Unseelie
The Unseelie Court is the embodiment of the icy chill of winter combined with the bountiful harvest of autumn. The court exemplifies night, culmination, and chaos. It sees itself as the liberator of individuals and the eternal enemy of Banality. Above all, the Unseelie Court values independence the most.
Individuality is the core of Unseelie philosophy. Each tenet of the Unseelie code was born out of a desire for freedom and the need to be true to oneself. Identity does not originate in obligations or society’s dictates. The self comes from within. It is the basis of being, granting the ability to reason, to question, to strive for improvement. To know oneself is to make life worth living.
Identity requires freedom — the freedom to buck trends, to say no, and to try new things. Society tries to drown out the individual by forcing upon him what to do and whom to hate, but an Unseelie changeling rejects those notions. No one can tell an Unseelie what to feel or what to think. He forges his own path instead. He isn’t constrained by prejudice. He doesn’t mindlessly repeat some pointless ritual just because a grand high muckety-muck did it a couple of centuries ago. Instead of just going with the flow, an Unseelie changeling determines for himself what he believes and what is important. He opens up new perspectives and new avenues of creativity. While his Seelie brothers and sisters bury their identity in a vain effort to fit in, an Unseelie changeling explores all possibilities to find out exactly who he is.
With his identity firmly in place, an Unseelie refuses to compromise himself or his principles. No matter who or what tells him to disregard his conscience, he won’t violate his core being. What’s the point of existing if he doesn’t exist as himself? Most Unseelie changelings would rather die than conform to anything that erases their sense of self. An Unseelie’s greatest threat, however, is Banality. Not only does it destroy any Glamour it comes in contact with, not only does it kill any creature of Dream it touches — it is the antithesis of all Unseelie philosophy. Banality forces a changeling to give up and follow the path of least resistance. It calcifies thoughts, dulls emotions, and cancels out all traces of individuality. An
Unseelie changeling confronts any Banality he finds. Not content to merely stop its spread, he pushes back to reclaim that which was lost to mediocrity. He fights until his last breath to eliminate any Banality that dares threaten him. Unseelie changelings find their Seelie brothers’ willingness to cooperate and work together inspirational. However, they often take it far past the point of comfort for an Unseelie. He sees the Seelie as putting everyone in neat little boxes, forcing them to suppress their sense of self. The Seelie can seem overbearing, forcing their views on everyone else. The worst of the Seelie rule as tyrants, forcing their subjects to endlessly toil while the rulers themselves live in opulence, all the while letting Banality strengthen its grip on the world.
Culture
The Unseelie Code encompasses the heart of the Unseelie. It is the rallying cry they gather around and the creed they all hold sacred. The four tenets of the Unseelie Code are “change is good,” “glamour is free,” “honor is a lie,” and “passion before duty.”
Change is good.
The only things that remain eternally unchanged are those that are dead. The Unseelie are too busy living to even think about dying. Change is the essence of Glamour. What is creativity if not change — new ideas, new perspectives, new emotions? Without change, the Kithain and even the Dreaming couldn’t exist. The Unseelie Court celebrates change in all forms. Some changes may be difficult, sad, or painful, but even those bring vitality to creatures of Dream and must be embraced. The alternative is nothing but stasis. Even at its most benign, stagnation leaves people woefully unprepared when everything they know eventually gets upended. The vast majority of the time, though, a rejection of change is nothing more than an invitation for Banality.Glamour is free.
Just as plants require sunlight, fish must have water, and animals need food to eat — so too do changelings need Glamour to survive. Access to water is considered a basic human right. Shouldn’t access to Glamour be considered a basic right for all Kithain? Hoarding Glamour does no one any good. Glamour is vital in the fight against Banality. Squirreling it away, hiding it from those who need it the most, only enables Banality to spread throughout the world. The most it accomplishes is condemning countless other, less privileged changelings to be Undone. By their birthright as children of the Dreaming, the Unseelie consider it their duty to liberate Glamour from those who squander it by keeping it under lock and key and to make sure it is put to more productive use.Honor is a lie.
Honor is a cage that traps the Seelie. An Unseelie might have a personal code or her own standards of behavior, but she will not tolerate any system that serves no purpose other than to enforce the status quo. She does what she feels is right without the need for society or a lord’s approval. Once outside rewards are involved, whether tangible or simply accolades, the concept of honor twists people, making them do monstrous things. It has no room for nuance or subtlety. It makes no distinction based on circumstance. Honor forces people to commit suicide over a single error with no regard for a lifetime of achievement. It drives parents to murder their children over events beyond anyone’s control. When a person needs compassion and understanding most, all she receives is heartless rejection. Honor is nothing more than an ugly little lie told by tyrants designed to keep their slaves docile and obedient.Passion before duty.
The Kithain are more than simple cogs in a machine. They are individuals with agency. They have their own desires, their own hopes and aspirations. They need the ability to pursue that which makes them unique. No one can follow his dream when an overlord is standing above him, micromanaging his life. Sure, important things need to get done. Everyone has responsibilities, but if given the freedom to be themselves, people will find ways to do the necessary things in their own way that doesn’t prevent them from doing the things that make life worth living. Beyond that, emergencies happen. Sometimes a changeling must drop everything to take advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity or help someone he loves. As a creature of Dream, his passion should be celebrated, not punished.
Type
Court, Royal
Notable Members
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