Bordering along the material realm of Ambria is a realm of pure nature known as the Fey Wylds.
It is a lush and overgrown plane of existence where the environment and its habitants exist in a never-ending cycle of life, death, and rebirth. It is separate from Ambria but is always being affected by it.
The Fey Wylds reflects the natural world and seasons as they exist on Ambria, with the same mountains, forests, rivers and seas. But these aspects are distorted and ever-changing as they feed off the natures of the people within it. Not only is the material realm emulated, but emotions are heightened and personalities are magnified. Thus traversing it can be quite hazardous and confusing, if one is not wise to the nature of the realm itself.
Despite being its own realm, there are instances where the Fey Wylds bleed into Ambria, creating a bridge between the two. Though rare, when these “bleeds” do appear it is usually at the epicentre of untouched wilderness within Ambria, such as ancient forests, forgotten lagoons, or untouched islands. These bridges allow Ambrians and Fey to physically move between these realms.
When the Age of Darkness fell upon the lands of Ambria, the Fey Wylds were not affected. Being a separate realm had spared them from punishment by the Gods. However, the connection still meant that they saw an increase in dread and monsters, and more than a few creatures and places of the Fey became twisted in unpleasant ways.
The Fey
Ruling over the Fey Wylds are the Fey themselves (sometimes written Fae).
They are primordial beings, that reflect their realm in almost all its aspects. They are long-lived, and almost immortal in the Wylds. They have a generally elven appearance but with exaggerated features and otherworldliness. They also often take on additional natural elements or characteristics to their appearance. These can include animal or plant-like features such as mossy hair, or gossamer wings.
As a group they are often viewed as fickle and untrustworthy, yet with booming personalities and whims. As beings of the Wylds, the Fey understand the power of knowing a person’s true nature and name, thus they protect themselves behind titles, and either jovial or callous visages that mask their intent.
To protect themselves further from exposure, many Fey deal with each other (and other creatures) through deals and treaties that bind people to actions without violating their own nature. Mortals can be particularly susceptible to these dealings, as it's not always clear when and if a Fey is orchestrating a deal that once struck, must be followed through.
Due to their connection to nature, it is not unsurprising to see Fey beyond their own realm and wandering or living in Ambria. Unless travelling through a “bleed”, many powerful Fey can instead enter the material realm through what they call “the Green Path”, a magic connection between a concept or place in the Fey Wylds and its physical counterpart in Ambria.
No matter where they are found though, Fey always abide by the ancient laws of hospitality and will never directly threaten, hurt or abuse a guest. However, that doesn’t mean a Fey won’t work through subtler means to get what they want.
The Courts
The Fey rule over the Wylds in numerous kingdoms and fiefdoms known as Courts. There are numerous Courts of various sizes, ranging from small, localised areas such as a single forest, to swathes of the Wylds the size of countries.
The two most powerful and influential of the Courts are the Summer Court of the Seelie Fey and the Winter Court of the Unseelie Fey. Endless rivals in the cycle between Summer and Winter, Life and Death, heat and cold.
Both Summer and Winter are ruled by a triarchy of matriarchs known as The Princess, The Queen and The Crone.
The next two biggest courts, with notable influence within the Wylds, are the Spring Court and Autumn Court. Though they rival each other in a similar manner to Summer and Winter, Spring and Autumn’s cycle represents growth and decay.
Both Spring and Autumn are ruled by a triarchy of patriarchs known as The Prince, The King and the Elder.
There are multiple other roles and titles within each court (and even those of considerably smaller size). Knaves, Dukes and Duchesses as well as Lords and Ladies are common sights at Court, as well as various types of Noble, representing roles akin to mortal nobles. However most notable are the Knights, Fey whose duty is to serve and protect their triarch or Court loyally and without question.
Beneath them all of course are all sorts of Fey servants and creatures ranging from tiny fairies and sprites, to large trolls and natural elementals, and even to Fey who have been bound by deals or stripped of titles.
Comments