The South Court

Life is chaos and passion. Life is also art, and art needn't be comfortable. The Lost of the Vermilion Court do not try to connect with humanity, but instead exult in being changelings. They do not deny any emotion, whether it be love or hate, hope or despair. Instead, they endeavor to feel it so keenly that it nearly destroys them. Love is felt so strongly that it might elevate one to the uttermost heights of bliss or the lowest pits of gloom. Anger is just as pure, and a changeling of the Vermilion Court might let his anger burn off swiftly in a sudden conflagration of violence, or he may instead let it simmer for years, even decades, nursing on his fury like a bottomless bottle of rice wine.
The Lost are a part of that emotional world, hewing far closer to it than humans ever could -- changelings experience it, feed from it, and the Court of the South rewards them for doing so.
How does this help them thwart the Fae? Because emotion can give the Lost power. It is tied intimately to Glamour, and a changeling who knows how to emote and orchestrate the emotions of others can be quite powerful, indeed. Each changeling of this Court considers himself an artist. While many embrace various means to express that artistic desire (calligraphy, song, sculpture, theater), all believe that a changeling's innate abilities represent a true art. They all practice it, learning new Contracts, clauses, and catches, finding new ways to bond humans with Byzantine pledges, seeking out the rarest and most delectable fruits in the Hedge.

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Mantle

The Mantle of the Court of the South is one of passion and chaos. Those with Mantle 1 to 3 give off a kind of heat, a faint warmth radiating outward that excites the pulse. Those with Mantle 4+ often possess faintly red eyes, and those in their wake often find themselves giving into their Virtues and Vices more plainly. Sometimes, those of high Mantle leave behind an occasional bird-like footprint that smolders with smoke and steam.
A Vermilion courtier with Mantle 1+ gains a Specialty to her Empathy Skill. A character with Mantle 3+ finds that she can purchase the Empathy and Expression Skills at half the normal experience point cost. A courtier with Mantle 5 finds that her emotions affect others around her and may even shift her own flesh. She can take either the Inspiring Merit or the four-dot Striking Looks Merit. If both are already possessed, she gains +3 dice to the roll made to use the Inspiring Merit.

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Nicknames

The Vermilion Court, the Ink Brush, the Court of Song

Emotion

Ecstasy

Colors

Red and Black

Related Species

• Changeling