Niamh of the Golden Hair
Seelie Queen Niamh
"Who are thou thyself, o youthful princess! Of fairest form, beauty, and countenance, Relate to us the cause of thy story, Thine own name and thy country' "Golden-headed Niamh is my name, O, sage Fionn of the great hosts, Beyond the women of the world I have won esteem, I am the fair daughter of the King of Youth" --Lay of Oisin in the Land of YouthA powerful fairy queen of the Seelie court, Niamh is a figure in many folk tales. She rides across the waters on a fair white horse with golden shoes, and in countless stories falls in love with a mortal hero or poet and spirits them away to her home in The Otherworld, to live in joy untouched by age for hundreds of years. The stories usually end in tragedy as the mortal grows mournful of their home and seeks to return, but as soon as their feet touch the ground of the mortal world, time catches up with them, and they crumble into dust. Niamh is an eternal foe to Fuamnach Corcrai, the Unseelie Queen. Each tells a different reason why they despise each other (it is possible that they are sisters), but the plots and machinations of the two often burst forth from the fairy courts into the world of mortals. Most famously, it was Niamh who turned the Huldra against each other in the infamous Autumn Wars.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Little is known of Niamh's early history. It is said her feud against Fuamnach dates back to before there were Four Kingdoms, at the Dawn of Anacra. In her trysts with mortals she has spoken of a father, the "King of Youth," but no record of this being exists.
Tales of the Golden-Haired maiden on her white horse, wooing the great heroes of mortal kind, date back to the earliest history of humanity. There are cave paintings depicting an entity resembling Niamh in lost caverns in The Northern Kingdoms.
Aside from these tales, Niamh entered the stage of history in a major way shortly after the founding of Caonach, the homeland of the Huldra. Niamh’s conspiracies led to war between the Autumn Queen and her sister queens, a Wild Hunt that tore across the Vale , a great many half-fairy children being born in a short time, and the temporary vanishing of Ri Gheimhridh himself, spirited away to the Otherworld . The Winter King was entrapped in Niamh’s seelie court while Fúamnach whispered to the Winter, Spring and Summer Queens.
This internal struggle was the first time Huldra spilled the blood of Huldra in great numbers, and laments for the kinslaying still echo in song and poetry under the leaves of Angren and among the Emerald Pools. In the end, the warrior Gisirgis Tel’Maerlyth discovered the treachery. He journeyed alone through the Faery Wilds, entreating both Seelie and Unseelie queens to resolve the conflict themselves. Through bravery, persuasion, and more than a little trickery, he stole away Ri Gheimhridh and rescued the Autumn Queen on the fields of battle.
Gisirgis swore his own oath to all the fallen Huldra of the Vale, and when the Autumn Wars came to a close, the Four Queens blessed him. His oath was taken up by the bravest Huldra warriors, who flocked to Tel’Maerlyth to train under Gisirgis. From that day forward, the Paladins of Gisirgis were the protectors of the Queens, sworn to keep them safe from the guiles of Faery or the plots of Huldra’s Foes.
The Fairy Wedding
See: Casters & Castles Arc 4, The Fairy Wedding In 7337, Niamh was set to wed Nuinn after a passionate, tumultuous courtship. It was set to unite Niamh with her sister Fuamnach, and mend affairs between the Autumn Court of the Huldra and the two sisters. The wedding was to take place in Lunasa, a Huldra city in the Fomhor (Autumn) woods. Mere weeks before the wedding was to take place, a cataclysmic fire tore through the heart of the Fomhor Woods, set in motion by Wild Magic activated by the Quest for the Book of Dawn, hundreds of miles away in Dotain's Rock. Many Huldra died, but Hoiche, the lord of Lunasa, made a deal with Niamh's sister, Fuamnach. The Unseelie Queen shunted Lunasa between the Mortal World and The Otherworld, freezing the deadly fires into the curtains of space and time. If he reneged on his deal, the flames would return and devour his city. Having gained control of the wedding venue, Fuamnach then sent invitations to the Quest for the Book of Dawn, asking them to attend the wedding as her personal guests, honor guard, herald and peace envoy. She simultaneously engaged the lackadaisical groom-to-be, Nuinn, in a duplicitous affair. When the Autumn Queen, Omra, and the Quest for the Book of Dawn arrived, Niamh's wedding was doomed. In the midst of the ceremony, the Quest for the Book of Dawn was compelled by fey pacts to unleash chaotic magic, ruining the entire ordeal. Nuinn's infidelity was revealed, a magical and martial brawl erupted, and Niamh was humiliated and embarrassed in front of Huldra and Fey alike. She placed a curse on Lysha Norwalyn, the druid whose magic (unknowingly) lit the Autumn Woods on fire in the first place, took her entire retinue, and departed.A Champion Falls
After the disastrous wedding, Niamh withdrew to her bower in The Otherworld. Fuming with the humiliation dealt by her sister and angry at the meddling mortals, she sent out envoys to potential allies she'd neglected for some years, hoping to rebuild, regroup, and revenge herself against The Lady Rowan. But at that exact moment, her suitor and champion Ahlaper was whisked away to trial by combat on the moon, and slain by Thoras Giantsbane.Gender Identity
Female
Sexuality
Pansexual
Accomplishments & Achievements
Enchanted the first king of the Huldra, setting off the Autumn Wars.
Morality & Philosophy
Values beauty, delight and romance above all else. Shuns "ugliness" "nastiness." Cherishes art and creativity.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Like most fey, the inner workings of Niamh's spirit are inscrutable. She is fond of beauty and merriment, she feels passionately and changes moods swiftly. As a queen of the seelie court she hosts festivals and feasts and dances for her people, encouraging art and creativity among the populace.
She's been known to fall not only for attractive mortals, but for those possessed of great artistic or creative vision. More than one singer with a beautiful voice or poet who worked themselves to the bone in the name of their art has vanished from the Mortal World, taken to Niamh's Court to live forever in pursuit of greatness.
Niamh's immortal life does not revolve around her rival and sister, the Lady Rowan, but their ongoing feud does consume much of her time. The origin of the feud is a mystery. It could be something the two engage in for their own entertainment, it could be rooted in a traumatic harm inflicted by one on the other, or it could simply be a case of incompatible personalities. Either way, Niamh has captured Huldra kings and gotten engaged for no reason other than to stymie, thwart and humiliate her unseelie nemesis.
Niamh has little patience for ugliness of spirit, which in her case is any sort of "nastiness." This has less to do with compassion and more to do with appearing outwardly positive and cheery at all times, leaving little to no room for displays of woe that isn't "artistic" or "Beautiful" in its own right. Those insufficiently merry are deemed dull and exiled from Niamh's court. An exception is made for bursts of emotion that lead to tragedy and drama--simple hurt does not have a place in Niamh's presence.
Social
Family Ties
Sister of Fuamnach Corcrai , the Lady Rowan
Relationships
History
In 2344 of the First Day, Nuinn and Niamh were to be married in the Fomhor Woods of Caonach
Divine Classification
Archfey
Current Status
Moping after a failed wedding
Current Location
Realm
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Golden-Haired, Seelie Queen, Daughter of Etarlam, of the People of Iardanel,
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Current Residence
Brightbower, The Otherworld
Pronouns
She/Her
Gender
Presents as Female
Eyes
Blue, clear, and cloudless, like a dew drop on top of the grass
Hair
Long, curly golden hair
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Fair complexion with red cheeks
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