Crown of Seasons
A Crown is a gift: a token of affection from the court’s patron to its queen, whether her kin elected her, she defeated the old sovereign, or she showed great bravery or wisdom. The Crown is a physical object, though born from Glamour and bound to the queen at all times. She can choose to subsume and hide it in her mien, or give it to someone else to use. It can’t be taken from her by force or guile, and she always knows exactly where it is and who currently wears it. Once a day, the queen can call a gifted Crown back to her side: Spring rulers may do so at dawn, Summer queens at high noon, Autumn sovereigns at dusk, and Winter rulers at midnight. A monarch (and only a monarch) can turn a Crown into an oath-forged token (p. 224), granting it even more power, but doing so cuts it loose from her mien somewhat, requiring a point of Glamour and a contested Wyrd + Mantle roll to reclaim it from another bearer.
At the changing of the seasons, the old ruler abdicates power while the new one claims it. Most courts prefer to hold elaborate ceremonies as a way to uphold their Bargains; see Chapter 1 for more on how each court takes power. These ceremonies also reinforce any oaths attendees swore when they joined their court, granting each changeling present one point of Glamour.
When a changeling loses her reigning position, the Crown fades, although some extraordinarily popular rulers or those whose seasonal Bargains are sorely needed in the fight against the Fae find that their Crown sticks around even when they’re not in power, causing strife and intrigue galore. No changeling has yet made this happen on purpose, but sometimes the seasons have their own ideas.
In addition to those benefits, each Crown grants a blessing. If the sovereign has currently granted the Crown to another to use, that character may invoke the blessing as he wills.
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