The Elven Courts
Dec. 5th, 2018 06:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unseenlibrarianSo the Elves in this setting are divided, not by season or by attitude, but more on some combination of “Where they went to ground when Magic was fading” and “Shared interest”. There are currently 5 major courts- two are fairly new, with the newest having only really organized after the curie effect.
Underhill: This is what most people think of when they think of fae. You’ve got your lordly pointy-eared types, your la belle dame sans merci types, and so on and so forth. They hid in hollow hills, burial mounds, and behind secret doors reachable via fair ring.
It’s ruled jointly by the King and Queen of the Elves, who do go by Oberon and TItania to the public, but these are both almost certainly aliases, or possibly a private joke. Underhill has portals in several major cities (The most famous as of the ‘present’ being the Hollywood Underhills) and has several members with human ancestry- these half elf, half human children are called “Deenies” in popular slang, thanks to an early news report mangling “Daoine Sidhe” and are basically what everyone thinks of when they think of elves, being the type of fae you’re most likely to see in the street.
Air and Darkness: The Court of Air and Darkness, ruled over by the Queen of the Same name, hid in the clouds- the castles of fairy tale giants, the peaks of unscaleable mountains, and so on; all sorts of winged fae and aerial fae are members, as well as the giants who played host. They are aloof, and even today rarely go about on earth, though some pilots during and after the War of Three Caesars reported seeing strange ships belonging to neither side flying at high altitudes- these have been dubbed “Fae Fighters” and are presumed to belong to this Court.
Undersea: The rulership of the Undersea Court has been missing since Atlantis rose- this was the reason for the ultimatum by the other courts that ultimately led to the Big A. While there are hundreds of water-based fae left, most of their nobility was based in Atlantis, and so several have defected to other courts for protection and to have their interests represented, primarily to Hollow Hills based near water, or to the Wild Court.
The Wild: The Wild Court is both quite old and very new; there were always wild fae, faerie who only took animal or part-animal forms, and they often had a loose hierarchy, with their own rulers- The King of Cats, , the Master of Hounds, the various warlords and herd stallions of the fae horses. But they usually bowed to one of the other courts, particularly underhill. Since the disappearance of Undersea, the Wild Courts, bolstered by sea serpents and merfolk joining them for protection, among other political moves, have become more independent, and in fact seem to be working together, with the rulership of all the beastial fae rotating between the various animal rulers. Currently, the Wild Court is run by the Master of Hounds, a Cu Sith.
The Low Court, aka the Uniform Trade Council: Truly newly organized, the Uniform Trade Council was organized as a group of, well, unionized worker-fae. Dwarves, Brownies, bauchans, Gremlins, shoemaker elves. Every sort of crafter or housework-based spirit, and the ones most strongly associated with humanity. The Low King is an appointee, and is uniquely chosen for their inability to weasel out of the position, as it takes them away from their workshop or lab- the position’s usually held by a Gremlin or Dwarf, since they’re closest to human sized and thus easier for other rulers to take seriously.
There are some positions that stand both slightly off to one side of the court structure
The Three Sisters: In ancient times, there were only the three courts: Underhill, undersea, and Air and Darkness. The Three sisters were advisers to the rulers- the Fates and Soothsayers to the crowned heads, reflecting the court they advised but not being part of it. It’s a sort of hereditary position- when the old sisters die, three new ones are called. With the seeming loss of the Undersea Court, for now, the third sister is advising the Master of Hounds (They’re not quite sure what to make of the Uniform Trade Council, and whoever heard of Four Fates? Not whatever magic calls the sisters, that’s who.)
The Puck is usually appointed by the King of Underhill, but operates independently and has jurisdiction within all the courts. Essentially, he (or she) is a crown investigator, with authorization to look into crime and dubious circumstances, even if one of the royals might be involved. It’s not a job with a long life expectancy, nor is it a desired one, despite the power of the position.
