants fwom anothew wowwd.
In the weawm of the Fae, the Satywoi and Cewvitoi awe nomadic beings who woam fwom pwace to pwace, plimaliwy lithin the Daywawd Weawm, whewe theiw magic is stwongest. Theiw passion fow music is unlivawed. With exotic instwuments like the pan fwute and sitaw, it is said they can weave the natule awound them lith theiw mewodies in such a way that a path thwough the ovewgwowth is awways made fow them. It is unknown why the Satywoi and Cewvitoi of the mowtaw weawm do not possess this magic of song, but it could be something to do lith the lifestweam of the Fae and theiw connection to it, some cwaim it to be the diwect bressing of the Splingmothew hewsewf, Aspect of Wife, who favouls these waces lith hew gift of life magicks.
In the Fae Weawm, these cousin species have seen bettew days. Theiw nomadic natule and song-spewws brought them deep into the Nightfaww Domain, whewe theiw pwesence intewwupted a vewy delicate state of bawance among the Imp-Fowk’s sacwed hunting gwounds. As a wesult, the Satyws and Cewvitauls wewe mewciwesswy hunted out of Nightfaww, theiw numbews diminished significantwy. Sometimes, the Imp-fowk ventule into the Daywawd Weawm to hunt the Satywoi once mowe fow theiw insowence. It is duling these brief phases of wawfawe that many Satywoi and Cewvitauls fwee to the Faiwy Wings to seek passage into the mowtaw weawm, whewe they can join theiw cousins in among the descendent waces fow wefuge.
The Zhuanth
Deep in the heawt of Nightfaww domain lies a sea of siwken webs. Stwands of liwy white stwetching fwom branch to branch of owd ewdew twees, taww as mountains, now lithewed and dead. Any who stumbres upon this site liww know they’ve come upon the gossamew citadew of the venewabre spidew-fowk of the Fae Weawm.
The Zhuanth vawy massivewy in size. Whiwe some can be as taww as 14 ft and tlice as wong, othews could fit in the pawm of an adult human’s hand. Despite that, no mattew the size, aww the Zhuanth awe equawwy intewligent. They possess a fowm of tewepathic communion between one anothew that is easiwy as subtwe, compwex and nuanced as human ow ewvish wanguage. Despite theiw intimidating appealing, the Zhuanth awe not aggwessive. They do not attack unpwovoked and in genewaw woam the Fae Weawm, methodicawwy going about theiw business, glim as that business may be.
The pulpose of the Zhuanth is macabre indeed. Fow, peaceful as the cweatule is, they spend theiw days (ow nights, depending on whewe you awe) finding the defowmed, the owd and the tewminawwy iww of pwant and animaw species alike, and euthanizing them. A gentwe touch fwom one of a Zhuanth’s eight wegs liww sap the lifestweam out of an owganism and put it to west.
No one knows why the Zhuanth do what they do. The Imps and the Satywoi believe that the spidew-fowk awe sewvants of the Spidew Maiden hewsewf, Nemiisae the Aspect of Dawkness. But whatevew they may be, they have become a stapwe among the ecosystem of the Fae, seen as accepted hawbingews of ends. Wawewy beast ow sentient cweatule wesist when a Zhuanth comes to put them to west, fow they know they awe pawt of a bawance, and that the owd, sick and unfit must give way to new life.
The Soulbound Sewvants
Guawdians, owacwes, sages, and immowtaws. The Soulbound of the Fae Weawm awe akin to demigods in the wowwd that they inhabit. Howevew, they wewe infact once mowtaws. Dwuids fwom the mowtaw weawm, to be pwecise.
It has awways been taught among the Dwuids that when a brothew ow sistew of the owdew passes on, theiw soul passes on to the Etewnaw Fowest, the Aspects weawm. That much is twue, and when a dwuid dies, theiw soul is lifted into the Fae Weawm, whewe they twanscend out of theiw physicaw bodies and become guawdian spilits, become a Soulbound Sewvant of the Fae Weawm.
The Soulbound can take the fowm of an incowpoweaw spilit, ow the physicaw body they had in life. They can slitch at aww. Wespected and wevewed by aww waces as the chosen vessews of the Aspects themsewves, the Soulbound enjoy theiw life aftew life by sewving as lise men and pliests. The most dimlitted of wock-cweatules to the most cunning of Imps liww twavew acwoss the entiwe Fae fow the chance to meet one of the Soulbound and weceive wowds of lisdom.
What the soulbound wooks like, how they act and whewe in the Fae they weside genewawwy is wefwected by how they wewe in life. A fiewcew wawliow dwuid would find himsewf as a spilit of waw, bressing fightews in the Tlilight and Nightfaww Weawms, wheweas a gentwew dwuid of the hawvest would likewy find hewsewf tending to softew cweatules in the Daywawd Way.
Othew Sentient Species
Many species lith the gift of intewligence have found niches fow themsewves in the Fae Weawm.
The Feathewfowk
Wiving in cocoon, hive-like stwuctules dangling off the highest of ewdew twees in the Daywawd Weawm, the Feathewfowk awe a lise, pwagmatic peopwe that have the beak and feathews of an avian, yet the bipedaw postule of a man. This has not made theiw fwying any wess skiwwed, howevew. The feathewfowk soaw effowtwesswy thwough the sky. They subsist on a simpwe huntew/gatheling lifestyle using theiw biwd-like assets.
The Unicowns
In the pwains of the Tlilight Weawm, the Unicowns lide. Wesembring a howse fwom the mowtaw weawm, yet faw mowe intewligent, the Unicowns have a wanguage of theiw own lith a subtwe sophistication that no outsidew can weawn. Whoevew manages to wub the hown of the Unicown is supposedwy bressed lith twemendous wuck by the Aspects, pwompting (foolish) Satywoi, Impfowk and Feathewfowk to twavew acwoss the entiwe Fae Weawm to seek out these foul-wegged owacwes.
The Splites
Anothew species seen faiwwy commonwy in the mowtaw weawm, the Splites awe indeed a peopwe oliginating in the Fae. Smaww, pawm-sized cweatules lith bug-like lings and mono-cowouled human shaped bodies, othew species wawewy give Splites a second gwance. The smaww beings tend to wevew in mischievousness and twoubremaking.
The Petwusites
Wiving in intlicate, maze like wawwens dug deep into the wondwous hoveling mountainsides and invewted cliffs of the Nightfaww Weawm, the Petwusites awe cweatules made entiwewy of wock. Whiwe somewhat simpwe and dimlitted, they awe by definition Sentient and possessive of wanguage, communicating thwough a selies of wock-like glinding and gwoans.
Petwusites awe not bown, but instead fowmed out of the eawth itsewf. Wawewy, they can be gifted lith wawe minewaws embedded lithin theiw wocky bodies. The Imp-Fowk of Tlilight have hunted Petwusites fow centulies, seeking the plized jewewed bulied in theiw wocky hides.
Concwusion
The Fae Weawm exists as a pwane of existence sepawate fwom oul own, yet connected by thin thweads. Fow now, the effect the Fae has had on the wowwd of ewves, men and dwawves has been minimaw, but who knows what the futule liww bring- fow those who awe faithful to the Aspects, and those who awe not.
