TEXT: A Sourcebook for Ars Magica™ 4th Edition
  by John Snead
  and Sarah Link
  ™
  
  CREDITS
  Authors: John Snead and Sarah Link
  Product Manager: Jonathan Tweet
  Line Developer: Wade Racine
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  Interior Illustrations: Amy Weber, Anson Maddocks, Bryon Wackwitz,
  Chris Rush, Doug Shuler, Eric David Anderson, Jeff Menges, John T.
  Snyder, John Ueland, Julie Baroh, Mark Tedin, Rosemary Roach, Susan
  Van Camp 
  Graphics & Layout: Daniel Gelon
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  2
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  This book was original published in print by Wizards of the Coast, 1995.
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  PO Box 131233 • Roseville, MN 55113
  info@atlas-games.com • www.atlas-games.com
  Digital Edition Version 1.0 • August 2002 • Stock No. AG1110PDF
  
  CONTENTS
  Chapter One: Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
  Part I: Faeries in the Mortal World
  Chapter Two: Mother and Child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
  Chapter Three: The Four Estates  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
  Part II: Faeries in Legend & Lore
  Chapter Four: Monk, Dryad, Duc  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
  Chapter Five: Customs and Curiosities  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
  Part III: Faeries in Arcadia
  Chapter Six: Songbird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
  Chapter Seven: Advice to Travelers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
  Part IV: Faeries in Ars Magica
  Chapter Eight: Faerie Places  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
  Chapter Nine: Faerie Folk, a Bestiary  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
  Chapter Ten: Playing Faeries and the Faerie-Touched  . . . .126
  Faeries at a Glance  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
  Index  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142
  3
  
  4
  Welcome to the
  world of Faerie.
  Illus. ©1995 Doug Shuler
  
  5
  “T
  he followers of Jerbiton, and some foolish oth-
  ers besides, say we can learn nothing of mankind
  and the world from faeries. This is untrue. Faeries live
  as we could live, if we would only renounce the twin
  curses of iron and the Church. If the foolish Seekers
  wanted true answers as to the origins of magic, they
  would leave their tomes covered in dust and journey
  into the cool sunlight of Arcadia.”
  —Paradoxia, filia of Jerga, follower of Merinita
  
  About this Book
  T
  he idea of faeries speaks to us of the
  mystery that surrounds and permeates
  the mortal world. The faerie folk are the
  mysterious, bizarre, and intensely magical
  beings that live beyond the normal reach
  of mortal understanding. To understand
  them, one must enter into their lives, per-
  haps even their world.
  This book is a guide to incorporating
  the world of faeries into an Ars Magica
  saga. Actually, it is a useful reference for
  fleshing out any medieval or fantasy set-
  ting in which faeries exist. This supple-
  ment provides storyguides with extensive
  insight into who and what the faeries
  are, allowing the storyguides to make
  full use of faeries in their sagas. It also
  offers rules and background for players
  whose characters hail from or are well-
  acquainted with the land of the faeries.
  What’s Ahead
  This book is divided into four parts.
  The first three—Faeries in the Mortal
  World, Faeries in Legend & Lore, and
  Faeries in Arcadia—are comprised of two
  ongoing narratives told from the point of
  view of two people. In the first narrative,
  Gerin, a wandering troubadour with faerie
  blood, describes his encounters with the
  fey as he sets out to free his sister from the
  Faerie Queen of Winter. The second narra-
  tive is a treatise on how to interact suc-
  cessfully with faeries, written for magi by
  Rebecca, a member of House Mercere of
  the Order of Hermes, and chief librarian of
  the covenant of Harco in northern Italy.
  These first three parts of the book remain
  firmly in the time and the voice of the
  individuals relating the narratives, and so
  all game-related information is presented
  in sidebars alongside the text. 
  The fourth part of this book—Faeries
  in Ars Magica—is comprised of three
  chapters presenting faeries in game
  terms. Chapter eight discusses Faerie
  Places such as trods, regios, and the
  faerie land of Arcadia. Chapter nine
  presents Faerie Folk in a bestiary format,
  as well as notes on common faerie
  Powers and a sampling of faerie-related
  plants. Chapter ten instructs players
  and storyguides in Playing Faeries and
  the Faerie-Touched, with rules for faerie
  Companions, new Virtues & Flaws, and
  the like.
  We offer speeches on the topic by mor-
  tals and faeries of the Ars Magica world
  throughout the book. Take this counsel with
  caution: the speakers may be wise or igno-
  rant, truthful or not. And nothing is certain
  when speaking of the fey.
  Keep in Mind
  It is important to dispel many of the
  modern ideas about faeries. Faeries are
  much more than the fantasy notion of
  “high elves,” which is simply a modern
  interpretation of a few faerie stories of
  the British Isles. They are also more
  than the gossamer-winged little folk
  that flitter about in cheery woodlands.
  Ars Magica faeries are based on real
  faerie tales of medieval Europe, not on
  modern fantasy novels or Victorian chil-
  6
  CHAPTER ONE:
  INTRODUCTION
  
  dren’s stories. It is very important for
  the storyguide and the players to keep
  in mind this concept: this is not typical
  fantasy roleplaying material. Standard
  fantasy races such as dwarves, elves,
  and halflings bear little resemblance to
  anything in this book, so clear your
  mind of expectations.
  What Are Faeries Like?
  Physically, faeries are incredibly
  diverse. Not only do faeries come in a
  multitude of shapes and sizes, but many
  faeries can change shape and size at
  will. The powers and power levels of
  faeries are also highly varied, though
  invariably faeries are highly magical.
  Some faeries can only perform minor
  tricks and illusions; others can do the
  work of ten mortals in a single night,
  and a few are of such truly awesome
  power that people made sacrifices to
  them in pre-Christian times.
  However, in spite of the physical and
  magical diversity of faeries, there are some
  important traits they all share that should
  be known by any who would deal with
  them. These are described below.
  Immortality
  Faeries are immortal and ageless.
  Unless mortals kill them, which is usual-
  ly quite difficult, faeries will remain as
  they are forever. One consequence of
  their immortality is their lack of an
  immortal soul. Faeries have no Heaven
  for which to hope and no Hell about
  which to worry. For this reason, faeries
  have no gods and no religion. The whole
  concept of worshipping a deity is foreign
  to them. Although they do not have
  behavioral rules imposed on them by a
  religion, they may have their own quite-
  strict rules about such things. These rules
  are often curious and may not make
  sense to mortals. Do not ignore them,
  however: only those mortals who know of
  such rules and heed them can deal favor-
  ably with faeries.
  Links with Mortals
  In some ways faeries need mortals.
  While faeries do not have children nor
  reproduce in any way on their own,
  faeries and mortals may interbreed.
  These children are usually mortal, but
  often have special powers because of
  their faerie blood. Faeries also highly
  value all forms of mortal creativity, and
  sometimes capture especially-creative
  mortals for their own strange plans or to
  indulge passing whims.
  Faeries sometimes seem to know the
  secrets of mortals they meet. This would
  indicate their having a strange invisible
  connection with the mortal world, even
  with that which is found inside the
  Dominion. It is thought by some that
  faeries can see the reflection of our world in
  theirs, the realm of Arcadia, and thus can
  learn our secrets.
  The fey are mimics of sorts and will
  often copy the mortal society they per-
  ceive from Arcadia. They may copy the
  courtly graces and appearance of the
  nobility, or they may wear clothes like
  those of local peasants. There have
  even been faeries encountered who
  pretend that they are the inhabitants
  of a covenant.
  Beyond Human Morality
  Faeries are never evil in the human
  sense of the term. They may be cruel and
  vicious, but their cruelty is akin to that
  of a cat playing with a mouse. Faeries
  are not demons or angels and do not
  come from either Heaven or Hell, nor are
  they particularly influenced by diabolic
  or divine forces.
  Faerie Magic
  Faeries are magical creatures, but they
  do not cast magic spells as mortals do.
  Rather, magic is something they create as
  naturally as mortals work with their hands
  or speak. The least powerful faeries can do
  things such as bring good or bad luck,
  7
  
  strike mortals with paralysis, slay cattle, or
  feed on the goodness of grain or milk, leav-
  ing it spoiled and useless. An important
  faerie Power called Glamour involves the
  making of illusions that can be indistin-
  guishable from real things to the mortals
  who encounter them.
  Faerie 
  magic 
  generally 
  involves
  directly controlling some natural phe-
  nomenon or feature: winds, trees, fire, or
  even something as broad as every living
  thing in a certain forest. Faeries associat-
  ed with humans often have limited con-
  trol of the natural world, and specialize
  in controlling the thoughts and feelings
  of humans, the actions of humans, or the
  crafts of humans.
  While some faeries seem wholly wicked
  to mortals, many are quite kind. All need
  to be treated with respect, however. Many
  a helpful brownie has turned into a mali-
  cious boggart because some fool spurned
  or misused its gifts. Faeries are creatures of
  strong emotions, and it is perilous to trifle
  with their feelings.
  The magic made by each faerie may
  display itself differently. Some faeries do
  not have any control over their magic
  nor any awareness that they are using it.
  Other faeries may express their magical
  nature through superb craftsmanship,
  making creations impossible for a mortal
  to match. All faeries may speak any lan-
  guage as long as they are within the
  bounds of a faerie realm, a faerie aura,
  or a regio. This ability is an element of
  their magical nature.
  Where Do Faeries Live?
  The simple answer to this question is
  “Wherever it pleases them.” This is not
  just frivolity. Most faeries have strong
  correspondences to certain kinds of
  places. Faeries related to the Lands of
  Summer will be found in fields and
  thickets, while those related to Winter
  may be in mountains and caves. Where
  a faerie lives is where it feels it belongs
  the most (though other occupants of the
  area may disagree!).
  Faerie Realms
  Most faeries live either in small
  groups or as solitary hermits, but they
  are occasionally found in courts or vil-
  lages. The areas where faeries live are
  entirely different from mundane lands.
  Magic pervades every aspect of the place,
  making one’s dreams there seem more
  real than the hours spent awake. Every
  different faerie area can be considered a
  faerie realm. Each of these fantastic
  places usually has its own unique struc-
  ture and operates under its own unique
  natural laws (which can be very different
  from the natural laws of the mundane
  world). In some ways, a faerie realm is a
  very hard environment to describe to
  your players and to roleplay in, but it
  can also be an extremely evocative and
  compelling setting.
  Arcadia
  There is a realm beyond the faerie
  realms described above, farther from the
  mortal world than the deepest faerie forest
  or pool. It is called “Arcadia,” or
  “Faerieland.” There are many different
  ways to enter Arcadia, but you always
  need to do so from some spot within a
  faerie realm—usually the place that seems
  farthest from the mortal world. Once with-
  in Arcadia, one perceives the mortal world
  as but a shadow. The mortal world may be
  felt dimly, for the mortal things and places
  that mean most to the faerie world have
  reflections there, or “correspondences.” All
  else is strange to mortal eyes, and even
  time and direction cannot be determined
  using mortal standards.
  8
  
  Bibliography
  The following sources were consulted during the preparation of this book and are rec-
  ommended to those looking for more material to use in a saga.
  Quick Reference
  Arrowsmith, Nancy & George Moorse. A Field Guide to the Little People.
  London: Pan Books, 1978.
  Briggs, Katherine. An Encyclopedia of Faeries. New York: Pantheon Books, 1976.
  Froud, Brian & Alan Lee. Faeries. New York: Peacock Press/
  Bantam Books, 1978.
  Useful Nonfiction:
  Baring-Gould, Sabine. Curious Myths of the Middle Ages. New York: Oxford
  University Press, 1978.
  Calvino, Italio. Italian Folktales. San Diego: Harvest/HBJ, 1956.
  Ivanits, Linda J. Russian Folk Belief. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, Inc., 1989.
  Kvideland, Reimund & Henning K. Sehmsdorf, ed. Scandinavian Folk Belief and
  Legend. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1988.
  Lindow, John. Swedish Legends and Folktales. Berkeley: University of California
  Press, 1978.
  Yeats, William Butler, ed. Irish Fairy and Folk Tales. London: 
  Walter Scott, 1893.
  Useful Fiction
  Cherryh, C. J. The Dreamstone. New York: Daw Books, 1983.
  _____. The Tree of Swords and Jewels. New York: Daw Books, 1983.
  Garcia y Robertson, Rodrigo. The Spiral Dance. New York: Avon Books, 1991.
  9
  
  10
  A peasant woman
  tells faerie tales while
  the village blacksmith
  makes charms to keep
  the children safe from
  faeries out of horse-
  shoe nails. The horses
  in the stable are pro-
  tected from evil
  faeries by a horseshoe
  above the door, and
  the stable brownie is
  given his daily bowl
  of milk.
  Illus. ©1995 Doug Shuler
  
  “B
  ut I have seen them—in my village when I was
  young. My friend was courted by a man like
  that, a man with crazy eyes, and no one knew where he
  had come from. He wasn’t from the village—she
  would have no boy from the village—and she went
  with him beyond the fields one night, and we never
  saw her again.”
  —Brigitte, a kitchen maid in a covenant in France
  11
  
  A Troubadour’s Tale
  T
  hey call me Gerin. I’m the Gifted bas-
  tard, no man’s son.1 I live by my wits
  and grow wild, and one man’s land is a
  place I never stay in long. The covenant
  house on the hill, they took me and my
  mother in, taught me the writing. They
  say I’ve got a talent for it. Oh, but the
  most beautiful ideas—they’re the ones
  you can never get across in writing. I
  know, ’cause I tell stories, sing songs, and
  play the lute and the pipe. If you’ll sit by
  me till the end of the night, I’ll tell you
  tales like you’ve never known. I’ll start
  with a faerie tale, right at the beginning.
  Gerin’s Tale, the Beginning
  Once upon a time there was a certain
  pretty village girl. She was as beautiful
  as she was good, but she lived alone with
  her old father, without a mother, and
  without cows or goods or land, because
  she and her father were only villeins. The
  villagers hated them with hatred bitter as
  gall, for they were beautiful instead of
  ugly, and kind instead of mean; and
  angels sang them both to sleep. When
  the old man died, the people lost no time
  in sending the girl to the forest to die. But
  the angels led her to a beech tree; and
  the tree took care of her, so that she grew
  even more beautiful instead of dying. In
  time she had a baby boy, and then a
  baby girl, both with skin like silver and
  eyes as green as beech-tree leaves in the
  springtime. And if the boy was pretty
  and pleasing, well, the girl shone like a
  star. The tree and the woman had to
  wrap her in swaddling clothes, because
  she turned night into day wherever she
  went. Flowers came up where she
  touched the ground. Her brother loved
  her very much.
  Now their mother knew all kinds of
  secrets from their father, the beech tree,
  about wind and weather and the animals’
  ways. She told the people when storms
  were coming and when it was safe to plant
  the corn. She was kind, and her tree-lover
  was wise, and all was well until the terrible
  winter. It was a normal winter at first and
  seemed about to come to an end. Father
  finally felt the coming of spring, mother
  told the village, and the village planted the
  seed corn from the last harvest. But the
  frost returned, the ground closed upon the
  seedlings, snow fell without ceasing, day
  and day and day. Not even the beech tree
  could say why.
  Then hunger came and took the peo-
  ple, one by one and two by two, until they
  took up torches and went out over the
  snow and burned the beech tree house,
  crying, “Witch!” The mother and her chil-
  dren fled weeping to the forest. The moth-
  er made their beds in a little grove shel-
  tered from the snow by branches, and the
  radiant little girl made it light. Her broth-
  er went into the wood to search for what
  the trees might give to feed them.
  He had not gone far before he came
  to a road like a river of snow, rising
  steeply up into thin air. There was a
  Chapter Two:
  Mother and Child
  Part I: Faeries in the Mortal World
  1Gerin the troubadour
  presents his story in chap-
  ters two, four, and six. His
  tale of loss and recovery
  involves myriad charac-
  ters, stories, and events
  that represent the knowl-
  edge of faeries and their
  world held by most com-
  mon folk.
  12
  
  13
  sound like silver bells, and he hid him-
  self by a drift of snow. Then along the
  road from the way he had come rushed
  a sledge of ice trimmed in silver and
  pulled by white geese in harnesses of sil-
  ver. Its reins too were of silver and in the
  hand of a great lady taller than a yew
  tree. She was dressed all in silver-and-
  white lace, crowned like a queen. She
  would have been beautiful but that her
  face was as pale as the snow, and her
  eyes like shards of ice. Beside her in the
  sledge was the shining child, his sister.
  The sledge flew by without a sound.
  When the boy tried to follow, the feath-
  ers of the white geese blinded him, and
  he slipped and slid on the road of snow
  until he could do no more than return
  through the wood to his mother.
  The light in the clearing had gone out.
  In the darkness, his mother told the boy
  that his little sister was dead from the cold.
  But by the moon, he saw in her place only
  a block of ice as clear as water.2
  He told his mother of the ruse; but she
  was little consoled to learn the truth, and
  she dressed and buried the ice in token of
  her loss. At first light they made their way
  to a house of magi that stood high on a
  hill beyond the village. The strange sad
  woman and the pretty little boy pleased
  the magi there, for the magi looked into
  their eyes and saw secrets, and magi can
  no more resist secrets than a child can turn
  from a cunning toy. The boy would have
  gone in search of his sister, but his mother
  told him that she had gone far away and
  that a boy would have no power to follow
  without gifts of magic. So the boy stayed
  with his mother in the house of the magi.
  For each secret the magicians eagerly drew
  from him, he made them teach a secret in
  return. The first secret the boy learned was
  that he was of a special blood, like the
  blood of kings, and what he willed none
  would deny him, not even magicians.3
  The boy grew to be a man. One day a
  jongleur passing by the house heard the boy
  singing from a window, and he took him as
  his apprentice, teaching him stories, songs,
  and the playing of the lute. Days and nights
  have come and gone since the great lady
  stole his sister away, but he travels the world
  searching for her. Find her he will.
  That’s my very first story, and it’s the
  story of myself and how I came to be
  among magi.4
  Growing Up in the Covenant
  I learned a pocketful and more in the
  house of the magi. After I found out that
  2The 
  girl 
  was
  replaced by a block of ice
  affected with a faerie’s
  glamour. The boy can
  see through it because
  he has Faerie Sight.
  3The boy’s special pow-
  ers describe the Virtues
  Enchanting Music and
  Faerie Blood.
  4This type of story is
  common among peas-
  ants, especially in isolated
  areas. It is often impossi-
  ble to tell if faeries are
  truly involved in many of
  these events.
  The beech tree cares
  for Gerin’s mother.
  Illus. ©1995 Julie Baroh
  
  14
  there’s a reason people like me passing
  well, I found it doesn’t work that way for
  everyone. There was a kitchen maid in the
  magi house wouldn’t share a word with
  me, but made the cross when I came by. I
  smiled to charm her and sang when she
  was near; for I’m used to smiles, and they
  bring far better luck than frowns. But each
  time, she’d stop her ears and turn her eyes
  away. Because she made the cross on me,
  I feared she thought me witching her.
  There’s no worse thing in any land to be
  thought a witch. Some roads, the houses
  are kind enough that you need not fear for
  your life if your purse is full, but if it comes
  to the heart that you’ve witched their cow
  or their child, there’s no man or woman
  wouldn’t harm you. A faerie and a magus
  and a witch are the same brood to some,
  and with them the crookback and the
  leper and the evil eye. Never let man or
  woman think you’re the fox in their hen
  house and the source of their misfortune.
  Those who fear you are the quickest to
  harm you.
  For my own part, I took myself to the
  old lady of the kitchen and asked her
  how I might win over her maid. The old
  lady said, “Brigitte has faith in God and
  fears the Evil One. Now everybody knows
  that servants of the Evil One cannot bear
  what is holy, so kiss the cross or say Hail
  Mary before you speak to her, and she
  will see she has no cause to fear you.”
  This I did, and I commend it well to any-
  one. If you may do these things, then all
  but the most hateful or the most afraid
  will cease to seek your death. It was later
  that I found in far and lonely places
  those who put more faith in tests and
  charms to tell what sort of thing I was; to
  them it matters more that I can hold an
  iron nail or that I leave prints upon the
  earth in walking than that I can pray for
  my salvation. In such far places I have
  seen men hold a cripple to be a faerie
  because the shape of his foot was like
  that of a beast.
  When we were friends, I asked Brigitte
  to tell me why she had feared my face and
  voice when others liked them well. She
  said: “You have the green cats’-eyes that
  shine like lamps upon the water.”
  “What do you say now? Anyone can
  see my eyes are just as eyes of other men,”
  I told her. Well I know this, for I have seen
  my own face clear in the mirror made of
  polished silver that the magi keep.
  She told me then how a man with such
  eyes came to her village and stole her
  friend away.
  “Brigitte,” said I, “maybe your own
  fear tricks you. I am no crazy lover, and
  we are in no village; and if my eyes are
  green, so indeed your hair is black as the
  mother of the devil, and the devil’s
  mother you will never be. Maybe your
  friend lives in another village not even
  far away. Did the market men ask for
  news of her?” And she told me then that
  her village was too small for fair-travel-
  ing or market men and that no one had
  dared travel out to look.
  For this I teased her until she forgot to
  say that I had shining eyes. I have seen my
  own face reflected ordinary in many waters
  and in many men’s eyes, but Brigitte could
  see things that were hidden. She would see
  visions of her name-saint and Saint Jean,
  and that is why she was a kitchen maid in a
  house of magi.5 I have good fortune with
  my looks, but from Brigitte I learned sym-
  pathy for those looked upon as strange. Let
  those whose forms mark them as different
  beware. In a pretty face no evil is seen,
  whatever the heart may hold, but all fear
  the one who bears a mark of difference.
  Jean-Paul and the Telling of Faeries
  Traveling after my sister, I have found
  few who cannot tell a tale of strange ladies
  or strange children, and sometimes the two
  together. Yet reaching the heart of truth in
  a tale is like trying to winnow wheat from
  barley. It was Jean-Paul, my old master,
  who first learned me what a faerie was,
  though all my life I’d lived with faerie
  knowing. He said one night, “You must
  learn to tell tales. In every land the fashions
  vary. A good song here is not loved there,
  but everyone wants everywhere to hear a
  tale to lift the heart or freeze the blood. I
  will begin by teaching you a faerie story.”
  ”What sort of thing is a faerie story?” I
  asked. “Is it the heart-lifting or the blood-
  freezing kind of tale?”
  5Brigitte 
  has 
  the
  Virtue 
  called 
  Visions,
  which allows her to see
  the narrator as unusual.
  Other people do not
  notice, since he does not
  have the Flaw Disfigured.
  Note that being able to
  notice faerie things is not
  the same as knowing
  about faerie things, and
  vice versa.
  
  15
  “It’s both, and any other kind beside.
  Mind what I say: stories of the faerie kind
  are stories to be told around a bright fire
  in a dark night. Tell these tales however
  you will, but people will know if it is a true
  tale or a conceit by how you tell it.
  Whatever you do, do not forget to leave
  behind a part of whatever you are given
  for your tales, to pay the faeries who gave
  you the stories that feed you and put a
  coin in your purse.”6
  “Saints tales are to give us faith, and
  sinners tales to make us laugh, or fear the
  flames of Hell. Then what is a faerie, mas-
  ter, that can give us any sort of tale? Is it a
  familiar thing to reassure us, or a strange
  thing to excite the heart to adventure?”
  “A faerie is what is neither saint nor
  sinner, angel nor demon—that which
  hopes not for Heaven and fears not Hell.
  Not cotter, villein, priest, or lord. Mark me
  well: a faerie loves none so much as a fine
  singer, a poet, a teller of tales. They are
  our special patrons. They watch us as the
  saints do. If you would have good luck
  and good renown, you must tell faerie sto-
  ries, and tell them well.
  “Remember that whatever they do,
  they do for a reason, even if it is one we
  cannot know. They deceive, but keep their
  word to anyone with wit to trust only what
  they have sworn to. They wear our faces
  and our clothes, and play at living in our
  ways, but they live and die as the trees in
  the forest, or else as no man knows. Some
  are close and some are far, some like beasts
  and some like lords and some like villeins.
  I have heard a tale of faeries in the shape
  of priests, but in another tale they can bear
  no church or bell. They will not love you if
  you are coarse or dirty or without wit or
  respect. Those who keep old ways earn
  their blessing. I have heard it said they
  have a special blessing for a man or
  woman who will not carry iron, but for
  myself I keep an iron blade about me.
  Traveling far and wide I have learned that
  it is better for a lover not to be too much in
  the power of the beloved.
  “All these things are common know-
  ing. If you don’t keep them in your tales,
  you won’t please anyone. But I will tell
  you a secret of the trade and a secret of
  the heart, since you are my apprentice.
  To tell a faerie tale worth hearing, you
  must make all usual seem strange, and
  all strange things seem familiar. To
  make a true tale, you must know we
  need them and they need us. I cannot
  tell you how it is so or why, but I know it
  is the truth.”
  Faeries in the Telling
  It was then I decided that to be a teller
  of tales was a thing worth learning. Jean-
  Paul told me a faerie story then, the first I
  had heard, and it went this way:
  Once upon a time there was a fine
  young man. He was a prince and a son of
  kings, but he did not know this, for it
  happened that when he was born, an
  usurper seized the throne, and the baby
  prince was hidden away with the family
  of his wet-nurse, lest he be put to the
  sword. He was raised among the common
  people, but his wet-nurse taught him to
  carry himself always with dignity and
  good manners and to be without fear, like
  a true prince.
  So the boy became a man, and he said
  one day to the nurse, “Mother, I wish to
  go abroad and seek my fortune in the
  world. I have heard there is a fine house,
  once a palace, from which all have fled in
  fear of a great monster. It has been cried
  that the king offers a great reward for the
  destruction of the monster. I will go out
  and seek this house.”
  The nurse was sore afraid, and said,
  “Many great knights have tried this task,
  and none were found there at the dawn.
  All are fled or dead, or disappeared without
  a trace. Be satisfied here, and live.”
  But finally seeing he would not be dis-
  suaded, she got ready for him some travel
  bread and a skin of ale, and he set out
  with his dog for the manor. His dog start-
  ed partridges and hares for their supper,
  and they traveled thus for many days.
  After a time they came to a land that was
  blackened as with war and famine. Game
  grew scarce, then none, and no tree or
  green herb graced the land. Black moun-
  tains rose about the ruined house, and
  even the water ran dark with poison.7
  6An example of a
  faerie bargain: Leaving a
  token of respect for the
  fey in exchange for the
  privilege of being able to
  tell tales of them.
  7This 
  describes 
  a
  faerie aura that increases
  in strength as one moves
  closer to the center.
  
  16
  The man entered through the open
  gates. The courtyard was paved closely in
  fine stone, and ruined scraps of tapestry-
  work still hung on the walls of the hall. It
  must be, thought the man, that this is the
  ruin of the house of some great lord now
  gone from this earth.
  He made camp there past the court-
  yard within the mansion walls. Darkness
  came. A great gray mist rose up slowly
  from the stones outside, then rushed in,
  cold, through the open doorway with a
  sound like thunder; ravens started, crying,
  from the walls. The mist filled the hall. His
  dog whined and cringed, but the young
  man did not flee.
  Then into the hall came a giantess,
  with a roaring like a thousand rivers, and
  a crying like a thousand ravens, and a
  stamping of feet like thunder. She was as
  tall as the rooftop and as wide as the hall
  and as ugly as the fires of Hell, and her
  face was as black as soot.8
  She screamed: “What do you here, you
  who will be food for worms?”
  The man, remembering his manners,
  stood and bowed low.
  “I have come far to this house, lady, to
  seek the pleasure of your company. Your
  house is famed far and wide for the hospi-
  tality offered to strangers.”
  The monster came closer, roaring and
  shrieking, until her foul breath fell upon
  him. “I will not sit with you on the hard,
  empty stone floor!” she screamed.
  The man took off his cloak and spread
  it upon the stones. “Lady, sit here then,” he
  said. And the monster sat down upon his
  cloak, as tall just sitting as a man mount-
  ed high on a great horse.
  “Give me food!” the monster shrieked.
  The man gave her all the traveling food
  that was left to him, though there was not
  enough to be gathered in the hall or lands
  around to feed a mouse.
  “Not enough, not near enough!” she
  roared. “Kill your dog; I am hungry.”
  Without a word, the man did as she
  8A type of faerie
  called a hag. See “Hags,”
  p. 99, in Chapter Nine:
  Faerie Folk, a Bestiary.
  The prince and 
  the hag.
  Illus. ©1995 Susan Van Camp
  
  17
  bade him, though he thought his heart
  would burst with sorrow.
  The monster set upon the raw flesh
  with teeth like the poles of a fence. “Give
  me your knife to cut my meat,” she
  crooned, and the man gave her his knife.
  Then she cried out again, “My throat is
  dry! Give me drink!” He gave her his skin
  full of ale, though the water for miles
  was poison, and she drained it all with-
  out stopping once to swallow, as if she
  would drain the sea. When she had fin-
  ished, she leaned back, and the stone
  floor grated with the weight of her.
  “Give me your bow and arrows for to
  pick my teeth,” she said, grinning. The
  man gave her this last weapon and its mis-
  siles. They snapped between her teeth like
  twigs. He had nothing left but the clothes
  upon his back.
  “Take off your clothes and make a
  soft bed for me,” said the monster, “for I
  am tired.” And the man did, and the
  hag lay down. “Now come you into the
  bed. Stay beside me all the night and
  love me, for I am lonely,” said the hag.
  And the man did.
  When the sun rose and shone on
  him, the man opened his eyes and saw a
  beautiful lady beside him in a fair palace
  hung with cloth of gold. Looking out
  through the window, he saw a fair land.
  When he turned back to her, the lady
  was smiling at him. “You are the true
  ruler of this land,” she told him, “and all
  you see belongs to you, for neither your
  usurper nor his knights were ever so kind
  to me.”
  Gerin travels and hears other tales
  I learned a hundred tales in Jean-
  Paul’s service, and a hundred more. But
  none of these wonders have I yet seen. I
  have held in my arms a baby whose skin
  shines like the moon, and seen leaves of
  my father’s hair pressed into my moth-
  er’s leather treasure-book. A strange
  thing also I know: the more I have plied
  my trade as a singer and a teller of tales,
  the more tales have in turn been told to
  me. A man in my trade is half a jester
  and half a confessor, for things are told
  late nights by those in their cups that
  would not be told in the church in the
  light of day.
  A jongleur young in skill tells first in
  country taverns, and sings for nothing but
  his supper and sometimes a pallet on the
  stable floor. The first time I told Jean-Paul’s
  tale, an old woman and her ale took issue
  with me as a romancer.
  “You know naught of those folk, fool,
  praising their fine hearts,” she cried.
  “What story would you have from me
  then? A sad tale?”
  “Ah, bright smooth-faced boy, what do
  you know of sad tales? You know nothing
  so sad as an old woman’s truths.”
  Seeing she was in her cups and my sup-
  per already on the board, I gave her my
  place at the head of the room and invited
  her to tell a sad tale so I could take my
  meal. She did so, stumbling in her haze,
  yet eager to share her story.
  “Alain was a basket–maker for the
  marketplace. He fed his wife and their
  baby boy on wheat bread, eggs, and milk
  got for his baskets, because they were the
  best for many days’ walking. He got reeds
  from a special place to make them, he told
  me. He didn’t tell me where the place was.
  He told me later he met a little twisted
  man there, with a twisted bony horse. The
  man told him not to cut more reeds, but he
  did anyway, but, you see, he just wanted
  to grow his baby boy up tall and strong.
  “I was brought out to care for the
  baby while Alain and Marie worked the
  lord’s harvest. One day the baby wasn’t
  the same in the morning as the night
  before. One eye all out and one all small
  and wrinkled up like an old apple, and
  the boy screaming all the time. I couldn’t
  quiet it, not at all. It thrashed about like a
  cat in a bag, wouldn’t quiet for nothing
  but to eat and eat and eat. By the night I
  knew it wasn’t a natural child—it stayed
  awake all night making terrible soft nois-
  es. I knew it was a changeling. The Other
  People’s baby. They send them to plague
  us. It happened in my grandmother’s
  time, so I knew what to do. Before Alain
  
  18
  and Marie left, I told them I would fix it.
  When everyone went out to the fields, I
  took it to the dung hill. Took Marie’s good
  blanket from it, left it naked there. The
  Other People are supposed to take them
  back if you won’t put up with them. But it
  was still up there screaming and squint-
  ing at midday. They didn’t take it back.
  Not even when I hit it with the shovel put
  into the fire. They never came. I buried
  the thing there in the dung hill. They were
  supposed to take it back. They were sup-
  posed to give Marie her baby back. They
  curse me still for what I did, but they don’t
  even care for their own babies.”
  It was quiet in the tavern for a while
  after that. The ale-wife called me over to tell
  me that I’d best do the entertaining for the
  rest of the night if I wanted breakfast tomor-
  row. So I didn’t have a seat or a drink until
  the night was well along and all left awake
  were the ale-wife and I, the old woman, and
  an old cripple in the corner, head bowed
  and breathing heavy in his cups. It was he I
  sat beside, for I had no desire to listen again
  to the woman’s stories. I thought him
  asleep, but as I put down my cup, he waved
  me closer and whispered into my ear, “Fool
  of a woman, thinking still we’d hurt a child.
  If she hadn’t wanted him, she could have
  gotten him to tell his real age, or left him
  out overnight. If the bargain was no good,
  we would come for him.” He got up and
  shuffled out.
  The next day there were horses missing
  from the stable. I was lucky enough not to
  be accused, but the old woman was sent for
  quick enough. They couldn’t find the hors-
  es with her, so they did let her go.
  One night I stayed in the house of a
  priest. He had strange manners, like a man
  who has seen wonders. I think he took me
  in because he did not want to be alone. Or
  perhaps God favors me, for the end of my
  search lay in the story he told. He said that
  he had been visited by God and it had
  changed him. He lives in a house, not a
  church, and though he is a cleric still, he
  preaches to none but stray travelers like
  myself.9 One night, he told me, the Virgin
  came to his house, and with her was the
  Holy Child. I felt my skin shiver all over me.
  “How did you know it was truly the
  blessed Mother and Child?” I asked him.
  9The priest may be a
  Cathar heretic, foregoing
  the ostentatious rituals
  and trappings of the
  Church.
  A priest is visited by
  the Queen of Winter.
  Illus. ©1995 John T. Snyder
  
