History of the Kithain

The history of the Kithain is an intangible thing, for it is the history of Dreams themselves. To even attempt to give it solid form or substance is to ask it to defy its own nature, for dreams refuse to cohere to the reason of the waking world. Consequently, many Changelings have wildly different ideas of the history of their kind, both from stories passed down from one Changeling to another, and from their own memories, as well. The Redcaps claim that they were the first Kith, haunting the Darkness Before First Dawn long before any other fae creature walked the world. Still others claim that the first fae were the Tuatha de Danaan, the Shining Host, who are the ancestors of the Sidhe. Of all fae creatures, it seems that the mysterious Inanimae can remember back the farthest, as they are the living spirts of wood and stone, fire and water, air and storm, and predate all other living creatures. However, most Sidhe scholars agree that, before all of these fae creatures, the massive and sinister Fomorian Courts ruled the Earth, and it was only after the Shining Host triumphed over them that the world was safe for other species of the Dreaming.

Those who seek an easy answer for the history of the fae will find that there is none. The Dreaming defies any attempt to pin it down to one, concise, rational answer. Changelings and their kin should trust the story which moves them, the one which makes sense, and sheds light into their true selves, for the Dreaming has ever been a reflection of what is within each Changeling, and indeed, each mortal soul.

Spring: The Dawn of the World

In the beginning, there were no divisions between the Dreaming and the mortal worlds. Man was a young race then, and had much to fear. Hmans lived in darkness, and his dreams were the nightmares of a people who had no protection from the dark outside. Storm and wild animal, fire and flood, rock-slide and blight, disease and injury... all of these were the vast threats which humans could not conquer, and so these threats haunted the dreams of the early humans. Because the dreams of mankind held power, these dreams became reality. Things of fear and shadow stalked this dark world, which the Unseelie, especially the Redcaps, refer to as the Fimbulwinter Country. These dreams expressed the cruelty and arbitrariness of a world where man was at the mercy of nature. We huddled in caves, we sought ways to defend ourselves, we prayed for some sense to be made out of the darkness. There was no light to distinguish the shapes of these ancient terrors; they were formless, and thus infinite. All was consumed within their shadow.

Then, out of the dreams of man's hope for something better, for control over their world, came the Tuatha de Danaan, the Shining Host.

These beings of light, the ancestors of the noble Sidhe, taught the humans basic skills; the creation of fire, the development of tools to work the land and weapons to hunt, religion, song, music, development of clothing and storage of food. The Tuatha de Danaan fought against the dark creatures, the Nightmare creatures who sensed that their reign over the world was challenged. When these lords of Nightmare sent their vicious minions against the human race, the Tuatha de Danaan performed their most cunning and powerful move against these creatures; they lit the sun.

In the sunlight, the creatures of Nightmare withered and were given boundaries. What was once limitless now had form, and these creatures shrieked and returned to their masters. It was then that the Shining Host began an active war with the most powerful of these Nightmare creatures, which they called the Fomorians. The history of these ancient battles are recalled in the Compendia of the Sidhe and in the memories of man and fae alike; Kithain histories tell of the battles at Chakravada, the Wars for the Oaks, the Battles at Moytura, and many more. As a result of the strength, cunning, and magicks of the Shining Host, the Fomorians were bound in the deepest, darkest parts of the Dreaming; their prisons were the highest mountain peeks, the ancient oaks of the Forest of Lies, and the depths of the Dreams itself.

Summer: The Age of Legends

The Mythic Age, as some call it, was the heyday of the Kithain. Free exxchange was possible between the Dreaming and the waking world. Mortal and fae dallied with each other, and their trade of ideas and pacts made both worlds grow rich and strong. The Sidhe, descendants of the Shining Host, lived predominantly in Arcadia, their city of delights within the Summerlands of Arcadia. Commoner fae, and those spirits of nature who would one day be called the Inanimae, spent much more time in the mortal lands, and whenever they touched the humans, such people were marked by destiny. Some were driven mad, or changed forever, or even worse. Other more beneficent fae struck bargians and unspoken agreements with the mortals around them; Boggans protected hearth and home, and farms prospered. Sluagh skittered in the darkness, and stole the bad children away. Satyrs and nymphs cavorted in the wilderness, luring mortals away for nights of passion, and inspiring them to new heights of creativity. Chimerical creatures such as gryphons, dragons, manticores, phoenix, and unicorns wandered the wild places, captivating the imagination of those mortals brave or lucky (or perhaps foolish) enough to encounter them. Glamour, the very spiritual essence of Dreaming and creativity, was alive in the world, and fae felt no fear, knowing they were immortal and eternal, even in the waking world. Though they were creatures of the Dreaming, insubstantial and intangible, many of them knew the way of taking flesh, and relations with humans were easy for them.

