Chevalier

The relationship between human and steed goes back thousands of years: the Fae study the deep and abiding bond between a horse and his rider with fascination. Modern updates don’t diminish that bond in the least: a girl may love her motorcycle just as much as she adored the pony she rode one summer at camp. One Keeper lures in young people who obsess over horses by sending kelpies and each-uisge to lure them to Hedgeways near the water, creating a small army of valiant champions on aquatic steeds; when one of them breaks free, she remembers nothing but her beloved mount, irreplaceable and lost in the Thorns. Another of the Gentry places discreet ads in Autoweek and Car & Driver for the discerning gentleman who wishes to restore antique automobiles in the most refined of settings; respondents spend small eternities hammering their blood and tears into the steel roll cage of the Fae’s newest racecar. When one of the pair chained to the anvil accidentally crushes his own chest with the hammer press, the other swears on his comrade’s dying breath to steal the car and break free.

Elemental: Wide chrome eyes without iris or pupil reflect streetlights as she prowls the bar district on her favorite hog, its body painted red as blood. Her hydraulic joints hiss when she moves and her heart pumps with a diesel engine’s two-stroke pound.

Wizened: His weather-beaten skin smells and looks like his well-worn riding leathers, and the diminutive, silverhaired man doesn’t cut much of a figure on his own. Astride his Fae Mount, a panther with skin the color of spilled oil, he commands the attention of entire freeholds; many have followed him to war over the last two decades.

Bucephalus, to me!

Kith Blessing: Choose either Persuasion or Intimidation. When the Chevalier rides, drives, or pilots their steed — either one already belonging to them, or one they appropriated via Rider’s Call (see below) — achieving three successes when rolling the chosen Skill counts as an exceptional success.

Rider’s Call: By spending a Glamour point, the Chevalier may touch a vehicle or mount and name it their Noble Steed. Any type of steed works, from a unicycle to a camel to a tank, as long as it’s a single mobile steed the changeling can ride or operate themselves. A Noble Steed can be the character’s own Fae Mount, though it still can’t persist outside the Hedge without the Actormask ability. It can also be a sapient steed as long as that character still qualifies as a vehicle or mount, such as a changeling transformed into a bicycle or a briarwolf on all fours; a motley-mate giving them a piggyback ride doesn’t count.

Once the Chevalier has designated a Noble Steed, they may reflexively call that steed by spending another Glamour point. The steed hears the call no matter where it is, even in the Hedge or another realm, and rushes at its fastest natural speed to the changeling’s side if possible. It receives no special powers to do anything it normally couldn’t; a helicopter can’t dive beneath the ocean, nor can a mortal transformed into a mammoth open a Hedge Gate without its Key, and a horse tied to a post remains there. Sapient steeds may choose whether or not to respond, but they still hear the call no matter what.

The Chevalier may only have one Noble Steed at a time, and can’t switch steeds until the end of the scene. Another Chevalier attempting to claim the same vehicle or mount as a Noble Steed prompts a Clash of Wills.

Finally, whenever the Chevalier drops to 0 Willpower, gains a Clarity Condition, or suffers any wound penalties, the Noble Steed becomes immediately aware of its rider’s peril and the call takes effect as normal without any spent Glamour.