  19
  “Our Lady is as no earthly woman.
  She was taller than the doorway. She wore
  on her brow the shining crown of Heaven.
  The Child was even as I have seen Him
  painted in the cathedral, girt round with
  rays of gold.”
  He had given them shelter. They
  had taken no food. He had needed no
  candles, for the light they shed made
  the house brighter than the moon. He
  told me she had blessed the house, and
  he showed me the place where spears of
  ice hung from the eaves, even now in
  summer. The child was wrapped in
  white lace swaddling and seemed well.
  He had asked her to stay with him, but
  she told him they were going north-
  ward. It happened, the priest said, late
  last winter. So I have traveled onward
  knowing that at least my sister is still
  among the living, and knowing also the
  way to go to find her.
  The priest troubles my heart still.
  The sureness he had in his vision seems
  a mockery. Was the lie made in his own
  heart? Can faeries so deceive a man,
  even a priest? The Cathars say God may
  speak to any man in any fashion.
  Whether they are right and whether
  God may speak through faeries as
  through men are questions meant for
  more learned minds than mine.
  Gerin the Troubadour
  Gerin is a wandering troubadour. He has none of the common fear of magi and will
  sometimes stop and play at covenants. His music is excellent, and he brings news both
  of the mortal world and of any happenings among the fey whom he may have noticed.
  Age: 16 
  Characteristics
  +1 Int  
  +5 Prs 
  +2 Per 
  +4
  Com 
  0 Str 
  +2 Dex 
  0 Sta 
  +1 Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +2 Adventurous 
  +2
  Naive
  Virtues & Flaws
  Empathy +1
  Dependent (sister) -1
  Enchanting Music +2
  Minor Disc. Fr. Iron -2*
  Faerie Eyes +1*
  Noncombatant -3
  Faerie Sight +1*
  Obligation (protect sister) -1
  Free Expression +1
  Knack for Sing +1
  * These are all included under the +3 Virtue Strong Faerie Blood, which Gerin also
  has.
  Reputation
  None
  Abilities
  2
  Alertness 
  3
  Faerie Lore  
  5
  Play Lute
  3
  Charisma 
  4
  Faerie Sight
  3
  Play Pipes
  3
  Charm 
  2
  Fantastic Beast Lore
  6
  Sing
  3
  Empathy 
  3
  Folk Ken 
  4
  Storytelling
  4
  Enchanting Music 3
  Legend Lore 
  2
  Survival 
  Weapons, Armor, and Items
  None
  
  20
  A church grim 
  goes about his
  nightly work.
  Illus. ©1995 Amy Weber
  
  “W
  hen I worked as a spy in the streets of Venice,
  I saw and heard many things that seemed bet-
  ter forgotten. Now I find in my books that a number
  of the oddments that I saw were but single examples
  of the vast assortment of faerie encounters described
  in stories. Last week the Redcap Ciconius stumbled
  through one of our Hermes Portals nearly dead. All
  he could remember was that the ‘men of the trees’ had
  attacked him. Here in Harco I see many books of tales
  about faeries, and a few that talk of the place of
  faeries in the world and of their relationship with
  the magic of the Order. I see no books that give a sim-
  ple guide to what they are like and how one may use-
  fully interact with them. I think I shall write a book
  on this when I’ve the time.”
  —From the personal diary of Rebecca of House Mercere
  21
  
  22
  On Faeries: A Guide for
  Our Order by Rebecca,
  Chief Librarian of Harco
  10
  F
  irst I will examine the relations between
  faeries and the four estates.11
  Faeries and the Peasantry
  Any discussion aimed at reaching the
  heart of the matter of faerie interactions
  with the mortal world begins with the hum-
  ble peasantry. The peasants, in their base
  but innocent existence, are close to the land
  and the spirits that inhabit it. By and large,
  all peasants believe in faeries. If they have
  not directly encountered them, some rela-
  tive or fellow villager almost certainly has.
  The peasants do not wonder about the
  nature of faeries or about the location of
  Arcadia. For them, faeries are both the spir-
  its great and small who inhabit the wilder-
  ness surrounding their lands—hiding in the
  groves, the streams, and the unplowed
  fields—and the more homey and domestic
  sprites who live in their houses, mills, and
  barns, and sometimes in their churches.12 
  While faeries are known by all to be spir-
  its of the land, their names and nature may
  vary wildly from place to place. In some
  areas faeries live only in a few magical
  places, while in other locations every house
  and barn is said to have its own faerie.
  Perhaps every barn does have its own faerie
  in areas where the Dominion is less strong.
  The appearance of faeries seems to be
  remarkably variable. Some are beautiful
  and 
  seductive, 
  others 
  hideous 
  and
  deformed. The appearance of faeries
  seems to vary from location to location.
  However, the peasant stories also main-
  tain that many individual faeries are able
  to change their size, shape, and appear-
  ance at will.
  Needless to say, the manner of dress
  of the faeries also varies, and in some
  cases seems to ape the manner of dress of
  the local peasantry and nobility, particu-
  larly the more formal and the older
  styles. Some stories have the faeries act-
  ing as strange spirits of the deep wilder-
  ness whose motives are wholly inexplica-
  ble. In other cases, they are simply odd
  neighbors, who regularly trade with the
  peasantry, 
  giving 
  out 
  wonders 
  in
  exchange for the simple products of
  home and field. As they also are known
  to neither age nor die, relations between
  an individual faerie and the inhabitants
  of a village may go on for many genera-
  tions. As a final note on peasants and the
  faeries, even in our Christian lands many
  of the peasants revere the Fair Folk
  almost to the point of worship. In the
  wild places, such as the Novgorod
  Tribunal, many of the rural folk never
  have been Christian. Since the heart of
  their rude beliefs can involve worship of
  the fey, angering faeries in such areas
  can be doubly dangerous, as it can anger
  the local people too.
  From the journal of Ricci the Wanderer,
  on his travels in Kiev
  “The peasantry who live far from the
  cities know little of Christ, most having
  Chapter Three:
  The Four Estates
  10Rebecca’s 
  manu-
  script presents faeries
  from the scholarly stand-
  point of a magus of the
  Order 
  of 
  Hermes. 
  It
  approaches 
  the 
  topic
  from an analytic view-
  point, but she draws on
  many different sources
  and stories to present the
  information. Her work
  appears 
  in 
  chapters
  three, five, and seven.
  11Most medieval schol-
  ars talk of three estates
  that make up society:
  peasant, 
  clergy, 
  and
  noble. Hermetic scholars
  add the estate of magus.
  12The 
  peasants 
  of
  Mythic Europe regard
  faeries in much the same
  way they regard the
  weather. They accept that
  they can see its patterns
  and protect against most
  of its effects, but they have
  no control over it.
  
  23
  only heard the name as that of a god
  their lords worship. The women of several
  villages I was in neither wove nor spun
  on Friday. When asked about this, they
  say they honor Mother Friday, who
  makes the crops grow and the springs
  flow. There was a spring into which these
  women made offerings after winter, and
  in times of drought or other disasters.
  This spring was said to have healing
  properties, and one evening when a
  young child was being bathed in the
  spring to cure a fever, I saw an old hag,
  covered all in rags and of terrifying vis-
  age, standing on the other shore. When I
  asked of this, I was told that I had seen
  Mother Friday. It is common knowledge
  that any woman who comes down with
  pains in either eyes or fingers is guilty of
  performing prohibited work on Friday,
  and must make an offering in order to
  recover. The priests of Kiev claim that
  Mother Friday is actually St. Paraskeva,
  whose name means Friday, but I am told
  this spring has been revered for as long as
  people have lived in these villages, and
  the people know not the word of God.”
  Faeries and the Clergy
  As for the clergy, their general response
  to faeries is quite predictable. Many of those
  of bishop rank and higher are most uncom-
  fortable with all things relating to the Fair
  Folk. They see faeries as encouraging pagan
  beliefs and tempting people from the
  Church. The humble priests of the village
  parishes have more varied opinions. A few
  of the parish priests believe all faeries are
  diabolic. However, most such priests take the
  same tactic with faeries that they do with
  many other manifestations of things older
  than Christianity—they ignore them. I’ve
  also read many reports of rural priests giving
  Christian trappings to those faerie practices
  they can neither ignore nor discourage.
  From the report of Accipitus, Redcap of
  Cornwall
  “In the vicinity of land’s end there is a
  spring that issues from the rock. This
  Russian peasants
  making offerings to
  Mother Friday.
  Illus. ©1995 Susan Van Camp
  
  spring is the dwelling place of a water
  faerie known to the locals as Maelin,
  who has healing powers. The local
  people bring their sick down to the
  spring on nights of the full moon, and
  offer the faerie loaves of good bread,
  jugs of milk, and a variety of cheeses.
  If the offering is accepted, the bottom
  of the lake into which the spring emp-
  ties glows slightly, and perhaps a pale
  hand is visible beckoning the sick per-
  son to walk into the lake. The sick per-
  son then enters the water, and is gen-
  erally cured when he or she emerges.
  The devotion the locals have toward
  the spring verges on worship, and the
  local priest tried to combat this ritual
  several years back with dark stories of
  faerie drownings. The only result of his
  sermons was a decrease in church
  attendance. Just last year he relented,
  and has erected a shrine to ‘Saint
  Maelin,’ who is said to have been
  drowned in the lake. The locals now
  worship Saint Maelin in exactly the
  same manner they revered the spring
  of Maelin the faerie.”13
  24
  13The Church has a
  long history of incorpo-
  rating pagan knowledge
  and ritual into its obser-
  vances. After a few gen-
  erations, few remember
  that 
  the 
  ritual 
  had
  pagan origins.
  Librarian’s Note: The Nature of
  Faeries
  Other ideas are worthy of mention. Some
  of the clergy who have taken more of an
  interest in classical learning and the stories of
  olden times have yet another theory about
  the origin and nature of the faeries. The exact
  ideas vary. The most common of these ideas
  is that when Satan warred with God, some of
  the angels took no part in this vast struggle
  between good and evil. These angels were
  cast out of Heaven, but were not evil, and so
  were spared the fires of Hell. They are now
  faeries who live on the mortal world and in
  Arcadia. The other common idea is that
  faeries are the souls of pagans and unbap-
  tized children. Unlike other clerical ideas
  about faeries, these two seem interesting and
  may be worth investigating further by the
  more theologically minded of our order.
  There are also other opinions.
  Saint Maelin curing
  the sick.
  Illus. ©1995 Bryon Wackwitz
  
  25
  From the notes of a sermon by Frederick,
  Priest of Lyon, in the year of our Lord 1089
  “There is nothing in this world but
  those bound for Heaven and those bound
  for Hell. All sophistries and arguments that
  there are other forces than those of Satan
  and of our Lord the Redeemer are no more
  than base lies put forth by devils and those
  who are deluded by them. I have heard
  others among the clergy speak of the Fair
  Folk and claim that they are all lesser
  demons and devils. This I say is false. Is not
  a faerie rumored to live within this very
  church? Have not some of you in this
  parish heard the stories, as I have, of the
  woman of the healing well?
  “It is true that
  some of what are
  known as faeries
  are no more than
  imps and minor
  demons, intent on
  spreading mischief
  and minor ills in
  an effort to turn
  good people away
  from the contem-
  plation 
  of 
  our
  Lord. However, oth-
  ers of these folk are
  good and holy;
  they heal the sick
  and aid the needy.
  Are these not good
  Christian virtues? I
  say that these faeries are holy beings, a
  kind of angel. They do not pray in
  church; but they need no salvation, for
  they are already blessed. Some make fun
  of priests and sermons, but do not many
  priests deserve this? Our Lord has a taste
  for jests, especially those that let us see
  the folly of our ways. The good ones of
  the Fair Folk are God’s small helpers, who
  help when help is needed and poke fun at
  the unjustly righteous.”
  Faeries and the Nobility
  Coming to any generalizations about
  attitudes toward faeries among the noble
  classes is not an easy task. Most of the nobil-
  ity is far too busy with crusades, tax gather-
  ing, or court politics to be concerned about
  such things as strange lights in the nearby
  grove. Unlike priests, peasants, and magi,
  nobles rarely go to the faeries. However,
  sometimes the faeries come to them.14
  From the text of an unverified story from
  the south of France
  “There was, not very many years ago, a
  village in the south of France ruled with an
  iron fist by Baron Jean de Dumount. When
  his lord’s tithings were increased, the baron
  was unwilling to go to the time and
  expense of clearing more land to raise the
  produce. He decided to build a dam to flood
  fully half of his
  lands, and use the
  resulting ponds to
  raise 
  carp. 
  This
  plan made no pro-
  vision for the peas-
  ants who farmed
  this land and kept
  a portion for their
  own livelihood.
  “The baron expect-
  ed resentment and
  possibly a revolt. He
  readied his guards
  and ordered them
  to kill any who
  looked as if they
  might cause trou-
  ble. There were many grim looks and whis-
  perings when the baron walked by, but,
  strangely, no revolt. He became sure the
  peasants 
  plotted 
  assassination, 
  and
  ordered his captain to investigate. After the
  captain had spent some silver plying cer-
  tain persons with a few tankards of ale, he
  was able to report to the baron that the vil-
  lagers were merely waiting for ‘La Verdure’
  to work her revenge.
  “La Verdure was the local name for a
  small grove of trees that stood in the mid-
  dle of the fields. The peasants had told the
  captain that La Verdure was the true owner
  of these lands and that the baron would
  regret flooding them. Baron de Dumount
  laughed at the superstitious peasants and
  continued construction of the dam. When
  it was finished, he ordered the flooding to
  commence at nightfall so that the ponds
  14The nobility are
  favorite targets of both
  emulation and satirical
  imitation 
  by 
  faeries.
  Faerie courts can be both
  rarefied and degraded
  examples of their mun-
  dane counterparts.
  Librarian’s Note
  From my researches, I have uncovered
  some letters between the priest Father
  Frederick and his bishop; it seems that his
  practice of lighting candles to the Fair Folk
  of the area was rather frowned upon.
  Disputes on this matter took place between
  the father and his superiors until 1091,
  when Father Frederick was sent away to
  preach in one of the more remote parts of
  the Camargue. It’s a shame actually; it
  would have been fascinating to see that
  man end up as a bishop.
  
  26
  would be full enough by morning for him
  to introduce the first carp himself.
  “That evening, strange lights and
  sounds were heard by the villagers who
  were in the vicinity of the castle, but,
  strangely, all of the castle guards were
  asleep. In the morning, after rebuking his
  men for sleeping at their posts, the captain
  was shocked to discover that the dam had
  been destroyed during the night. He imme-
  diately went to awaken his lord and had
  another shock. His lord was bloated and
  dead, with all the signs of drowning. The
  captain did not try to hunt down the vil-
  lagers responsible, for he saw the damp-
  ness of the room, the water marks on the
  ceiling, the pond weed in high corners, and
  the dying carp gasping on the floor. At this
  point the captain decided that the best
  course was to seek a new lord.”
  Faeries and Magi
  For the sake of consistency and com-
  pleteness, I will at this time discuss the gen-
  eral attitudes of the Order towards faeries.
  With the exception of a few quite-eccentric
  magi, the Order of Hermes as a whole
  acknowledges the power of faeries as a
  thing apart from Heaven, Hell, and
  Hermetic magic.15 As for more on this, I
  will let two learned magi who have written
  of the fey speak for themselves.
  From Tiresieas, filius of Pralix, follower
  of Tytalus
  “Arcadia is our own world. Its cities
  are our cities, its forests are our forests,
  but it is another place. Perhaps it is the
  world that once was, or that might have
  been. Perhaps it is a world that might be,
  if wars have different victors, and kings
  and gods have other followers. Life is a
  battle fought with diverse weapons, in
  patterns and for reasons to which we are
  often too close to see. It is the poorest of
  teachers to most mortals, however, for it
  records only the deeds of the victors. But
  the victors of ancient times are dust, their
  15The faeries are the
  special area of focus for
  House Merinita, but other
  Houses in the Order find
  them of interest, as well.
  La Verdure visits Jean
  de Dumount.
  Illus. ©1995 Amy Weber
  
  deeds forgotten; and sometimes the
  greatest spoils of battle do not go to those
  who win. See the pages of time turn—the
  old gods with all their power and wisdom
  defeated by the Dominion, whose vast
  extents have room only for one god. See
  the ancient peoples, with their customs,
  arts, and sciences, defeated by the new.
  See the Order of Hermes make one shape
  out of magic.
  “A hundred thousand peoples, pow-
  ers, and possibilities fade from our view
  like magi into Twilight. Too many years
  ago, I matched wits with the magi of
  House Criamon and
  heard it said that
  Twilight is a descent
  into Arcadia. If there
  were a place where
  unbeloved gods go,
  and 
  dead 
  heroes,
  ideas unthought, for-
  gotten countries—a
  place where every
  great 
  tower 
  torn
  down still stands and
  each great plan not
  yet made rises shin-
  ing in the sun, where
  every song forgotten
  and 
  half-invented
  lyric we could not
  entirely 
  bring 
  to
  mind still tantalize
  us—I would call this
  place Arcadia.
  “And if indeed this place exists, it is our
  own world, beyond and beneath us, and
  skewed sideways out of recognition. If this
  is where magi go in Twilight and into
  faeries transform, I would tell a secret not
  even those of House Merinita know: a wise
  magus learns most from things that have
  been cast aside.”
  From notes found in the laboratory
  of Monstro, filius of Certui, follower
  of Criamon16
  “Faerie is the country of truth. Not
  the simple truths known and knowable
  to everyone with half a mind, but the
  truths that must be fought for, the illu-
  mination that can never be forgotten.
  Illumination is found by reaching
  through the riddle to its heart. From the
  symbol, the trained mind can finally
  grasp the meaning of what is signified.
  The bare meaning is meaningless, as the
  hawk cannot see what does not move.
  Whatever has no symbol has no mean-
  ing and is not there at all in the faerie
  country. There is nothing plain in
  Arcadia; everything is to be treasured. If
  you enter the faerie country, know this:
  everything is a riddle. There is no riddle
  without a key. Answer a riddle and it
  belongs to you; your
  power over it is as
  secure as if it were
  branded with your
  mark. Answer every
  riddle and you be-
  come a god.”
  Thoughts from
  the Fringes
  There are more
  workers 
  of 
  magic
  than just those of our
  noble Order, and in
  the interest of com-
  pleteness, 
  I 
  have
  endeavored to uncov-
  er discussions of the
  Fair Folk written by
  other magi. The opinions of hedge wizards
  seemed too diverse, and of too little worth,
  to include, and the Moorish magi seem to
  have no stories of the fey, unless the Jinn
  are perhaps the same manner of beings.
  However, I did receive a most fascinating
  response to a query I put out to the hardy
  Redcaps who work the Novgorod Tribunal.
  From Chouette, Redcap of the Novgorod
  Tribunal, concerning her talk with
  Olaus, a shamanic member of  House
  Ex  Miscellanea
  “When asked about faeries, Olaus
  responded thus:
  27
  16The Criamon magus
  Monstro lived in a lonely
  tower near the Cave of
  Twisting 
  Shadows. 
  He
  vanished twenty years
  ago, but rumors persist
  that magi who botch Creo
  Imáginem spells some-
  times 
  get 
  images 
  of
  Monstro instead of what
  they intended.
  Monstro’s Faerie Riddles
  Everything exists at the same
  time.
  Everything that is the same is in
  the same place.
  The key to a creature is its name.
  To go through, look through.
  Walls have ears, and mouths
  have hands.
  
  “‘They are the Other People, the
  ones who went away from us. Long ago
  the world was undivided. There were no
  seasons, and the waking world and the
  world of dreams were one. In this long-
  ago world, we lived next to the Other
  Folk as neighbors, and with them we
  traded and broke bread, but we were for-
  bidden by custom from marrying them.
  Then, when the world shattered into
  many pieces and death was set free, the
  Other People fled death and change.
  While we stayed in the waking world,
  they journeyed into the newly separate
  land of dreams.
  We grew old, grew
  sick, and died;
  they lived on, lost
  in 
  dreaming.
  Their dream was
  strong, and in
  time their own por-
  tion of the other
  world shaped itself
  to fit them; even
  our shamans could
  no 
  longer 
  visit
  them. When this
  happened, 
  the
  Other People grew
  lonely and sad,
  and some came
  back to live on or
  near the waking
  world, and began
  the old feasting
  and trading again.
  Some ignorant peo-
  ple worship these
  other ones as gods,
  but they are not
  gods; nor are they
  ancestors, nor other
  spirits, like those
  who protect my
  people. They are
  simply our neigh-
  bors who have
  moved away but who sometimes come and
  visit. Like all neighbors, sometimes they
  come to trade and sometimes to raid; but
  they will never destroy us, nor we them, so
  long as the world is good.’”
  Seduction of Power
  I will also share the following letter for
  what it is worth, providing yet another
  magical perspective on the fey. The origi-
  nal was coded, but I recently managed to
  translate it.
  From some secret letters found after the
  disappearance of Joseph Pietro, bishop of
  Venice, in the year of our Lord 1021
  “Joseph, 
  I
  have been trying
  some of the ideas
  you mentioned in
  your last letter.
  After some work,
  I find that faeries
  can indeed be
  made to aid in
  the performance
  of God’s work in
  the same manner
  as the Dark Ones.
  Thank you for let-
  ting me in on
  your secret.
  “I have been
  having only one
  problem. The Dark
  Ones can be forced
  into service with
  threats 
  of 
  the
  divine with sur-
  prising ease, but I
  find 
  it 
  much
  more difficult to
  control the two
  faeries 
  I 
  have
  captured. While
  it is quite possible
  to 
  control 
  the
  faeries 
  through
  the use of cold iron, they never seem to
  become willing servants and must always
  be forced. Still, they can accomplish much
  my other servants cannot, and after the
  first mistake, the gold no longer becomes
  leaves at the first light of day.”
  28
  Librarian’s Note
  Yes, it seems that theurgy is far too real.
  Earlier I encountered a few reports from Venice
  of unseemly dealings among the clergy, all
  quite correct it seems. Joseph Pietro vanished
  one night in 1024, and was assumed to have
  been murdered in retribution for a sermon he
  preached against the doge. Now it seems that
  his fate may have been somewhat darker. His
  correspondent was most likely Brother Martin,
  a Crutched friar who was abbot of a nearby
  rural monastery. In 1029 reports of lechery,
  heresy, and diabolism surfaced in that
  monastery during an investigation of the
  death of a young novice of high birth. Brother
  Martin fled the monastery ahead of the Church
  authorities, and rode into a nearby forest,
  rumored to be the habitation of dark faeries.
  He never rode out; whether he received sanctu-
  ary or a rather grim welcome, I do not know.
  
  29
  Rebecca the Librarian
  Rebecca is the head librarian at Harco, domus magna of House Mercere. Harco pos-
  sesses the largest mundane library in the Order, with specialties in geography and in
  the magical and supernatural perils that may be encountered throughout Mythic
  Europe. In most cases, access to the library is restricted to Redcaps, but Rebecca is quite
  inquisitive and has been known to grant limited access to the library in return for rare
  books or new information. She sometimes will supply information in return for a
  promise to go and collect information about some locale or on phenomena of interest.
  These ventures can often be quite dangerous. There are numerous stories about exact-
  ly what she did before becoming a Redcap, but no one knows the details other than the
  fact that she lived in Venice and has numerous enemies there.
  Age: 41 (longevity potion level 80, -8 on aging rolls)
  Characteristics
  +4 Int  
  0 Prs 
  +4 Per 
  +2
  Com 
  -2 Str 
  +3 Dex 
  0 Sta 
  +1 Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +4 Curious 
  +1 Loyal 
  +2   Stubborn
  Virtues & Flaws
  Clear Thinker +1
  Dark Secret -1 (ex-spy w/ numerous enemies)
  Magic Sensitivity +1
  Driving Goal -1 (accumulate knowledge)
  Redcap +4
  Small Frame -2
  Second Sight +1
  Weakness (rare books) -1
  Strong-Willed +1
  Reputation
  None
  Abilities
  2
  Alertness
  6
  Humanities
  4
  Scribe Greek
  3
  Church Knowledge
  2
  Intrigue
  5
  Scribe Latin
  3
  Diplomacy 
  6
  Legend Lore
  3
  Search
  4
  Disguise
  3
  Magic Sensit.
  3
  Second Sight
  6
  Faerie Lore
  3
  Magic Theory
  5
  Speak Hebrew
  4
  Hermes History
  5
  Occult Lore
  5
  Speak Italian
  3
  Hermes Lore
  3
  Scribe Arabic
  5 
  Speak Latin
  Weapons, Armor, and Items
  None
  
  30
  The Bright Lady’s kiss
  brings misfortune to
  a wayward monk.
  Illus. ©1995 Doug Shuler
  
  “I
  was wandering down the road one day when I
  heard the sound of someone crying. I came upon
  a small person who looked to be a child, sitting hold-
  ing a small, broken shovel and crying his eyes out. I
  stopped for a few moments to sit and mend the shovel,
  and when I was finished, the little man was gone, and
  so I placed the shovel on the hillock I had been sitting
  on. When I came along the same road in the evening, I
  passed the hillock. Well, the shovel was gone, and in
  its place was a fine, sweet cake. I ate it, not wanting to
  anger the little folk by declining their reward. It was
  wonderful good, and I thanked them kindly for it.
  Since that day my luck has been nothing but good, and
  I’ve never been sick.”
  —Joseph, a tinker in England
  31
  
  32
  A Troubadour’s Tale
  I
  have followed the road north, making
  my trade for pilgrims and
  pieds-
  poudreux17 on the market roads. Such
  songs I have heard! One lucky night I
  chanced to fall in with a crowd of wan-
  derers who were on the road to see sacred
  relics. With them was a curious man, a
  monk whose native tongue I had never
  heard, who was wandering far from his
  homeland to seek the blessing of Our
  Lady. One night we chanced to fall to
  telling stories of the road; for he and I
  had far the longest time upon it of all the
  travelers, and we alone called no land
  our home. I told him my sad tale, asking
  as I always do if he had ever seen the
  lady or if he thought my sister would still
  be safe in her keeping. To my surprise he
  said, “Ah, little singer, I know this lady.
  We have a man where I once lived who
  calls himself the king, but even he must
  bow before her and do her will.”
  “How then,” said I, “will this poor
  minstrel succeed in his quest? How may I
  fight this creature when kings and
  knights have failed?”
  “The ways of God are a mystery, that
  a boy with a face to please women and a
  voice to please Mother Mary should think
  only swords and spears are powerful.
  Little singer, do you take bread from
  monks on the point of a spear? I know of
  such creatures as you are looking for, as
  they care not one way or another for ugly
  old men who love our Mother. So, being
  beneath their concern, I have seen many
  things to do with them and am still here
  with my feet on the good earth.
  “The one you seek is called Bright
  Lady. Do not ask her name. She has
  taken your sister for the same reason the
  black monks in their stone walls give you
  bread: beauty pierces even the hearts of
  the old like a spear. 
  “Bright Lady and Grandfather Frost
  have been here since the beginning of
  the world. It is only the dancing and the
  singing, the voices of men, the pretty
  faces of children that can keep them
  anymore alive on this earth. But also old
  people have a bad habit. They would
  keep everything that pierces the heart
  locked up in a secret place in their
  house, away from everyone. It is a dead-
  ly sin. For this sin I now follow God as a
  pilgrim on the road, where there are no
  chests for locking up anything. This I tell
  you from the heart, so that you will be
  first careful and then wise.”
  We sat quiet for a while. “You speak as
  if you have known the Bright Lady. Do you
  know where I may find her?”
  He laughed slowly into his beard. “I
  have had the pleasure of her court only
  one time. But I did meet her, and she did
  kiss my hand.” He lifted his right hand to
  me, and I saw the ends of his fingers were
  not there. “I cannot tell you where she is,
  but I know she wishes to make larger the
  borders of her kingdom. She moves south
  Part II: Faeries in Legend & Lore
  Chapter Four:
  Monk, Dryad, Duc
  17Pieds-poudreaux
  (PEEDS poo-DROE): French,
  literally “dusty-footed.”
  Refers to people who are
  traveling a lot, like fair-
  circuit merchants, and to
  pilgrims.
  
  33
  on the land after harvesttime, and north
  again at the time of planting.”
  I thought he would say more, but he
  grew quiet again. But knowing was in his
  eyes still. So I took up my lute and began to
  play, softly:18
  “I had a young sister,
  far across the sea;
  many be the tokens
  she has sent to me.
  “She sent me a cherry
  without any stone;
  she sent me a dove
  without any bone;
  she sent me a briar
  without any thorn.
  She bade me love my leman19
  without longing.”
  Tale of the Bright Lady
  He raised his head up then, and
  spoke. “At least listen to what I have to
  say, little singer. Then you tell me if you
  still want to find the Bright Lady. If you
  do, I will tell you how to look for her.
  You sing to me with your voice like
  sound from a silver bell; you make me
  want to help you. But also you make me
  want you to live safely upon this earth.
  Listen. When I was young, I went every-
  where in the North, buying sable and
  ermine and vair from the hunters. Then
  I took it to market in the South, and
  made much wealth.
  “After the fair season one year, I
  went back north and everyone is telling
  stories about some hunters. Little men,
  like the men who live far in the North
  and have no homes. But these men wear
  shirts of ermine, and cloaks made out of
  white bird skins. Nobody knows any-
  thing about people who look like this.
  They come into villages bringing the
  most beautiful skins by the hundred for
  trading. I was then consumed with
  greed, thinking about what fine things I
  could get for these skins at Saint-Lazare.
  But when I get to the place, I find the
  wise woman and the priest together in
  the village have been lighting fires and
  saying the mass to drive these strange
  hunters away, because the people have
  become afraid. Some think they are
  demons, some think they are the ‘good
  people,’ some think they manage to get
  so much game by hunting in the game
  country of some great lord. Still I am full
  of greed, so I decide I will go find where
  these men have gone for trading, even
  though the snow is coming.
  “I follow the path where people tell
  me the hunters have been seen. A storm
  comes near, but I go on. Then I think I see
  a fire. The snow starts.  I keep walking
  and running, trying to get to the fire. I
  think I see shapes, like feather cloaks,
  near the fire.20
  “The ground goes up like a high hill,
  then like a mountain, but smooth. I fall
  on the snow again, only this time not
  into the snow, but on top of it, though it
  is too early for the snow to be hard like
  this. After a while I feel nothing, like an
  angel. I run on as fast as I can. I do not
  know for how long.
  “The fire grows larger and larger, but
  also pale, until I see it is not a fire at all,
  but a mountain shining like the clouds do
  when the storm is in them. On the side of
  the mountain I stand, and looking up, I
  see, nesting on the spires, white falcons,
  like men dressed in white furs, with
  breasts spotted like ermine tails. I climb to
  the top of the mountain until I come to a
  place where the falcons are going around
  in the air.
  “Below them is a garden, where every
  growing thing is covered in ice as if jew-
  eled; red apples hang all covered with ice
  on the arms of an ice apple tree. In the
  center of the garden is a carrying-chair in
  a box, like the ones great ladies ride
  about in, but very great, sitting all alone.
  I knock on the door. When the door
  opens, the most beautiful lady I ever have
  seen I see then, and I am not cold any-
  more. She is dressed in a hundred furs
  more precious than a king has to wear.
  Each one shines with ice like jewels. She
  asks me why I have come here, and I tell
  her only I am looking for the treasure of
  furs. She puts furs across my shoulders;
  she asks me if I am cold. I am not—now I
  am as warm as if I were sitting in a fine
  house before a fire. Everything begins to
  18Gerin 
  uses 
  his
  Ability conferred by his
  Virtue Enchanting Music
  to persuade the monk to
  talk more.
  19Leman (LAY-man):
  Archaic. Means sweet-
  heart or loved one.
  20The monk becomes
  lost, and therefore has a
  chance of crossing the
  regio boundary. Running
  toward the fire, he enters
  the first layer of the
  regio. He goes progres-
  sively deeper, until, in
  the garden, he is in the
  deepest layer of the
  regio. See “Regios,” p. 81,
  in Chapter Eight: Faerie
  Places for more informa-
  tion about regios.
  
