Fae-Blooded

 

The fae dwell in the infinite chaos, entertaining themselves with the endless permutations of power and form. Most ignore Creation, treating the island of jagged rules like the irritant of an oyster’s pearl. At best, it is a bauble to play with and toss aside again for greater toys. At worst, it is a tumor in the perfection of the Wyld. But for the exiles, the losers, the least of the fae, Creation is the only game left to them. It is these wretches whom the dwellers of Creation know as Fair Folk, diminished by the very shapes and elemental Essence they wear to adorn their chaos. But even the formed Fair Folk wither away without the sustenance of possibilities sucked from passion or ravished souls. And so, they hunt mortals for food and sport or send raiding parties of hobgoblins and mutants to recover prey. Of course, mutants and hobgoblins cannot abide the unforgiving rigidity of Creation much better, a factor that sharply limits the ultimate range of their predations. It is to this end that form becomes a surprising blessing, as it allows the Fair Folk to mate with humans and produce half-Wyld offspring. The majority of these Fleshdreamt may walk as freely in Creation as in the Wyld places, a flexibility that makes them the perfect leaders for Ravager bands.

Effective as they are, not all Fae-Blooded grow up as living weapons and hunters. After all, it is sheer folly to assign any absolutes to the inscrutable purposes of the Fair Folk. Some fairies fashion children in their own likenesses, delighting in them as dolls to pamper with toys and playrooms spun of delicate glamour. When they reach maturity, such offspring may receive new duties. Or, as likely as not, the intemperate parent may simply tire of the game and cast the child out or devour her. Particularly debauched Fair Folk keep a stocked nursery in the same manner that mortals keep wine cellars, raising each innocent as a new vintage to hoard or share at banquets. Less unfortunate Fae-Blooded serve as pets of sorts, amusing in their ignorance and delusions of self-importance.

Still others are living pranks played upon the denizens of Creation. The game itself is simple: The Fair Folk creep into mortal homes and reshape their babies to the likenesses of the infants they find. Then, they take away the human children and leave their precious Changelings behind. Most parents never know — never dream — that their offspring are not their own. As for the children, they cannot imagine why they look in longing to the wilderness and dream strange, impossible dreams. If they show a propensity for glamour as they reach adolescence, then their very existence serves chaos even at the height of ignorance. Others of these Changelings serve as hidden sleeper agents, each a perfect spy that does not know she is a spy. When the weight of the unforgiving world bears too heavily upon their souls, then they may be found and educated in the sweetness of betrayal. Such sport can take decades to reach fruition, but the immortal Fair Folk have nothing but time.

The last general category of Fae-Blooded are the least numerous and the most tragic. They are the children of rape or indifferent seduction, born of hobgoblin raids and noble trysts with wide-eyed village girls. At best, they are a shameful secret to keep safe from bitter prejudice against the Wyld. More often, they are reviled and cast out to fend for themselves when their true nature becomes apparent. Of these, many perish by stoning, crucifixion or burning at the stake for public amusement. Those who live do so as pariahs and outcasts, wandering in hopes their nature will not be discovered. In time, their bitterness may take them to the courts of the fae, though some simply learn to enjoy ravaging the humanity that spurned them.

Heritage Power: Like their inchoate parents, Fae-Blooded have nothing to fear from the maddening and warping power of the Wyld. Changelings may journey into the deepest chaos and retain their form and sanity, though the same protection does not extend to their possessions. This constant aegis duplicates the effects of the Solar Charm Integrity-Protecting Prana, save that it does not protect against glamour and other

willfully directed uses of Wyld energies.

Associations: Flowers, bright colors, jewels, sunsets, music and other objects and circumstances imbued with passion. Fae-Blooded live excessively, and so, they trail the signs of lustful excess wherever they go. Changelings find themselves most at home in whorehouses, theaters, arenas, taverns and wherever else mortals gather with passionate intent.

Sobriquets: Changelings, Wyld-Kissed, Daughters/Sons of Chaos, Fleshdreamt

Concepts: Ravager, gifted artisan, connoisseur of excess, unknown Changeling, legendary lover

 

 

I have never savored such

sweet innocence in one so old.

You are a rare treat indeed!