The Fey of Cartyrion

The Fey are the first thinking beings to walk this world of Cartyrion. And I say "are" and not "were" because the Fey you encounter today have been here since before the first Elf drew breath. Adventurers never forget that even the simplest of these creatures have experienced much in their unimaginably long lives upon this world.
— Khala the Traveler, from The Traveler's Guide to the Feywood

The Fey of Cartyrion are not the creatures that you may be familiar with from other RPG campaign settings. But they are not so different as to be unrecognizable. They do not come from some other ancient plane of existence, but they are, but they can still be thought of as having a "first world" origin, in a sense. They are the first fully sentient creatures to have been Awakened on Cartyrion, and for a time, the world was theirs and theirs alone to appreciate.

Awakening

When the Alevar first arrived at Cartyrion, they began to create upon the blank canvas of majestic structure left for them by the Creator of Worlds. Berdea and Atezana, drawing upon the conduits to the Six Energies which the Creator of Worlds left open, painted most of the world in a palette of greens and rich browns, creating vast forests and rich grassy plains. Flowery meadows were created to add accents of color. But they were not satisfied.

They drew upon the energies again, this time controlling more of the power provided through the Conduit of Life, and brought forth the first animals. These were mostly the small forest and tree dwellers. Chipmunks and squirrels filled the trees gathering acorns and nuts, and in so doing helped the forests to flourish. Small moles, mice, and rabbits moved about the forest and grassland floors, living off the plants, but at the same time fertilizing and spreading them. Butterflies and bees moved through the flowery meadows, helping to pollinate and bring forth even greater variety of plants. But still, the Alevar were not satisfied.

Berdea drew upon the Energies again, this time focusing most on the Conduit of Life, and Awakened the first sentient creatures - the Fey. These were much more than the simple animals that preceded them. They were more full of the Energy of Life. They could interact with each other and their creators in ways the simpler creatures could not. Berdea was pleased with these creations, and for a time stopped his work to watch his creations flourish. The World of Cartyrion belonged to the Fey.

Lifestyle

The Fey lifestyle is a carefree one. Their needs are provided by the bounty of the world. They look after the world, but they find ways to revel and play while they do what they need to do. Some of the Folk mistake this playfulness for laziness, but most secretly envy the Fey for the life they life.

The Fey are not naturally capable of bearing offspring, but this does not mean they do not enjoy certain pleasures that they can experience with others. Sexuality is a part of their nature - it is just another of the many experiences the world has to offer. And as each Fey has its own unique personality and preferences, there are many varieties of this experience available to them.

Lifespan

Berdea granted his Fey creations with the gift of immortality so they would forever be able to appreciate the beauty of the world, and to help preserve and enhance that beauty.

This does not mean the Fey cannot die. They can succumb to accidents or violence. But even when this happens, their life essence persists - a Feyflower will bloom to mark the place where they fell.

Since they cannot reproduce, the Fey are slowly dwindling in number. The world today has far fewer Fey today than it did before the Folk were Awakened.

Variety

When Berdea created the Fey, he created them in many forms and set them upon the world in many places. Some were created to take their places among the animals of the world, but were given special abilities or senses that their more common cousins do not share. Others, for the most part, resemble the humanoid folk that would come after. Some live in the forests and meadows, others in the rivers, lakes, and oceans. Some make their homes among the rocky mountains that seemed to have been left untouched by the Alevar's painting of green. Some even live beneath the world, in the caverns and caves that are found everywhere.

At least initially, though, all were of similar mind and temperament. But after many years, Corizzea used his corrupting powers to change the nature of some of the Fey. Similarly, the Alevar Shylea the Gamester also tried his hand at creating sentient creatures some time after Berdea's work was done.

Nymphs of Cartyrion

Species | Dec 30, 2022

The first sentient creatures awakened by Berdea to tend his gardens; these mostly humanoid creatures have lived longer than anything else on Cartyrion.