  34
  change, as if there were water in my eyes.
  I remember, God help me, I told her she
  was beautiful, that I would do anything
  for her love. Even now I cannot remember
  what she said, if she said anything. She
  takes my hand to lead me into her carry-
  ing-chair. She kisses my finger-ends, like
  a lady kisses her leman, or a mother kiss-
  es a baby. There is singing in my ears.
  Everything is changing, her face now
  beautiful, now terrible, now both togeth-
  er, and I feel that I am flying, flying
  away, too far to ever come back.21 In my
  fear I cry over and over for God and the
  Holy Mother to help me.
  “Then men and women from the vil-
  lage are pulling me into a cart. They tell
  me they were looking for me in the snow
  and heard my cries to God. When they
  found me, the fingers the lady had kissed
  were black. Though the people tended me
  well, for my sins the places that her lips
  had touched died and fell away, like flow-
  ers when the frost comes.”22
  For a time I sat with the old monk
  while he prayed. I do not think I have ever
  before felt shame for knowing I could make
  a man or woman look fondly upon me.
  “Does God forgive us for our sins
  even if they are sins that we must do, if
  they are what we cannot do otherwise?”
  I asked him.
  In the dark I heard his voice. “God for-
  gives all sinners, man and not-man alike,
  who will let God forgive.”
  “Tell me how to find my sister.”
  “You must go to Saint-Lazare, where
  the fair is now. Travelers from many
  lands will be there. You must ask them all
  where is the place where the rivers freeze
  and will not thaw, where the winter did
  not leave this season as it should but
  stays now in the summer.23
  “Where they tell you, you must go.
  When you get there, you must find a place
  where ice turns roofs into the walls of cas-
  tles, where it turns field into mountain.
  Where the beasts stand frozen in the fields,
  you will find her. Where the fruit hangs
  frozen on the trees, you will find her. Your
  blood will lead you to her, and may God
  have mercy upon your soul.”
  Gerin goes in search of the Bright Lady
  but finds something else
  In the morning I set out for the fair at
  Saint-Lazare, in the great city of Paris.
  The road there was made in the old times,
  from stones set firm into some kind of
  clay that will not melt in the heaviest
  rain. Some say the faeries made this road,
  but I do not think so. Upon Midsummer
  Eve I was traveling this road, and I saw
  fires burning on the hills at the celebra-
  tions of Saint Jean. At the top of a high
  hill I saw them all for miles, the fires of
  many villages. Between the fires there
  showed a road beside the one I was on
  and just as straight, glowing bright in the
  moonlight and lined with stones.24
  I kept on my way through the dark-
  ness, for the fires and the bright moon
  made good light, the road was smooth,
  and I was curious to see what I might
  see on Saint Jean’s night. I could see
  stones through the trees like those of a
  fallen tower, and a tree greater than the
  rest, bearing fruit even now. Standing
  on the other road just as I stood on mine
  was a boy who could have been my
  brother but that his eyes were yellow as
  a goat’s and his hair stood out from his
  head like a crown of gold. He was
  dressed all in leaves.25
  “Good day to you, cousin,” he said.
  “And good day to you also,” I said, for
  the night was not dark around his head.
  “Come and drink and break my fast
  with me, cousin, for long days it has
  been since I last drank.” I followed him
  into the wood.26
  He stopped beneath the great tree. The
  fruits, I could now see, were the bodies of
  men—some old, some fresh—hung from the
  giant limbs. Around the tree was made a
  hall of stone. In the walls I could see the
  heads of men, some old, some fresh. The hall
  did not look at all in ruins now.
  21The faerie is trans-
  porting 
  them 
  into
  Arcadia from the regio.
  Since the faerie is leading
  the way, no rolls would
  be necessary. The monk
  has the +3 Virtue True
  Faith. He attempts to
  resist at the last moment,
  by 
  invoking 
  divine
  power, and is miracu-
  lously transported out of
  the regio. 
  22The monk’s undiplo-
  matic refusal and invok-
  ing divine power are both
  considered insults by the
  faerie. The curse is consid-
  ered an appropriate pay-
  ment in kind for his sud-
  den change of heart.
  23The place the monk
  describes 
  relates 
  the
  characteristic aura asso-
  ciated with this faerie.
  Such auras usually cause
  an area in the mortal
  world to resemble the
  faerie’s home domain.
  24With 
  his 
  Virtue
  Faerie Sight, he is looking
  at the entrance to a regio.
  On Midsummer’s Eve, a
  faerie holiday, it is easier
  to perceive. See “Regios,”
  p. 81, in Chapter Eight:
  Faerie Places .
  25The boy Gerin meets
  is a dryad. His appear-
  ance marks his associa-
  tion with lands toward
  Summer. Therefore, the
  Bright Lady, whose lands
  lie far toward Winter, is
  an enemy.
  26He has now entered
  the regio. Once a charac-
  ter has perceived a regio,
  a roll is not required for
  the character to enter it.
  
  35
  I did not know such pagan things were
  to be found so near to Paris. The boy stood
  beneath the tree, and he must have seen
  my face pale, though I said no word
  against him.
  “Have they not eaten of you often
  enough, cousin? Do you not have the right
  to ask them also to break your fast?”
  He thought I was one just such as he. I
  thought quickly. “Oh, my cousin,” I said,
  “I am younger than I may seem, and have
  not your years of beauty. In truth, I have
  not yet given food to mortal man or
  woman. But I will play for you, that you
  may have sweet music.”
  The first rule I learned as a jongleur
  was not to insult my host. He smiled at me,
  and I played for him. I have never tried
  harder to play sweetly, but he looked at me
  strangely as I played.
  “Is there a song to better please you?” I
  asked.
  He laughed, and it was a sound like a
  nightingale singing. “I did mistake you for
  a moment, half-cousin, but your music
  sings of your home.”27
  “Play on; it pleases me more than well.
  You may take your road when the dawn
  comes and ask of me a boon.” He spoke
  like a young lord. I played and sang until
  cockcrow, when he asked me what boon I
  would have.
  “Tell me where I may find ice as thick
  as the walls of castles, even now at mid-
  summer,” I said. I thought for a moment
  he would strike me, so dark did his face
  become.
  “Not here, little half-cousin. Never
  while I am here. For the sake of your sister
  I will answer. The bear and swan find no
  wine to quench their thirst. To seek above,
  you must go below.”
  A cock crowed again, somewhere fur-
  ther down the road, and a bell began to
  27Gerin’s Virtue Free
  Expression makes it clear
  he is a mortal, in spite of
  his Virtue Strong Faerie
  Blood.
  The dryad on
  Midsummer’s Eve.
  Illus. ©1995 Rosemary Roach
  
  36
  ring for matins. The boy was gone.
  Through the trees I could just see stones
  like a ruined tower, but I did not stay to
  look close at it or the trees.28
  The Fair at Saint-Lazare
  In the fair season there are so many
  people in Paris that one may scarcely
  cross the great bridge for the press of
  bodies, and men take lodgings in tiny
  houses set upon the bridge that are no
  larger than the trunks of trees. The fair
  lies upon a great green near to the
  river, and the young lords and serjeants
  come to practice arms within sight of
  the tents. I think that they would
  impress the young ladies who come to
  look at silks brought from Sicily, for
  these men would have to get ladies to
  spy them through manor-house win-
  dows in other seasons.
  Everywhere I went I asked my ques-
  tion. I can bring a crowd to hear me, and
  I asked them before I sang. The mer-
  chants gave me silver to bring the crowd
  to their booths, and I asked the mer-
  chants too. Sometimes they looked back
  at me in fear, but all my art could bring
  no answer from them.
  “I must cross many lands for busi-
  ness,” said the perfumer, who was my
  friend. “I cannot afford to make enemies
  of any of them.” It was the most anyone
  would say.
  One day I was met by a lady at my
  place at the fair. No ordinary lady was she,
  for though her hands were as soft and her
  teeth as good as those of the daughter of a
  king, she wore a plain robe like a clerk’s. I
  had seen her face in the crowd before, but
  this time she came forth to speak to me
  when I was taking my ease on the green.
  “You, minstrel, you must come with
  me,” she said, and since her manner and
  face were those of a king’s daughter, I
  did as she bade me. I did ask, as we ran
  down a maze of little streets, where we
  were going: “To your house, fair maid, or
  your father’s?” said I. I thought her
  charmed by me.
  “Neither, minstrel, but beneath the
  earth,” said she. I drew her about.
  “And where beneath the earth, and by
  whose command, fair lady?”
  “By the command of Madeline the
  Carmelite, and I will show you where.”
  “Then take me to this nun Madeline, if
  you please, lady, and I will take up the
  question with her.” She began to pull me
  along again.
  “I cannot. She is cloistered, and will
  see no man—certainly not a minstrel.
  But she knows things—no one knows
  how. She had a message carried to my
  father that cured my brother of the pox,
  and now I carry messages for her. She
  told me to find the boy-minstrel with the
  voice like a lark. She said you would be
  looking for something we would find in
  the passages below”—she stood before
  steps of stone leading down into an
  alley—“down here.”
  I could hear the sound of water. I
  looked about for her assistants waiting to
  club me and steal my purse, but there
  were none. We were alone in the street. I
  had never been alone in Paris in the day-
  light before. I followed her with one hand
  on my knife.
  The alley ran a few paces, then
  stopped at the bank of a dark stream.
  The alley ran on across the stream,
  which passed, not far down its current,
  underneath an arch of stone. Before us
  lay a small boat.
  She motioned me in, then cast off,
  leaving behind in the place of the boat
  a silver coin. “The boat belongs to one
  of the people of the catacombs. Their
  friendship has more than once been
  useful to me,” she said.
  We went on for a long time. Passing
  under shafts of light from here and there
  a grate or crack overhead, we began to
  see cells carved into the walls, and skulls
  and bones in many of the cells. The fur-
  ther we went, the more bones I saw, and
  I began to hear singing like the singing
  of monks.
  28The relative ease
  (expressed 
  in 
  game
  terms as a bonus) that
  the faerie holiday con-
  fers to entering or leav-
  ing the regio disappears
  at cockcrow. Leaving the
  regio would be very diffi-
  cult, except that the resi-
  dent faerie has guaran-
  teed safe conduct out.
  
  37
  “Do not fear,” the lady whispered. “We
  sail through the homes of monks and mar-
  tyrs. We are in the catacombs beneath the
  city.” I did not feel so reassured.
  We went on for a longer time in deep-
  ening darkness. The cold grew bitter. The
  lady began to count as we went, as
  though counting time to music. Finally
  she said, “We are far past the city. The
  catacombs should be behind us, and we
  are almost to the place where the king’s
  land ends.” The boat ceased rocking.
  “I can go no further,” said she. “This is
  what Madeline said you would seek.” She
  took some small jar from her cloak, and a
  coal was revealed in the dark, nested
  within. She brought out a candle and,
  with some blowing, set it to light. She held
  it out over the boat.
  Ahead the stream was frozen into ice.
  “I have taken you as far from summer
  as I dare to go. Further than this, the ice
  swallows everything.”
  “Let me out,” I said.
  The lady began to protest, but I put a
  finger to my lips. Far above, I thought I
  could hear voices. I slipped out onto the
  ice. I thought I could see, far ahead of
  me, something shine with a pale light. I
  moved forward, hearing the sound of the
  boat moving away behind me. At length
  I came to the source of the glow. A wall
  of ice, which shone softly with no light
  upon it, closed up the way ahead. I could
  go no further.29
  My shouts and songs and fists upon
  the ice gave me nothing, and I began to
  fear the terrible cold. After much search-
  ing, I found an opening that led up into
  a cave, and from the cave, back into the
  blessed light of day. Ahead of me I saw
  an inn before a small village, and I was
  glad, for I still was bitterly cold.
  The day was dying apace; I was
  uneasy, yet at first I could not see why.
  The wind blew cold out of the east in the
  direction of the village. I looked back
  toward the setting sun and saw fields of
  flowers shining red and gold. But toward
  the village were dead grasses sparkling sil-
  ver with mist.
  A girl drove a few lean goats back
  toward the village, and I called to her.
  “What land is this?” I asked.
  “The land of the king behind you, and
  of the duc de Berry ahead,” said she.30
  I hurried ahead to the inn, for I
  was tired and had no wish to spend a
  night in the biting wind. It was a well
  and newly made house, though odd to
  be here neither in the wilderness nor
  near to a great city. When I came in,
  all called welcome to me, and a boy
  set a trencher full of meat stew before
  me without question, as if I were a
  lord or bishop. I found the master of
  the house and said softly, “I can buy
  my supper and my bed but with song
  tonight, for I am a poor minstrel upon
  the road.”
  “It’s our custom here to shelter whoev-
  er may come in from the cold. Eat your
  supper and sleep by the fire. If your songs
  and stories please us, you may drink wine
  from my cellar, as well.”
  So I brought out my lute, and the
  folk called for the songs they best loved,
  as folk everywhere do. The inn was
  crowded with many who did not seem
  travelers, but villagers. The wine had
  flowed freely since before my arrival, I
  could see. In the hearth was a fire so
  large as to threaten the roof. All crowd-
  ed close to it, and called to me for songs
  of spring, though it was mid-summer. It
  was a long night’s entertaining. Though
  I could see all were glad to hear me, I
  thought perhaps all in the house waited
  for a single story, one I did not seem to
  know, or for a song I had not sung. I
  spoke lightly to them, trying to find
  what lay in their hearts. I asked, “What
  would you hear last, for I must not make
  you tarry longer, who must rise at lauds
  to tend the land.”
  The house filled up with cries and
  laughter. “Play on all night, minstrel,”
  called a voice. “Our crops are withered and
  our beasts slaughtered for meat. We have
  nothing left to tend.”
  29This is the bound-
  ary of a faerie aura. Note
  that auras do not have to
  have access to regio or
  Arcadia.
  30The boundary of a
  faerie aura may be
  sharp or subtle. In this
  case it matches the bor-
  der of a lord’s lands.
  
  38
  I tried again. “Who built this fine
  house for our pleasure, then?”
  A dozen voices called, “Our lord de
  Berry, who is kind to us in these terrible
  days while we wait to die.”
  I wanted to ask why they did not eat
  thin gruel, sell meat to buy seed, pray for
  good weather; but I saw no hope in the
  faces they turned up to me, except hope
  that I might give them joy.
  “God save his soul, then,” said I, and
  every cup in the house but one rose high in
  salute.
  The man who had not raised his
  cup rose up from a seat in the back of
  the room. Once he had been hale and
  fat, it seemed, and he was still a great
  broad man, though the flesh hung
  loose from him.
  “God rot his black sinner’s soul!”
  roared the man. “For he has brought ruin
  on us all!”
  I thought they would fall on him like
  hounds. But he staggered back from the
  table and brought from the folds of his
  cloak a knight’s steel sword. No one want-
  ed to be the first to meet it. I caught the
  innkeeper’s gaze above the crowd, and so I
  began to sing a sweet song softly, without
  words. The innkeeper came forth, a club in
  one hand.
  “Be you gone, man, to whatever den of
  thieves gave you that blade. It won’t save
  you from all of us. Get out, before there’s
  any more trouble.”
  The man put away the sword and stag-
  gered out. As he turned, I saw he carried
  the sheath as well, and worked upon it
  were the figures of a bear and a swan. No
  one followed him but me. As I passed the
  table where he had sat, I saw his wine cup
  lying shattered on the rushes. About it was
  a frozen slush that had once been wine.
  He was weaving down the road like a
  blind man. The cold struck me full in the
  face, worse than before. He staggered off
  Etienne, the duc 
  de Berry.
  Illus. ©1995 Susan Van Camp
  
  39
  the road into the wood, and then soon
  returned leading a horse finer than any I
  had ever seen, as black as a flock of crows.
  It came with him, quiet and easy even in
  the bitter wind. I hoped the trouvères’
  patrons would hear my prayer, and spoke
  my guess aloud: “Noble knight?”
  He turned as though I had struck him,
  and was before me quicker than I could
  jump, with the shining sword half drawn. I
  fell on my knees and cried mercy. He drew
  up my face to him and then let go the
  sword into its sheath.
  “You are not one of them,” he said.
  “Not from this land, no, sir,” said I, but
  he shook his head.
  “Not one of those who haunt my
  dreams. I would kill you if you were, and
  damn the consequences.” I knew not if he
  was drunk or mad.
  “You are the jongleur from the inn.
  Play for me. Play the song of Parsifal and
  the Fisher King.”
  I did not dare to disobey. It is a long
  song and for noble houses. I sang in my
  best language, out on the road in the
  cold and the darkness. I could hear him
  weeping. When it was done, he said, “If
  you wish a place in a noble house, ride
  with me.” He got on the black horse and
  reached down his hand. I could not
  return to the inn for fear the people
  thought me in league with this man, and
  I had no wish to make my bed upon the
  ground tonight.
  “What house wishes to employ me,
  sir?”
  “That of the duc de Berry.”
  “And is his device the bear and swan,
  sir?”
  “Yes, jongleur, it is.”
  I took his hand and found myself upon
  the black horse. “Noble sir, may I ask your
  name?”
  “I am Etienne, the duc.”
  
  40
  Mausir, a magus of
  House Ex Miscellanea
  with faerie blood,
  shows an arrow of the
  Host to the Librarian.
  Illus. ©1995 Susan Van Camp
  
  “E
  very known culture, whether it be Venice with
  its courtly graces or the village tavern with
  its bonhomie, has its own set of customs. Can we not,
  then, presume that customs likewise exist in those
  cultures with which we are unfamiliar? It may be that
  a honeybee and a daisy must be formally introduced,
  or that a trout may be slighted by a callous perch.
  Consider the customs, however bizarre, of the
  faeries, who are at least a somewhat known quantity.
  Doubtless to them all they do is just and sensible
  where to us it is capricious and whimsical.”
  —Salix of House Merinita
  41
  
  42
  On Faeries: A Guide for
  Our Order by Rebecca,
  Chief Librarian of Harco
  W
  hile Arcadia is the true and original
  home of the faeries, many now reside
  in the mortal world, living in faerie auras or
  regios that have no direct contact with
  Arcadia. It has been suggested by some that
  these faeries either are exiles from Arcadia
  or are there too weakened by contact with
  the mortal world to return to Arcadia. While
  the first idea has some merit, the second is
  patently false. Minor faeries can be found in
  Arcadia, and if creatures such as leshiye are
  considered weak, the inhabitants of Arcadia
  would be truly terrible to behold.31 It is also
  possible that some faeries prefer to live in or
  near the mortal world.
  Since few other than fools, magi, and
  poets dare to enter Arcadia, most meet-
  ings with faeries will take place in these
  auras and regios. Unlike the faeries of
  Arcadia, the inhabitants of these areas
  will have had experience dealing with
  mortals, and will be both more compre-
  hensible and more dangerous for knowing
  the strengths and the weaknesses of mor-
  tal kind. These faeries, like all of their
  kind, are by nature capricious and unpre-
  dictable, but here are some rules that may
  help the unwary prosper from, or at least
  survive, their first encounters with the fey.
  I have deduced the following rules from
  a careful examination of innumerable sto-
  ries, legends, and reports of travelers and
  members of the Order. In all cases I have
  endeavored to back up all of my claims with
  reliable reports from Merinita magi,
  Redcaps, and other knowledgeable sources. I
  recognize that some of these so-called “rules”
  may derive from no more than coincidences,
  but I have found enough similarities among
  reports from the entirety of Christendom and
  beyond that such a listing seems useful.
  Faerie Laws
  Firstly, I will include excerpts from an
  essay on the nature of the faeries and their
  realms. These excerpts come from De Rerum
  Arcadia by Paradoxia, filia of Jerga, follow-
  er of Merinita. De Rerum Arcadia is perhaps
  the finest theoretical book yet written by a
  member of our Order about the faeries.
  Paradoxia writes: “Appearances are
  everything.”
  “The greatest (some say the only)
  power of faeries is a type of enchantment
  called a ‘glamour.’ Glamour is image
  made real. A chair made by the arts of
  Creo and Imáginem is merely a phantom;
  you will fall to the floor if you try to sit in
  it. A glamour of a chair is solid. In the
  mortal world it lasts as long as the faeries
  are nearby, or until a faerie gets tired of it
  and changes it into something else, or
  until one can see through it with the aid of
  magic or by the power of Christian faith. 
  “In Arcadia and in the regios of the fey,
  glamour seems to be fully real, and is said by
  some members of house Criamon to be the
  true fabric of reality in Arcadia. Generally, if
  you can get to Arcadia in the first place,
  whether you consider glamour real is a moot
  point, because it is practically real. When you
  are entering or leaving, however, your atti-
  tude toward glamour has much to do with the
  Chapter Five:
  Customs and Curiosities
  31Leshiye are the
  faerie lords of the
  Russian forests; see
  “Leshiye,” p. 97, in
  Chapter Nine: Faerie
  Folk, a Bestiary.
  
  43
  condition in which you and your possessions
  emerge. Animals and other creatures that
  lack souls and creativity are variously affect-
  ed by glamour. The dullest of them will usu-
  ally be unaffected by it at all. Those more
  intelligent may be hopelessly confused by
  mixed information, and will not function well
  in Arcadia. Domestic animals of hearth and
  field are used to accepting someone else’s
  reality, and will generally respond to a thing
  as their master does, regardless of whether
  they believe the thing to be real. Likewise,
  those animallike faerie creatures that venture
  into the mortal realm relate to its properties in
  the same way normal animals venturing into
  faerie areas relate to glamour.
  “No one knows if the faeries themselves
  see glamour as completely real or com-
  pletely illusory. Some faeries say that they
  are made of glamour themselves. However,
  they are aware of glamour’s similarity to
  illusion. Interestingly, for some reason the
  most serious violation of faerie law a mor-
  tal can commit is to claim knowledge of
  the illusory nature of all that is faerie.
  “Outside of the faerie realms, meaning
  outside of both Arcadia and regio, glamour
  that is seen and understood for what it is no
  longer exists to the one who sees through it.
  Within these realms, glamour that is seen
  through remains. Any glamour that is
  pierced while it is in the faerie realms
  appears in its true form when such realms
  are left behind; any glamour that is not
  pierced may remain when the mortal world
  is again reached. Only fools try to pierce the
  glamour surrounding a faerie. If this is
  done, one of two things occurs. Either the
  person seeing through the faerie can no
  longer sense the faerie’s presence (but can
  still be affected by the faerie), or the person
  sees the faerie’s ‘true’ shape. The latter is not
  to be desired, though, for it often drives mor-
  tals mad and sends magi into Twilight.”
  Paradoxia writes: “‘Everything that’s
  mine is mine.  Everything that’s yours is
  mine, too.’”
  “This is how many of the faeries feel
  about mortals and their possessions. Faeries
  are bound to their possessions. In a very real
  way, their characteristic possessions are a
  part of them, for the possessions are a part of
  the form they have taken. Perhaps a faerie
  and its possessions are all part of the same
  glamour. Unless a characteristic possession
  is magically unbound from the faerie’s form,
  it disappears when the faerie changes shape.
  Mortal possessions are very simple in faerie
  eyes. Mortals have many things. None of
  these things is bound to them the way pos-
  sessions are bound to faeries, so they are not
  considered important parts of the mortal.
  Mortal cottages, castles, barns, and shops
  are giant faerie markets where everything
  can be had for free. Generosity is one of the
  most valued qualities in a mortal. Being
  upset over the loss of something that is not a
  part of you is nonsensical at best and at
  worst the equivalent of giving something
  away and then demanding it back—a seri-
  ous offense to a faerie.
  “Mortals also have possessions that
  faeries recognize as the mortals’ own ‘char-
  acteristic possessions.’ The most strongly
  ‘characteristic’ possessions are those actu-
  ally crafted by the mortal, as well as any
  living things that willingly follow the mor-
  tal (be they children, beasts, or servants).
  Those of us in the Order can bind other
  possessions to ourselves through the art of
  Rego, though doing so also creates a mag-
  ical link between us magi and these pos-
  sessions that any may use against us.
  Certain hedge wizards who traffic with the
  faeries also know such magics. Finally,
  many mortals seem to unknowingly bind
  some of their most treasured possessions to
  themselves in some unknown fashion.
  Faeries view the theft of such a characteris-
  tic possession, or of any of the possessions
  characteristic to the form they are in, as an
  attempt to steal a part of the owner’s life
  force. A faerie’s characteristic possessions
  may be as limited as a flower in a sprite’s
  hair, or as extensive as a faerie queen’s
  castle and everything in it.
  “As a rule, faeries seem to have few
  scruples about taking any unattached
  mortal goods or taking any belongings a
  visitor to their realms possesses. They take
  what they wish, and often they wish to
  take whatever they see; it is unwise to bury
  treasure in a faerie forest. You should be
  advised that trade is much safer than
  merely taking when harvesting vis in a
  faerie forest, unless you are sure what you
  take belongs to no one else.32
  32The seeming faerie
  morality about taking
  unattached possessions
  does not work both ways.
  While one might expect
  them to be as free with
  their possessions as they
  are with yours, they
  rather hold theirs far
  more dear.
  
  44
  “Faeries will trade for characteristic
  possessions, and seem to have a great love
  for the characteristic possessions of mor-
  tals. Faeries never steal such possessions
  and will not lightly regard the theft of their
  own characteristic possessions.”
  Paradoxia writes: “Everything is alive.”
  “Life doesn’t depend on flowing blood
  or a vital pulse. Life is the presence of a
  spirit, and all living things have spirits.
  Faeries have form and solidity in the phys-
  ical world because they desire to, and
  faerie glamour makes their desires real. If a
  rock or a shoe had no animating spirit to
  desire form and solidity, it would not exist
  at all in Arcadia. In the mortal world,
  faeries understand and affect best those
  things that contain life or that have special
  qualities attributed to them: earth, plants,
  animals, beer, risen bread, precious stones,
  and works of mortal creativity. Base metal,
  dull stones, and similar materials seem to
  cause them difficulty, for they have little
  spirit. Perhaps faeries seek in a simple
  child’s toy the same spirit as that which
  resides in a golden goblet and elevates it
  above a tin cup. What is known is that
  faeries excel in the most difficult arts, while
  often seeming helpless to master the most
  basic skills of making and mending.”
  Paradoxia writes: “The laws of similari-
  ty must be observed.”
  “With the faerie, nothing is without
  cause. The mundane rules of the properties
  of things, that water seeks its own level,
  that earth is heavy and air is light, that
  striking one’s hand causes pain, are irrele-
  vant and may not operate at all in the
  faerie realms of regio and Arcadia. It is
  essential causes, the true nature of rela-
  tionships, that always hold true there. For
  example, it is true that the helianthus, the
  flower that most resembles the sun, is the
  herb with the strongest solar properties.
  And by a similar scheme of correspon-
  dences, the faeries, who place night before
  day, value silver, which is the metal of the
  moon, above gold, the metal of the sun.
  The castle of the Green Knight must be
  searched for in the greenest place (the for-
  est and the sward) and will never be found
  in a desert, a lake, or a mountain of ice.
  “A colleague in our House has stated
  that in faerie places, since the bottoms of
  lakes and seas are a kind of solid ground,
  the water above is like the sky above the
  earth, breathable and full of all kinds of
  fish, like every kind of bird. Likewise, every
  great stone circle of the ancients, being like
  all others by the laws of Faerie, is connected
  to every other. The knight Louis ParCoeur,
  who was known to have faerie blood, used
  the hare as his device. It is well known that
  he mysteriously fell ill and died after his
  enemy Jean de Bretaigne trapped an unusu-
  ally large hare on his hunting ground. It is
  these true correspondences that the faeries
  must obey, even as the mundane world
  must obey the laws laid out by Aristotle.
  “As many who have been reading
  this must have already thought, these
  laws are the same as the laws that our
  own magic obeys: Rubies are tied to fire,
  just as amethyst wards against drunken-
  ness. These laws are the laws of Arcadia.
  In the mortal world these laws work also,
  but the laws of Aristotle predominate in
  their influence.”
  The Nature of Faerie Regios
  Outside of Arcadia, the most common
  place to encounter faeries is in faerie auras
  or regios. Faerie regios all seem to share a
  number of characteristics. The faerie regios
  seem, at first, simply an enhancement of
  the features of the mundane level. A ver-
  dant forest is greener and more beautiful,
  while a sickly fen is darker and more men-
  acing. What appears in the mundane
  world as a looming, fortress-like mountain
  may in a faerie regio become a castle of the
  noble Daoine Sidhe.
  The faeries that are found in aura
  and in regio have much more in com-
  mon with mortals than the faeries of
  Arcadia. Faeries who live near the mor-
  tal world often ape mortals in a multi-
  tude of ways. While the same is true of
  many faeries in Arcadia, the likes of
  faerie cobblers and faerie monks are
  rarely if ever found in Arcadia.
  
  45
  One curious feature of faerie regios
  that is also shared by magic regios is that
  ancient ruins may become more or less
  restored, and even inhabited (usually by a
  host of magical creatures), in regio layers.
  Perhaps the original form of some given
  building is more durable and real in a
  regio than in the less-perfect mundane
  world, or perhaps it is merely that regios
  change more slowly than does this world.
  From a letter by Father James of Bath to
  his friend Salix of House Merinita
  “I knew this would interest you,
  because it seems to be yet another odd-
  ment of the Fair Folk, whom you have
  studied for so long. When I had occasion
  to journey from Bath to London last, I
  was caught in a storm and needed shel-
  ter. Due to the lateness of the day and the
  strength of the storm, I could see no shel-
  ter, and became worried. I caught sight of
  what seemed to be a light, and I went
  toward it. Soon I had lost sight both of the
  light and of the road I had been on. I was
  quite lost, and drenched from the rain. As
  I continued along, I saw another light.
  This one was quite distinct but was a
  strange pale blue in color.
  “Willing to take any shelter at this point,
  I went toward the blue glow. I soon saw I was
  approaching a small keep on a low hill, its
  construction of a style I had not seen before.
  It seemed quite squat and very old, and had
  rounded walls. The light came from the win-
  dow, and was distinctly blue at this point. As
  I drew closer, I realized that the keep looked
  far too familiar and that it was in fact the
  faerie fortress of Old Sarum, excepting that
  here it was fully complete, with a wooden
  roof and a barred gate, rather than being the
  simple ruin I had seen before.
  “As 
  I 
  approached—more 
  slowly
  now—a creature peered at me out of the
  window closest to the gate. Its wizened
  visage, its cruel teeth, and the blood-red
  cap on its head all served to make me
  most sure that an evening spent in even
  the most drenching rain would be
  remarkably preferable to one inside those
  walls. I ran; and after a most miserable
  night spent wandering in the rain, I
  found the road again the next morning.
  In the future, I believe I shall leave the
  faeries to you.”33
  Faeries and the Church
  How a faerie reacts to the Church
  seems to depend on the class to which it
  belongs, much as is the case among mor-
  tal-kind. The rural minor faeries of village,
  shop, and mine often fear the symbols of
  the Church, fleeing from the ringing of
  church bells or the saying of the mass.
  These humble fey are not a part of the
  Church, and fear its power and authority.
  The touch of holy relics or the blessing of a
  priest can render such faeries powerless.
  While the stories of such fey being
  destroyed by the mere sound of church
  bells are an exaggeration of overconfident
  clergy, the effect of the Church on such
  beings is profound.
  In contrast, the more canny and cun-
  ning low faeries who inhabit our cities are
  more cynical toward and wise to the ways
  of the world than their rural cousins. Urban
  fey are much less fearful of the power of the
  Church than are the rural ones. While the
  power of the Holy Church can render many
  urban fey less powerful, they do not often
  fear it. In fact, some of them seem wholly
  unaffected by the power of the Church.
  Some of these clever fey mock the rich and
  powerful of the town, including those bish-
  ops and cardinals worthy of scorn. Neither
  the power of mortal law nor arms nor
  Church seems able to cope with such ras-
  cals. There are even others of the fey who
  seem to thrive on contact with the Church.
  Some of the smaller of the urban fey actu-
  ally live in churches or monasteries.
  The faerie nobility known as the
  “high faeries” are often contemptuous of
  the Church and are quite resistant to the
  humble rituals of the parish priest.
  However, faced with a properly done
  exorcism, all but the most powerful of the
  high faeries must give way before the
  Church. Proper exorcisms, however, must
  be performed by a bishop or scholar of
  the Church who knows the high formulae
  of which many humble priests are igno-
  rant. Simple actions like the ringing of
  church bells or the saying of mass usual-
  33While 
  lost, 
  the
  priest wanders into the
  faerie regio at Old Sarum,
  a ruined hill fort. He then
  flees from the site and
  leaves the regio—once
  again while lost.
  
