Feykind

Euphemistically known as ‘faeries’, a bewildering array of creatures are found under the classification of ‘fey’, from inch-high shimmerlings to hulking faerie trolls. The kingdom of fey creatures includes graceful pixies, hideous hags, forest-dwelling dryads, and tundra-bound rusalka. Even within a species there is huge variety in form, compounded by the fact that many fey have a proclivity for shapeshifting and transmutation magic. Thus, encountering fey in The Surreal can be a perplexing and disorienting experience, even for experts; it is no wonder that the uninitiated are so vulnerable to fey trickery.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Echoing their Material counterparts, fey creatures exist of variable sizes, shapes, textures, or smells that exemplifies natural magic; most however embodying a few primal attributes: wonder, emotion, and freedom. Fey are unsubstantial creatures commonly viewed as a convergence between spirits and humanoids, often resembling either humanoid-like appearances or spirit-like creatures with a corporate semblance.

Beautiful Horrors

Fey can be kind, cruel, noble, monstrous, and savage—often all simultaneously. A fey's appearance is a reflection of what it believes itself to be in a given moment. If they perceive themselves as saints, they will appear breathtakingly beautiful. If they believe they are hideous monsters for their transgressions upon others, their physical appearance will reflect that of their grotesque hearts. These fey characteristics are bestowed by their power of glamour, shape-shifting and casting illusions. Some fey manage to regulate their appearance at will in a minor way, such as changing the color or length of their hair, changing some features of their face or body, or even their skin tone. A select few have mastered this art and can exhibit nearly any form if they believe hard enough.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

As spiritual entities, fey are considered to be supernatural, preternatural, and metaphysical beings possessing unbounded magical powers. The specifics vary enormously, however. Due to their enhanced sensitivity to natural magic, some fey are connected to specific realms or localities to a much greater extent than humanoids. For example, arctic fey are callous and inhospitable like the barren tundras, while aquatic fey remain vivacious and flexible like the rhythmic percussion of sun-warmed waves.
Being stimulated inhabitants of a plane based on evocative emotions and unpredictable extremities, fey are always changing alongside their environment. Emotions manifesting from the Material become distorted, exaggerated; yet ironically, are much more similar to Material residents than any other planet's denizens are, if not more volatile. Despite these instabilities however, every emotion felt does not derive from past experiences or future possibilities, but instead, are felt purely in the present. Fey live entirely in the moment. There is no tomorrow, there is no past. There is no fear of consequences, only the raw experiences of love, joy, or rage. Happiness for an Archfey may manifest as blood-splattered wildflowers, gaining exhilaration from publicly putting down a court member who has betrayed them, serving a well-deserved platter of retribution. Meanwhile, melancholy for another Archfey may manifest as their heart turning completely cold from the loss of their beloved, shrouding those around them in ice and night. When a dryad curses a traveler who steals fruit from her tree, it’s because in that moment this is the worst thing that could ever happen and he deserves it. Likewise, a satyr has no concerns about anything other than the party being currently celebrated. No two emotions are ever felt similarly between fey.

Civilization and Culture

Relationship Ideals

When dealing with fey, it's essential to remember that they cannot deliberately lie nor spread untruths; but exchanging half-truths and indirectly misleading others is perfectly acceptable. This societal paradox places selective pressure against social cooperation, while polite lies are essentially a social lubricant mortals learn as adolescents. Without this social lubricant, fey relationships are more contentious, and that creates selective pressure towards radical individualism.
More importantly, the overabundance of magical energy means that individual fey are well-equipped for survival in radically individualist settings. Even as lone creatures incapable of empathy, fey are equipped to survive by virtue of possessing unparalleled arcane power, and their natural truthfulness (if not honesty) and capacity for logic means they are perfectly capable of cooperation when appropriate, though bonds of trust are slow to form.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Fey Morality

Classifying all fey as having ‘mischievous’ behavior is a dangerous association mortals frequently make, as most beings such as powerful Archfey are genuine in their individual endeavors, compared to a sprite’s innocent, childlike malice. This motif of mortals fundamentally misunderstanding fey is a common one, beginning with misjudging the character of feykind in general. While some fey do love frolicking and possess fascination for Material formalities, some harbor nothing but contempt for mortals, orchestrating trials that are normally quite dangerous and exploitative. Oftentimes fey must be placated by something if roused into a dangerous mood. However, fey can be magnanimous when dealt with fairly. If they feel a mortal defers the appropriate amount of respect, they might even reward them with a small magical blessing.
For this reason, fey creatures can be benevolent or malevolent, bestowing blessings or misfortunes over the lives of mortals. However, benevolence does not necessarily equate to ‘good’ and malevolence does not simply equate to ‘evil’. A benevolent fey creature can just as easily create subtle riddles to purposefully mislead, leaving one in agonizing torment; conversely a malevolent-inclined fey creature might supply their blessings where they deem pertinent. There are, however, fey who are intrinsically evil such as hags, redcaps, and quicklings. More accurately, it's in their nature to thrive on the suffering of others. Receiving assistance from a benevolent fey oftentimes, incurs disharmony. To them, evil is not any more evil than poison ivy, as such creatures are simply acting upon their nature. Fey morality is incomprehensible from a mortal perspective, and thus, can never be entirely understood.

History

The genesis of fey are inscrutable at best, having no singular propagation nor evolutionary history collectively agreed upon by scholars and sages alike. Theories postulated by even prestigious scholars are ultimately just follies rooted in conjecture when attempting to pinpoint the beginnings of fey emergence.
Fey are known differently in various parts of Argent. For this reason, fey beliefs are complex, of great variety and antiquity, type and origin. They are a conflation of numerous strands and elements, crafted into appealing stories and narratives across various cultures. Folktales, myths, legends, and speculations passed down through anthology have been utilized as cultural frameworks for understanding feykind’s many ambiguities. A wood elf from The Heraldwood may have grown up believing fey originated as ascended ancestral spirits with blessed ones becoming Archfey. A goblinoid tree from The Verdant Expanse may believe fey are instead personifications of spiritually endowed nature spirits, such as water sprites, undines, and dryads. Contrariwise, an astronomer may denounce those beliefs altogether, insisting that all fey contain fragmented wild magic. In other words, feykind have no single origin, remaining a controversial mystery besides being merely understood as echoes.

Geographic Distribution

• The Surreal