Travel between the Dreaming and the mortal lands could be accomplished through a number of methods; the commoner fae and nature spirits knew how to open the regios and raths, those places where the fabric which seperated the Dreaming and mortal world grew so thin it was easily pressed through. The Sidhe walked and rode along pathways they blazed through the Dreaming, which came to be known as Trods, for the constant passage of the Sidhe made these pathways glow a brilliant silver, indicating the way to follow for safe journey. Occasionally, creatures of the Fomorian Dream would slip their bonds and journey into the mortal lands, but the noble Sidhe were more than prepared to deal with such threats. Additionally, those mortals with fae parents, the result of dalliances between Kithain and humans, found that their fae blood inspired them to greatness and magick. They sought out the power of the Dreaming, and their souls were bound for adventure. These were the tales of heroes and monsters, those who rose to defend humanity from dragons and sea creatures, night-shades and man-devouring horrors.

During these Summer times, some believe that the constant suffusion of Glamour made the creatures of the Dreaming drunk and lazy from Glamour. The Shining Host left Earth, presumably returning to the Deep Dreaming. Their progeny, the Sidhe, were left in charge of the world, and their relations with other Kithain were, for the most part, fairly peaceful. It was during this time that the two great Courts of the Kithain divided from each other. The Seelie Court preserved the legacy of the Shining Host, dedicated as it was to honor, truth, beauty, courtly love, and the protection of the mortals. However, the Unseelie Court represented the impulses of the fae to chaos, wildness, freedom, passion, deception, and the enjoyment of life at the expense of others. Though the fae refer to these divisions as Courts, each represents one half of any mortal's or fae's true self; all things possess a Seelie and Unseelie side. A harmonious balance was struck between the two Courts, giving each Court the right to govern the land for half of the year. The Seelie Court ruled from Beltaine (May Day) to Samhain (Halloween), presiding over the spring and summer of each year. At Samhain, rule was passed to the Unseelie Court, who presided over autumn and winter, and returned rule of the land to the Seelie at Beltaine. The passage of control was a highly formalized ritual; in some situations, warfare was called for, and each Court would fight for the crown. However, these battles were mock tourneys, and the Unseelie always triumphed at Samhain, whereas the Seelie prevailed inevitably at each Beltaine. In other places, both armies would gather as if for war, but this was nothing more than a show of strength, and control of the lands was passed in a simple, elegant ritual meeting.

Early Signs of Autumn: The Sundering

Though there are many theories as to what first caused the Dreaming to Sunder itself from the waking world, none can say for certain. Fingers are often pointed at the Unseelie Court; many Seelie claim that the Unseelie desired control of the full year, and that they brought strong magicks to bear against the Seelie Court to triumph for the first time at Beltaine. As a result, the world grew colder and darker, unable to regain the growth inherent in spring, and the warmth of summer. Many modern fae historians point to the mini-Ice Age of the Dark Ages as a sure sign of the destruction of Seelie-Unseelie balance. In retaliation, the Courts broke with each other, and began a series of manuevers for control. Not since the conflicts with the Fomorians were the fae called upon for such grave conflict.

Other, perhaps less politically-motivated scholars, claim that the Sundering began when man first learned to forge the metal iron, which is anathema to the fae. When humans learned to shape their dreams, and to create stable structures, both physical and political. Reality itself began to settle into a single, changeless form. As men began to proffit by reality, their dreams were no longer the free and wild things the Kithain recalled; they dreamed less and less, contented with the lives they had. Dreams, and True Dreamers, were increasingly less frequent, and when they did appear, they shaped the Dreaming into new, more concrete forms. Where once the fae had controlled the shape of mortal dreams, now mortal dreams shaped them. Fae existence began to mimic the dreams of developing humanity. Faerie chieftains became kings, faerie warriors shaped themselves into knights, and the wild expanses of the Dreaming became fiefs and strongholds.