  46
  ly do not affect any but the most humble
  of faerie nobility, but those in the Church
  who know the high ceremonies can drive
  off almost all faerie nobles most readily.
  The faeries of the wild are the most
  intractable. Like any other bandits, rogues,
  and hermits, such creatures have no fear
  (and perhaps no knowledge) of the
  Church. The faeries of heath, pond, lake,
  and forest are often wild like the beasts of
  the woods, and have no fear of any mortal,
  whether priest, magus, or serf.
  A story told by a visitor to Toledo
  “While I was visiting, I noticed that the
  magus with whom I stayed rarely bothered
  to clean up her laboratory after a long
  day’s work. The vials and alembics would
  be spotted and stained, yet when I would
  help her the next morning, all would be
  spotless and gleaming. I assumed that she
  had hired a servant to come and clean
  during the night, but was puzzled that she
  would give a mere mortal access to her
  tools and her books when she was absent.
  I asked what she paid such a servant, and
  she smiled and pointed to the bowl of milk
  on the floor by the door of the lab. I asked
  further and was told this story:
  “‘When I moved into this house, I
  could never get a single night’s sleep. On
  cold nights the covers would vanish just as
  I fell asleep, while on other nights I would
  awake either to loud noises in another
  room or to the sensation of someone pinch-
  ing my toes. I was certain the house was
  haunted, and after much work to try to dis-
  pel the creature, I determined that magic
  was to no avail. In desperation I asked a
  local priest I knew to perform an exorcism.
  He complied, with the only result being
  that the night after he sprinkled holy water
  around the house, I was sprinkled in my
  bed by water that most likely came from a
  rather dirty horse trough. I was greatly
  upset, and was on the verge of selling this
  otherwise wonderful house, when I was
  apprised of the solution to my problem by
  a fruit-seller in the market. One day, after
  I complained of my problems to this man
  in passing, he asked if I was feeding the
  duende. I asked what he meant. He sighed,
  muttered something about the wits of for-
  eigners, and told me how the house had
  been inhabited by a duende since Toledo
  was built. It seems a duende is a kind of
  night-dwelling faerie that comes to live in
  a house and can never be driven out of it.
  The merchant told me stories of how a
  dozen priests and bishops tried to drive out
  the faerie to no avail. He told me that as
  long as it was fed a bowl of milk every
  night, however, it would only rarely wake
  me or my guests, and it would, in return for
  the milk, clean and tidy up the house bet-
  ter than the best chambermaid. I began to
  feed it, and I am still living here twenty-
  seven years later.’”
  Excerpt from the diary of Father John
  Robbins, priest of Salisbury, in the year of
  our Lord 1106
  “November 1: Last night I spent All
  Hallow’s Eve out at Stonehenge. For the past
  several years strange lights are seen there on
  this night. I went out shortly after midday
  and camped there until dawn, which may
  explain why I am so tired today.
  “I observed nothing until well after
  sunset. It was a warm and cloudless
  night, and no one else was visible, the
  only light being from the sky and from a
  cottage almost a quarter of a league dis-
  tant. However, once it was fully dark, a
  multitude of small lights appeared to the
  east heading in the direction of the
  stones. They looked much like lights of
  torches in a procession but for the fact
  that they were green.
  “As the lights approached closer, I saw
  that they did in fact attend a small proces-
  sion, one of perhaps half a dozen tall peo-
  ple wearing strange and elaborate cloth-
  ing. A green light floated over each of their
  heads. I could not see their faces clearly,
  owing to the dim and strange nature of the
  lights. They seemed to be a noble funeral
  procession, and carried what looked to be a
  body, wrapped in rich cloth of gold.
  “I was camped at a little distance from
  the circle of stones and saw the people
  pass within several rods of me. They took
  no notice of me, even when I began to
  
  47
  pray softly—fearing as I did that they
  might be demons.
  “When they were well within sight, I
  looked at them with my eyes askance in the
  way I do to sort the holy from the sinner,34
  and I saw that they were neither.
  “When they arrived at the center of the
  circle of stones, a green light appeared on
  top of each standing stone, and the faeries—
  for that is what I am sure they were—
  arranged themselves in a circle around their
  dead comrade, whom they had placed on
  the ground. After some time, the cloth over
  the corpse seemed to flatten, as if it had sud-
  denly become empty; the lights dimmed
  and took on a pale bluish cast; and the
  remaining faeries departed as they had
  come—all this happening in silence.
  “As they were leaving, the night turned
  suddenly cold, and a bitter wind sprang
  up. I felt sharp tugs and jabs at my cloth-
  ing and boots. Fearing I had offended the
  Fair Folk by watching, I continued to pray,
  but to no effect; however, remembering
  what my gran had once told me, I drew my
  good iron knife and held it before me. All
  at once the tugs and jabs ceased, and I
  spent the remainder of the night cold but
  untroubled.”
  Divine and Diabolic Bargains
  There are faerie peasants, faerie
  nobles, and faerie bandits, but there seems
  to be an entire lack of a faerie clergy. If, as
  I have shown, the Church is not inimical to
  all of the fey, it is at least quite alien to
  them. In their own places, faeries seem to
  have no priests or monks. In the mortal
  world, this is not always true. The most
  obvious example is the existence of faeries
  like the Italian monacelli or the Sicilian
  mamucca, who dress as diminutive monks.
  However, as is the case with many other
  faeries, these beings have the form of
  monks while having none of their piety or
  holiness. It is said by many that such
  beings exist to poke fun at those monks
  who are more worldly than is right, and it
  must be admitted that many of the stories
  of the monacelli seem reminiscent of the
  stories that circulate of some of the more
  debauched and ribald monks. Still, some
  34The 
  priest 
  was
  using the Ability con-
  ferred by the Virtue
  called Sense Holiness &
  Unholiness.
  Father John Robbins at
  Stonehenge.
  Illus. ©1995 Bryon Wackwitz
  
  48
  such fey do seem kindly towards many
  mortals and often act to guard churches.
  I have heard that faeries may make
  bargains with divine and infernal forces. It
  is said that groups of ill-natured fey gain
  immunity from the infernal powers in
  return for sending these powers one mortal
  every seven years. They do this because
  they fear the powers of Hell, not because
  they love them. Similarly, faeries who enter
  a church as diminutive monks or church
  guardians, or other faeries who live in and
  serve a church (if only by making fun of
  the less holy members of the church), gain
  immunity from divine powers for them-
  selves, their lands, and their fellows.35
  A Faerie Among Monks
  While most faeries passing themselves
  off as clergy present yet another case of
  faeries aping mortal ways, there are other
  types of fey clerics involved with the
  Church. One of the fellow members of my
  own House, Aguila of the Stonehenge
  Tribunal, made this report to me about his
  travels in Wales.
  “Last year during my travels I stayed in
  a monastery that I gave my word I would
  not name. It was quite isolated, hidden
  back in the green Welsh hills. It is quite a
  prosperous monastery, with fields and a
  large scriptorum, and all those inside
  seemed well, and happy in their devotion
  to God. I had heard stories about the place
  from the local folk on my approach to the
  monastery. Most concerned the fact that it
  was a holy place and that those who were
  sick could go there and receive healing.
  “I arrived in the early evening shortly
  before vespers. After the services, the
  monks and I and the few other visitors all
  sat down to our evening meal. During the
  meal, one of the monks, a young man of
  fair visage, asked about the nature of my
  garb, and I told him of my work for the
  Order. Wales being as it is, none reacted
  with fear or dread at finding I worked for
  magi. The monk seemed quite interested in
  what I had to say about my work and trav-
  els, and I was not at all surprised to find
  him at my door after complin. He asked of
  the Order and of magic, and then told me
  this curious tale:
  “‘I was a foundling.  The monks dis-
  covered me in the forest quite near the
  main entrance to the monastery. This has
  been my only home for all of my life. The
  problem is that my life seems a bit unusu-
  al. It was noticed early on that I grew
  35The direct power
  of the divine has an
  effect upon faeries on
  earth, just as it does
  upon mundanes. If the
  power of God is pre-
  sent, all feel it. But the
  divine’s subtler power,
  the 
  Dominion, 
  has
  varying effects upon
  faeries.
  Librarian’s Note
  The story of Father John Robbins at
  Stonehenge appears to be one of many
  tales told of the turning of the seasons.
  All Hallow’s Eve seems to be the time
  when the summer faeries of some areas
  turn over control to the winter faeries.
  A mock funeral sometimes marks this
  occasion. The most curious thing about
  this “changing of the guard” is that it
  most often occurs in England, Spain,
  and France on All Hallow’s Eve, while
  it occurs mostly on the fall equinox in
  the more eastern and the more north-
  ern lands. On such nights the minor
  faeries associated with the new season
  are particularly active.
  The high faeries in the procession
  seemed unaffected by the priest’s sim-
  ple Christian ritual of prayer. The wild
  fey who japed with the priest after the
  procession was finished were likewise
  unaffected, and required a trick of the
  peasants in order to be dispelled.
  Faeries who make bargains with
  the divine or infernal powers gain
  immunity from the negative effects of
  either all local divine or all local
  infernal regios and the auras associ-
  ated with these regios. This immunity
  can have a scope of application as
  minor as a church grim  (a kind of
  faerie that guards churchyards and
  lives in churches) and its bell tower, or
  one as extensive as a faerie noble’s
  house and all the lands and retainers.
  In some cases there can even exist
  areas that have both faerie and either
  divine or infernal auras, where nei-
  ther aura negatively affects the
  inhabitants of the other. No faerie or
  group of faeries can make or be
  affected by bargains with both divine
  and infernal powers at once.
  
  49
  rapidly and without sickness, but little
  was made of this. In the course of helping
  treat the sick, I noticed how those I
  worked with, especially those I spent the
  night praying over, usually recovered,
  while others no more sick or injured than
  they would not. The peasants ask for me
  specifically to come and bless their fields,
  swearing that when I do so, a good har-
  vest and numerous lambs and calves are
  guaranteed. I would attribute this to the
  blessing of God our Father, but I find
  myself to be no more holy or devoted than
  any other within these walls. Also, there is
  one thing about me that seems strange
  even if I am deemed to be truly holy and
  blessed. I have been within these walls for
  over forty winters and yet, as you see, I
  have no beard and bear the face of a man
  scarcely in his twenties.
  “‘Good sir, I tell you this because I have
  heard stories of the Order you serve, and
  wish to know if in your far travels you have
  encountered any such as I. The Abbot loves
  me as a son, and none here look askance
  at me, but at times I worry if I am some-
  thing other than wholly mortal. The peas-
  ants talk of the Fair Folk who live under the
  hills. Those stories claim that these folk
  have no immortal souls, and I dearly wish
  to see Heaven some day. They also tell sto-
  ries of the birth of Myrddin, the wizard who
  served Arthur of Britain, and of how he
  came from an unnatural union. Tell me if
  you have ever seen such as I.’
  Brother Quercus
  Brother Quercus is a faerie who was found as an infant by monks and was raised in the monastery. He
  has been there for forty years and is regarded as being an expert in healing as well as being a fine copyist.
  The monastery is far enough removed from normal civilization that so far no Church officials have come
  by to question the existence of a forty-year-old monk who looks no more than twenty.
  Characteristics
  +2 Int  
  +5 Prs 
  +3 Per 
  +2
  Com 
  0 Str 
  0 Dex 
  +1 Sta 
  +2 Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +2
  Kind 
  +1
  Naive
  +3   Pious 
  Virtues & Flaws
  Books +1
  Sense Holiness & Unholiness +1
  Deep Sleeper -1
  Educated +1
  Well Known +1
  Orphan -1
  Empathy +1
  Soft-Hearted -1
  Faerie Eyes +1
  Vows (monastic) -4
  Faerie Sight +1
  Knack—Scribe Latin +1
  Reputation
  3    Holy
  Abilities
  3
  Chirurgery
  1
  Faerie Lore 
  3
  Meditation
  3
  Charm
  3
  Folk Ken
  6
  Scribe Latin
  3
  Church Knw.
  3
  Humanities
  2
  Sense Holiness & Unholiness
  3
  Church Lore
  1
  Legend Lore 
  4
  Speak Latin
  3
  Empathy
  4
  Medicine 
  5
  Speak Own Lang.
  Faerie Powers
  Healing 
  Hex/Bless*
  Improved Characteristic (Prs)
  Speak with Animals
  * Brother Quercus does not know he can Hex, and would be rather disturbed to find out he can; however, he is
  only likely to exercise this Power by calling down the wrath of God on some evildoer, so he may never discov-
  er that the power actually lies with him.
  
  50
  “I talked with him for some time and
  found him to be a good and pious monk,
  more holy than many I had met.
  However, he could not abide the touch of
  iron and could see what others could not.
  It was my opinion that he was one of the
  Fair Folk, who had for some reason been
  left at the door of a monastery. First I
  informed him that nothing about him
  suggested that he was in any way diabol-
  ical, and that faeries and the servants of
  the Evil One were not one and the same. I
  did tell him that many believe that his
  kind had no soul but that there was much
  that even the wisest magi did not know
  about such folk. I also told him of how it
  has been seen more than once that mor-
  tals who stay too long in Arcadia can
  become faeries, and that perhaps this
  could also work in reverse on occasion. He
  thanked me for talking with him, and
  seemed a bit reassured that he could at
  least put a name to what he was.”
  Faerie Trade and Borrowing
  While gifts from the fey are greatly to
  be desired, the safest and most reliable
  way of gaining faerie goods is through
  trade. As I mentioned above, the faerie
  folk always repay their debts. This fact
  comes as a shock to those who have been
  the victims of faerie thefts. It seems that
  the same faeries who will happily trade
  equitably with some mortals sometimes
  will steal from others, or even from the
  same mortals. I have one possible expla-
  nation of this odd behavior. It is possible
  that faeries steal to seek recompense for
  some slight by a mortal. So, perhaps a
  woman who fails to leave spilt milk for
  the fey, or who is lacking in hospitality
  and charity, is felt by the faeries to
  deserve having her child taken away and
  replaced by a glamoured stick.
  Also, the faeries may leave what they
  consider equitable recompense for their
  thefts. Perhaps the trade of a mortal child
  for a faerie child is seen to be a fair trade.
  Indeed, if the mortals involved seem satis-
  fied (that is, do not notice and complain),
  perhaps the exchange of a mortal child for
  a stick glamoured to resemble a child is
  considered fair trade. Faeries are notorious-
  ly unable or unwilling to tell glamour from
  reality. In any case, when faeries approach
  mortals with intent to trade, they will
  always act fairly according to their best
  understanding, so long as the mortals deal
  fairly with them.
  The very best way to deeply upset and
  anger a faerie is to refuse a reasonable
  request to borrow something or to insult a
  faerie’s repayment in quantity or quality.
  The faeries deal, according to their own
  rules, fairly and honestly. Faeries never
  haggle, and they always pay for the
  goods or services they partake of, just as
  they always expect payment in some
  form for those goods or services mortals
  take from them. It has been ofttimes
  noted that a faerie’s word is its bond, and
  I believe that the desire for strict repay-
  ment of all debts is a part of that bond.
  In this way I maintain that thefts by
  and trouble from the fey may be separated
  from those troubles caused by demons.
  Demons and devils work ill with no
  thought to justice or repayment. If some-
  one has been afflicted with thefts and mis-
  chief where no recompense has been given,
  and there are no stories of that person’s
  lack of hospitality or ill nature, then look
  to demons and not to faeries as the cause
  of the troubles.
  I have heard some stories both among
  the humble peasants and, sadly, among
  some members of our own Order to the
  effect that one should never thank the
  faeries. As I have said before, faeries
  reward those who are hospitable, and have
  contempt for those who are crude and
  unmannered. Not thanking the fey for
  their payments is a wonderful way to never
  have friendly dealings with them again—
  something to be avoided. However, this
  misconception arises out of a larger issue.
  Thanking a faerie for the goods or services
  it has provided is a way of concluding the
  deal and saying that this particular bar-
  gain is finished. For a one-time trade this is
  good and desirable. If you sing for the fey
  and they give you a faerie potion, then
  thank them and leave. But some faerie
  trade is an ongoing process.
  Brownies and other house faeries do
  much useful work in a number of houses,
  and even some covenants. It is right and
  proper to feed them with milk and por-
  
  51
  ridge for their services. However, thank-
  ing them can bring on fits of rage, since
  this simple act says that the bargain of
  cleaning for food is now complete and
  they must seek a new home to work in. Of
  course, neglecting to feed such creatures
  will also cause them to leave, but usually
  only after they have worked untold mis-
  chief in your house. Some faeries work
  seeking a specific gift, such as a suit of
  clothes, and if such is ever made for
  them, they will leave happily, never to
  work for you again. If you wish a bargain
  with the fey to be finished and done,
  thank them politely and give full pay-
  ment. However, should you desire an
  ongoing relationship, be polite and pay
  them, but never thank them.
  In examining more closely those
  things that faeries borrow, I have devel-
  oped a theory that may explain their
  choices. Just as the members of our
  Order need vis to work certain magics,
  the faeries may need things that par-
  take of life or creativity to work certain
  of their own magics. Everything they
  wish to borrow has one of these quali-
  ties. Milk, which is the food given from
  the mother to the child; risen bread,
  which grows on its own accord; bright
  gems, which breed when given time—
  these are all things of life. The music of
  a gifted troubadour, the tools of a mor-
  tal crafter, the work of an artist, or the
  birthing skill of a midwife all contain
  within them the spark of mortal skill
  and creativity. All these goods are
  desired by the Fair Folk, and in return
  they give bright gold or magic.
  Faeries also, as part of their trade,
  sometimes take more than just goods.
  Due to their soulless and essentially stat-
  ic nature, faeries are incapable of true
  creativity. 
  Musicians, 
  troubadours,
  artists, and poets all have a special value
  to the fey. Mortal creativity fascinates
  faeries, and it is said that it may even
  have the power to reshape Arcadia itself.
  As a result of this fascination, faeries will
  often 
  reward 
  mortal 
  creativity.
  Sometimes the faeries will seek out mor-
  tal performers to play for them; in other
  cases they merely come across a mortal
  practicing and listen and observe. In the
  first case the mortal should be quite
  wary. Given that many faeries are com-
  pletely unaware of mortal limitations
  such as fatigue, or even old age, such
  performances can be expected to go on
  for a remarkably long time, much to the
  detriment of the performer.
  The faeries may even wish to keep the
  best performers indefinitely. However, if
  certain limits are insisted upon, such
  mortals may reap rich rewards from the
  fey. In the second case, I have heard of
  several performers encountering odd
  sights while practicing far from village or
  town. Faeries of all types may simply
  appear in order to witness the perfor-
  mance and then depart once it is fin-
  ished, leaving behind some gift if they
  have judged it worthy. However, woe be
  to those whose talent is found inferior by
  the fey or who are proud or boastful to an
  unwarranted 
  degree. 
  Mortals 
  who
  approach the fey sure of the great
  rewards they will receive for their perfor-
  mance are often likely to come away with
  piles of gold that change to leaves in the
  morning sun, or perhaps even a pair of
  ass’s ears on their head, as payment for
  their presumption.
  Adventure Seed
  In keeping with their interest in
  mortal creativity, some of the local
  faeries have been becoming interest-
  ed in the books and manuscripts that
  mortals write and read. The local
  covenant is a wonderful source of
  these items. However, the faeries are
  unsure about the value of writing,
  being unable to read. However, they
  are sure there is something of value
  associated with books. The magi and
  scholars of the covenant will find
  that their books have been moved
  around and opened, but never dam-
  aged. If the player characters decline
  to investigate, in time a minor vol-
  ume or two will simply vanish,
  replaced by a glamoured board that
  contains no information (as the
  faeries do not know the contents of
  the book).
  
  52
  A leshiye in its lands,
  surrounded by its
  faithful knights.
  Illus. ©1995 Julie Baroh
  
  53
  From a Russian tale told by a wandering
  troubadour
  “A nobleman had to make a long
  journey through the deep woods one
  night. It was cold, the wind blew, and he
  feared he had become lost. Suddenly he
  spotted a light in the distance. As he
  drove his sleigh nearer, he saw an entire
  pack of wolves around a camp fire, with
  a leshiye sitting as their leader. The
  leshiye bade him stay and spend the
  night, saying that all would be well. The
  nobleman thanked him kindly, for he
  knew the dangers of arguing with the
  mighty one of the forest. The noble was
  given a place by the fire, and his horses
  given fresh hay and straw.
  “Knowing that hospitality must be
  repaid, the noble offered to pay the
  leshiye when morning came. The leshiye
  replied that he needed nothing, but asked
  that his wolves be given what the man
  had at home and was willing to part
  with. The noble lord knew his village was
  far away and that his cattle were all in
  their sheds for the winter, and so he
  agreed to give up anything they might
  wish for, feeling safe that they would
  never come for their payment. Several
  days later the lord arrived home and was
  told by his servants that days before there
  had been a brief thaw and that when
  they took the opportunity to drive the cat-
  tle out to drink, his best cow was torn
  apart by wolves who attacked and could
  not be beaten off.”
  Faerie Gifts
  There are many stories of the gifts of
  the fey and of the great riches that may be
  had through the faeries’ largesse. However,
  dealing with the faeries, either for vis or for
  mundane riches, is always a risk and
  should never be undertaken lightly. As
  with all dealings with the Fair Folk, there
  are few exact rules to trading with them,
  but I have discovered, from looking at
  many reports and manuscripts, what seem
  to be a few simple guidelines.
  Faeries often reward humans with
  gifts for their services. These gifts are gen-
  erally of an unusual nature. The forms
  such gifts may take are nearly infinite in
  variety. Magic charms or potions that
  allow the user to perform any one of a
  host of unusual acts, such as become
  invisible, fly, or breathe underwater, have
  been recorded. However, most often gifts
  come in the form of transformed wealth.
  To the gracious and deserving, the faeries
  give either food that proves inexhaustible
  or gold and jewels disguised as things of
  little value such as straw, leaves, or coal.
  These items assume their true form the
  next day or when the bearer brings them
  home. To the greedy and ungrateful, the
  faeries give leaves and straw disguised as
  gold and jewels, which revert to their true
  form either the next day or when the per-
  son to whom they were given tries to
  spend them. Faerie gifts partake of faerie
  magic and, like faeries, are often not what
  they seem. An old, worn-out hat may
  allow the wearer to breathe underwater,
  and a lump of coal may turn to gold at
  the first light of dawn.
  It is also important to remember that
  no gift from the faeries (of whatever sort)
  is given without purpose. Faeries will, of
  course, give gifts to repay services mortals
  have done for them. However, they will
  also give gifts to mortals who are unknow-
  ingly deserving. Should a mortal be cheat-
  ed by another, a faerie may bestow a gra-
  cious gift upon the needy one or a mali-
  cious gift upon the conniving one, to bal-
  ance out the situation.
  My best research has indicated that
  faeries often trade, but rarely simply give.
  Even simple hospitality may have its price.
  The best time to seek faerie gifts is after you
  have done a service for the faeries.
  From a tale told in a small village in
  Bavaria
  “There once was an old woman who
  lived in this very village. She was quite
  poor, without enough wood to keep her
  warm in the winter and with no son or
  daughter to cut more for her. One cold win-
  ter night, as the snow was falling, she had
  a visitor—a tall man dressed all in gray
  who said that his wife was having a baby
  and needed a midwife. The woman had
  
  54
  not seen this man before and was natural-
  ly worried; but she was cold and hungry,
  and from the look of the man his house
  was likely to be warmer than her hovel.
  “They walked a long way through the
  snow, and the woman was quite lost, but
  at last they came to a large stone house
  set in the hillside. Inside, in the main
  room, was the man’s wife. After many
  hours, the old woman had done her work,
  and both mother and child were well.
  From the look of the house and food, the
  old woman realized that she was staying
  with either noble folk or faeries, and
  became much afraid. They asked her to
  stay the night, but she said she must
  return home. It was almost dawn, so she
  had hope that she could find her way.
  “As she was leaving, the man men-
  tioned it was time to pay her. He opened a
  chest and took out a large, heavy bundle of
  firewood. She wrapped the wood in her
  shawl to carry it and started home. Most
  would have been disappointed at such a
  meager gift from such as these, but she was
  simply happy to have wood for her fire. In
  the early morning light, she was able to see
  the tracks from the night before, and made
  her way slowly home. With each step, she
  found the bundle of wood seeming to get
  heavier, but she endured without com-
  plaint and in time reached her small hut.
  Then, as she unwrapped the wood from her
  shawl, she saw that instead of a bundle of
  wood, she was carrying bars of gold.”
  Children and Changelings
  Just as faeries sometimes capture
  mortal adults, they also sometimes take
  children, usually children who are newly
  born. I mention this not because I expect
  many in our Order to have their children
  kidnapped by faeries, but because this is
  one of the most common reasons peasants
  will dare to seek out magi. Recovering
  children swapped for changelings can be a
  wonderful way to gain the aid and trust of
  the local peasantry and even possibly the
  local lord, so it is useful to learn how to do
  so. In all cases, the faeries leave behind
  some substitute for the infant who has
  been taken. My research is less sure on
  this point, but it also seems that some-
  times people other than infants are taken
  in this way. Mothers who have not been
  to church since the birth of their child—
  and perhaps anyone who has been out of
  contact with the Holy Church for too
  long—are vulnerable to being taken and
  replaced by the faeries. The types of these
  exchanges are many, but generally the
  child is switched with one of three things:
  a very old faerie that resembles a wiz-
  ened child; a faerie child, who is often
  deformed or sickly; or a wooden stick or
  an image. All are enchanted with a
  glamour so they resemble the normal
  child, but act in unusual and often
  bizarre 
  ways. 
  In 
  many 
  cases 
  the
  changeling is noticed immediately.
  Sometimes, however, the changeling fits
  in quite well, and may be raised as a
  mortal child.
  The reasons for these exchanges seem
  also to be many. Old faeries seem to
  become changelings to gain new experi-
  ences, to partake of the joys of mortal
  food, and possibly to regain their youth.
  Most faeries seem ageless, but some few
  do grow old. It seems that this process
  may be able to be reversed if the faerie
  grows up all over again. The usual
  method of dealing with such a changeling
  is to force it to reveal how old it truly is.
  Once this is done, the mortals have
  proved the trade is uneven, so faeries
  come and take the changeling away and
  return the mortal child.
  Deformed faerie children are given to
  mortals in the hopes that mortal food will
  aid their recovery, or simply because the
  faeries would rather have a healthy mor-
  tal child than a weak faerie one. If left to
  grow up among mortals, such children
  often regain their health, and may grow
  up appearing to be normal, if odd-seem-
  ing, mortals. If the faerie child is mis-
  treated or denied food, the faeries will, in
  time, return the mortal child and take
  back their own.
  When a mortal child is replaced by an
  image, there is often little that can be done.
  A journey into the lands of the fey is often
  the only answer, and the parents, or whoev-
  er primarily cares for the child, are given one
  chance by the faeries to make the journey. If
  they come before the fey and plead for the
  return of their child, it is usually returned.
  
  55
  Magi may not go instead of the parents, but
  they may accompany them. If a child is left
  among the faeries for even a few days, it
  may return different, perhaps gifted with
  magic, visions, or some other such oddment.
  It may be that in returning a mortal child to
  its parents, the faeries recognize that the
  deal they made in swapping for the
  changeling was inadequate and are repay-
  ing the parents for their trouble by gifting
  the child with some power. Of course, the
  cause of these powers could merely be the
  effect of remaining in Arcadia for too long,
  for if these children are left to grow up
  among the fey, they often become fey in
  time. Those children who remain with the
  fey and do not become faeries are usually
  returned, much later, to the mortal world.
  Mortals sometimes take faerie children.
  Usually this occurs when wandering mor-
  tals come across a faerie child left for a
  moment by its parents. In most cases, the
  faeries will come to
  demand their child
  back or to seek pay-
  ment for its theft.
  However, some such
  children will grow up
  always 
  wondering
  why they are differ-
  ent. It seems to be the
  case that these chil-
  dren will have none
  of the abilities of the
  fey until they have
  their 
  first 
  contact
  with faeries or with
  faerie possessions.
  From the report of
  Accipitus, Redcap of
  the Provençal
  Tribunal
  “In Ruer, a small
  village south of Lyon,
  the peasants tell a
  curious story. Many
  years ago, the knight
  of this area was a
  proud man who had
  an infant son whom
  he loved very much. One day, the knight’s
  wife went away to the market fair, leaving
  her son in his father’s care. At the same time,
  the knight received word of a fight that had
  broken out between several of his guards.
  The knight hurried off to investigate, leaving
  his son in the care of his true and faithful
  greyhound Guinifore. While the knight and
  the lady were out, a serpent crawled out of
  the wall and came towards the infant.
  Guinifore, knowing his duty, attacked the
  serpent, even though it was quite large and
  full of poison. In the course of the struggle
  the infant’s cradle was overturned, leaving
  the infant on the ground nearby. After a
  fierce battle, Guinifore slew the snake and
  then sat beside the infant, guarding him
  from further harm. When the knight
  returned from his duties, he saw the over-
  turned cradle and the snake’s blood on
  Guinifore’s muzzle. Assuming in his fear
  that Guinifore had overturned the cradle
  and killed his son, the knight slew the dog
  with his spear. Then,
  upon finding the body
  of the snake and see-
  ing that his son was
  unharmed, the knight
  realized his mistake
  and had the body of
  loyal Guinifore buried
  in a special grove in
  the forest. To this day
  the 
  locals 
  revere
  Guinifore as a saint
  and regard him as the
  patron and protector
  of young children.
  “I tell you this
  because on my last
  trip through the vil-
  lage, I observed a curi-
  ous incident. While
  traveling one evening
  through 
  the 
  forest
  near the village, I saw
  two women walking
  together carrying an
  infant. The infant was
  crying 
  loudly 
  and
  appeared sickly and
  twisted. The woman
  carrying it appeared
  quite distressed, and
  was talking quietly
  with 
  the 
  other
  woman, whom I rec-
  Adventure Seed
  In a covenant far from other set-
  tlements and without a resident priest,
  a few of the grogs, and perhaps the
  Companions, are being taken by the
  faeries and replaced by glamoured
  wooden statues. The older magi do not
  notice this for quite some time. If any
  of the player characters interact close-
  ly with the mundane inhabitants of
  the covenant, they will discover that
  some of the mundanes are acting dif-
  ferently. If no one catches on for a
  while, the faeries will eventually take
  a young apprentice. This theft will be
  quickly noticed, since the changeling
  will have no Gift and may only dupli-
  cate the magics the apprentice already
  knew well. The faeries are making the
  exchanges when their targets venture
  forth from the covenant, so the magi-
  cal protections on the covenant are no
  help. A journey to a local faerie regio,
  or perhaps to Arcadia, will be neces-
  sary. Once there, the player characters
  will find the mortals who were taken
  to all be having a grand time, and
  they will not be aware that more than
  a few hours have passed since they
  were taken.
  
  56
  ognized to be the village herbalist.  Though
  I was somewhat concerned for their safety, I
  confess I was curious to see what the two
  women would do in the forest at such a late
  hour, so I followed them. As they walked
  along, unaware of my presence, I could tell
  from the signs around me—the seeming
  faces in the trees, the curiously loud rustling
  noises, and the bright glints of eyes far too
  large for those of the small creatures of the
  night—that we were walking into a small
  faerie forest.
  “The women stopped at a clearing
  near a curiously marked stone. They
  placed the infant on the stone, with can-
  dles at either side, and retired to the shel-
  ter of the tree. Both then began praying to
  Saint Guinifore. After some time there was
  a louder rustling in the wood, and a crea-
  ture much like a greyhound, save that it
  was black with green eyes and a red blaze
  upon its chest, came out into the clearing
  and gently picked the infant up in its
  jaws. Then, as the herb-woman softly cau-
  tioned the mother to be silent, the crea-
  ture walked into the forest with the child.
  After some time the creature returned
  again with an infant in its jaws. The
  infant was placed on the stone, and the
  creature left. The infant was not crying,
  and in the candlelight I could see that the
  infant looked healthy and whole. The two
  women approached, and the young
  mother picked up the baby and exclaimed
  that the forest spirits had given her back
  her baby.  She then left an offering of
  bread and grapes for Saint Guinifore.”
  Librarian’s Note
  The presence of dog saints in
  faerie forests seems designed to let us
  know that the world is a rather more
  complicated and wondrous place
  than even the theories of Bonisagus
  reveal. Otherwise, this seems to be
  one of many stories of changelings
  that can be found among all classes
  of people.
  Melusina at the 
  fountain.
  Illus. ©1995 Bryon Wackwitz
  
  57
  Faeries Among Mortals
  One of the more common ways to
  encounter faeries is to be introduced by
  a mortal with whom the faerie is living.
  Faeries come to live with a mortal usu-
  ally because the faerie has fallen in
  love with him or her. From the stories I
  have been told, it seems that in the
  majority of cases the mortal involved
  knows the true nature of the faerie, or
  at least the mortal knows that he or she
  is not dealing with an ordinary mortal.
  Faerie lovers can bring good fortune
  and happiness to their beloved through
  magic, and often do so. However, all
  such faerie lovers seem to have some
  variety of secret that must be kept from
  their mortal lover. If this secret becomes
  known, the faerie will immediately
  leave, never to return. In a few cases the
  mortal can win such a lover back by
  journeying to Arcadia and asking the
  family of the faerie for forgiveness.
  Such forgiveness seems to always
  involve performing several heroic, or
  perhaps merely clever, tasks. I have
  heard that on a few occasions the mor-
  tal lover discovers the true identity of
  the faerie and is invited to come and
  live in Arcadia, forever.36
  From a story told by Roland the trouba-
  dour, a reliable informant to the Order
  “One day Raymond, the youngest son
  of Count Emmerick, was hunting boar in
  the forest near the castle of Poictiers.
  Night fell, and he became lost and in fear
  for his safety. After much fruitless wan-
  dering, the young man happened upon a
  moonlit clearing that held a fountain
  and three golden-haired maidens. He
  feared he had died and was before the
  angels, but one of the women came for-
  ward and comforted him. He talked to
  her through the night, so enraptured was
  he by her beauty. When dawn came, she
  showed him the way back to the castle,
  but before he parted from her, he
  obtained her promise to be his. In return
  she asked for him to obtain from his
  father title to the land around the foun-
  tain. His father, overjoyed at seeing his
  son safe, was glad to comply.
  “Shortly thereafter, Melusina, for that
  was the maiden’s name, created a mag-
  nificent palace though her magic where
  she and Raymond could live. She asked
  only one promise of him, that she be
  allowed to spend her Saturdays in com-
  plete solitude, without seeing him at all.
  Melusina and Raymond lived happily for
  many years and had three sons. But
  strange gossiping tales rose about her
  Saturday seclusions. Overcome by long-
  pent 
  anxiety, 
  Raymond 
  rushed 
  to
  Melusina’s apartments one Saturday.
  They were open and empty save for her
  bath, which was locked. He looked
  through the keyhole and to his horror
  saw her in the water, with her legs
  changed into the body of a terrible water
  serpent. He withdrew in silence, not
  speaking a word of what he had seen. He
  feared losing her from breaking his
  promise, but she seemed unaware she
  had been observed. Later, they were hav-
  ing a petty fight, when the red rage flared
  in his heart and he shouted, ‘Away, foul
  serpent, I will sleep with you no longer!’
  She fainted, and when she awoke, she
  was in tears for having to leave her three
  children, but leave she did, despite
  Raymond’s pleadings and shouts of sor-
  row. He never saw her again.”
  Gateways into the Realms of
  Faerie
  Gaining entry into a faerie place can
  ofttimes be quite difficult, unless the prop-
  er rules are observed. The most common-
  ly known faerie places are simple groves
  in the forest, and whether regio or aura,
  they can be accessed merely by walking
  in. However, there are more ways of pass-
  ing 
  into 
  the 
  “Lands 
  of 
  Summer’s
  Twilight,” as they are known, than simply
  wandering into a grove. The varieties of
  entrance into faerie places are too numer-
  ous to list here, but there are a few that
  are more common than the rest.
  In all lands I know of there are
  numerous faeries of the water. Faeries of
  the fresh water have domains in ponds,
  lakes, and occasionally rivers. In faerie
  auras the water usually seems ordinary.
  In regio, one may find that the water is fit
  36The 
  fondness 
  of
  faeries for mortal lovers
  may stem from their
  inability to truly create.
  It may be that true pro-
  creation may require
  that spark of life that
  only mortals have.
  