More than once, the first case a new Puck takes is to investigate the death of his predecessor on the job. There have also been cases of one-time pucks who are brought in on a specific case, then freed of the title. Usually these are mortal investigators, and one or two have even survived the appointment.
Underhill: This is what most people think of when they think of fae. You’ve got your lordly pointy-eared types, your la belle dame sans merci types, and so on and so forth. They hid in hollow hills, burial mounds, and behind secret doors reachable via fair ring.
It’s ruled jointly by the King and Queen of the Elves, who do go by Oberon and TItania to the public, but these are both almost certainly aliases, or possibly a private joke. Underhill has portals in several major cities (The most famous as of the ‘present’ being the Hollywood Underhills) and has several members with human ancestry- these half elf, half human children are called “Deenies” in popular slang, thanks to an early news report mangling “Daoine Sidhe” and are basically what everyone thinks of when they think of elves, being the type of fae you’re most likely to see in the street.
Air and Darkness: The Court of Air and Darkness, ruled over by the Queen of the Same name, hid in the clouds- the castles of fairy tale giants, the peaks of unscaleable mountains, and so on; all sorts of winged fae and aerial fae are members, as well as the giants who played host. They are aloof, and even today rarely go about on earth, though some pilots during and after the War of Three Caesars reported seeing strange ships belonging to neither side flying at high altitudes- these have been dubbed “Fae Fighters” and are presumed to belong to this Court.
Undersea: The rulership of the Undersea Court has been missing since Atlantis rose- this was the reason for the ultimatum by the other courts that ultimately led to the Big A. While there are hundreds of water-based fae left, most of their nobility was based in Atlantis, and so several have defected to other courts for protection and to have their interests represented, primarily to Hollow Hills based near water, or to the Wild Court.
The Wild: The Wild Court is both quite old and very new; there were always wild fae, faerie who only took animal or part-animal forms, and they often had a loose hierarchy, with their own rulers- The King of Cats, , the Master of Hounds, the various warlords and herd stallions of the fae horses. But they usually bowed to one of the other courts, particularly underhill. Since the disappearance of Undersea, the Wild Courts, bolstered by sea serpents and merfolk joining them for protection, among other political moves, have become more independent, and in fact seem to be working together, with the rulership of all the beastial fae rotating between the various animal rulers. Currently, the Wild Court is run by the Master of Hounds, a Cu Sith.
The Low Court, aka the Uniform Trade Council: Truly newly organized, the Uniform Trade Council was organized as a group of, well, unionized worker-fae. Dwarves, Brownies, bauchans, Gremlins, shoemaker elves. Every sort of crafter or housework-based spirit, and the ones most strongly associated with humanity. The Low King is an appointee, and is uniquely chosen for their inability to weasel out of the position, as it takes them away from their workshop or lab- the position’s usually held by a Gremlin or Dwarf, since they’re closest to human sized and thus easier for other rulers to take seriously.
There are some positions that stand both slightly off to one side of the court structure
The Three Sisters: In ancient times, there were only the three courts: Underhill, undersea, and Air and Darkness. The Three sisters were advisers to the rulers- the Fates and Soothsayers to the crowned heads, reflecting the court they advised but not being part of it. It’s a sort of hereditary position- when the old sisters die, three new ones are called. With the seeming loss of the Undersea Court, for now, the third sister is advising the Master of Hounds (They’re not quite sure what to make of the Uniform Trade Council, and whoever heard of Four Fates? Not whatever magic calls the sisters, that’s who.)
The Puck is usually appointed by the King of Underhill, but operates independently and has jurisdiction within all the courts. Essentially, he (or she) is a crown investigator, with authorization to look into crime and dubious circumstances, even if one of the royals might be involved. It’s not a job with a long life expectancy, nor is it a desired one, despite the power of the position.
More than once, the first case a new Puck takes is to investigate the death of his predecessor on the job. There have also been cases of one-time pucks who are brought in on a specific case, then freed of the title. Usually these are mortal investigators, and one or two have even survived the appointment.