Sensing that they were at the mercy of the power of these Dreamers, the fae decided to erect boundaries against the whimsy of mortals, and the Mists began to form. This boundary of spirit was a defense against mortals shaping, or even unmaking, the lands of the Dreaming, and served to hide the fae from mortal minds. Humans were harder pressed to find the Dreaming when they sought it, and when they did, their memories were likely to be confused, unravelled things. These walls were reinforced by human disbelief, formed of the same desires which first called out to the Dreaming to send the Shining Host to save humans from the Fomorians. Things were good, and creatures of the Dreaming were a danger, a throwback to the wild ways, a reminder that everything was transient in a world were humans desired stability. The Dreaming began to sever from the mortal lands, each side pushed away by the inhabitants of the other.

The Sundering cullminated in the formation of the Inquisition in 1233. In an effort to purge all undesirable supernatural elements from their lands, the Church made war against the fae, and learned the secrets of iron as a weapon against the Kithain. The growing power of the Church feared the Kithain, and persecuted Dreamers and those touched by Glamour on a grand scale. More often than not, though the Inquisition intended to seek out witches and vampires and shape-shifters, it actually burned Dreamers and Kinnain, those who lived among the mortals but saw the Dreaming everywhere they looked.Desperate to protect their previously immortal existences, creatures of faerie withdrew even further into the wild places, and the Dreaming itself. The Sidhe appeared less and less in mortal lands, and supernatural creatures hid in the deep woods, dark waters, high mountains, and hidden glens. The Kithain were driven back, just as the Fomorians had been, countless millenia before. Travel between the worlds became more difficult, as ancient gateways and gathering places seemed to fade away. In some cases, gates would only open on the high festivals of the Kithain, especially Beltaine and Samhain. Sensing the dwindling resources of Glamour, the Seelie and Unseelie Court grew ever more hostile towards each other.

Summer's End: The Shattering

Eventually, the threads which connected the mortal lands to the Dreaming began to snap, one by one. Though the name The Shattering calls to mind a single, decisive cataclysm, the effects of The Shattering were felt over the course of years, growing worse and worse. Many point to the outbreak of the Black Plague in the 14th century as a sure sign of The Shattering; over 75 million human lives were claimed by disease, and the resulting changes in the mortal lands could not be denied in the Dreaming. The Age of Reason was upon the world, and much of what the humans were discovering in their laboratories and churches was anathema to the fae.

The Kithain began to realize that the immortality afforded to them by their connection to the Dreaming was about to fail. The first pangs of a new force in the world, Banality, were felt by the fae. Its chilly rational touch unmade Kithain and Chimera under the scrutiny of the rationalist, and many fae watched as their old friends and lovers were Undone forever.

The Sidhe who had remained on Earth, sensing that Autumn was upon the world, fled en masse for the Dreaming, seeking out the last of the ancient Trods before the power of Unbelief could destabilize even these hidden gateways. Many Sidhe barely escaped, as the Silver Path trembled beneath their feet, and few commoners were able to escape, either as a result of not realizing what was in store for them, or actually being held back by the Sidhe. Still other gateways were closed behind the Sidhe intentionally, for fear that the threat of Banality would pour into the Dreaming once it found these ancient pathways still open. Only two Sidhe Houses remained on Earth in any significant numbers; Liam, a house of outcasts who loved the mortals dearly, and mostlly perished for their affection, unable to survive the harsh onset of Banality, and Scathach, a House of wild warrirors of the Dreaming, who have never been able to retreat from combat.

Those fae left behind in the mortal lands found solace in one of three methods. A small number who remembered the ancient magicks and dared to perform such feats bound themselves to sacred places, ancient fae fortresses and stone circles, enchanted islands and mysterious woods, and pulled such places into the Dreaming directly, severing their connection to the mortal lands. These fae lost all connection to the waking world, and to this day, many of these Lost Ones have never returned, assured as they are that the world must be suffering through a terrible Winter, and unable to peer outside of their Glamour-drenched Freeholds for even a moment for fear of being Undone.

The spirits of nature followed another option. They knew the secrets of tree and stone, of eternal flame and sacred spring. They worked powerful rituals to bind their fae souls to specific objects, Anchoring them to an old oak, or a stone dolmen. Hidden inside these objects, the creatures who would one day be called the Inanimae drifted off into Slumber, prepared to hibernate through the Autumn and Winter of the world. These creatures knew the secrets of the turning of the seasons, and assured their fae kin that a new Spring would come again.

For those "commoner" fae left behind, the Redcaps and Eshu, the Trolls and Goblins, the Pooka and Boggans, and many many others, there was only one option; they had to learn to take mortal flesh, and hide themselves among the human masses. They enacted the old magicks they had once used in the Spring of the world to tarry among humans, and suffered the terrible pain of Banality. Many perished, but others were able to survive, their fae souls cloaked in mortal flesh.