  58
  to breathe or even seems as air. The high-
  er one goes into regio the less wet and
  heavy the water becomes, sloughing off
  the weight of the mundane world as the
  distance from it increases. The fish fly like
  birds, and water weed gathers around
  your ankles. However, care must be taken
  to avoid drowning when leaving such a
  place, and the use of either a guide from
  among the fey or preferably the magic of
  our Order is most desirable. These under-
  water realms may also be found in the
  sea, but prior knowledge of them, power-
  ful magic, or a guide is the only means to
  discriminate them from other mundane
  portions of the coast. The kingdoms
  under the sea may be quite humble, but
  some are said to be as vast as Rome in its
  golden era, and more splendid than any-
  thing found on the land.
  Other types of places worthy of men-
  tion are the so-called “hollow hills.” In
  many of the stories told by the peasants,
  the Fair Folk are said to live under the
  earth. These tales are evidence for a most
  unusual type of regio. The hills and bar-
  rows and mountains of many lands,
  from Scotland to Sweden, occasionally
  have openings that lead into regio or
  Arcadia. These openings are sometimes
  permanent gateways made of stone,
  while in other places they are fissures in
  the rock. In certain areas, hills occasion-
  ally rise up on brilliant pillars, revealing
  the lights of Faerie inside. On the nights
  of certain pagan holidays, when the
  gateways open wide, anyone may enter
  the faerie realms without guide or magic.
  The only problem may be leaving once
  dawn has come.
  Inside these faerie hills a variety of
  places may be found. Some hills contain
  single buildings; others, entire lands. In all
  cases the space inside the regio is much
  larger than that of the hill or barrow.
  Some of these underground entrances lead
  directly to Arcadia, but this seems to be
  less common.
  The last common way of getting to
  faerie places is by going across the sea.
  There are numerous stories of ships
  becoming entirely lost and landing on an
  unknown coast or isle that turns out to be
  either a regio or Arcadia itself. It is never
  known if ships arrive there by simple acci-
  dent or by the conscious design of some
  capricious faerie. Fortunately, this phe-
  nomenon seems somewhat rare. At times
  faeries will offer to take mortals over the
  sea to their lands. Such invitations should
  be viewed with great caution and reserve.
  It is my belief that the parts of Arcadia
  that border on the sea are some of the
  most distant and alien parts of this realm
  and that return is not always possible
  when one journeys too far from home.
  Uncommon Ways into the Realms of
  Faerie
  In closing, I will include some notes
  on some of the more unusual faerie
  places I have received word of. I have had
  numerous reports that the entire Isle of
  Man either is under a faerie aura or is a
  faerie regio and that it has several con-
  nections to Arcadia. There are similar,
  but less extensive, stories about an
  unnamed kingdom in Wales that is even
  said to be ruled by kings and queens who
  have the blood of the fey in their veins.
  From the specifics of these reports, I think
  it most likely that the Welsh kingdom is
  merely a large faerie aura, rather than
  an area of regio.
  Finally, I have received quite a num-
  ber of reports and stories, both from far
  lands and from the heart of Christendom,
  telling of mystically hidden mountain
  valleys. The details of such valleys differ;
  sometimes they are inhabited by various
  kinds of fey, other times by mortals who
  have strange tongues and customs and
  who use no iron. It is unclear whether
  these places are an unusual variety of
  regio or merely valleys that are protected
  by a natural enchantment similar in
  nature to the ritual of The Shrouded Glen
  used by our Order.
  
  59
  Things and Creatures Generally Associated with Faeries
  •
  Swamps
  •
  Major rivers
  •
  Large rock outcrops or solitary hills
  •
  Circular ponds, or any pond or lake with unusually clear water
  •
  Mine shafts
  •
  Hidden treasure
  •
  Standing stones, earthworks, burial mounds, and other pagan sacred or
  burial places
  •
  Trees that have been struck by lightning and survive
  •
  Trees set in circular groves or that have unusual features: multiple
  trunks, odd shapes, mistletoe or other odd growths upon them
  •
  Particular trees: oak, alder, willow, hawthorn, ash, yew, rowan, elder,
  holly, hazel
  •
  Animals: wren, robin, roe deer, swan, salmon, wild goose, red deer
  stag, cow, horse, pig
  •
  Any white animal, especially with red markings, or any completely
  black animal
  •
  The last shock of grain left in the fields after harvest
  •
  The oven or fireplace in a house; also, the cellar and stable
  •
  Poets, musicians, crafters, brewers or vintners, miners, fishermen, crazy
  people, people with hunchbacks or club feet
  Common Charms Against Faeries
  •   Crosses (Christian or pagan)
  •
  Iron objects, especially nails, knife blades, plow blades, horseshoes
  •
  Hedge-magic charms, especially circular and cross-shaped painted pat-
  terns; bindings made of thread
  •
  Wearing clothes inside out or backward, or reversing shoes
  •
  Calling the name of God or a saint
  •
  Spreading small objects, especially poppy seeds, as a protective bound-
  ary
  •
  Crowing roosters
  •
  Being blessed with holy water, taking Holy Communion, or having
  been inside a church within a day of any faerie threat
  
  60
  Gerin, his form
  changed by the faeries,
  approaches the castle
  of the Queen of Winter
  in Arcadia.
  Illus. ©1995 Jeff Menges
  
  “M
  y sister was a cook for a great noble a few
  days from here. She said he sold his soul to
  the devil for riches. Thereafter, ice began to grow up
  into the manor from the basements below, getting
  closer and closer to the living spaces each day. She
  said that as soon as he touched the ice it would grab
  his cold heart and pull him down to Hell but that she
  fled before it happened. I say she got caught with her
  hand in the jewelry box, for she’s as like to blame the
  devil for stubbing her toe as blame a white wolf for
  the color of its fur.”
  —Jaycy, a scribe in Paris
  61
  
  62
  A Troubadour’s Tale
  T
  he life of a noble house is not so different
  from that of a covenant. The calls are to
  war and to the hunt, not to magic and the
  search for magical things. I sing of battles
  won and lost, and tell small tales to amuse
  the heart. I had learned that courtly folk
  loved to hear one another’s names in tales
  and in the gossip of the court, but my mas-
  ter has no taste for such things. I sing the
  great old songs and tell tales of Faerieland.
  He asks me over and over for tales of
  Faerieland, as though he cares more for the
  war and gossip of the  courts of the Good
  Folk than he does for those of his own.
  The house of the duc is a strange place.
  It is a palace made of great stones, and
  everywhere are treasures such as I thought
  I would never see. Before God I swear I
  could not have believed such things to exist
  outside of Heaven: cups of gold and rubies,
  tapestries that bear a different picture each
  day, birds of silver that sing by themselves,
  and wonders I cannot tell. This palace has
  a hundred rooms, each more lovely than
  the last. Such meetings and celebrations
  must have been held here as would put
  those of the king to shame. Yet there are
  empty tables and bare places upon the
  walls, as if treasures had been taken away
  and sold. And Etienne the Duc eats alone in
  an empty hall. A different servant brings
  each dish. The servants bring peacocks in
  their feathers, subtle confections of fine
  white sugar—but the duc eats almost noth-
  ing. What he does eat seems to trouble him
  to put between his teeth, as though he
  feared poison. He drinks nothing. There are
  no trumpets, no banners, no guests—not
  even dogs. The dogs of the house will not go
  near my master. Of all men and beasts
  quartered in his hall, only the stable cats
  and his mad black horse do not fear him.
  Only I sit at his meals in the empty hall. I
  play for his entertainment, and he watches
  me with a close look I do not understand.
  One night I was roused by the duc him-
  self, who was in his night-robe. The fires
  had gone out, and the cold was terrible.
  “Come down to the hall,” he whispered.
  “I would have you tell tales for me.” Together
  we went down to the hall, and to my surprise
  it was lit by a thousand candles and was
  bright as day. As we walked, I heard terrible
  sounds from below us, soft and distant: the
  breaking of glass, the rending of wood.37
  My master’s heavy face was as white as
  snow. “In the name of mercy, tell me sto-
  ries. Drown the sound; do not let me sleep
  again.” I told stories until cockcrow. For
  three nights it was the same, until late into
  the third night I found myself at a loss for
  more tales to tell. I thought then of the old
  monk on the road, and told his tale for my
  master while the creaks and cracks came
  up from below. As I spoke, he rose to his
  feet and then drew me from my chair. As
  on the first night, I thought my life was
  ended. But, as that time before, he only
  stared close into my face.
  “You tell tales of Faerieland,” he said
  finally. “Have you come from that king-
  dom? You are not one of her servants. Why,
  in our lady’s name, do you come to me?”
  Part III: Faeries in Arcadia
  Chapter Six:
  Songbird
  37The faerie aura cen-
  ters on the house of the
  duc, and has been increas-
  ing slowly over time. The
  sounds of breaking glass
  and rending wood signal a
  strengthening of the aura.
  
  63
  In hope and fear, I told my story. I told
  him I had come to him because the boy on
  the road told me a riddle of a bear and
  swan, so I thought perhaps he might help
  me. “Do you know of this bright lady, my
  lord?” said I at last.
  “I will tell you, but only if you bring
  food from the kitchens. We will need to eat,”
  he said. All the kitchen servants had fled.
  We had not eaten since two days before. The
  sounds were loudest in the kitchen. I crept
  up to its doors and found them especially
  cold. I looked in. The great cook fire was
  dead and the pantry door open. Ice crawled
  upon the floor from the pantry like a great
  slow worm. I ran back to the lighted hall. “I
  will bring food at daybreak, my lord,” said I,
  shaking with cold and fear. He did not even
  shout at me, and we sat in silence for some
  time while I made and tended a fire in the
  hall to keep us warm. Just before dawn the
  noises stopped. “It is over, for now,” he said.
  The kitchen was entombed in ice. I was
  able to pry a joint of meat from it and roast
  the meat over the fire in the hall. We both
  sat close to the fire. Snow had fallen deep
  upon the house during the night. I cut
  meat for him and poured water melted
  from the snow outside. I tried to remember
  how his meal was served by the carver and
  the cupbearer, but he would eat no more
  than before. “I am sorry not to better know
  the forms of service, but I would not have
  stayed in this house if I had any thought
  against you,” said I.
  In answer, he turned the mouth of his
  cup to the floor. From it fell a block of ice,
  formed to the inside of the cup. The meat I
  had brought steaming on a tray was frozen
  like the carcass of a winter deer.
  “It is this way always. Nothing that is
  mine is mine to have.”38 He looked at me
  again in his careful way, as though he
  searched for something. “Minstrel, will you
  be my page, and may I give you a dish to
  hold in your hands?”
  “Master, I am not nobly born.”
  “I know not but that you are a prince
  in another kingdom, the one that lies
  beyond my pantry door. And, if not, we
  are so deep in winter that we may say it
  is Twelfth Night, and thus crown kings
  out of minstrels. Let us say so, and both
  eat. If you will play the squire, then I will
  play the troubadour and tell you the
  story this night.”
  When I held the dish and he did not, it
  stayed warm. The duc ate like a starving
  man. When he had finished and I had melt-
  ed more snow for our drinking, he took up
  two lanterns and asked me to follow him.
  “I will show you this now, while it is
  still day. Where we are going is below the
  pantry and under the house, and so with-
  out light.” The house was a greater maze
  than I knew, even after the many days
  that I’d spent there. We came into the
  dark center where all would gather in
  times of siege to be safe from the attacker.
  Our lanterns cast trembling shadows
  upon the walls. Then Etienne opened an
  iron door with a key that hung from a
  chain about his neck. Beyond was a spiral
  stair going down. I swung forward my
  lantern, and the stairway filled with light,
  reflected as from a thousand jewels.
  Everything was covered in clear hoarfrost
  as thick as tapestry. The air lay still. I
  could not feel my hand that held the
  lantern, and drew it back. The door of iron
  beside me set my teeth on edge, as if it
  were an unholy thing.39
  “Down there. That is the center of it.
  Once it was a warrior’s pride, a siege-well.
  Fresh water for men and horses for a life-
  time, without a drop from outside, protect-
  ed so the devil himself could not drink
  without my say. This castle never fell to
  any siege. I had a room built there, down
  under the water of the well, a room with
  walls of silver. Not a drop of water could
  enter; I came and went through a magic
  door—a beautiful thing—that was like the
  mouth of a fish. I had the room made with
  sapphires just the color of the water; no
  one could see it but me. Then I killed the
  magus who made it, killed him softly as he
  slept, and no one knew but me.40
  “The siege-well was blocked by the
  room; but water remained above it, and so
  my knights did not guess—we haven’t had
  a siege for generations. The things in the
  house are dross. No one in the world has
  seen treasures such as what lay in that
  room. The king has nothing to compare.
  The pope has nothing to compare . . .”
  38The duc de Berry
  has been cursed by a
  faerie.
  39Gerin has the Flaw
  Minor Discomfort from
  Iron, which explains his
  discomfort at the prox-
  imity of the door that
  leads to the siege-well.
  40The strongbox was
  originally a magic regio,
  created for Etienne by an
  exotic wizard. Etienne
  was given a token that
  allowed the bearer to
  enter the regio.
  
  64
  I glanced at the duc, but he seemed lost
  in another place. After a moment he seemed
  to feel my gaze upon him, and came back to
  himself. “There are no words to tell you of
  this. Do not judge me, minstrel. I used to stay
  in my secret room, surrounded by such beau-
  ty as even your songs do not sing of. God may
  cast me into Hell, but I have seen Heaven.
  Only now”—he cast his lantern down the
  gleaming stair; I watched it fall a long way,
  then shatter against a floor that glowed and
  shone—“she has sent the ice to take each of
  my joys. My treasure-box, my food, my wine,
  my fields and herds, my books, my music. My
  house and lands were the finest that have
  ever been seen. Now I have nothing but you,
  and you too will go to her.”
  He looked upon me then, saw me shiv-
  ering as I held up my own lantern, and
  pulled me away from the stair. The iron
  door swung shut, and he locked it with the
  key he wore at his throat. “Come back to the
  fire in the hall. When you are warm, you
  will go to the inn I had made and bring
  back wine for us. We will drink, and you will
  sing, and we will forget all this.”
  I sat by the fire for a time, until the duc
  slept a little. Then I went to the inn in his liv-
  ery, and returned with as much strong wine
  as I could carry. When he woke, I poured
  wine into my cup and held it in my hands so
  he could drink. I sang, and we drank,
  though I not too much, until well into the
  night. I built up the fire until it roared and
  we were almost warm. “It is like the old
  times a little,” said the duc de Berry. “You
  are going to go to her anyway, are you not?”
  “Yes, my lord, unless you prevent me.”
  “I once made a pet of a beautiful fox.
  I made him a collar of emeralds and gold,
  to shine against his fur while I led him
  about. But he slipped his collar one day
  and ran into the forest after a songbird. I
  could have made him a feast of larks. I
  never saw him again.”
  “It is that way with foxes, my lord.”
  “So I have been told, but I was young
  and full of hope. I promised to tell you a
  story tonight, my squire. Do they all begin
  ‘once upon a time’?”
  “Not all, my lord, but many.”
  “And are they all lies?”
  “Not all, my lord, but many.”
  The Duc de Berry’s Story
  “But not all. Very well. Once upon a
  time there was a fair country called
  Albion, possessed, most unfortunately, by
  the English. It was a very fair country
  indeed. It happened that there were noble-
  men, fair men, who thought it a shame
  that the English should have land in
  Bretagne while they had none in Albion.
  But between our coast and theirs lies a
  most treacherous arm of the sea, protect-
  ing the English from their betters. So
  things remained, until a magus came for-
  ward willing to help us. He was of a House
  that had converse with kings and queens
  whom we had not heard of, being as their
  lands lay farther from our own than even
  Jerusalem. For a price, he brought a queen
  of such a country to us.41
  “We made an alliance, as nobles do.
  She could build us a fortress that would
  cross the sea to be our stronghold for a war
  in Albion. In the spirit of goodwill, she
  offered a demonstration of her forces. She
  froze the Seine solid enough to drive a hun-
  dred horses across. She said, ‘I will make
  you a fortress no mortal can breach. It will
  make its own road across land, river, or
  sea. What do you offer me in return?’
  “Some favored dividing the land of our
  conquest with her, but too many feared such
  a neighbor. In the end it was decided to pay
  her in gold, but gold she would not take.
  “She said, ‘Make me a bird that sings
  in my hand and dies not.’ Nothing else
  would she take. So the lords and ladies
  turned to the one among them who knew
  most how to have precious things made,
  and elected him to turn their gold into the
  work of master craftsmen.
  “While he took the taxes pulled from a
  dozen rich domains to the smiths and magi,
  the lady built a fortress of ice there, upon the
  beach. ‘When you give me my price, I will
  give you the key. Turn it in the lock of the
  great door and it will open the way to you
  and carry you across land, river, and sea.’
  41A magus of House
  Merinita brought the
  faerie 
  queen 
  to 
  the
  French, 
  violating 
  the
  laws of the Order. The
  making 
  of 
  alliances
  between 
  mortal 
  and
  faerie lords strengthens
  the connections between
  Arcadia and the mortal
  world, and may create or
  expand faerie auras.
  
  65
  “The bird was made, and placed in a
  box of cinnamon wood brought from Inde.
  It was the most perfect thing that has ever
  been made by the hand of man, or ever
  will be. It was put into the hands of the lord
  who had it made, to bring it to the lady.
  And when he was alone, he opened the
  box. . . .
  “I could not give it up. I do not expect
  you to understand. I took the bird to my
  strongbox. I brought the wooden box to
  the fortress with a dead robin inside it, and
  told the lady that the box must not be
  opened until she was in her own lands, or
  the bird would fly from her. She gave us the
  key and left. I myself turned it in the lock
  at dawn, with all our knights assembled.
  About midday the fortress began to melt.
  The door would not open. The fortress
  would not move.
  “Everyone assumed she was the traitor,
  but she could not be found. Only the
  magus who had brought her knew the
  truth, with some magician’s trick. I sent an
  unsigned letter to the magi tribunal, telling
  them how he had aided the nobles of
  France against Albion. His own people
  killed him the next day.
  “Since I returned to my lands, I have
  lived in Hell.42 Finally I took the bird away
  and destroyed it with my own hands, that I
  would not feed her envy with my enjoying
  of it, but nothing changed. Listen to me, my
  squire. Everything she has not destroyed I
  have destroyed to sell. I have pried my
  bright jewels from their mountings and
  melted the mountings for weight in gold. I
  have pulled apart my painted books to sell
  page by page. What is left here merely
  waits for the buyers to gain courage enough
  to enter this house to haul away. I have told
  the peasants I will give them cattle and
  grain. There is no grain. There are no cattle.
  I have raised enough money to make a new
  bird, more perfect than the old.”
  Gerin Travels to the Bright Lady’s Land
  The duc drew a small box of red gold
  from his fur robe. His hands shook. “I
  cannot bring it to her, for she will not let
  me into her kingdom.43 She will do noth-
  ing but torment me.
  “If you find her, give her this gift, the
  bird that sings and will not die. You could
  move a heart of stone. For the love of God,
  tell her I am sorry.”
  He handed me the box. It was almost
  without weight, yet something moved inside.
  “If you come back alive to me, I will make
  you a count. I will give you the best of what
  remains of my lands. Bring me parchment,
  and I will write this and give it to you.”
  I ran for parchment and ink. In the
  library I stopped before the empty shelves
  and opened the box. The bird inside
  smoothed its feathers. A dozen, a hundred,
  a thousand gems. They were carved so thin
  the wind moved them. It sang a single note
  before I shut the lid. Sometimes I hear it in
  my mind, and then I cannot sing.
  I brought the ink and parchment and a
  reed pen, and Etienne the Duc wrote his
  promise with his own hand and sealed it with
  his seal. From around his neck he took two keys.
  “This one opens the iron door so she will know
  you have come from me. The little one, it was
  the key to the fortress. It, at least, never did melt.
  Take it. Perhaps it will open doors for you.”
  Then he added, “They will look kindly
  on you.” His head fell against the side of
  the chair in sleep.
  I put on my most splendid livery and
  took up my pipe and lute. The great
  bearskin coat of the duc I put on against
  the cold. The iron door I left open, for I
  could bear neither to touch it more nor to
  think of it shut behind me. It was a long
  way down before I reached the wall of ice
  that blocked the way. I think perhaps this
  wall lived, for a strange light moved, now
  upon it, now within it, like the rise and fall
  of breath in the flanks of a beast. I saw a
  small hole form in its glossy surface, in the
  shape of a key’s end. The little key of
  unmelting ice fit, and turned . . . and
  opened a door in the wall.44
  Beyond was a dark flat place, not like a
  frozen well but like a country. I walked for
  a time. I passed trees, first tall and bare,
  then stunted, then smaller than my arm.45
  In this place I met the first inhabitants
  of the frozen land. In the darkness I saw
  points of light. I thought at first I had
  42A faerie curse. The
  curse on the duc de Berry
  is that he may take no
  pleasure from anything
  he owns, neither his
  goods nor lands. It man-
  ifests itself in forms char-
  acteristic of the faerie
  who has made it. This
  curse is especially harsh
  because the duc not only
  cheated the faerie but
  insulted her as well by
  sending her home with a
  dead robin.
  43The duc de Berry
  cannot enter the regio in
  his own house. He is not
  lost and does not have
  the Virtue Faerie Sight,
  and no faerie in the regio
  will lead him in.
  44A path to Arcadia.
  The Queen of Winter
  guards this gateway her-
  self. She has converted the
  magic regio to a faerie
  regio, a gateway to her
  realm in Arcadia. This
  transformation 
  keeps
  Etienne from his strong-
  box 
  without 
  actually
  destroying it. Since the
  key to the fortress of ice is
  an artifact from her
  realm, it aids any attempt
  to enter her realm. Note
  that Etienne cannot make
  use of the key’s aid, as he
  has no chance to enter
  Arcadia to begin with.
  45Moving toward Winter
  in Arcadia.
  
  66
  found stars in this sunless, moonless coun-
  try, but they moved and danced in a single
  cloud that came ever closer to me. Then I
  was among them. If the tiny trees of this
  country were truly trees, then these crea-
  tures were men, small and shining and
  murderous as dragonflies, with the pale
  feathers and round black eyes of falcons.
  Perhaps they spoke, for they made a kind
  of music as they plucked and tore the great
  coat into pieces. Each flew off with its prize
  held in tiny talons. They were as many as
  flies upon water. They took the coat, the
  golden cloth of my livery, the pointed
  shoes, the hat of fur. One seized my knife,
  another my pipe, another the golden box
  that held the bird, and others set upon my
  lute. I held fast the box in its embroidered
  cloth in one hand, and the lute in the
  other. The rest I let go. They flew off like a
  stream of light, and the darkness came in
  again. Though I watched them long, they
  did not disappear from sight, but seemed
  to stay hanging in the air. Finally I began
  to follow. Only by their pale light could I
  see my way, and I saw in their light the
  same shining I had seen within the ice.
  I did not know where the creatures
  were leading me. The cold grew no better,
  but after a time I saw more light ahead
  beyond them. It seemed first like the gray
  of dawn in winter, but then I saw a bright
  glow like a great pale torch upon the
  edge of the world.46
  Finally I could go no further in the
  cold. I lay down and closed my eyes, hop-
  ing for the warmth the old monk said he
  felt as he drew close to the lady’s lands, but
  the cold still bit as sharply as a fox. Then I
  heard the strange music like voices: the
  creatures whom I followed had returned for
  me. They hovered and touched me with
  their talons, for I was too stiff with cold to
  dodge away. Where one touched, it drew
  black fur instead of blood; another drew
  gold-colored cloth. I felt a hundred touches
  everywhere, and then they were gone.
  They had left me a monster, as hairy as a
  bear and parti-colored like a jester. No one
  who saw me then would have known me
  for a mortal man. As I chased after their
  fading lights, I did not realize for a time
  that I was no longer cold.47
  I ran after the lights until they were
  lost in the growing brightness of the sky.
  Before me rose a castle made of ice.48 It
  shone brighter than all the candles in
  Rome, silver as moonlight.  I could see sol-
  diers high upon the walls in bright mail,
  with ermine surcoats and cloaks of white
  feathers. They held great silver spears. The
  46As 
  Gerin 
  moves
  toward the great, pale
  glow, he nears Winter in
  Arcadia.
  47The faeries complet-
  ed a trade here in trans-
  forming Gerin: the faeries
  took items of value from
  a mortal—important per-
  sonal 
  possessions, 
  a
  musical instrument—and
  therefore trade protection
  from the cold. Note that
  the trade can be unpleas-
  ant but still fair if the
  faeries either are ignorant
  or are ill-disposed toward
  the mortal.
  48The castle is the
  equivalent in Arcadia of
  the place the monk saw
  in regio in Chapter Four:
  Monk, Dryad, Duc., p. 33.
  The Queen’s servants.
  Illus. ©1995 Rosemary Roach
  
  67
  creatures before me streamed into the cas-
  tle, or danced on the towers like gnats. The
  sky was filled with pale light. I could not
  see where the highest towers ended and
  the sky began, nor where the masonry
  reached the snowy earth. Wild geese cried
  somewhere above.
  I would have gone to the door but for
  my monstrous form. As it was, fearing
  the guards would shoot me as a wild
  beast if I came near, I tried to climb the
  rising snow to see more. I walked upon a
  snowdrift and found myself at eye level
  with a skein of wild white geese flying
  past. I was standing in the air, or they
  were flying through the snow—I know
  not which. In Faerieland such observa-
  tions mean nothing. I fell, in my sur-
  prise, slowly as a feather.49
  Then I resolved to take my luck as it
  came, for perhaps death may come in such
  a place from a goose’s feather, or perhaps
  even death is no worse here than the prick
  of a thorn in the world. I went up to the
  gate singing, hoping not to try the pricking
  of silver spears. I sang:
  “There was a man
  in livery
  his dress was black
  his hair was gold
  no monster this
  a man only
  a messenger
  in livery
  no monster this
  a man only
  a messenger
  in livery”
  I sang out clear and loud, playing my
  lute, and feeling like a trained bear. But as
  I sang, the patches of fur and cloth and
  silk began to flow like water. My flesh
  prickled. I thought some new enchant-
  ment was laid on me, but when fear
  stopped my voice, the change stopped as
  well, and I stood there half a monster and
  half a man. The guardsmen looked down,
  so I quickly sang the verse over. By the
  time I reached the gate I had a man’s form
  again, though not quite my own. In the
  shining doors, I saw my own reflection: my
  hair was as bright as summer corn, and I
  was dressed in black felt from head to foot,
  marked with a lute for device.50
  The Bright Lady’s Hall
  When I knocked, the door itself rang
  like a bell. I was glad for my gloves of felt.
  The door opened and revealed a palace
  that was all of ice. No gatekeeper appeared.
  I entered and then undertook a long trek
  down 
  a 
  hundred 
  empty 
  passages.
  Everywhere 
  there 
  were 
  statues. 
  The
  appointments of the rooms, the banquet
  laid upon the table in the dining hall, the
  guests and the attendants—all were carved
  in ice and cleverly colored to the look of life.
  Only the clear shining of each shape gave
  its nature away. A golden table showed feet
  that would make prints like the ones I had
  seen in the dust of the duc’s palace. At the
  table stood servants so perfect in their carv-
  ing that I could not bear to look upon their
  faces. Then I heard a child laugh.
  I chased the sound through halls and
  rooms, each more brilliant than the last.
  Then the light burst out upon me as I came
  into a garden in the center of the castle; the
  light was like the sun and as bright as day.
  She played in the garden with a golden
  ball, a child just as I had remembered her,
  though I had grown into a man.51
  The garden she played in was bright
  with flowers held perfect in a glaze of ice.
  Beneath an apple tree beside her sat the
  lady on a throne of ice that glowed and
  flashed like a cup filled with jewels. Her feet
  were laid upon a box of silver set with sap-
  phires. Furs white and black lapped about
  her like the sea. But the silver tree above her
  head was bare, save for only one apple.
  My sister cried out and ran to me as
  though I had been gone all day long, but
  then a rush of white wings bore her up
  into the tree before I could grab her up.
  The wild geese that carried her did not
  frighten her, but I remembered the tales of
  knights who could outpace the birds and
  wrestle lions, and I was bitterly sorry to be
  but a minstrel. “In whose name do you
  come?” said the lady.
  “In the name of the compte de Lute,
  my lady. For the sake of his sister who
  plays in your garden and for the sake of his
  brother, the duc de Berry, I am given the
  task of a bargain with you, my lady.”
  “What would your lord bargain for,
  messenger?” said she.
  49The faerie’s home
  is toward the Light, and
  therefore not only in the
  realm of Winter, but
  “upward” (see Chapter
  Seven: Advice to Travelers).
  It can then be said to lie
  either in the snow or in
  the clouds, and things
  behave accordingly. A
  faerie’s home that was
  away from the Light
  might 
  be 
  reached
  through the water and
  have fish in the “sky.”
  Earth, water, and air
  can be impossible to
  separate in Arcadia.
  51The passage of time
  in Arcadia may not be
  the same as in the mor-
  tal world.
  50The Virtue called
  Free Expression may be
  used to change the “phys-
  ical world” of Arcadia.
  These changes may be
  worked on the possessor
  of the Virtue, and they
  may be permanent on
  return to the mortal
  world. For the jongleur to
  return to human form is
  fairly 
  easy 
  as 
  these
  changes go: he is affect-
  ing himself only, return-
  ing to a form natural to
  him, and his transformed
  shape 
  is 
  still 
  mostly
  human 
  (transforming
  back from a toad to a
  human being would be
  much less easy).
  
