Winter Court

Winter symbolizes death, the end of the cycle, the cold and harshest weather, but through Winter, Spring shall bloom again. It is a vital part to play in the sequence and balance of the seasons, just as the order and construct of the Winter Court plays its own pivotal part in the swirling chaos that is the Feywild.
Those Fey born into the Winter Court's dominion or those whom join later all bare similar attitudes; behaviours and natures - each one carrying a small fragment of Winter's emboidment within them, the intimidating; fierce; overbearing; ruthless determination to survive and thrive and stretch frosts fingers as far and wide as possible.
That isn't to say they are unkind and cruel, many Winter Fey, despite representing some of the darker natures of the Feywild, can be embodied with burning loyalty and resilience, and can be among the greatest allies a wanderer could hope to find.
The Winter Court is the central location for political infrastructure within the Wastes of Winter/Frozen Lands, overseen by the Winter Queen, the Queen of Air and Darkness.

Notable Members of the Winter Court:

• Queen of Air and Darkness

• Prince Mordred (Missing)

• Prince Melehan (Deceased)

• Lady Liathra Certi

• Lord Diegelos Frost Wave

• Lady Khalida Frost Wave

• Eurace Hortekleuz

• House Ravan

• House Arachne

• House Zephyr

• House Tearloch (Missing)

• Lord Dorus Steel

Structure

Monarch:

The highest position of power within the Winter Court is that of the Queen. The monarch rules over the region dedicated to the their Court, and oversee the protection; cultivation and prosperity of their people. For the Winter Court, the current and long serving monarch is the Queen of Air and Darkness, ruler of not only the Winter Court, but also the Unseelie Court. She rules over the Winter Court and has done for over a millennium.

Inner Circle:

Possibly the highest honour any Fey or Archfey can recieve after years of loyal service to their Court, is being permitted into the inner circle. A child born to the Queen of Air and Darkness may find themselves among the Inner Circle of either or both their parents Courts with automatic entry due to their position within the rungs of political society. In comparison, other members of the Inner Circle are likely to come from hard working individuals who have worked their way up the political ladder through acts of dedication; loyalty and the forging of bonds with prospective allies and leaders in the Courts. Even so, it is more often than not commonplace to find that most members of the Inner Circle are from higher ranking noble Houses among the Fey denizens, those who have significant political ifluence and longstanding relationships with other Houses. Being a member of the Inner Circle shows an enormous level of trust and belief from the monarch of the Court, as while their Inner Circle usually includes their most loyal subordinates, it is also where they are the most vulnerable to betrayal.

Outer Circles:

The Outer Circle of the Winter Court, more often than not, is an accumulation of lesser noble Houses who have made deals with those with greater power to edge their way slightly further up the political structure, or those who have worked hard to earn the position but have not yet proven themselves enough to be counted among the Inner Circle. It is commonplace to find lesser noble Houses in servitude to more prominent nobles, and they will often give their voice to any vote their patron House attempts to make, to ensure their will is done efficiently.

Dwellers:

Otherwise known as those who dwell, these Fey serve the Queen of Air and Darkness and the other Houses loyally, but have not begun a true political ascension, or may have no desire to do so and are merely content with their lifestyle. For all intents and purposes, when it comes to Fey politics, Dwellers are "everyone else". In the Winter Court, the Dwellers are treated with equal respect and understanding, given a voice in the lower rung of Court so they might pass their opinions up through the Outer and Inner Circles, though those who lean to a more Unseelie disposition may exact mockery and snide comments towards the Dwellers.

Territories

The Winter Court occupies the North-Eastern side of the The Feywild, in the region known coloquially as the Wastes of Winter/Frozen Lands.
The area is a desolate wasteland of icy tundra, frigid mountains and frozen lakes, it goes without saying only the hardiest of people tend to reside there.

Laws

Rule of Three:

The Rule of Reconcile:

When invited as a guest to a Fey’s home, Court or Domain all those in attendance must leave prior disputes; differing lifestyles and differing courtly loyalties behind them for as long as they are within attendance. Even if Queen Titania and the Queen of Air and Darkness were forced to sit side by side at a table, they would be unable to act against one another for the entirety of the event to which they had been invited.

The Rule of Rumpus:

Violence is an understandable event in day to day life, an argument gets too heated or an old rivalry spirals. Conflicts of a physical or magical nature are not discouraged, but it is encouraged that the injured parties invoke proper protocol and allow as many spectators as possible to witness their spat for entertainment, this is not necessarily enforced or required, but it is preferred.

The Rule of Reciprocity:

To the best of any Fey or Feywild visitor’s ability, if offered a boon; kind word; gift or information within the presence of a Feybeing and/or the Feywild, something of equal value must be exchanged.

Fey Law:

For all intents and purposes “law” is an unspoken term in the Feywild unless it concerns deals, pacts and contracts. The act of having laws is… Unheard of given the overarching freedom the Fey enjoy and fiercely protect. Rather than put down a group of specific laws and chain weights of everyone in doing so, they prefer to mediate their existence with common sense, the Rule of Three and an understanding that if something needs stopping, changing or affecting the Courts will see to it promptly.
The only true “law” of the Feywild, is the understanding that everyone is free, but if an Archfey to lay down terms and conditions comes knocking it is for good reason.

Type

Court, Royal

Leader

Queen of Air and Darkness

Parent Organization

The Fey Courts

Notable Members

• Lady Khalida Frostwave