Those lucky few who hid among the humans passed part of their fae soul along their own bloodline. They took husbands and wives, and had children who possessed the powers of fae blood. Within this blood was part of the magick of their own Kith. Through arcane arts and struggle, those fae souls who died a mortal's death were able to be reborn as their own distant progeny. A great-great-grandchild of a Pooka might be born with a glimmer of his ancestor's soul within him; at a certain age, that fae soul would awaken in the mortal body, and the mortal and fae selves would merge into one whole. Thus were the Kithain reborn. This process, painful at first, was refined into what the Kithain came to call the Changeling Way.

Autumn: The Interregnum

Thus, the mortal lands fell into a state of Autumn. Where once the world outside was a place of mystery and terror, now mankind could conquer the boundaries. No longer did every map have a periphery which read, "Here be Dragons." Humanity claimed physical and spiritual supremacy over the world. Without the possibility of the wild places, without man's terror and delight, both of which fuel the Dreaming, the connection between Earth and the Summerlands became even more faint. For the first time, the Kithain began to hoard Glamour. What was once an endless font had turned into a mere trickle, a harvest of Dreams which had to be carefully cultivated. Kithain learned how to cultivate human Dreamers, and to invoke the power of Epiphanies, drinking deep of human creativity. They protected and tried to nurture those places which were sources of Glamour, the Freeholds and Glades, but many of these places slipped into an Autumn and Winter of their own, and Glamour was hard to find.

During this long period, which many call the Interregnum, much of the practices of the Sidhe fell by the wayside. Without the nobles, many of the ancient pacts between the Kithain and other supernatural races were no longer preserved. The Prodigal races (werewolves, vampires, mortal magi, and the like) grew distant from the fae. The two great Courts of the Kithain still warred, but the conflict grew strange withou the Sidhe at the helm, and a Compact was eventually sealed, ending conflict between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Old arguments were put aside, and Seelie and Unseelie Kithain could travel freely through each other's domains. The feudal system of the Kithain also waned during this period; small communities of Kithain became isolated from each other, without the pressure of the Sidhe to keep fiefs in contact with each other. There was a great sense of peace, and few battles were fought among the Kithain.

The Mists, which the fae had woven to protect themselves from mortal eyes, created a barrier between the worlds of the Kithain and those of the mortals. Fae could see each other as they truly were, but mortals saw only the flesh shells the Changeling Way had placed the fae into. Chimerical creatures, and objects formed from the ephemera of dreams, were all but invisible to the mortals. The fae hid in plain sight from the Church which called them devils and science which denied their existence and sought to destroy them at the same time. Most terrible of all, this was the beginning of the Dauntain, humans and fae who turned against the Dreaming and served Winter. These creatures hunted the Kithain, seeking to destroy them with iron and other banal implements.

Expansion into the New World brought the Kithain in contact with the Nunnehi, the fae of the Native American peoples. Initially, a delicate peace existed between Kithain and Nunnehi, but repeated violations of treaties and sacred places spurred more and more conflict; the Nunnehi were at the forefront of many unsuccessful attempts to drive back European settlers. While the Kithain drank the Glamour of human creativity, the Nunnehi reaped Glamour from the natural world all around them, and from their connection to the spirit world. The commoner Kithain was unforviging to these Gallain, and periodic war forced the Nunnehi from their sacred places. Meanwhile, Inanimae slept in Anchors all around these fae, unable to awaken from their Slumber, but still cognizant of the terrible wars being fought. They cried out, watching two of their cousin-races destroy each other, but were able to do little. To this day, the Nunnehi have not forgotten the debt of blood and lands owed them by the commoner Kiths, and the Inanimae bemoan their inability to act during this period.

Summer's Return?: The Ressurgence

Six hundred years passed, and the world continued to turn. The dreaded Winter which would wipe the world clean of all things fae never came, and the commoners settled into a comfortable pattern of life. The Trolls became the protectors of the fae, in the absence of the Sidhe, and few could remember when they missed the nobles. The world had changed, and the fae had changed with it. Despite the original intention of the Mists, the Kithain had bound themsleves to human lives, and human concerns dominated them. Feudalism and vassalage was a thing of the past; Kithain lived in countries which were democratic, and enjoyed their equality with their fellow man. Even the Inanimae were able to draw themselves from Slumber from time to time, though it was difficult for these fae to re-establish any lasting relationships with the Kithain.<

Perhaps some sensed the great Ressurgence before it came, but these are few and far between. After hundreds of years of the Interregnum, humanity had all but forgotten the Dreaming, and een the commoner Kithain spoke of the Sidhe only as legends of the past. Still, like a thunderbolt, in the summer of the year 1969, the ancient gateways opened once more, and the Sidhe returned en masse.