  68
  “For the return of his sister with me,
  lady, to the land of France, as she was the
  day she left it.”
  “His sister?” Her hard eyes fell on me,
  and I looked away, into the tree.
  “The child in your apple tree, lady.”
  When I glanced back at her, her face was
  without mercy, like the snow.
  “She is without price, fool. Offer me
  something even half her worth, or I will
  have your life for your master’s insolence.”
  I opened the golden box containing the
  undying bird, then reached up to where my
  sister bore the branch down just within my
  reach, and plucked the single apple. I held
  it in my naked hands, as I used to hold the
  duc de Berry’s cup. Its skin was as soft and
  red as some living organ. My hands were
  wet. The lady half rose from her throne,
  then stood as if struck when I began to sing:
  “In my lady’s garden
  groweth these things three:
  a white rose,
  a singing bird,
  and an apple tree.
  “The rose is my sister.
  The bird sings my part.
  The tree bears but one fruit—
  It is my lady’s heart.
  “In my lady’s garden
  I found three things today.
  The rose I took;
  the bird I left;
  the lady’s heart I bore away.”
  Then I said, “I will trade to you this
  apple, lady, for the child.”
  For a long moment the garden was silent.
  I did not look at what I held, but I knew it had
  changed as surely as had my own form.52
  “If you take her, what remains to bring
  me joy?”
  “A gift from the duc de Berry, lady.”
  “I have much from the house of the
  duc de Berry. It has brought me no joy.”
  52Gerin again uses his
  Free Expression Virtue.
  He is affecting someone
  else, but the apple and
  the heart are as closely
  related as any two things
  are likely to be. The
  appropriateness of the
  transformation 
  assists
  the singer. If the faerie
  chooses to resist, she
  would add one-fifth her
  Faerie Might to a stress
  die, which would need to
  beat his stress roll plus his
  Free Expression score.
  Gerin and the Queen
  of Winter 
  in Arcadia.
  Illus. ©1995 John T. Snyder
  
  69
  I shook the golden box and the singing
  bird flew to her hand. It cocked its emerald
  tail just as a wren does, and looked at her.
  At that moment, I would have sworn
  before God that it lived. “Lady, it is a gift.
  It will sing for you always, and not die. All
  he wishes of you is your forgiveness.”
  “It is a fit bargain. You have won. Give
  me my heart.” There was a rush of wings,
  and I held my sister in my arms. I did not
  look to see where the lady put what I gave
  her that had been an apple, but afterward
  I saw her look at the bird and smile. It
  began to sing again.
  “You are both beautiful and clever,
  messenger, and the gift you bring is the
  first worthy thing I have had of the duc de
  Berry. You and the child may go from my
  lands in peace. If my curse is lifted from the
  duc, messenger, let it settle on your master,
  the compte de Lute, for sending such a
  man as you to bargain with me.” Her
  attention ceased to weigh on me then, as
  she watched the bird perch on her pale,
  pale hand and sing merrily. We made our
  way quickly from that place.
  The duc de Berry kept his oath to
  make me a count, so we made a man of
  straw and dressed him in black velvet
  and named him compte de Lute.53
  For myself, I am now a knight and a
  man of means, but I follow the roads still.
  My sister, when she is old enough to say
  yes or no, may enter the Carmelite order
  in Paris. She has in her eyes a light not
  often seen upon this world, and cures the
  wounds of men and beasts with the touch
  of her hand. I have caused this story to be
  told that all may see a minstrel mightier
  than a knight, and perhaps fear not a
  faerie child. If you hear tales of a faerie
  knight dressed in motley of black and
  gold, and with him an angel, smile and
  tell this tale again.
  53Because he did not
  tell the faerie his real
  name, the jongleur will
  escape the Queen of
  Winter’s curse as long as
  he does not become the
  compte de Lute himself.
  The straw man works
  rather like a changeling in
  reverse, giving the faerie
  an equivalent target to the
  jongleur or the duc.
  The Queen of Winter
  Faerie Might
  Size 
  60
  +1
  Characteristics
  +3 Int  
  +5 Prs 
  +5 Per 
  -2
  Com 
  +1 Str 
  +2 Dex 
  +7 Sta 
  +2 Qik
  Confidence
  6
  Personality Traits
  Cold +6
  Grasping +4 
  Reputation
  None
  Abilities
  Any living thing she touches freezes solid (PeIg 30) (this effect is not under her control).
  Curse.
  She can create faerie auras and regios if she is given a connection to the mortal world (such as a treaty,
  kept or broken).
  She also has control over cold (can use any cold-related effect causing blizzards, freezing people in their
  tracks, etc.) of up to level 40, at will.
  Combat Totals
  The Queen of Winter does not use weapons to attack.
  Dodge Defense: +5
  Soak: +20
  Fatigue: n/a (she has no special weaknesses to iron)
  Body Levels
  OK/0/0/-1/-3/-5/Incapacitated
  
  70
  A friend awaits you
  in the Arcadian land
  of Cockaigne.
  Illus. ©1995 Christopher Rush
  
  “I
  have just returned from a wonderful land
  known as Arcadia. This place HAs the most per-
  fect untouched wilderness. In it are trees larger than
  the largest oak, and wide rivers in which the water is
  pure and powerful. I have run in this place in the
  shape of a wolf, and now even the most perfect mor-
  tal forest disappoints by comparison. All the animals
  there, and possibly even the plants, are wise. Ask them
  for aid and they may help you. I met a woman there
  who could appear as either a wolf or a wolflike
  woman. She told me that most mortals avoid this
  place, as do the corrupt faeries who appear as mortal
  nobles and peasants. The lands far from the cities
  belong only to the pure nature spirits. Within
  Arcadia, we, brothers and sisters, are welcome, if we
  carry no iron, start no fires, and kill nothing we do
  not need to survive.”
  —Spoken at the Gathering of the Twelve Years by Gwyna, filia
  of Helg, follower of Bjornaer
  71
  
  72
  On Faeries: A Guide for
  Our Order by Rebecca,
  Chief Librarian of Harco
  A
  rcadia is a most curious place. It is like
  faerie regios but much more extreme in its
  differences from the mortal realm. The sky is
  blue and clear, and the sunlight is more rich
  and colorful than in the mortal world. The sun
  never burns, blinds, or dazzles, even if you look
  directly at it. The seasons are slow and regular,
  and the vegetation is rich and verdant.
  Everything is brighter, colder, warmer, sweeter,
  stronger, more moving, and more profound
  than anything in the mortal world. As might
  be expected, Arcadia can be a most intoxicat-
  ing place to mortals. I have heard many stories
  of people who wandered into Arcadia never to
  return. The simplest way to begin to describe
  Arcadia would be to provide a map. However,
  not only does Arcadia remain unmapped but,
  I firmly believe, it cannot be mapped. A num-
  ber of members of House Merinita and a few
  members of my own House Mercere have visit-
  ed Arcadia repeatedly over many years, and
  while the same places may be found, their
  location with respect to one another seems to
  shift and change.
  The following is from a report sent to me
  by the Redcap Ardea. Many know of Ardea
  as a Redcap who is only able to use the Art
  “Vim” and is an expert with realms and
  regios. I was most gratified that she volun-
  teered to help me in this effort.
  Ardea the Redcap on Entering
  Arcadia
  “Finding a gateway or regio is only the
  first step on your journey into Arcadia. At
  this point you are on the borderlands, a
  strange and varied place. This border-place
  is often different for any group of travelers.
  I have heard stories of vast cities full of
  warped magic and fell goblin markets, and
  of a river of blood that must be crossed
  before the true depth of Arcadia may be
  plumbed. There has always been some
  marker of the border on all journeys I have
  heard of, but what it will be for you no one
  can say. For some this borderland will be
  the same whenever they visit Arcadia,
  regardless of where they come from. For
  others it will differ with every journey.
  “Some of these borders are well worth
  seeing in their own right. Others exist only to
  be passed. After this border has been passed,
  a guardian will appear. Some travelers will
  encounter a creature like a humble-seeming
  sprite; other travelers, something more
  imposing. To some the guardian will offer a
  riddle; others will simply be asked what they
  are here to do. Never fight this guardian—it
  is more powerful than any mortal. Do not lie
  to it either, for the guardians all seem able to
  tell truth from falsehood. Respect these
  guardians and there should be little trouble.
  Also, never carry iron with you into Arcadia,
  for the guardians will either turn you back or
  transform it to bronze or wood.
  “I offer you a warning to heed once you
  are freely in Arcadia: do not eat the food, or
  drink anything but the water here. Faerie
  food can have strange effects on mortal-
  kind, and it can bind some to Arcadia in a
  way that only powerful magic may end.
  Finally, take no gifts while in Arcadia, for
  nothing is ever given freely here. Giving a
  mortal a valuable gift is often simply a way
  a faerie binds the mortal to serve it until
  service equal to the value of the gift has
  been rendered. Once accepted, a gift may
  not be returned; but gifts need not be
  accepted. Trade freely, but never take.”
  Chapter Seven:
  Advice to Travelers
  
  73
  Ardea on Finding Your Way in
  Arcadia
  “Some folk say that Arcadia is a land of
  random chaos, with no order or directions,
  and that the landscape is different every
  time you visit. This is patently untrue.
  Arcadia has rules and directions, but they
  are different from those in the mortal world.
  In this world we have north, east, south,
  and west, and a journey in any given direc-
  tion will bring you closer to some places and
  further from others. It is the same in
  Arcadia, but the directions are different. I
  know of no one else who has given names
  to these directions, so here I name them.
  There are four, as on this world: towards the
  Summer, towards the Winter, towards the
  Light, and away from the Light.
  “Going towards Summer takes you ever
  toward lands more pleasant and congenial
  to mortal-kind. Summer in Arcadia is not like
  the hot summers often found in the mortal
  world. In Arcadia, Summer is a place of end-
  less bounty, with all of the animals healthy
  and in their prime, and each plant continu-
  ally flowers and seeds and bears fruit all at
  the same time. Verdant forests and lush
  meadows may be found in Summer. The
  weather is warm, but never hot or uncom-
  fortable, and the air is ever sweet to breathe.
  “Going towards Winter takes you into
  ever colder and more uncongenial climes.
  Winter in Arcadia is first a land of harvested
  fields, sparse plains, and barren rocks. Then,
  as one goes further, ice, snow, and wild bliz-
  zards gradually come to cover the landscape,
  until one reaches the point where everything
  is frozen and even the buildings are made of
  ice. While Summer in Arcadia is never warm
  enough to cause discomfort, Winter in
  Arcadia can be bitter cold and can kill.
  “Going towards the Light is just that,
  going towards areas where the sky is
  brighter and brighter. In the lightest realms
  of Arcadia everything sparkles and seems
  even more beautiful and perfect than in the
  rest of Arcadia. In my travels beyond
  Christendom, I was told that this is where
  gods live. Some of my informants have said
  that moving towards the Light in Arcadia is
  the same as ascending into the sky of
  Arcadia (though one can do it through hor-
  izontal travel), due to Faerieland’s strange
  logic of correspondences.
  “Going away from the Light takes one
  to ever mistier and darker realms. Fog-
  shrouded valleys, caves, deep forests, and
  dark places are all away from the Light.
  Going underwater also takes one away from
  the Light. In the furthest and darkest regions
  live spirits of the pagan dead. I know not
  where the souls of pagans go, but some of
  their spirits reside in these places. The
  realms away from the Light may be bleak
  and terrifying (if they are toward Winter), or
  they may be pleasant lands (if they are
  Dangers of the Land
  of Cockaigne.
  Illus. ©1995 Rosemary Roach
  
  toward Summer), much like the Elysian
  Fields of ancient stories.
  “There are many ways of going in each
  direction, and the path you take need not be
  the same every time. Often the path will not
  be the same, even if you wish it to be so, but
  the ways of going and what you find when
  you arrive are always similar to each other.
  “These kinds of directions may seem
  strange to those used to the rules of the mor-
  tal world, but they work quite well in
  Arcadia. If you go deep into the dark heart of
  a forest and there enter a cave, you are head-
  ed directly away from the Light. However, the
  nature of this darkness need not be constant.
  I have gone into a cave, lost sight of the walls
  after a time, and then found myself in a dark
  and misty place that seemed to be outside—
  all while never obviously leaving the cave.”
  Ardea on Realms of Arcadia
  “I have found that there are many
  realms in Arcadia. The names I give them
  here are purely my own.
  “The Land of Cockaigne, the earthlike
  paradise, is a realm of far Summer and
  Light. The sky is warm and bright, the
  streams sweet and cool. In the further
  54A faerie bargain:
  Bread and beer (both of
  which are special foods to
  faeries) for information.
  From Ardea’s journal
  “I, at last, found the faerie who cursed Stellus of
  Merinita. Having tired of becoming blind every nightfall,
  Stellus asked me to inquire what offense was made and
  how the curse could be lifted. My only clue was the enor-
  mous, beautiful jet-black rose left beside Stellus’ pillow the night
  the curse began.
  “Today, if such a word as ‘day’ has any meaning here, I
  walked into Arcadia through the Gate in the Pyrenees. I
  stood in a plain of bright mists, cold and brisk. As I
  looked around me, I saw a cliff face and in it a cave,
  partially blocked by a fallen dead tree. I made my
  way around the tree and into the cave, which was
  close but not cramped. Far up ahead was a faint light, and
  I went toward it. The cave gradually enlarged until I came
  into a vast chamber, faintly lit with glittering crystals lin-
  ing the walls; small grayish fey sailed in tiny boats down
  the stream that ran through the cavern’s middle.
  Offering as the price for information half a loaf of
  bread, I showed one diminutive seaman the black
  rose and asked him from whence it came. The
  faerie drew back with a worried look and
  demanded my flask of beer in addition.54
  “Finally, I was told to follow the stream to its
  source. As I walked along the cave it grew larger and
  darker, and the bright crystals were slowly replaced by
  several kinds of growth. Mosses and lichens of all kinds and
  colors began to appear as I went along, and they in turn
  were replaced by tiny flowers of blue and gray. Finally, my
  surroundings grew darker, until I could no longer see what
  was around me except for the area within the circle of my
  torch-light. By this time the flowers here were larger and
  darker. The water in the river beneath me was also black,
  and I was certain I was near my destination.”
  74
  The gentleman of the
  black roses.
  Illus. ©1995 Anson Maddocks
  
  75
  reaches apples will fall into your hand as
  you walk by.
  “The Elysian Fields are a land of far
  Summer and Darkness. The spirits of the
  joyful dead live here. The sky is misty and
  dim, but the air is warm and sweet. Spirits
  of ancient mortals, or perhaps just faeries
  who pretend to be such, feast in halls of liv-
  ing wood decorated with living flowers and
  beautiful arms and armor.
  “Tartarus is a land of far Winter and
  far Darkness. Here the spirits of the pagan
  dead dwell in dim, rocky fields.55 It is cold
  and very bleak, with fogs and rocky cliffs
  and valleys. Some of the inhabitants here
  seem mournful and listless, while others
  seem to take to their hard land with fierce
  and joyful energy. Many beautiful and
  fantastic creatures are found here, though
  it is not known how they survive. Stags
  with great antlers are seen, but never
  fawns, nor does heavy with them.
  “The Land of Bright Winter is a land of
  Light and far Winter. This is the place
  where I am told lives the Queen of Winter.
  Here all is cold shining ice and snow.
  Everything here is frozen, and the diffuse
  light of the sky gleaming on all sides and
  reflected off of the snow below is enough to
  blind you. I have seen castles and keeps
  built of ice and in the distance an enor-
  mous city of ice, but I have never been to
  those fortresses or that city. The animals
  here are all white, with fur more beautiful
  than that of the finest ermines I have seen.
  The white wolves have blue eyes, and
  fangs that seem to be made of ice.
  “The Kingdom of the Water is a land of
  Summer and near Darkness. Once when
  walking in Arcadia I saw a castle beneath
  a huge lake. When I went into the lake the
  water could be breathed like air, and my
  clothes stayed dry and warm. Fish swam
  above me, and before me I saw a castle of
  a deep and brilliant blue. Faerie knights
  rode out to greet me, and I stayed in their
  halls for quite some time.
  “The Dark Fen is a land of near Winter
  and far Darkness This is a dark and swampy
  55The 
  spirits 
  (and
  perhaps the souls) of
  some dead pagans go to
  Arcadia, while others go
  to the spirit world (the
  Magic Realm). In gener-
  al, pagans who have
  faerie blood or who traf-
  fic with faeries are the
  ones who will end up in
  Arcadia.
  Things that take you closer to Summer:
  •
  Going from plains to forests
  •    Going towards warmer places
  •
  Going towards areas of lush vegetation
  •    Following strong, healthy
  •
  Following animals with young
  animals
  Things that take you closer to Winter:
  •
  Going towards rocky places
  •    Going towards cold places
  •
  Following old-looking animals
  •    Going from forests to plains
  Things that take you towards the Light:
  •
  Climbing mountains
  •    Going across bridges
  •
  Flying
  •    Going outdoors
  •
  Following flocks of birds
  •    Following large sources of light
  Things that take you away from the Light:
  •
  Going into caves 
  •    Going indoors
  •
  Going into fog
  •    Going into a valley
  •
  Going underwater
  
  76
  forest, where red and yellow eyes gleam at
  you in the darkness. Here I saw spiders as
  big as my head, and strange hairy beings
  who may have been odd, spindly men or
  simply huge spiders with fewer legs. I stayed
  a short while with a twisted woman who
  lived in a hut. She brewed foul brews in a
  dark iron cauldron. She offered to let me
  sleep there, but I saw the length of her
  crooked yellow teeth and declined.
  “These are some of the places I have
  seen in Arcadia. While it is impossible to
  map this strange realm, finding your way is
  not difficult. Knowing the direction in which
  your destination lies is a great help, but the
  most important thing is to remember that
  like lies close to like. If you seek a warm,
  lush forest, go towards the Summer and into
  forests. If you see something that reminds
  you of your destination, then follow it, and
  perhaps you will find what you seek.
  “There is one danger in traveling in
  Arcadia: you can go too far. I have heard of
  several people who decided to journey as far
  into Summer as they could go, and of one
  man who said he was going to go far
  enough towards the Light that he would see
  the homelands of the pagan gods. None of
  these ever returned. I imagine that if you
  wandered too far into Winter, you would
  simply die, while wandering too far into
  Darkness would render you totally blind and
  unable to find your way out. However, even
  Summer can be dangerous. When I have
  journeyed far into the Summer of Arcadia, I
  have not wished to leave. Perhaps if you
  journey too far, you forget to leave, as will all
  who come to rescue you. I know not what
  going too far into the Light will bring—per-
  haps rapture and blindness. In any case, the
  furthest extremes of Arcadia are not for mor-
  tals. To go there is to risk never returning.”
  Ardea on the Inhabitants
  of Arcadia
  “The first thing to know about the
  faeries in Arcadia is that there is no one
  faerie queen. Arcadia is no more unified a
  place than Christendom. There are many
  kingdoms and many rulers in Arcadia, and
  many noble courts. Some courts are very
  like those of mortals, but often more
  extreme. Others are so strange and rife
  with magic and enchantment as to bedaz-
  zle and confuse even the wisest of magi.
  “Some faeries may claim to rule the
  entire land of Arcadia, and can make foolish
  mortals believe this through the power of
  their glamours, but often these fey will sim-
  ply be the inhabitants of small regios with
  no actual connection to Arcadia at all. The
  inhabitants of Arcadia are often not like
  those in the various faerie places that can be
  found in the mortal world. The faeries here
  have little to do with mortals or mortal
  crafts. Low faeries are more likely to be
  naked and hairy creatures than outlandish-
  ly dressed faerie monks. However, whatever
  their nature, all must obey certain rules.
  “The rules of hospitality apply to the
  fey, just as the fey expect these rules to be
  The kingdom of 
  the water.
  Illus. ©1995 Bryon Wackwitz
  
  77
  followed by all mortals. A mortal visitor to
  Arcadia is in some sense a guest of the
  realm. This may explain the fact that you
  may ask a question of any faerie you run
  into on your first visit to Arcadia. I have
  found the answers to be always truthful,
  but oftentimes confusing. Stupid and
  greedy questions receive the answers they
  deserve, but sincere visitors may expect
  help their first time in Arcadia. After the
  first visit, you are expected to know your
  way around, and such help may no longer
  be forthcoming. Similarly, if someone is
  traveling with companions who are famil-
  iar with Arcadia, then no help will be
  given, since none should be needed.
  “Each kingdom in Arcadia partakes of
  the nature of its ruler, and the wild places
  partake of the nature of pure wilderness
  such as no mortal has seen before. The
  realm of the Queen of Winter is said to be
  all of ice and snow. Similarly, if one comes
  across a powerful faerie with a kind face
  and a joyful voice who is bedecked in a
  garment of green growing leaves, that
  faerie’s realm will be full of life and
  growth.
  “It often seems that every fey in a given
  realm of Arcadia directly partakes of the
  nature of the place, or that the landscape
  partakes of the fey’s nature. In any case,
  you will rarely find a fair and joyful sprite
  wearing a robe made of flower petals in a
  dark and fetid swamp. Like attracts like,
  and if ever you find someone or something
  that does not fit in with the surroundings,
  you have either found a captive, or one of
  the fey on a most important mission.”
  Ardea on the Power of the
  Church in Arcadia
  “In my journeys to this realm, I have
  never seen evidence of the power of the
  Church. I do not know whether our Lord
  works in more subtle ways in this realm,
  whether those who are foolish enough to visit
  Arcadia are beyond His aid, or whether this is
  truly a realm beyond His reach. I have heard
  stories of the power here of holy relics and of
  those people blessed by God. However, the
  ordinary trappings of the Church seem not to
  discomfort the fey of Arcadia.”
  Ardea’s Benediction
  “In closing, I only wish to say that Arcadia
  is the most wonderful of the many realms I
  have visited, and I recommend it to all travel-
  ers who would dare the risk. The inhabitants
  are many and diverse, but remember all are
  bound by the rules that govern the least
  brownie or sprite. They must always keep their
  spoken word, they must trade fairly with you,
  and the rules of hospitality must always be
  obeyed. Should you who are reading this
  decide to travel to Arcadia, I wish you well
  there, and may we meet by a sweet stream in
  the land of Cockaigne.”
  Conclusion
  Here ends my book on faeries. I trust that
  the knowledge you have gained will be used
  wisely and serve to guard you from harm.
  In studying the ways of the fey, I have
  often been struck by their similarities to the
  magi of our own Order. That which sepa-
  rates us from the common folk is much the
  same as that which separates the fey from
  them. Having a magical nature and a ten-
  dency towards secretiveness, engendering
  the suspicion of the authorities, and being
  the object of a wealth of superstition are all
  things the fey must also deal with.
  Yet there is a major difference between
  the fey and us magi: we choose to be what
  we are. Yes, many of us are Gifted at birth,
  but we can choose our own path. Not all
  with our Gift join the Order, for it is possi-
  ble still to lead a life outside it. We are still
  human and not defined solely by our
  magic. It is not so with the fey. They are
  faerie first and foremost, and that is their
  essence. They live their lives in ways that
  are strange even to us, and we are strange
  among humanity. Though they may doubt
  it, the commoners do not think or act in
  ways radically different from ours. Yet who
  may know the mind of a faerie? Not the
  commoner, nor even such as we. Faeries
  are our capricious, unfathomable twins, as
  removed from our full understanding as
  the light of day from the dark of night.
  —Rebecca of Mercere
  
  78
  The road into a 
  faerie regio.
  Illus. ©1995 Jeff Menges
  
  “H
  ere is an object lesson for you, pupil. This is
  the dust of Merwyl, once a magus of this
  covenant. When I was but an apprentice, he ventured
  into Arcadia after a long period of study and prepa-
  ration. He thought he knew how to get in and out
  again, and indeed he entered the faerie land without
  difficulty. Yet when he emerged to find me awaiting
  him (for I had divined his return), a hundred years had
  passed here and I was a master magus. As for Merwyl,
  he took one look at me and realized what had hap-
  pened. He tried to step back into Arcadia before it was
  too late, but it already was. He withered and died
  before my eyes, and was dust before I could speak. You
  should profit from his example and empty your head
  of this business.”
  —Tiresieas, filius of Pralix, follower of Tytalus
  79
  
  80
  Faerie Trods
  T
  rods are established avenues of corre-
  spondences—shortcut paths—that exist
  between Arcadia and the mortal realm. In
  places where faeries frequently travel
  between two correspondences, a trod (road)
  may come into existence.
  In Arcadia, trods usually appear as
  straight, flat, unpaved roads. If both end-
  points of the trod exist in the mortal world
  as well as Arcadia (as regios, for instance),
  then one traveling the trod in Arcadia
  may be interrupted in his or her journey if
  he or she bumps into a priest—or into
  anyone carrying iron—crossing the road
  on the corresponding mortal side. If the
  two beings do bump into each other, then
  the faerie traveling along the trod falls
  out of Arcadia and enters the mortal
  world, often to the bewilderment of the
  mortal who bumped into him or her (and
  to the faerie’s annoyance). Faeries who
  are interrupted are usually quite upset,
  especially if they then end up in
  Dominion-influenced areas. Building a
  church or a place that contains a large
  amount of iron (a smithy or armory)
  across a trod also interrupts travel along
  it, and faeries may kindly (or not-so-kind-
  ly) ask the builders to move elsewhere.
  Wise mortals will comply, or face living in
  a house that is regularly bedeviled. Every
  disgruntled creature who passes along the
  trod and gets bumped into the mortal
  realm will do its best to make the inhabi-
  tants’ lives a living nightmare.56
  Especially brave or foolish mortals may
  use faerie trods as shortcuts between two
  places in the mortal world, thereby saving
  months in travel time. To do this, both the
  starting point and the destination must
  exist both in Arcadia and in the mortal
  world. In addition, the two places must
  have close correspondences to each other:
  two faerie pools, two faerie woods, etc.
  First, the would-be travelers must enter
  Arcadia at one of the two sites (see
  “Entering Arcadia”) and then find the cor-
  rect correspondence between the two sites
  on an INTELLIGENCE + FAERIE LORE stress die
  total of, usually, 15+. If this roll is failed,
  the route may not be found, but the char-
  acter may try at another location to find
  the needed correspondence. If the roll is
  botched, then a route is found but goes to
  the wrong place, usually very far from the
  place the troupe wanted to go.57
  Once the route has been found, two
  other rolls are necessary. One is a single
  stress die for encounters. On a 6+, nothing
  untoward occurs on the journey; on a 1–5,
  some being consistent with the correspon-
  dences of the journey is met along the way.
  If the two sites are Celtic burial mounds, a
  Celtic hero might be met, or perhaps two
  warriors fighting; an earth faerie might be
  met between two faerie caves, and so on.
  On a botch, a priest or someone carrying
  iron crosses the trod just as the troupe is
  using it, and returns them prematurely to
  the mortal world. Once the journey has
  been finished, roll a Perception stress die
  (use highest Perception in the troupe), and
  Part IV: Faeries in Ars Magica
  Chapter Eight:
  Faerie Places
  56Trods 
  are 
  unde-
  tectable in the mortal
  world, but travelers along
  trods may be seen as
  vague blurs with Faerie
  Sight or Second Sight on a
  roll of 20+ , or by a magus
  with 
  a 
  PERCEPTION
  +
  INTÉLLEGO + IMÁGINEM total
  of 30+.
  57Due to the change-
  able nature of Arcadia,
  this Faerie Lore roll must
  be made each time the
  troupe wishes to use a
  given route, even if they
  have 
  used 
  the 
  trod
  before. The only excep-
  tion to this would be if
  the troupe has a native
  guide from Arcadia to
  lead them. Faerie player
  characters do not count
  as guides.
  
  81
  divide the time the journey would have
  taken by normal means by that number.
  On a botch, roll a simple die and multiply
  the result by the normal time it would have
  taken in the mortal world.
  Regios
  Regios are mystical regions that coexist
  with the mortal world. All regios are asso-
  ciated with one of the four realms of power:
  magical, faerie, divine, and infernal. A
  regio of one realm may exist within the
  aura of another realm. This is because
  auras exist in the mundane realm, while
  regios are a realm unto themselves.
  However, within a regio there exists an
  aura of the same realm. In all cases, the
  “entry” layer of a regio has an aura rating
  at least one higher than that of the aura
  the regio exists in. For example, in an area
  that has a magical aura of 3, the entry
  layer of a faerie regio would have an aura
  of at least strength 4.58 Exceptionally
  strong auras (those rated at 6 or more) are
  so powerful that they outright prohibit the
  existence of regios of other realms within
  them. Therefore, in a divine aura of 6 or
  higher, no regios of magical, faerie, or
  infernal realms could exist. A divine regio
  could exist within that aura, however, and
  would have an entry-layer aura of at least
  7. Note that layers of higher aura strength
  follow layers of weaker ones, so that a layer
  with an aura of 3 would be higher than
  one with an aura of 1. Each layer must
  have an aura at least one point higher
  than the adjacent lower layer.
  For all regios, magical, faerie, divine,
  and infernal, there are three ways to enter
  or leave: being lead in or out, finding the
  path in or out, or getting lost and acciden-
  tally ending up inside or outside. Being lead
  into a regio is quite simple: any single
  inhabitant of the regio can lead up to a
  dozen mortals into the regio, as long as
  everyone is in physical contact with him or
  her. Faeries (including faerie Companions,
  but not characters with Faerie Blood) may
  lead mortals into a faerie regio. Angels,
  saints, and people with the Virtue True Faith
  may lead mortals into a divine regio.
  Demons or those who have sold their soul to
  the devil may lead mortals into infernal
  regios. Finally, spirits, elementals, and mag-
  ical creatures may lead mortals into magi-
  cal regios. This method of entry involves no
  chance or rolls, and so is clearly the easiest,
  but it is also in many ways the most risky.
  The first problem is finding a being willing
  to lead the group into a regio; the second
  problem is having to trust your guide.
  Depending on a guide means that you also
  need to be guided out of the regio and may
  well end up trapped inside if your guide is
  inclined to leave you that way.
  The danger is even greater if the char-
  acters are actually entering Arcadia via a
  faerie regio. As is stated in the section on
  Arcadia, time in Arcadia is not the same as
  time in the mortal world, and the differ-
  ence in the passage of time is determined
  at the time of entry into Arcadia. If a group
  of mortals is guided into Arcadia, their
  guide is the one who determines the time
  ratio. An incautious troupe may well find
  that they have been lead into Arcadia by a
  faerie who has effectively trapped them
  there (either by design or through igno-
  rance of the temporal frailty of mortals) by
  bringing them in such a way that if they
  attempt to return to the mortal world, they
  will return a century later and turn to dust
  upon their arrival. The best solution for the
  problem of guides that are untrustworthy
  or with whom there is a communication
  problem is either to find a guide whom you
  can truly trust or to find your own way in.
  There are several ways to enter a regio
  voluntarily, but they all involve knowing
  where you are going. The most direct way of
  knowing where you are going is to be able to
  see where you are going. There are several
  ways to do this. Characters with the Virtue
  Second Sight may look into magic regios (as
  may characters with the Virtue Magic
  Sensitivity), characters with Faerie Sight may
  look into faerie regios, and characters with
  Sense Holiness & Unholiness may look into
  both divine and infernal regios. In all cases,
  seeing into a regio involves a character’s suc-
  ceeding on a roll with the relevant Ability.
  This roll has an ease factor of 5 (+ 2 per point
  of difference between the aura of the layer of
  the regio you are in and that of the next
  layer of the regio).59
  Only adjacent layers of a regio may be
  perceived in this way. If a faerie forest has
  within it a regio with layer auras of 2, 5, 7,
  and 10 and you are in the aura 5 layer, a
  58Say that a certain
  forest has a magic aura
  with a rating of 4 and that
  a faerie regio borders par-
  tially on this forest. The
  regio must have a layer
  aura of at least strength 5
  for it to be accessible
  through the forest, and
  the lowest layer with a
  strength greater than 4
  would be the layer those
  entering through the for-
  est would arrive at. So if
  the regio had a layer with
  an aura of strength 3 and
  one of strength 6, those
  entering through the for-
  est would arrive on the
  layer with the 6 aura;
  those entering the part of
  the regio outside the forest
  would enter the layer with
  the aura strength of 3.
  59If you were in an
  area with no aura (a rat-
  ing of 0) and the first
  layer of a regio had an
  aura score of 3, the diffi-
  culty 
  would 
  be 
  11
  [5+2x3]. Looking into a
  layer with a 6 aura from
  an aura 10 layer would
  have a difficulty of 13
  [5+2x(10-6)].
  
