User:SilverTiger12/Fey notes

Note: This is not all canon, some is personal theorizing bordering on homebrew. It is also not necessarily organized.

The Feywild is a place where nature and emotion are taken to the extreme, and its natives, the fey, reflect that.

Factions are groups of fey that share ideals and/or interests. Factions may be more or less organized, with one or more archfey leaders. The two Courts are more formally defined groups.

The Unseelie Court functions as a strictly-defined faction centered around its singular ruler, the Queen of Air and Darkness.

The Seelie Court is a composite group of two similar factions, the Green fey faction (led by King Oberon) and the Summer fey faction (led by Queen Titania).

Other lesser-known and less-powerful factions include the Winter and Gloaming factions. Note that the Gloaming fey are often conflated with the Unseelie, but are not the same.

Archfey are powerful, unique fey; some are in fact true deities. Interestingly, each archfey can only die a certain way; this varies between archfey.

Listing of archfey by faction:
 * Winter - Prince of Frost, Koliada
 * Unseelie - Queen of Air and Darkness
 * Seelie
 * Summer - Titania (leader), Verenestra, Sqeulaiche, Caoimhin, Damh
 * Green - Oberon (leader), Hyrsam, Fionnghuala, Tapann, Selephra
 * Gloaming - Maiden of the Moon, Prince of Hearts, Witch of Fates, Lady of the White Well
 * Exiled/Factionless - Nintra Siotta (formerly Gloaming or Unseelie- records unclear), Felsa the Slumbering Queen


 * Other archfey: Rose King, Skyshaper, Tuxil, Thrumbolg, Jalfarien Khaldros, Siobhan Alastai & Elias Alastai, Scamander, Stag King
 * Notes of other supposed members of the Seelie Court: Skerrit and Emmantiensien are true gods but not fey, as is Nathair Sgiathach (he is of the Draconic pantheon). Eachthighern is a celestial paragon.

Extended notes on Factions & Archfey
Titania is ultimately focused on the welfare of the fey as a whole; she both cares for them and will protect them when necessary. She is friendly towards humans, other races because of this goal. May be unpredictable, force of nature; rarely fickle, basically good. She rules the settled Summer faction, the other archfey of Summer are obedient to her (Verenestra, Sqeulaiche, Caoimhin).

The summer fey are all devoted to Titania, and somewhat friendly towards humans, others due to her attitude. Less friendly when said others are actually at the Summer Court. Unpredictable, mischievous but not malicious/sadistic.

Oberon- consort of Titania, about equal in power. Also focused on the welfare of the fey but less predictable. More willing to physically protect when necessary.

The Green fey, like Oberon, are somewhat more wild than the closely-allied Summer fey. Less subservient as well; they answer to Oberon but he rarely gives out direct orders. (wild forest, rather than garden-glades) Archfey are Hyrsam, Selephra, Fionnghuala, Tapann.
 * Selephra is only technically of the Green fey; she is thoroughly malicious.
 * Hyrsam, likewise, is only tentatively part of the Green fey; he is too savage and wild to function as part of a mostly-good faction.

The Unseelie Court is ruled by the Queen of Air and Darkness; any other archfey in that faction live only at her pleasure. This faction is actively malicious towards both other fey and other creatures; corruption, maliciousness, sadism, are all norms. [mult. pers. dis.? Would explain why Titania refuses to go to war and the discrepancies in ed.- perhaps between avatars- depending on level of corruption from Black Diamond- some are thoroughly evil (Pandemonium court), others less so]
 * The Dark Hunt is a group of fey within the Unseelie Court, not its own faction.

The Winter faction is loosely-organized, without a true leader; if they must unite they do so under the banner of the Prince of Frost. The Winter fey are creatures of cold, ice, snow, winter and winter's long nights. Generally not friendly towards humans/others, may be actively sadistic and even malicious but that is not the rule (defining trait).
 * The Prince of Frost is the son of Titania and Oberon; he does not oppose them but does disagree with them. He is mostly occupied trying to find his betrothed; dislikes mortals tangentially. Other Winter archfey are not subservient to him unless the faction must unite.
 * Koliada actively hates humans/others and wants to kill them all with ice and snow.

The Gloaming fey are somewhat more abstract in nature, and are associated with darkness, the night, dreams, the moon, stars, twilight, and other nocturnal phenomena both romantic and frightening. Maiden of the Moon, Prince of Hearts, and Witch of Fates are of this faction. Unity/leadership, probably loose.

Random

 * The Wild Hunt could be expanded and made into its own faction. Base different fey species on different roles from medieval hunts: Master of the Hunt is an archfey, with hunters, scouts, servants, stablemasters, kennelmasters, falconers; with fey beasts (hounds horses, and birds of prey) to go with.


 * Good fey to associate with the Winter faction: iceling, frostwind virago, yuki-on-na, winterling, hoary hunter. The Heroes of the Feywild book also mentions winter nymphs.