None can say for certain, not even the Sidhe, why the Ressurgence occured. Some say the collective good will of the "Summer of Love" fanned the flames of the Dreaming's dying embers on Earth. Others claim that the moon landing was the causal factor, as soe many of the ancient Trods were tied to the lunar cycle. The collective drive of the human race, waiting for the moment of man's first contact with the lunar surface, may have inspired the dreams of so many that the Dreaming returned the Sidhe to the Earth. Others insist that any events which occured in the mortal lands are merely symptoms of the Ressurgence; the true causes were events in Arcadia, not on Earth.

Whatever the case, the Trods opened, and the Sidhe returned. They were confused, dazed, and could not even recall what had brought them to the mortal lands once more. None could say for certain how much time had passed in Arcadia since their departure, or how long they had been gone. Faint memories persisted; some claimed that the Sidhe had been responsible for revolution in Arcadia, and had been exiled to Earth as punishment. Others claimed that the Dreaming lay in ruins, and that these Houses had escaped a terrible war in Arcadia, and were either on the run from their enemies, or sent to seek assistance in the mortal lands. Still others claimed that all was well in Arcadia, but the Sidhe had returned to save Earth from itself, or from some terrible outside threat. Though the journey through the ancient Trods was difficult and disorienting, there are lore-masters and soothsayers of the Sidhe who claim that something followed the nobles to Earth, something dark and terrible. They claim that this unspeakable horde followed closem on the heels of the Sidhe as they journeyed the Trods, or perhaps vice versa, with the Sidhe in pursuit. None can say for certain, and many Sidhe dispute the issue vehemently.

Whatever the cause for their return, the Sidhe found the mortal lands unbearable. They took human form in a strange variant of the Changeling Way, appearing in mortal bodies as if they souls had been evicted from them. Banality was a terrible force for them, unfelt for over six hundred years. Several Sidhe perished in their first days on Earth, and the Sidhe, in desperation, sought to retreat to their old Freeholds. Many of these holds were in slumber, and awoke once more to the presence of the nobles. Others, however, were held by commoners, who were uncomfortable with the sudden return of the Sidhe, and the demands being issued at them. "Where had the nobles been for the past five centuries? Didn't they understand that the world had changed? How dare they insist that everything go back to the way it used to be, before they deserted the commoners? Fealty? Noblesse oblige? The right of kings? Pfah!"

A series of minor conflicts began over the control of Freeholds, and the rights of commoners. No clear resolution was in sight, and both sides held their ground. Finally, a group of high-ranking nobles agreed to meet with representatives of the commoners, under a white flag, on Beltaine of 1970. Commoners from across America arrived to debate arrangements with the nobility. Moments after the peace talks began, the nobles bolted the doors with their magicks, drew iron blades, and murdered every commoner who had arrived for the talks. This terrible act came to be called the Beltaine Massacre, or the Night of Iron Knives, and touched off war between the Sidhe and
the other kith.

The Accordance War

Enraged, those commoner leaders who had not made the Beltaine talks went to war against the nobility. Bloody and terrible conflict broke out all across the Americas, and many areas in Europe were also consumed in the uproar. Commoner and noble families were torn apart, uncertain as to where to place their loyalties, as extremists on both sides murdered their opponents and routed their enemies from their lands. The Sidhe placed their general, Dafyll, at the head of the forces which fought against the commoners, and he led Sidhe forces to victory after victory against the commoners as the War for Accord continued. The battle raged for years, with casualties mounting on both sides. The Sidhe were superior combatants and tacticians; war was in their blood, and they had brought terrible war-Chimera and powerful Treasures from the Dreaming. Yet the commoners had among them the terrible Morrigan, the brutal Redcaps, the mighty Trolls, and other Kiths who swore to defend their right to freedom. Goblin artifice and Boggan ingenuity served the commoner camps well, and their knowledge of the terrain made them superior urban fighters. Clearly, it was a battle doomed to tragedy.