  82
  character with Faerie Sight may (if he or
  she succeeds on the roll) look into the aura
  2 layer or 7 layer. The character would
  have to go down to the aura 2 layer to be
  able to perceive the mortal world.
  Once the character has seen the layer
  of the regio he or she wishes to enter, that
  character may enter the new layer at will,
  taking along up to a dozen companions, as
  long as everyone is in physical contact
  with him or her. However, merely knowing
  a regio layer is present from having seen it
  in the past is not sufficient to enter it on a
  return trip to its site; a character must be
  actively seeing it while trying to enter.
  Seeing into a regio layer means that you
  perceive that layer rather than where you
  currently are; therefore, entering the regio
  layer is merely taking your body into the
  realm that your spirit is already perceiving.
  For characters without any of the above
  Virtues there are two other ways to look
  into and enter a regio. Magi may use magic
  to look into and enter a regio. Alternately,
  characters may go to magi, herbalists,
  alchemists, or faeries for a potion or salve
  that allows them to temporarily look into
  regio layers (InVi 20). Herbalists have a
  bonus of +4 and alchemists a bonus of +3 to
  create such a salve or potion. Magi may
  make this salve or potion according to the
  ordinary rules for creating potions, and
  faeries with the Power Brew Faerie Potions
  who have a score of 3 or more can brew
  such a potion in a season.
  Glimpse Through the (Specific) Mystic
  Veil (Intéllego Vim 20)
  R: Sight, D: Conc., Spec.
  This spell allows the caster to see into lay-
  ers of regio other than the one currently occu-
  pied. In order for the spell to take effect, the
  wizard’s Penetration roll must equal or exceed
  the number required for a character with the
  appropriate mystical Virtue to see into that
  layer of the regio. Only the adjacent layers of
  the regio may be perceived with this spell.
  Once the new layer of the regio is perceived, it
  may be entered at will, just as if the wizard
  possessed the appropriate mystical Virtue. The
  spells for looking into magical, faerie, divine,
  and infernal regios are four separate spells
  that must be learned separately.
  There are methods of voluntarily enter-
  ing regio layers other than being able to see
  into them; however, these methods are all
  more difficult and unreliable. The easiest is
  to know where the points of entry are. Any
  character who has either observed someone
  entering a regio or who has knowingly
  entered a regio may make an Intelligence
  roll to remember the exact point of entry,
  with the difficulty being 11 (+ 1 per day that
  has passed since the character last saw the
  location used to enter). The difficulty of the
  roll is increased by 5 if the character is
  unsure of exactly when the regio boundary
  was crossed. Once the point of entry has
  been located, the character must make the
  usual roll to perceive a regio layer of 5 (+ 2
  per difference in aura). If either of these rolls
  is failed, the character may not attempt to
  enter this particular regio or regio layer for
  a full day without some form of additional
  help, and if the roll to remember is botched,
  the character has permanently misremem-
  bered the proper location of the entrance,
  and will be unable to find it unless shown
  where it truly is. A separate roll must be
  made for each regio layer entered.
  Characters who have high Lore knowl-
  edges may be able to deduce the proper
  entrance into a regio layer: Legend Lore
  being the appropriate knowledge for magic
  regios, Faerie Lore for faerie regios, and
  Occult Lore for infernal regios (divine regios
  being beyond the realm of mortal knowl-
  edge). An INTELLIGENCE + LORE stress die total
  of 12 (+ the regio layer to be entered) must
  be made for each layer entered. If this roll
  succeeds, the normal roll to enter a regio
  layer may be made; if it fails, then the char-
  acter has no idea where an entrance may
  be. If the Lore roll is botched, the character
  becomes certain that there is no regio layer
  at this particular location. Once again, a
  separate roll must be made for each new
  regio layer entered.
  For magic and faerie regios, characters
  who have some sort of strong emotional
  and arcane connection to something in the
  regio (which can range from a child or close
  sibling to a family heirloom) may make a
  single attempt to enter that regio and
  another attempt for each of any other lay-
  ers of regio leading up to the layer contain-
  ing the connection. The difficulty of all of
  these rolls is the standard 5 (+ 2 per differ-
  ence in layer aura). The law of contagion,
  
  83
  as well as the rules of the faeries and spirits,
  permits mortals one chance to recover inti-
  mate people or possessions that have been
  taken out of the mundane realm.
  Finally, characters who live within a
  regio for a year and a day become natives of
  that regio and may enter and leave it at will.
  The final method for entering a regio is
  the most dangerous: entering by accident.
  The easiest way to do this is by getting lost.
  Characters who become truly and honestly
  lost and are also drunk or otherwise totally
  preoccupied, distracted, and disconnected
  from their surroundings may accidentally
  step across into a regio when they cross its
  boundary. These characters again use the
  base formula for entering (or leaving) regio
  of 5 (+2 per point of difference in layer
  aura). However, once a character becomes
  aware of entry into a regio, these rolls are
  no longer possible, and other methods must
  be utilized in order to leave. Some regios of
  all four types, as well as gateways to
  Arcadia or the magic realm, open at ran-
  dom. Other regios and gateways open on
  certain dates (usually holidays associated
  with that particular power). During such
  times, anyone may enter these regios and
  realms without hindrance. No rolls are
  required to enter at these times, and the
  areas inside the regios are visible to all.
  All rolls for entering or leaving regio may
  be modified by as much as ±10 for specific
  local conditions and for specific dates and
  holidays. Divine regios become more accessi-
  ble on Easter or Christmas, and perhaps a bit
  easier on Sunday, while magical and faerie
  regios become easier to enter on the days (or
  more often nights) of the old pagan holidays,
  like All Hallows’ Eve or Beltane. In addition,
  anyone carrying something belonging to a
  regio or realm will have a bonus to enter that
  regio or realm (this bonus is normally
  between +1 and +4, but may be as high as
  +10 for powerful faerie artifacts). Wandering
  into a faerie forest drunk on Halloween may
  be a wonderfully easy way to enter Arcadia,
  but leaving may not be so easy.
  Arcadia
  Arcadia is older than mortals can com-
  prehend, and in all its time has never been
  Nothing is as it seems
  in a faerie regio.
  Illus. ©1995 Bryon Wackwitz
  
  84
  tamed. The sheer power and grandeur of
  the natural landscape is hard to imagine.
  For instance, the impression its forests
  make on a new traveler might be similar to
  the impression made on that person by
  normal forests if he or she had only seen
  fields and hedges before. But in addition to
  possessing a natural wonder in its scenery,
  Arcadia is a magical place.
  Characters with the Virtue Faerie Sight or
  Second Sight, or magi with Imáginem scores
  that total 10+, will see many strange and
  mysterious things. In the sky what at first
  seem to be clouds are revealed to be wispy
  faeries of the air who dance upon the breezes.
  Their appearance is alternately playful, cruel,
  and simply inhuman. Lakes and streams con-
  tain enormous creatures, with huge eyes and
  many pointy teeth, just below their surface
  that are actually the body of water itself.
  Some trees in the forest will have tall, slender
  faeries living inside them, the bark of the tree
  being their living skin. Everywhere things that
  seem normal are truly very different.
  The wilderness of Arcadia stretches as
  far as the eye can see; there is nothing of
  civilization here. It has never felt the scrape
  of the plow or the bite of the sickle. Most of
  Arcadia’s inhabitants are the spirits of this
  wilderness and are Arcadia’s forces. They
  are, in general, somewhat larger than mor-
  tals and much more powerful. These are
  not the small, fun, prankish faeries of mor-
  tal lands or even the rulers of faerie forests
  there. These are spirits who neither have
  nor want any commerce with civilization:
  completely alien creatures above the crass
  and simplistic dictates of mortal kind.
  If characters interfere with one of these
  faeries’ domains through physical force or
  magic—such as by cutting down a tree,
  damming a stream, or casting a spell of an
  appropriate type—the anger of these beings
  will be aroused. Unless the offending charac-
  ter asks with proper reverence for permission
  to affect the faeries’ domain, their anger will
  know no bounds. While there are only a few
  of these faeries in any one location, each is
  profoundly dangerous—far more so than the
  faeries found in the mortal realm.
  Each spirit has the ability to do magic
  of its type (Aquam, Auram, Herbam,
  In Arcadia, one gets
  used to odd journeys.
  Illus. ©1995 Susan Van Camp
  
  85
  or Terram) at will. The spirits may use all
  Techniques with power equivalent to spells
  of levels 15–30, the exact power in this
  range depending on the individual faerie.
  Plant faeries are numerous: talking oaks,
  dryads, and so forth. Such faeries are rarely
  even noticed by mortals and might be
  overlooked altogether.
  All of these nature faeries are wild
  faeries, and even the friendliest of them will
  have only a limited talent for and interest
  in dealing with mortals. It’s not that they
  are unable to do so, but rather that they
  have no real wish to do so. To find faeries
  with whom one can talk at length, one will
  have to journey to the homes of the civi-
  lized inhabitants of Arcadia.
  Faerie Cities of Arcadia
  Many of the civilized faeries of Arcadia
  are faerie nobles and greater faerie lords.
  Those who live in Arcadia will probably be
  the most powerful of their kind. Their cities
  are unlike any that mortals have ever seen.
  These cities rise directly from the natural
  landscape, with no border of cultivated
  space or cleared fields.
  The cities themselves are quite large
  and are few in number. An average city
  will cover a dozen or so square miles of
  land, but, unlike a mortal city of the same
  size, it will have only twenty thousand or
  so regular inhabitants. These cities are
  very open and uncrowded, with wide
  roads, parks, and large elaborate build-
  ings with few inhabitants.
  The physical structure of these cities is
  perhaps their most striking characteristic;
  they appear to have been grown instead of
  built. Some cities rise seamlessly from the
  local rock. Trees serve as living columns and
  buttresses for buildings, and their entwined
  branches for the walls. The windows are
  “stained glass” leaves, and the floors living
  wood. A faerie city is not uniform through-
  out, but it is beautiful. Stone, live trees, and
  even flowing water are all used as building
  materials. Some buildings contain harmo-
  nious mixtures of many substances, while
  others are seemingly grown from a single
  tree or rock, but all are natural and unique.
  In general, but not always, you will find
  faeries allied to a certain element living in
  dwellings made from that element. A
  magus with a good eye for detail could tell
  that the buildings and other structures in a
  faerie city were created using magic equiva-
  lent to Creo Herbam and Creo Terram spells
  of level 25 and above. Magic, not tools and
  muscle, built the faerie cities.
  Faerie cities are not always empty of
  people. On the eve of faerie festivals, the
  population might swell to two or three
  times its normal size. However, even at its
  most crowded, a faerie city has few inhabi-
  tants by mortal standards. Faeries cannot
  endure the crowding many mortals find
  both normal and comforting. How such
  cities are maintained without serfs or farm-
  ers should remain a mystery. Invisible
  hands may provide everything, or goods
  may move themselves like living things.
  The leaders of these cities live as do
  mortal nobles: hunting; having parties,
  banquets, and masquerades; and enjoying
  art, music, and dance in all forms, most of
  them borrowed from mortal customs.
  Many musicians and entertainers in the
  faerie cities are mortals—either captives or
  visitors to Arcadia.
  Entering Arcadia
  A group of characters who wish to enter
  Arcadia must contend with a series of chal-
  lenges. First and most important is finding
  an entrance, which is invariably a regio
  layer of great power (usually aura strength
  10). Secondly, each realm of Arcadia has its
  own guardian that must somehow be over-
  come. Then, the strange and unearthly
  nature of Arcadia itself must be dealt with.
  The greatest danger of a journey to
  Arcadia is the uncertainty of the duration of
  your stay there. Mortals staying only a single
  day in Arcadia may return home and find
  that a year, ten years, a century, or a few
  minutes have passed. In addition, if the time
  passed on the mortal world is quite long, the
  travelers may find their lost time “catching
  up with them” within a few minutes of their
  return home. This “catching up” means that
  the travelers will age all the years they missed
  in Arcadia all at once, and are even at risk of
  crumbling into dust. This instant aging does
  
  86
  60See ”Regios,” p. 81,
  for details on how to dis-
  cover paths into regios.
  not always occur, though: it seems there are
  things travelers can do to avoid it.
  A magus may use the arts of Intéllego
  and Vim to determine the exact moment to
  enter into Arcadia such that the amount of
  time that passes in a faerie realm is the
  same as, or near to, the amount of time
  passing in the mortal world.
  Passing of the Faerie Sun (Intéllego Vim 5)
  R: Near, D: Conc.
  The wizard perceives the differences in
  the passage of time through a gateway to
  Arcadia that he or she has detected by
  other means. A PERCEPTION + THE LEVEL OF THE
  SPELL stress die total of 11+ allows entry to
  Arcadia with little difference in time.
  Failing this roll means that the correct time
  is uncertain; the wizard may try another
  day. A botch means that the wizard only
  thinks he or she knows the correct timing,
  but does not.
  A reasonable storyguide should not
  have troupes regularly turning into dust
  upon their return from Arcadia. Faeries
  can automatically lead people safely into
  Arcadia, if they are so inclined. Also, due to
  the highly capricious nature of Arcadia,
  even a troupe that uses magical arts to
  determine the right time to enter or that is
  led by a helpful faerie may return to find
  that as little as one third to as much as
  three times the time spent in Arcadia has
  passed in the mortal world.
  There are several other problems
  besides time that must be solved. First, the
  troupe must find a faerie regio that leads to
  Arcadia. Once such a regio has been
  found, the exact part of the regio layer that
  leads to Arcadia must be located.60 The
  gateway is not usually a doorway but a
  spot or a special object. It could be a pool
  with the entrance under the water, or two
  oaks growing side by side with the entrance
  between them. It could be a cave, or an
  elm that must be climbed.
  Finding the gateway can be done in
  many ways. The faeries of the regio may
  reveal the correct path. However, it is more
  likely that the path must be discovered with-
  out aid. Any character who takes a strong
  hallucinogen in an area of faerie power and
  who makes a Stamina roll of 7+ has the
  equivalent of Faerie Sight for the duration of
  the hallucinogen’s effects. Characters who
  succeed in a Faerie Sight roll immediately
  cease to see the “real” world, but can see the
  portion of Arcadia to which it corresponds.
  They cannot see their companions, except
  for faeries and people with faerie blood,
  although they can still hear them. They will
  often see a path or markings that lead to a
  gateway. All they need to do is have their
  companions follow behind as they travel
  the pathway through the gate. Usually it is
  a very bad thing to step off such pathways
  when traveling to Arcadia, no matter the
  temptations. Once a troupe has passed
  through the gateway into Arcadia, all the
  characters’ perceptions return to normal,
  and all can see in Arcadia.
  Once in Arcadia, magi will receive +10
  on their magic rolls, and characters with
  mystical Virtues will receive +10 on their rolls
  for the corresponding Abilities. However, this
  extra power makes magic even less pre-
  dictable, and so anyone using such abilities
  must make extra botch rolls unless he or she
  is a faerie or has faerie blood.
  Guardians
  Within a few minutes of entering
  Arcadia, the troupe will be met by a
  guardian of this realm. What the guardian
  is will depend on the realm. Storyguides
  can use figures from appropriate myths or
  from local legends or folk tales—sto-
  ryguides are encouraged to be imaginative.
  Proper guardians should be imposing
  enough to make using force against them a
  poor option. If the issue of force comes up,
  the guardians draw their power from the
  entire realm around them. They are essen-
  tially immune to both magical and ordi-
  nary attacks. All guardians have the power
  to transport anyone or anything not from
  their realm to any point in their realm or to
  return the creatures to their home realm.
  Exercise of this power is instantaneous.
  People meeting a guardian upon enter-
  ing a realm will be stopped and asked a
  series of questions. Usually the questions
  relate to the people’s identities, histories, pos-
  sessions, friends, enemies, and purposes in
  Arcadia. The interrogation is brief and to the
  point, and may include a riddle. The
  
  87
  guardian knows everything about those who
  enter its realm, and can tell if they are lying.
  The guardian can understand all languages.
  If the answers are satisfactory, the travelers
  will be allowed to pass, and may even be
  given helpful information if the guardian
  believes their quest is important. If for any
  reason the travelers are considered undesir-
  able, they will be transported to a location of
  the 
  storyguide’s 
  choosing 
  where 
  the
  guardian believes they can do no harm to its
  realm. If they have offended the guardian,
  the location may be very unpleasant.
  Magi and those well versed in faerie
  lore sometimes enter into a realm in order
  to ask a guardian to transport them to a
  specific location. Guardians sometimes lis-
  ten to reasonable requests. However, they
  have no interest in the personal goals of
  the petitioners unless those goals have an
  impact on their realm. They care nothing
  for wealth and will easily become impa-
  tient if they are being used as a transport
  system. Interesting and infrequent requests
  are the safest ones.
  Guardians have one other power: the abil-
  ity to transform any item to one that is more
  suited to the realm being entered. They will
  always use this power to transform all iron the
  troupe is carrying into
  another metal.
  Travel in Arcadia
  Travel in Arcadia occurs according to
  many of the same rules that govern trav-
  el in dreams. As in the logic of dreams,
  you may not know how you got from one
  place to the other, or how long it took, or
  how far apart the two places are, or what
  was in between the two; but there is a
  sense of passing from one place to the
  other. This is the rule for ordinary travel
  in Arcadia. Always give the sense of trav-
  eling in some reasonable manner, by
  boat, by horse, on foot, by swimming, by
  flying, and so on, though time and place
  can be vague. Characters might be guided
  through a dark, dying forest in the North
  and end up at the Castle of Treigaloth,
  upon the star of Mars.
  The Arcadian counterparts to loca-
  tions are correspondences: how close or
  far from the Light a place is, how close to
  Summer or Winter, etc. In the mortal
  world, the closer two places are, the easier
  it is to travel between them. In Arcadia,
  the closer two correspondences are, the
  easier it is to travel between them. To get
  somewhere in Arcadia, you must go
  towards the landscapes and features most
  like the destination you want. To find
  something, you must look for what it is
  most like (in a symbolic, not superficial,
  way). The thing most like what you are
  looking for in all the world is your desti-
  nation. When you find the one, you
  have found the other.
  Sometimes mysteries are found:
  things, places, or people whose corre-
  sponding meanings are unknown.
  Such mysteries are often objects of
  fear in Arcadia, for by faerie logic
  they could be anywhere for any rea-
  son to do anything to anyone. Someone
  must unravel the mystery, for the safety
  of all. This is often left to mortals to do.
  Correspondences
  To help characters determine cor-
  respondences, the storyguide may give
  hints, or characters with Faerie Lore
  may get die rolls to figure them out. To
  figure out or remember a well-known
  fact, an INTELLIGENCE + FAERIE LORE stress
  Quests and questions
  go hand-in-hand upon
  entering  Arcadia.
  Illus. ©1995 Julie Baroh
  
  88
  die total of 9+ is needed. Recalling or dis-
  cerning general facts that are obscure (for
  example, “White animals with red eyes are
  creatures of the Daoine Sidhe”) requires a
  total of 15+. Very particular facts, or very
  obscure, would be much harder.
  If a correspondence is unknown,
  another option is to create a correspon-
  dence. If, for example, a faerie knight
  with no device on her shield can be found
  in many different places wearing differ-
  ent clothing and armor, the troupe will
  have no way of finding out where she
  lives or with whom she is allied. However,
  it is possible for a character with Free
  Expression to create a song, poem, paint-
  ing, or some such work that allies her
  with some existing correspondence. “She
  shines like the sun”; “her hair is the color
  of leaves in the fall”; “she is as fierce as a
  winter blizzard”—have the players supply
  the image; encourage creativity. If the
  correspondence is successfully created,
  then the troupe could seek her in the
  lands where the correspondence lies.
  Since correspondences are reality in
  Arcadia, creating new ones could change
  the personality of a creature or the aspect
  of a place. Correspondences may only be
  created or changed in Arcadia, however.
  To create a reasonable correspondence
  where none existed before, roll a PRESENCE
  + THE APPROPRIATE PERFORMANCE SKILL stress
  die against an ease factor determined by
  the storyguide. For example, a fierce war-
  rior as “fierce as a winter blizzard” might
  require a roll total of 21+.61
  If the place, person, or object the
  troupe is trying to alter already has an
  existing correspondence that is opposed
  to the new one, roll a STRESS DIE + ONE-FIFTH
  OF THE FAERIE MIGHT OF THE BEING (or owner
  of the object or place) and subtract that
  total from the character’s roll. It is also
  possible to try to change existing corre-
  spondences.
  It is theoretically possible to make dras-
  tic changes to Arcadia this way, such as
  changing the Land of the Dead from a
  land away from the Light to a land toward
  the Light. Such a change could not happen
  overnight, but would be the focus of a
  whole saga. However, if successful, it would
  reshape all of Arcadia, and possibly the
  mortal world as well.
  Remember, faeries, even faerie player
  characters, cannot change correspon-
  dences. Faeries cannot have the Virtue Free
  Expression, which is needed to change cor-
  respondences. Faerie player characters and
  characters who were raised by the faeries
  are at +3 to determine correspondences, as
  are all members of House Merinita. Faeries
  are quite aware of the power of the Free
  Expression, and may ask those with that
  Virtue for aid. The character would be
  greatly rewarded for such a favor, but
  beware: there are many who do not want
  these correspondences altered.
  Stories in Arcadia
  Faeries may wish the troupe’s help in
  defeating other mortals, perhaps even
  diabolists, trespassing in Arcadia, or a
  faerie lord may wish for help against a
  faerie rival. Mortals are outside the
  bounds of faerie life and so can do things
  the faeries cannot do. If a troupe contains
  a talented musician, entertainer, or artist,
  the faeries may simply want to meet this
  person and see his or her work. Stories
  about faeries play a major role in local
  folklore. Historical tales from the part of
  the world in which your troupe is based
  61For an example of
  the use of Free Expression
  to work with correspon-
  dences, see “Gerin Travels
  to 
  the 
  Bright 
  Lady’s
  Land” in chapter six.
  Sample Correspondence Rolls:
  Healing or Minorly Changing
  Yourself:
  13
  Major Changes to Your Own
  Form:
  17
  Minor Changes to Others or
  Healing Others:
  17
  Moderate Changes to Others:
  21
  Major Changes to Others:
  24+
  
  89
  may be used. Alternatively, you may wish
  to invent your own stories from scratch.
  Stories involving Arcadia require spe-
  cial creativity and careful attention from
  the players. Some players will be unhappy
  with shifting landscapes, unusual laws,
  and powerful beings of the faerie realms.
  It is recommended that a storyguide start
  slowly with faerie adventuring. When
  running faerie adventures, keep the fol-
  lowing three qualities in mind.
  Uniqueness
  It is very tempting for storyguides to
  invent vast faerie scenarios and to force
  them on the players right away. It is also
  probably a mistake. Start with the less
  exotic faeries. Reward persistent or imag-
  inative players with a glimpse of some-
  thing greater, or an unexpected piece of
  real knowledge from a supposedly minor
  faerie being. Grogs are as likely to receive
  these insights as magi.
  Weave a tapestry of faerie lore into
  your game first; do not expect players to
  be awed by a visit to Arcadia if you
  haven’t provided the buildup that lets
  the players share their characters’ feel-
  ings that this is something special. Either
  make Arcadia adventures a rare event,
  or begin slowly to build up the idea that
  the more normal Arcadia seems to the
  characters, the more strange the “real”
  world is becoming.
  Constancy
  You should always maintain some
  basic sense of constancy. Otherwise, play-
  ers who try hard to grasp a sense of
  Arcadia and its rules become frustrated
  and stop trying to feel the world their
  characters are in as “real.” If you play by
  Arcadia’s rules, the players will come to
  believe in the Arcadia you create.
  Equally important, you must give the
  players a chance to learn from their experi-
  ences. In order to achieve their goals, they 
  must come to understand why things hap-
  pen as they do in Arcadia and how to try to
  make things happen as they wish them to.
  Freedom
  The hardest part of being a storyguide
  instead of a storyteller is giving the charac-
  ters freedom of action, because they so
  often don’t do what you expect. Suppose
  you decide that the characters can reach
  Caer Arianrod, a castle in the sky of
  Arcadia, by climbing the Great Ash Tree.
  Over the last three sessions, you have care-
  fully given them clues along these lines,
  and they missed your clues. Don’t  simply
  allow the characters to arrive by fiat since
  “anything is possible in Arcadia.” Instead,
  allow for characters to discover other ways
  of getting there.  For instance, during the
  game session, a Companion astrologer
  may reason that, since the castles of the
  Tuatha de Danann seem to be in the sky,
  she can use her star charts as maps to lead
  the group to Caer Arianrod. The characters
  use their imagination to find unexpected
  ways of solving the puzzle, instead of rea-
  soning the way they are “supposed to.”
  If the players’ reasoning violates the
  general rules of Arcadia, their idea won’t
  work. Otherwise, it has a chance.
  In Arcadia, players have almost as
  much power to create situations as the
  storyguide does, because the imagination
  of visitors can affect reality there. This
  fact gives players a unique opportunity to
  participate in the making of a story, and
  gives the storyguide a unique responsibil-
  ity to facilitate their participation as he
  or she is shaping a satisfying tale out of
  the whole. Sometimes legitimate ideas
  create practical problems that would
  damage the impact of the scenario as a
  whole. In these cases, Arcadia offers the
  storyguide as many possible aids as it
  offers obstructions: differential time rates,
  faeries hostile to mortals, infatuating or
  hypnotic faeries, and helpful or hostile
  powers whose abilities to shape events
  are greater than any human’s. The basic
  idea is this: instead of molding the play-
  ers to your vision of the world and the
  story, mold the world and the story to the
  players’ vision of it.
  
  90
  A wood-woman and
  the Wild Hunt.
  Illus. ©1995 Anson Maddocks
  
  “E
  ven magi of House Merinita cannot agree
  upon all the kinds of faeries and their names.
  Therefore, all should remember that faeries are
  intemperate creatures that will not stay sensibly
  within the proper bounds of form and station.
  Faeries are classified as numina maior or numina
  minor, as well as being numina rerum peritus or
  numina desertorum.62
  “One other way of sorting out the types of faeries
  should be mentioned. In Hibernia, the peasants often
  speak of ‘Seelie’ and ‘Unseelie’ faeries as if they are
  arrayed in clans and are enemies of each other. By these
  curious words the peasants seem to mean something
  closer to ‘pleasing’ and ‘unpleasant’ than to good and
  evil. It is said by the peasants that Seelie faeries are
  abroad by day and in the warm seasons, while Unseelie
  faeries are abroad by night and in the cold parts of the
  year. In keeping with the fact that God has made us to
  seek the light and warmth and to fear the darkness and
  the winter, the Seelie faeries are thought by the peas-
  ants to be more pleasing than the Unseelie. It is not
  known if these ideas hold true for all faeries in Hibernia
  and Albion, much less for those in other lands.”
  —Rebecca, Librarian of Harco
  91
  62Numina maior: High
  faeries. Numina minor:
  Low 
  faeries. 
  Numina
  rerum peritus: Faeries of
  the world. Numina deser-
  torum: Faeries of the
  wilderness.
  
  92
  Faerie Powers
  T
  he following are “standard” faerie
  Powers, though some may differ in spe-
  cific faeries. Each Power includes guidelines
  for the ratings of the Power. Ratings vary
  from 1 (weak) to 20 (very powerful).
  Remember, these Powers are not spells;
  they cannot be resisted by normal magic.
  Bless
  A faerie with this Power can reward
  mortals with good luck, health, and
  wealth. The exact effect of the blessing
  depends on the faerie who gives it. Minor
  faeries (with scores of 1–5) may bless a per-
  son, house, or family, while powerful
  faeries (with scores of 10+) may bless whole
  villages and towns if they so desire.
  Brew Faerie Potions
  A faerie with this Power can make one
  potion after twelve hours of work for every 5
  points of rating. A potion can be instilled
  with one of the Powers that the faerie has. At
  scores over 10, the creator can make potions
  that have Powers other than ones that he or
  she possesses. Common faerie potions grant
  Faerie Sight, water breathing, or invisibility.
  Duration is one hour per point of rating.
  Sometimes potions with special or long-term
  powers and effects can be created, but these
  take at least a month to brew. 
  Change Size
  This Power allows the faerie to change
  its size either up or down by a number of
  size points equal to its rating. Thus a size -2
  faerie with a Change Size 3, could go up to
  +1 in Size or down to -5.
  Communicate with Animals/Plants
  Faeries with this Power can exchange
  information with animals or plants.
  Higher ratings allow communication with
  more individuals or across greater dis-
  tances.
  Control Animals
  This Power allows the faerie to control a
  single animal for 12 hours per 2 points of
  this Power. After initial contact between the
  faerie and the animal, there is no limit on
  how far the two can be separated. However,
  the faerie must concentrate on the controlled
  animal in order to will it to do a specific task.
  Control Fertility
  This Power allows the faerie to limit or
  enhance the fertility of a given location of
  a number of acres in area equal to the
  faerie’s rating. This Power affects all repro-
  duction in the area: plant, animal, and
  human, alike.
  Control Person
  The effects of this Power are similar to
  Rego Mentem spells like Enslave Mortal Mind,
  with the victim getting an initial chance to
  resist with an Intelligence roll. The ease fac-
  tor of the roll depends on the faerie’s Power
  Chapter Nine:
  Faerie Folk, a Bestiary
  
  93
  rating. Additional rolls may be made when
  the victim is being forced to do something
  that is strongly against his or her will. As in
  Control Animal, only the initial contact
  between the faerie and target is necessary. A
  faerie can control a single mortal for 12
  hours per 2 points of this Power.
  Curse
  At low ratings, this Power allows the
  faerie to afflict mortals with minor annoy-
  ances, such as having their milk curdled,
  their bread prevented from rising, and so
  forth. At high ratings, Curse can cause per-
  sistent nightmares, prevent a patch of land
  from supporting life, and more. The sto-
  ryguide should customize the Curse to the
  nature of the transgression against the faerie.
  Control Element
  This Power allows the faerie control
  over one of the elemental magical Forms of
  Aquam, Auram, Herbam, Ignem, or
  Terram. A faerie with Control Element can
  cause effects with that element that dupli-
  cate Hermetic spells of a magnitude equal
  to the faerie’s rating in this Power. (A
  Hermetic spell’s level is equal to its magni-
  tude times five; in other words, the spell’s
  magnitude is one-fifth its level.)
  Elfshot
  Elfshot is a faerie weapon, a dart or
  arrow that has a special effect on mortals.
  This effect depends on the rating of this
  Power. See box below.
  Elfshot is considered a ranged weapon
  for all purposes, and faeries using it have a
  limited supply of shots (4–6), which can be
  replaced with the Enchant Objects Power
  after a combat session.
  Enchanting Music
  The exact effects of this Power depend
  on the faerie in question, and on the rating
  of this Power. Three points allows the faerie
  simply to calm the subject; 4–7 points lets
  the faerie do anything from immobilize
  mortals to cause them to dance until they
  drop from fatigue; and 8 or more points per-
  mits the faerie to effectively infatuate the
  subject for as long as the music continues.
  Enchant Objects
  The faerie may create up to one magi-
  cal item a day. The exact nature of these
  items can be quite varied. The effects of the
  item typically duplicate Hermetic spells of
  a magnitude equal to the rating of this
  Power. Faeries may accumulate or com-
  bine ratings to produce larger effects.
  Fear
  With a rating of 1, a faerie can make
  a single mortal wary of it; with 3 to 5
  points, a faerie can make a mortal cower
  with fear or flee, depending on the exact
  circumstances. Groups of mortals can be
  caused to flee or cower by faeries with rat-
  ings of 8 or more.
  Glamour
  Glamour is a very powerful illusion.
  A faerie with the Glamour Power can
  Elfshot Rating
  Effect
  1–3
  Cause pain for 2+ rounds. Subject must roll Stamina of 
  12+ to perform any action.
  4–7
  Cause visions for 2+ rounds. Subject can perform no
  actions.
  8–10
  Cause permanent paralysis in affected part of the body.
  11–15
  Cause permanent madness.
  16+
  Cause instant death.
  
  94
  create illusions that are effectively real
  as long as the faerie is present. Add 6 to
  the size of an object to determine the
  rating required to make a glamour of it.
  A glamour will appear real to all five
  senses and may be treated as a real
  object in all ways. Once the faerie leaves
  or loses interest in the glamour, the
  glamour will fade away. However, any
  effects the glamour had on its surround-
  ings remain.
  Healing
  The faerie may heal one Body level
  of wounds or diseases for each 2 points
  of this Power.
  Infatuation
  This Power produces an intense
  attraction in any mortal towards the
  faerie exercising it. The mortal is not
  directly controlled, but will want to do the
  faerie’s will and may fall in love with it.
  A mortal has only one opportunity to roll
  INTELLIGENCE
  + ALERTNESS
  to resist the
  Infatuation. The ease factor is equal to
  the rating of this Power times 3.
  The Power only works through some
  sort of contact between the faerie and
  its victim. At ratings up to 5, the sub-
  ject must be touched; at 6–10, the sub-
  ject must hear the faerie; above 10,
  simply the sight of the faerie is enough
  to charm the subject. The Power lasts as
  long as the contact (of whatever type) is
  maintained.
  Insubstantial Form
  This Power allows the faerie to
  assume a non-physical form. Physical
  objects cannot affect the faerie, nor can
  the faerie affect physical things while
  using this Power. This Power does not
  make the faerie invisible. Insubstantial
  Form can be used for up to one hour for
  each point of rating. Some faeries are
  innately insubstantial and do not need
  this Power to remain so.
  Invisibility
  Use of this Power means the faerie can-
  not be detected by any mortal senses—not
  just sight. Invisibility lasts for one hour per
  point of this Power. The faerie can control the
  Power during this time (becoming visible or
  invisible at will). Invisibility does not work on
  those with the Virtues Faerie Sight or Second
  Sight, or on demons, angels, and such.
  Possession
  For each 10 points of this Power that a
  faerie possesses, a faerie may take control
  of the body of a single person, creature, or
  object and use it as if it were his or her own.
  When possessing objects, such faeries may
  reside in them but do not cause them to
  move in any way—for instance, a faerie
  could not animate a statue with this Power.
  Possession is by touch only, and lasts until
  sunrise or sunset, whichever occurs first.
  Prophecy
  This Power allows the faerie to predict
  future, or possible future, events. The rat-
  ing should be used as a guide to the
  amount and importance of the informa-
  tion received.
  Shapechange to Animal
  This Power allows the faerie to take on
  the form of an animal. Some faeries can
  assume but one animal form; others can
  use many. While in animal form, the
  faerie 
  retains 
  its 
  Perception 
  and
  Intelligence scores. It cannot use any of its
  physical Abilities such as Pick Locks or
  Stealth but instead has the physical abili-
  ties of the animal chosen. The faerie
  retains the ability to speak. The rating of
  this Power is the number of times the faerie
  can change shape per day.
  Shapechange to Object
  With this Power, the faerie is able to
  take the form of any inanimate object. The
  
  95
  other parameters of the Power are the
  same as those of Shapechange to Animal.
  Shapechange Other to Animal
  This Power works on other creatures,
  mortal or faerie, in just the same way as
  Shapechange to Animal. Anyone in the
  faerie’s line of sight may be changed. The
  rating of this Power is the number of crea-
  tures that can be changed per day. Any
  number per day can be returned to their
  normal shape.
  Shapechange Other to Object
  As per Shapechange to Object, but
  affecting any mortal or faerie in the
  faerie’s line of sight.
  Travel
  Faeries who have this Power may
  appear instantly anywhere they have been
  before. The faerie may take one mortal
  along on this trip for every 7 points of
  Power the faerie has.
  Faerie Weaknesses
  Iron
  Iron, like certain animals, plants, and
  objects, has faerie associations. Not all of
  these associations are negative, however.
  Some faeries have iron teeth, claws, and
  fingernails. Iron is not an innately poiso-
  nous or “anti-faerie” substance; rather, it is
  a magical substance whose magic is par-
  ticularly felt by faeries. Those faeries who
  live in situations and places with which
  iron has long had some association are the
  least likely to be affected by iron (that is,
  mine faeries, field faeries, and city faeries).
  Some clergy mention that the power of iron
  comes from the iron nails in the Cross.
  Many smiths, however, think that the com-
  mon faeries are vulnerable to iron because
  iron-working is particularly the craft and
  power of mortals; unlike stone, clay, wood,
  and gold, iron (other than faerie iron) must
  first be worked by human hands before it
  can be a useful material.
  Some faeries are merely uncomfortable
  with iron. Others are destroyed by it. The
  following is a list of the possible effects of
  iron on faeries. Unless otherwise noted, all
  faeries of the same type are affected in the
  same way by iron. Multiple effects are pos-
  sible on the same faerie or faerie type.
  Discomfort from Iron
  Iron is ugly stuff. Coming into contact
  with it is like coming into contact with a
  decaying dead animal. These faeries will
  have to make stress rolls rather than normal
  rolls on all abilities when iron is at close
  range. Magic cast under these conditions has
  double botch rolls, as does magic cast on
  anyone carrying iron or touching an iron
  object. Those faeries with this sensitivity will
  have no iron tools, weapons, or household
  objects, and may be extremely offended by
  mortals who try to deal with them while car-
  rying iron. A mortal who chooses to perform
  crafts that do not involve iron or who uses
  non-iron tools and weapons may gain spe-
  cial favor with such faeries. Occasionally,
  discomfort may be limited to certain types of
  heat-forged iron other than cast iron, any
  kind of iron other than lodestone, or other
  various forms of iron.
  Vulnerability to Iron
  Cold iron hurts to the touch as if it were
  red hot. Faeries with this vulnerability take
  no damage or minimal damage from sim-
  ply touching an object (although doing so
  hurts them a great deal), but do take +1%
  to +50% (depending on the faerie) extra
  damage from wounds inflicted by iron
  objects. They cannot cast spells on iron or
  affect it in any way. In extreme cases,
  wounds inflicted by iron do not heal nor-
  mally. These faeries hate iron and will
  always treat the presence of iron on a
  being they are dealing with as an indica-
  tion that the being intends to do them
  harm. They will never befriend a black-
  
  96
  smith or a village that supports a smithy.
  Most wilderness faeries suffer from this
  weakness. Faeries that live in isolated areas
  and rarely have contact with mortals
  almost always have this weakness.
  Bound by Iron
  Faeries that are bound by iron are
  forced to behave in certain ways in the pres-
  ence of iron. The exact nature of the bind-
  ing varies, but usually the faerie must be
  touched by the iron in order to be bound.
  One common form of this vulnerability
  that affects some faerie animals and faeries
  in animal form causes those touched by
  iron (which is usually in the form of a bit,
  halter, shoes, milking pail, and so on) to be
  bound to the possessor of the iron item as if
  they were ordinary domestic animals.
  Sometimes this binding lasts until the item
  is removed, other times only until the next
  moonrise or full moon. Another form of
  iron binding affects more-manlike faeries
  by causing them to speak only the truth to
  any mortal who binds them in iron fetters.
  This binding lasts until the iron is removed.
  Religion
  Some faeries are vulnerable to the
  Dominion. Usually, these faeries live in
  remote areas or are associated with pagan
  peoples or places. Faeries vulnerable to reli-
  gion take the full penalties listed for
  Dominion aura to all magic and Ability rolls
  (Soak rolls are unaffected). In addition,
  faeries vulnerable to religion may not affect
  a mortal as long as the mortal is sincerely
  praying. Persons with True Faith and those
  possessing holy relics are considered to have
  a Dominion aura equal to their Faith Points.
  This aura extends to within sight or sound of
  the person or object. The touch of holy relics
  or holy water, as well as the sound of church
  bells, causes these faeries pain (but not dam-
  age). Note that faeries who are not vulnera-
  ble to religion do not suffer any of these penal-
  ties, including those for Dominion aura.63
  Faerie Folk, a Bestiary
  Numina Desertorum Maiores
  (Greater Wilderness Faeries)
  Dryads
  DEEP FORESTS ANYWHERE
  Dryads generally appear as great spir-
  its of a forest, with bodies formed of green
  herbs and branches, and heads crowned
  with the most precious gifts of their forest:
  olives, grapes, oranges, and laurel, in
  warm countries; beechnuts, mistletoe, and
  sweet acorns, in the north. They may also
  63See Ars Magica
  rules 
  for 
  effects 
  of
  Dominion upon faeries
  susceptible to it.
  Faerie Iron
  Faerie iron comes in two forms. The first
  falls from the sky or is unearthed in fields as
  “thunder stones.” It is extremely difficult to
  work; only a master smith (ability level 5 or
  more), a smith who has aid from earth
  faeries, or a faerie smith can forge it. The
  finished metal has the properties of steel
  and is the color of silver. This type of faerie
  iron will never rust, and edged weapons
  made from it do +1 damage, due to their
  exceedingly sharp edge. This form of iron is
  associated with Light in Arcadia.
  The other form of faerie iron is some-
  times found floating in dark, spongy
  masses in certain faerie swamps. It is
  extremely difficult to smelt, often giving
  off poisonous fumes when first heated.
  Once smelted into a solid metal, this iron
  is easy to work. The finished metal has the
  malleability of lead and also can take as
  fine of detail as lead can, though it is con-
  siderably harder. It is the color of lead,
  and while it will not take a fine edge, it
  cannot be broken, and cannot be dam-
  aged by heat or chemicals. This form of
  faerie iron is usually associated with Dark
  in Arcadia.
  Both forms of faerie iron have the equiv-
  alent of a Magic Resistance +25, active
  against any attempt to destroy or alter them
  with any Perdo or Muto spell.
  
