The Four Fay Courts

(Last update: 23/8/95)

(this page written by Mark Shirley)

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This page describes the four Courts of the Fay located in the Val du Seraque.

The Court of Amoenitas of the Hazels

This court is a court of Midsummer, placed at the top of a regio in the forest of Collbran, just to the West of Malinbois. Until 1224 AD it was ruled by Bellantia the Fair, a Sidhe lady of great beauty. Bellantia however was captured by the witch Shadrith of Dankmar Covenant, and her lifegiving power was used to rejuvenate the dying covenant. The Magi of Malinbois avenged the death of the fair lady on a trip to Arcadia in 1229 AD, and provided a replacement for her from their own number: Eloise Amoentias of House Merinita has assumed the Hazel Throne.

The Court itself is a circle of hazel trees on the summit of a low hill. A ring of flat white stones serve as seats for the court. The queen has a huge moss-lined boulder for a throne, shaded by the luxurious withies of many hazels. The court passes its time in joyful celebration of nature, rarely boisterous, unless the hill goblins come for a visit... Access to the court used to be possible on the equinoxes and solstices by the recitation of a poem written by a mortal knight who had fallen in love with Queen Bellantia. The magi of Malinbois would then compete with the fay for vis in friendly matches of skill. It remains to be seen how the situation will change with Amoenitas as queen, but it has already been made clear that the court feels that Malinbois have let them down, in waiting so long to find the queen that it was too late.

The court are:

The Council of Moaning Oaks

The forests of Collbran and Moaning Oaks were originally one, with two courts, one Seelie (that of Bellantia), and one Unseelie (that of Ciertina). There was rivalry, as there always is, but they managed to coexist. Then the druid Dillynwr and St. Martin of Thuir imprisoned the demon known as the Devourer beneath Moaning Oaks. Emanations from the imprisoned demon corrupted the Unseelie, making them even more malicious and misanthropic. To stem their evil, Bellantia was forced to close the Arcadia Gateway that the two courts shared, cutting off both from their homeland. Attrition took its toll on the Unseelie, and now only the 7 Kia-Sidhe rulers of the court remain, along with the Host which haunts the forest. Their centre of power is a circle of seven twisted elm trees surrounding a dolem - this stone structure is the defunct Gateway. One of the trees is now withered - Prince Kieron defected from the Council to become the Consort of Queen Fitheach.

The Council are:

The Court of Queen Fitheach na Samhach

Fitheach the Silent is the Mistress of this Winter Court. She has come recently to this region, brought here by her consort Prince Kieron Starrag. The Court now resides on the taller of Malinbois's two hills within a rowan that is planted there. If one steps through the riven trunk of the rowan, one is taken to Fitheach's realm - a flat blasted land perpetually in moonlight. The citadel of the Faerie Queen is located on a cloud in front of the moon. Fitheach is Kin to the Morrigan, and has not a small measure of power. Her realm was created overnight, and once had the effect of altering the flow of time, until the Magi of Malinbois politely asked her to stop. She is known as the Silent for no mortal has heard her speak - To cause her to do so is said to grant eternal life. If you can make her cry, Immortal youth is yours. If you can make her laugh, you are granted the power over Life and Death... or so it is said. Prince Kieron is her mouthpiece. Fitheach has 9 handmaidens who have an identical appearence to their Queen. One of these (or perhaps the Queen herself) is the mother of Evnissyen, the faerie child at the covenant, by Narryn, one of the grogs.

Fitheach's Court is:

The Court of Queen Eleri

The Spring court of the Val du Seraque lies South-West of the village of St. Etienne, recently destroyed by Crusaders. It is set in a bowl-shaped glade, at the centre of which there is a circle of rowan trees, which though slender, are ancient. The faeries of the Court sit on the grass around the glade. Some of the fay are naked, some are clothed in human fashion, both modern and ancient, all are unarned. The court seems youthful and happy. Flowers dot the whole glade, while forest birds and sprites perch in the treetops. Despite its rustic setting, the Faerie Court radiates great majesty, ruled as it is by Daoine Sidhe.

Queen Eleri is the ruler of the Court. She is a beautiful young-looking woman with long tresses of red hair that falls to her hips. She is the personification of Springtime, with a normally warm and friendly predisposition to humankind. She is sensuous yet aristocratically elegant. Her consort is King Car-Veor, tall and golden-haired with piercing blue eyes. The king is an apathetic dreamer who is quite content to allow Eleri to run the Court how she wants. Car-Veor enjoys hunting on horseback with hawks and his hound, Picolet.

The Court are:

The Court mainly consists of Seelie Sidhe and a good handful of Wilderness faeries. The commoners of the Court are either sprites or spriggans.

The Court of Calum na Treun

Whilst not truly within the Val du Seraque, this court deserves a mention because the Covenant of Malinbois interacts with it. The Court varies in its exact location as often as the tides, for it is a Sea-Court. If one travels 15 miles off the coast from Canet-Plage one will find the isle of Leucate. The Court is usually one to five days journey from here, depending on the season. Maekinee the Neck, a kelpie that lives on the island can usually direct people to the court, but he is notoriously unreliable.

The Court itself is located on an island shrouded by a powerful Glamour to hide it from mortal eyes, appearing as a sandbank. When pierced, the island appears as a lush verdant place, with one habitation, a small harbour on its landward side. The Court is within the caves that are under the island, below the water level. Some of these caverns are flooded, but most are not. The Hub of the court is a huge cave, the centre of which is a huge pool, connected underwater to the rest of the caverns. Beyond the pool is a natural dais of rock that sparkles with the relected light from the water. King Calum resides on this dais, recieving visitors to his realm from his divan-like throne. Golden furred seals lie around - some are natural, some are faerie-beasts, yet others are selkies.

King Calum is a handsome man with dark-blue hair and very pale skin. He rarely talks directly to mortals, using instead his spokesman, Idh. The King is one of the Sidhe, originally from the Arcadian lands of Mag Mell, located in the Realm of Atlantium. His wife, Findbec, is the Queen of the local merrows in her own right, but she went missing many centuries ago, and the merrows now pay homage to Calum. Many of his court therefore are of the merrow-breed. The Children of Lir are more numerous though, noble fay related both to the Sidhe and the Tuatha de Lir, kin to the Tuatha de Dannan (Very powerful Arcadian faeries once worshipped as gods). The children of Lir are suberb sailors, and many (the Husbands of Ships) own amazing sailing ships. There are also many selkie (shapechanging seals), and all three races of sirenis (fish-kin, seal-kin and the occasional whale-kin).

The Court are:

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