Dafyll himself fell in a battle in New York against the 4th Troll Infantry Division of the Commoner's Army, and his mystic sword, Caliburn, traditionally a symbol of the High King, was lost. It was there that Sidhe Freeholds were sacked and burned, and the remaining inhabitants fled for their lives. Trapped with a group of Sidhe childings, the mortal Thomas the Rhymer, the only human to spend the Interregnum in Arcadia with the Sidhe, sought to defend his charges from the brutal commoner forces which were sweeping across New York City. At one point, he became seperated from a young member of House Gwydion known as David Ardry. Doing his best, Thomas surely would have lost the battles against the Redcaps and Goblins closing in on him, until suddenly David reappeared, Caliburn held high, glowing a fiery gold. Thomas, who had been gifted with the power to speak only prophecy, cried out, "Behold, there stands your king!" and pointed to the young Ardry. His commoner assailants fled, feeling the weight of his words. A change was in the air, and the Kithain could sense it.

The Concord to the Present Day

Though not many believed in the young successor, Thomas the Rhymer was able to escort him safely to the Freehold of Mab, Queen of the Kingdom of Apples in the Northeast of America. From there, David issued a series of proclomations that it was his intent to end the Accordance War, making peace and freedom with the commoners. Reluctant at first, those commoner heralds sent to hear him felt the force and gravity of his words. This childing did what no other of his Kith had been able to do; he brought the commoner leaders to Tara Nar, and made peace with them. Together, they signed the Treaty of Concord, declaring that the Sidhe will administrate the land in a supervisory position, but not have the power over the commoners they once did, a form of constituional feudalism. He declared this land to henceforth be named Concordia, in honor of the trust which both sides swore to place in the others word, so that neither would forget the promise they had made. Additionally, he established a Parliament of Dreams, where all Kithain would have an equal voice, and nobles would not be able to simply override commoner concerns. The nobility would have to answer to the High King David, called by many the Lion of Tara for his bravery and honor, and he would not tolerate the mistreatment of his subjects.

It is this peace that the Kithain live in today. No longer do commoners and nobility make war on each other, though tensions flare on an almost daily level. Rebellion and insurrection are not unheard of, though there are more peaceful methods of arbitration open now since the establishment of the Parliament. Now, united perhaps for the first time, the Kithain face a greater threat; that of a world where Winter is fast approaching. Even more terrible has been the realization that the Sidhe souls do not seem to be reborn as commoner souls are. Having never practiced "The Changeling Way", it is impossible to say where Sidhe are reborn. Some say that Sidhe who die in the mortal worlds complete their exile and are allowed to return to Arcadia. Others believe these souls die in exile, never to be reborn, though this seems doubtful. Still others advance the ironic notion that Sidhe are reborn as commoner Kithain, to fully understand their crimes against the commoners, both of the distant and recent past. No one can say for certain.

Now, Banality seems to strangle the world of the Kithain. The Dreaming experienced a brief rebirth, and its presence is stronger than it had been in over six hundred years on Earth, but once more it fades from the lives of mortals, and perhaps faster than ever. Winter is lurking at the door, and some Kithain refuse to believe in its threat. Still others believe that Winter is something to be endured, a test for the strong to be reborn in a new Spring, which they claim will be the reward of those who can survive the world's second Winter. Still others claim that the world came from a Winter, and it is to Winter that it will return, and unless the Kithain do something, the apocalypse is at hand.

The Dauntain are more plentiful than ever, killing their kin in the name of bringing on the darkness of forever Winter. The Unseelie Court still exists, though it has seemingly surrendered much power to the Seelie Court, and none are certain what game they are playing at. Open dissent is common from those who swear alleigance to the Unseelie, and Unseelie Sidhe Houses have come increasingly out of hiding, having survived the Accordance War and the effects of Banality as they acclimated to the mortal world. Rumors of manipulation on all sides, of Shadow Courts which control all of the politics, still persist, and their motives are impossible to determine.

Some claim that the onset of Winter will bring a return of the Fomorians, the terrible Nightmare Lords, and that they already deploy their minions to prepare the world for their coming. Those Gallain who have had their lands stripped from them, such as the Nunnehi, loathe the European Kithain, and may seek retribution soon.

For many, the peace that the Kithain exist in now is only a trick, a lure back to slumber when they should be preparing for the greatest test of their lives. Others are enjoying this sudden return of Summer, knowing that Autumn and Winter are almost back upon them, and that they should enjoy what they can while it is still here. No matter what comes, the next few years will prove telling.