  97
  appear in a more mortal shape, as
  men or women dressed all in leaves.
  They have complete power over all
  green growing things in their forests,
  making deadly plants safe for those
  they protect and safe ones deadly for
  those who have offended them, and
  creating abundant or scant harvests
  of wild foods. Their power extends
  over hamadryads as well.64 Dryads
  do not age or wither; they sleep only
  when the trees sleep.
  In each dryad forest there is a
  grove that is a regio leading to a
  place in Arcadia where the forest also
  exists. Anything that destroys a dryad
  destroys its entire forest as well, but as
  long as the forest exists in Arcadia,
  the dryad cannot die.
  Leshiye, Dryads of Russia and
  Eastern Europe
  Leshiye rule deep forests of pine,
  spruce, and fir. The weather in a leshiye
  forest changes with its lord’s or lady’s
  whim, and all the forest’s animals are sub-
  ject to him or her. Leshiye may appear in
  any form, animate or inanimate, that is no
  smaller than that of the smallest thing in
  their forest, no larger than the largest thing
  in their forest. Only the forms of things
  that have at one time been within their for-
  est can be assumed. It is thought that the
  true form of a leshiye has one eye, one
  horn, an enormous hairy body, and mixed
  animal 
  and 
  human 
  characteristics.
  Leshiye like to gamble and tell stories. They
  travel in whirlwinds, scorn the blessings of
  civilization, and treasure the forest and its
  creatures as a king treasures his domain.
  6 4 H a m a d r y a d :
  Lesser cousins of the
  dryads, typically associ-
  ated with a single tree.
  See “Hamadryad” in
  the following section.
  Adventure Seed
  “We have great love for the forest
  king, the Havi Leshiye. You wise men,
  you will know how to talk to him. It is
  about the squirrels, you see, great
  lords. Yes, squirrels. Last moon, dark
  moving ground of squirrels, many,
  many squirrels, all going away. This
  moon, no squirrels here anymore. He
  must have bet them all. Zuna Leshiye,
  on the mountain, well . . . we know the
  people up there use bad dice. Maybe
  they taught Zuna Leshiye to cheat.
  Havi Leshiye is very sad. You can hear
  him howling, with your feet. I think
  the dead can hear him in the grave-
  yard. The fog is not going to go away
  until he is happy again. No, not the
  rain, either. He lives in the big tree, the
  empty tree in the very middle of the
  forest. He will be happy when he has
  squirrels again. We are only poor peas-
  ants. You are such very wise men.”
  Leshiye (Dryad)
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  45
  0
  Characteristics 
  +2 
  Int  
  +3 
  Prs 
  +1 
  Per 
  +2
  Com
  +5 
  Str 
  +4 
  Dex  
  +3 
  Sta 
  +2 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +1
  Honest
  +2
  Moody
  +3
  Kind to Animals
  Powers
  5
  Change Size 
  15
  Communicate with Animals   
  15
  Control Animals                
  9    Control Auram
  10
  Shapechange to Animal and Plants
  10
  Shapechange to Object
  Leshiye are immune to all Auram effects cast in their
  domain, and can automatically dispel any Animál spell
  cast on their animals.
  Vulnerable to religion
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Kick Totals: 
  +8 
  +10
  –
  +15
  Club Totals: 
  +11 
  +13
  +10
  +25
  Dodge Defrense: +5
  Soak: +35*
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  *Iron weapons do +2 damage
  Body Levels
  OK, 0, 0, -1, -3, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, 0, 0, -1, -3, -6, Incapacitated
  
  98
  It is said that leshiye of rivers also exist,
  called vodyaniye. The vodyaniye resemble
  the corpses of drowned men—fat, pale, and
  naked—and have the same control over
  the life of their rivers that the leshiye have
  over that of their forests. It is possible that
  these faeries are tied to the land and its
  seasons.
  Gnomes
  MOUNTAIN PLACES, ESPECIALLY SCANDINAVIA AND
  THE ALPS
  Gnomes live beneath the earth in lands
  of snow and ice, and are unable to bear the 
  touch of warmth or sunlight. Gnomes may
  be as small as the length of a man’s fore-
  arm but, it seems, no larger than mortal
  children. All gnomes are hideous and
  deformed to mortal eyes and are withered
  and old. In truth, they are ageless, and
  stronger than bulls. Gnomes guard and
  hoard the wealth of the earth and know
  the earth’s secrets, and each gnome is a
  master crafter. Gnomes know the location
  of all buried things.
  They shun mortal wealth and power,
  desiring nothing but to possess the rarest
  treasures and to make works that have
  been believed impossible to craft. These
  things they desire beyond all reason. In
  exchange for a special treasure, a gnome
  might be induced to make a warship that
  folds small enough to fit into a purse, a
  winged iron horse that flies, arrows that
  never miss their mark, a diamond with a
  thousand facets that is as small as the
  point of a pin and as bright as a summer
  sky, and so on. Not even the wisest mortals
  can tell if the work of gnomes is done by
  magic or by pure craftsmanship.
  Gnomes
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  40
  -2 to -5
  Characteristics 
  +2 
  Int  
  -3 
  Prs 
  +4 
  Per 
  -2
  Com 
  +4 
  Str 
  +8 
  Dex  
  +8 
  Sta 
  -2 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +5
  Careful
  +4
  Stingy
  Powers 
  15
  Enchant Objects
  4
  Shapechange to 
  Animal
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Pick/Tool Totals: 
  +6 
  +15
  +6
  +19
  Dodge: +4( - current Size) 
  Soak: +18*
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  * Gnomes are immune to damage from iron, stone, or
  anything else that comes from the earth.
  Body Levels
  OK, -1, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, -1, -6, Unconscious
  A gnome at work.
  Illus. ©1995 John T. Snyder
  
  99
  Each gnome has the power to assume
  the form of one creature that dwells
  beneath the earth: a centipede, a mole, a
  worm. This form may be assumed in whole
  or in part, and at any size between the nat-
  ural size of the animal and the size of a
  five-year-old child.
  Hags
  BRITISH ISLES AND BRITTANY
  Hags take the form of gigantic old
  women. They have inhuman faces, and
  skin that is blue or black. Each hag is asso-
  ciated with a particular place, usually a
  hill or a standing stone. They are seen only
  between Hallowmass (31 October) and
  May Eve (30 April), and are believed to
  turn into stone for the rest of the year.
  Stories say that they are defeated in the
  spring by equally powerful faeries, who
  appear as young and beautiful men or
  maidens; the hags defeat these faeries in
  turn at Hallowmass. Hags protect and con-
  trol wild animals and poisonous or ill-luck
  plants (often medicinal or magical) in their
  districts. It is said that they serve as judges
  in the courts of the faerie nobles, for they
  are beyond petty rivalries and politics.
  Numina Desertorum Minores
  (Lesser Wilderness Faeries)
  Hamadryads
  ALL PLACES WITH TREES
  Each hamadryad lives within the
  body of a single tree, and the faerie has
  many of that tree’s characteristics when it
  appears to mortals in its humanoid form.
  A hamadryad lives for as long as its tree sur-
  vives, and dies upon its death. A hamadryad
  cannot move more than a day’s walk from
  its tree. In the warm countries, hamadryads
  appear most often in the shape of women
  only; here they consort with the fauni, and
  may be a sort of nymph. In cold lands, they
  seem made in the male and female image
  after the nature of the tree: the oak as a
  great, twisted old man, the birch as a pale
  and lovely girl. Some hamadryads are hos-
  tile to mortals, while other sorts in other
  places are kind and may consort with mor-
  tals and bear children with them.
  All hamadryads have some power over
  green growing things, and knowledge of
  the virtues of plants for uses good and ill.
  Though they may not leave the area of
  their tree, hamadryads have been known to
  appear in dreams or as whispered voices to
  mortals they favor, though the mortals
  may be far away at the time. In some cases,
  even if the hamadryad lives in an ordinary
  Hags
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  40
  +3
  Characteristics 
  +2 
  Int  
  -5 
  Prs 
  +4 
  Per 
  -1
  Com 
  +6 
  Str 
  +3 
  Dex  
  +6 
  Sta 
  +1 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +2
  Retiring
  +4
  Stubborn
  Powers
  12
  Control Animals
  12
  Glamour
  8
  Control Herbam
  7
  Infatuation
  Anything a hag hits with her staff will decay or fall
  apart (PeAn 25, PeCo 25, PeHe 25, PeTe 25). A hag can
  also reverse this decay (but only decay she herself has
  caused).
  Vulnerable to religion
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Staff Totals: 
  +9 
  +12
  +16
  +9
  Dodge Defrense:-2 
  Soak: +18*
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  * Hags are vulnerable to iron and take +2 damage from
  iron weapons.
  Body Levels
  OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3/-3, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3/-3, -6, Unconscious
  
  100
  forest, its tree is itself a regio and
  may appear to be a house in the
  regio while remaining a normal
  tree outside of it.
  Homines Ferae
  THROUGHOUT THE WORLD IN FORESTS,
  AND IN ETHIOPIA
  The “wild men” live in
  forests wherever civilized men
  have not pushed aside the
  wilderness. The wild men are
  composed 
  of 
  many 
  types,
  according to the countries
  where they dwell, but all have a
  form half like a beast and half
  like a man. In the warm coun-
  tries are found the fauni and
  satyri. These faeries are like
  men down to the hip, and
  below like goats, cattle, or hors-
  es. These have two legs only and walk
  like men, while others, called centauri,
  have the body of a horse entire, with the
  body of a man springing up in the place
  of a horse’s neck. All bear the horns and
  ears of beasts, and also the nether parts.
  Therefore, those who have the parts of
  goats have also the carnal appetites of
  those beasts, and are not to be trusted.
  In cold places, these faeries have the
  forms of men mixed with those of bears,
  wolves, 
  uruses 
  (oxes), 
  or 
  wisents
  (aurochs). In alpine forests, the wood
  women are called fanggen, while further
  south the males are known as salvani and
  the females as aguane. In Scandinavia
  they are also found, and are called
  skogsra if of the male kind, and skogsnuf-
  va if female. They have also the virtues
  and vices of those animals whose forms
  they share.
  Hamadryads  
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  20
  0
  Characteristics 
  0 
  Int  
  +3 
  Prs 
  +3 
  Per 
  +1
  Com 
  0 
  Str 
  +2 
  Dex  
  +2 
  Sta 
  +2 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +1
  Kind
  +2    Protective
  Powers
  4
  Control Herbam (in the vicinity of their tree)
  5
  Infatuation
  3
  Insubstantial Form
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Short Spear Totals: 
  +12 
  +9
  +9
  +6
  Dodge Defrense: +6
  Soak: +6*
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  *Hamadryads are vulnerable to iron and take +2 dam-
  age from iron weapons.
  Body Levels
  OK, 0, -1, -3, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, 0, -1, -3, -6, Unconscious
  Homines Ferae
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  15–25
  -1 to +2 (depending 
  on the type)
  Characteristics 
  -1 
  Int  
  -1 
  Prs 
  +3
  Per 
  +3
  Com 
  +2 
  Str 
  +2 
  Dex  
  +3 
  Sta 
  +2 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +2
  Wild
  Powers
  7
  Enchanting Music
  5   Speak to animals
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Short Spear Totals: 
  +11 
  +8
  +5
  +10*
  Dodge:+5( - Size) 
  Soak: +11*
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  *All are vulnerable to iron and take +2 damage from
  iron weapons.
  Body Levels
  (Varies with size.)
  Fatigue Levels
  (Varies with size.)
  
  101
  While some of these faeries are stupid
  and vulgar, it has also been told that others
  of their kind are civilized and capable of
  reason, perhaps even possessed of great
  knowledge. Some species seem to have both
  males and females, while others, particu-
  larly in the warm countries, seem to be only
  males, and these latter consort with
  hamadryads. All may consort with mortals,
  and children may be born of their unions.
  All are renowned as musicians.
  A persistent legend holds that the
  gentler of these forest faeries are hunted
  by their more bloodthirsty cousins. They
  will sometimes appear to mortals and
  beg for help, for they know that the
  faeries of the Wild Hunt cannot bear
  iron or the shape of the cross.
  The Host
  ALL WILDERNESS PLACES
  These faeries form the body of small
  wilderness faeries. The Host are always
  seen in great numbers, though they
  may be invisible and their passing
  heard rather than seen. They are abroad
  by night, for the touch of light banishes
  them, and they fear both iron and the
  cross. Few have seen the Host, but those
  who have speak of tiny creatures with
  long thin limbs who travel in the wind.
  In France they are called portunes, in
  Greece callicazantaroi. They are always
  capricious, but at some times and places
  they travel abroad maiming with tiny
  arrows any who cross their path. If the
  Hunter, a greater faerie lord of many
  other names, takes to the wilderness to
  enjoy his sport, they will follow him.
  Some stories tell that the Host are
  faeries of the wind and that their
  cousins of the earth are solitary and not
  much seen but are also found in num-
  bers. Heavier and thicker of limb than
  the riders of the air, the earth cousins of
  the Host live as quietly as the beasts of
  the forest, and loose their arrows only
  on those who would harm them or the
  beasts or plants they tend.
  Kelpies
  BRITISH ISLES AND WESTERN EUROPE
  These faeries may sometimes appear
  in the form of young and handsome men,
  but their most usual form is that of a horse
  or bull of extraordinary beauty and
  strength. They live in water (ponds, lakes,
  or the sea). “Kelpie” is a British name; the
  Germans and French call the same crea-
  tures nixen or necken. At times, a kelpie will
  come from the water to search for people
  or livestock to eat. A kelpie can only
  destroy people or creatures who willingly
  go with it. Anyone who has done so is
  The Host
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  10
  -2 to -1
  Characteristics 
  -2 
  Int  
  -3 
  Prs 
  +1 
  Per 
  -2
  Com 
  -3 
  Str 
  +4 
  Dex  
  -1 
  Sta 
  +2 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +3
  Vicious
  Powers
  1
  Bless
  8    Invisibility
  3
  Curse
  2
  Elfshot (by bow and by touch)
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Claw Totals: 
  +7
  +9
  –
  spec.
  Bow Totals: 
  +13
  +6
  –
  spec.
  Dodge:+7 
  Soak: +5*
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  *Members of the Host are vulnerable to iron and reli-
  gion (aerial host only) and take double damage from
  iron weapons.
  All attacks from the Host do damage as elfshot. See
  “Elfshot,” pg. 93.
  Body Levels
  OK, -3, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, -3, -6, Unconscious
  
  102
  powerless to fight the kelpie, even if the
  person later realizes what is happening
  to him or her. Kelpies obtain victims by
  appearing as beautiful young men and
  persuading people to come with them
  willingly to some lonely place, or by
  appearing as beautiful horses or cattle
  and encouraging people to ride or steal
  them. A victim is ultimately dragged
  down into a kelpie’s underwater lair.
  Kelpies cannot take on a perfect dis-
  guise, however, and are betrayed by an
  uncanny mark: water, shells, or sea-
  weed in their hair; sharp teeth; foot-
  prints that fill with water, and so on.
  Livestock that are lured away may be
  either devoured, or bred and returned
  safely to land. Those that are favored
  give birth to foals or calves that are
  small and have very short ears or
  horns. Horses sired by kelpies are
  unusually swift and powerful, and cat-
  tle sired by them bear many young and
  bring renown to their keepers for their
  beauty. Such progeny will be protected
  through their lives by the kelpies that
  fathered them.
  Kelpies are bound by iron and are
  vulnerable to religion.
  Mackinee and Harry Dean
  Mackinee is a kelpie who can
  assume three forms. The first is a
  Mackinee (Kelpie)
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  20
  +1 (Pony Form)  
  +3 (Black Horse Form)
  Characteristics 
  -1 
  Int  
  +3 
  Prs 
  +1 
  Per 
  +2
  Com 
  +7 
  Str 
  +3 
  Dex  
  +7 
  Sta 
  +5* Qik 
  * In black horse form
  Personality Traits
  +5
  Impulsive
  Powers
  Riders who voluntarily get onto Mackinee’s back will be
  stuck, as if glued to his back by a powerful adhesive, and
  will have to cut their clothes off (or roll STRESS DIE + STR of
  12+) to get free, before attempting to jump off.
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Hooves Totals: 
  +10
  +8
  –
  +15
  Bite Totals: 
  +8
  +7
  –
  +7
  Dodge:+6 
  Soak: +15
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  Body Levels
  OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3/-3, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3/-3, -6, Unconscious
  Mackinee and
  Harry Dean
  Illus. ©1995 Julie Baroh
  
  103
  trained pony, soft and fuzzy, with a lit-
  tle round belly and huge dark eyes. He
  performs a range of pretty tricks, which
  always end in the kneel-and-beg-for-a-
  rider trick (as long as Harry, his master,
  isn’t looking). He may also take the
  shape of a huge black destrier, snorting
  steam and spraying water from beneath
  his hooves. Finally, Mackinee may
  appear in the form of a quick and love-
  ly young man dressed in green with a
  silken cloak. He wears a sword with a
  hilt of shell, but both the sword sheath
  and his fine silk purse are full of noth-
  ing but foul water.
  Harry Dean is a roustabout wanderer,
  with a patched shirt and a glib tongue. He
  carries what he says is a magic bridle with
  which his little circus pony may do the
  work of two teams of oxen. However, his
  “magic” bridle is nothing but a headstall
  with a plain iron bit. When the peasant
  who has hired him is safely out of sight,
  he orders Mackinee to take his destrier
  shape and work with all his might. Harry
  has used the iron bit to tame Mackinee
  and make him vow to wear an iron ring
  in his human shape, so he is always
  under Harry’s power. Mackinee is looking
  for a way out of his bondage, or at least a
  mortal or two to devour along the way.
  Nymphae
  These faeries live in water or air and
  may not leave it without changing shape.
  Some of those who live in water will die if
  they leave it. Those who can leave their
  native element cast off their faerie power in
  the form of a skin or a garment, and there-
  after appear in mortal form until they
  retrieve this object. While they are clad in
  their faerie power, air nymphae appear as
  birds, clouds, or rainbows. Water nymphae
  (called naiades, singular naias, if they live
  in fresh water, and nereides, singular nereis,
  if they live in the sea) appear as dolphins,
  seals, or waves while clad in their faerie
  power. The water nymphae who cannot
  leave the water usually appear to have
  bodies made of water (these are called
  asrai), or to have half-human, half-fish
  bodies (these are called mermen or mer-
  maids). Air nymphae who cannot leave
  the air have insubstantial bodies formed of
  air, and are invisible to those without
  Faerie Sight. It is not known whether these
  faeries merely have not learned to shed
  their “skins,” or whether they are another
  kind of faerie altogether.
  A nymph without faerie power is a
  mortal in all ways but two. Such a being
  does not grow old and has some unnat-
  ural feature or habit that shows his or
  her origin (for example, eating only raw
  fish, or always having wet skin). A mor-
  tal who gains possession of a nymph’s
  “skin” has great power over the nymph,
  for if the “skin” is destroyed, the nymph
  is trapped in mortal form forever. A mor-
  tal who puts on the “skin” of a nymph
  becomes a nymph of that type until the
  “skin” is destroyed or returned to the
  original owner.
  For faeries of the wilderness, nymphs
  are unusually interested in mortals, and
  many stories have been told of nymph
  women who desired mortal men or were
  desired by them. Unions between mortals
  and nymphs may produce children, but,
  like most affairs between mortals and
  faeries, seem fraught with danger. Just as
  mortals seem unable to understand why a
  nymph would not wish to live a mortal’s
  life, nymphae may not know why a sailor
  does not wish to be pulled beneath the sea,
  or a traveler taken up into a whirlwind.
  Adventure Seed
  A peasant has seen the kelpie pony
  change shape into the destrier at Harry’s
  bidding, and told the parish priest. The
  priest recognizes some form of powerful
  magic is involved and asks the covenant
  to help him determine whether the
  handsome noble who travels with Harry
  Dean is the Devil, a magus, a knight
  who has sold his soul, or something else.
  The priest does not know whether the
  magic is Harry’s, the bridle’s, or the
  pony’s, and does not know what the con-
  nection is among them.
  
  104
  Russian 
  nymphae 
  are
  called vily (singular vila), and
  they are a capriciously passion-
  ate race. A mortal may some-
  times gain their goodwill by a
  ritual that makes the faerie
  “blood-sister” to the mortal.
  Woe to anyone who abuses this
  power, however, or to anyone
  who would love a vila as any-
  thing but a sister, for the vily
  may drain life from mortals.
  Sometimes stories are told of
  faeries 
  that 
  seem 
  to 
  be
  nymphae but may leave the
  water or air without leaving
  their faerie power behind. Such
  faeries are far more powerful
  than their kin, for they are far
  less vulnerable when they travel
  among mortals. In Hibernia,
  stories are told of merfolk who
  keep the souls of drowned men
  beneath the sea but who walk
  the shore on their webbed feet. In Russia,
  rusalki (singular rusalka) charm faithless
  young village men. If they do not notice
  the water that drips from the rusalka’s
  shawl, they often let themselves be led into
  swift rivers and drowned.
  Numina Rerum Peritus
  Maiores (Greater Faeries of the
  Known World)
  Faerie Lords
  THROUGHOUT THE CIVILIZED WORLD
  Faerie lords have many names. In
  Hibernia, they are called the Daoine Sidhe.
  In France, they are known as Dames
  Blanches or fees. In Scandinavia, they are
  called alven (singular alf), and in the Low
  Countries they are called ellefolk. They are
  Nymphae
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  20
  0 (in human form)
  Characteristics 
  +1 
  Int  
  +3 
  Prs 
  -1 
  Per 
  +1
  Com 
  -2 
  Str 
  +2 
  Dex  
  -2 
  Sta 
  +2 
  Qik 
  In human form most nymphae attack with their fists as
  ordinary mortals. If they can take on an animal form,
  they may attack as that animal. However, some (gener-
  ally the water faeries) are quite powerful, unnaturally
  strong, and very dangerous. In general they are vulner-
  able to iron and take +2 damage from iron weapons.
  Powers
  8
  Infatuation (for some)
  8
  Insubstantial Form (for some)
  2
  Prophecy (rarely)
  4
  Shapechange to Animal
  Discomfort from Iron.
  The skin of a nymph is worth between 4 and 5 points of
  Auram or Aquam vis (depending on the nymph).
  A rusalka.
  Illus. ©1995 Doug Shuler
  
  105
  the nobility of the faerie world, and enter
  the mortal realms from faerie regios found
  within ancient forts, castles, and earth-
  works. It is said that once the faerie lords
  ruled the mortal world and that their
  regios mark the places where they once
  held court, or battled, or made merry, or
  buried their dead. Though they have many
  names, they are also called merely the
  “Noble Ones,” the “Blessed,” the “Ancient
  Ones,” or the “Good Lords,” to avoid
  attracting attention, for it is also said that
  faerie nobles can hear any conversation
  that mentions them by name.
  Like mortal nobles, faerie lords may be
  kind or cruel. All have a noble bearing,
  rich goods and servants, and the pale
  smooth skin of creatures that never see the
  sun. They walk among mortals upon the
  ancient mortal holidays, those that mark
  the turning of the seasons; upon the har-
  vests of grain or apples, olives or grapes;
  and upon the birth and slaughter of beasts.
  The lords of Faerie care for mortals; they
  involve themselves in the making and
  unmaking of kings and search the mortal
  world for poets and prophets, musicians
  and smiths of great skill to take with them
  into their own realms. They also seek mid-
  wives to aid them in birth, and warriors to
  aid them in death, for they can neither
  enter life nor leave it without mortal aid.
  The fashions and conflicts of their king-
  doms mirror those of their part of the mor-
  tal world. Most contests are made in a day
  and unmade the next; faerie warriors duel
  to be called the greatest, but the dead rise
  upon the morrow. Faerie musicians vie to
  have the finest song, but no new songs are
  made; contests of beauty are made among
  the perfectly beautiful, who are never
  touched by sickness or age. In most cases,
  the faerie lords would fail to understand or
  would feel horror for a world ruled any
  other way. Sometimes, however, some-
  thing must be made anew, changed for
  good, or destroyed forever, and then the
  faerie lords go seeking mortal power.
  Mortals chosen by faerie lords may
  be brought into the faerie realms, where
  regios border on Arcadia. But faerie lords
  may also seek mortal power by draining
  mortals of their life. A faerie warrior who
  slays a mortal in the mortal realms may
  gain the power to slay another faerie for-
  ever upon returning beneath the earth. A
  faerie who drains her mortal lover’s life
  may gain the power to bear a child.
  Fatae
  SCANDINAVIA, MEDITERRANEAN LANDS,
  CENTRAL EUROPE, AND ENGLAND
  The fatae are faeries of
  human destiny. They appear to
  mortals only at the turning
  points of life: birth, death, quests,
  and fateful moments. They may
  reside as oracles at a few ancient
  and pagan holy places, but most
  live in Arcadia. They know the
  past and the future, but will
  prophecy only if they choose to.
  Fatae often appear in groups of
  three, but Moors are said to
  believe in the ten faeries that
  attend the birth of men and
  women destined for greatness,
  and the English speak of a single
  “Faerie Godmother.” “Fatae” is
  their Latin name, but stories are
  Faerie Lords
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  30–35
  0 to +1
  Characteristics 
  +4 Int  
  +4 
  Prs 
  +2 Per 
  +2
  Com 
  +4 Str 
  +3 
  Dex  
  +4 Sta 
  +3 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +2 Aloof
  Powers
  16 Control Animal
  10
  Healing
  10 Control Person
  15
  Infatuation
  17 Glamour
  12
  Invisibility
  (Most faerie lords will not have all of these Powers.)
  Vulnerable to iron
  
  106
  told around the world of the Three
  Ancients, who live together in a thatched
  hut, weaving a great tapestry and taking
  on one another’s shapes for amusement.
  Habetrot, an English fata (she
  is known also in Germany and
  France, under other names)
  This faerie is a fata, though of a less
  exalted sort. She is queen of the faeries
  who watch over craft, particularly the
  works 
  of 
  spinning 
  and 
  weaving.
  Habetrot’s home exists within a regio
  that may be seen only by those with
  Faerie Sight. The faerie herself appears as
  an old woman, with a long nose and
  chin, a hanging lower lip that nearly
  touches the ground, and an enormously
  fat rear end. Her ugliness is caused by
  constant spinning and weaving, and she
  does not take kindly to those who com-
  ment on it. She is usually kind to mor-
  tals, especially those who spin, weave, or
  sew, and most often appears at their
  births or weddings, or if their lives are
  threatened. She likes to be flattered, but
  she has a quick wit and knows false
  praise and false modesty alike.
  Habetrot has magical power over all
  works in cloth and thread: she may spin
  straw into gold; weave bandages that
  will heal any wound or sickness; make
  a thread that can bind any creature,
  however strong; create a cap of invisi-
  bility or a garment that gives the wear-
  er Faerie Sight; and so on. Each of her
  magical works has a single virtue only,
  which may be lost if Habetrot wills it to
  be or if the item is mistreated.
  Though Habetrot may appear to
  mortal eyes as a deformed old peasant
  woman and her cottage as a simple
  spinster’s hut, in Arcadia she rivals the
  power of the Greater Faerie Lords. She
  is far more interested in the doings of
  mortals than the intrigues of Arcadia,
  however, and likes to remain in or
  near the mortal world.
  Greater Faerie Lords
  These 
  faeries 
  dwell 
  only 
  in
  Arcadia. They are the masters of the
  faerie lords and have sometimes been
  worshipped by mortals who know of
  them. They will rarely be seen in our
  own world. Only a few regios are said
  to connect with their kingdoms: upon
  Mount Olympus in Greece, on an
  island somewhere west of Hibernia, 
  on a great crag in Germany, in a hid-
  den palace in Novgorod or Kiev, and
  so on. Each Greater Lord dwells as the
  solitary lord of his or her own realm.
  The Hibernians call them the Tuatha
  de Danann. Others do not speak of
  them directly. It is said that they hold
  Habetrot
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  40
  0
  Characteristics 
  +3 
  Int  
  -4 
  Prs 
  +5 
  Per 
  +2
  Com 
  +4 
  Str 
  +3 
  Dex  
  +5 
  Sta 
  -2 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +1
  Kind
  +3
  Just
  Powers
  12
  Bless
  14
  Healing
  10
  Curse
  17
  Prophecy
  16
  Enchant Items
  14
  Travel
  Combat Totals
  Habetrot does not need to attack physically; she can
  affect those foolish enough to try to harm her, by exert-
  ing power over the clothes they wear.
  Dodge: +10 
  Soak: +15
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  Body Levels
  OK, 0, -1, -3, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, 0, -1, -3, -6, Incapacitated
  
  107
  the fate of mortal kingdoms in their
  hands and that lands rise and fall
  according to the conditions of the
  Greater Lords in Arcadia.
  Lord of the Hunt
  BRITISH ISLES, GERMANY, AND
  SCANDINAVIA
  “I was out hunting in the Black Wood.
  The game began to flee as from wolves,
  running like mad, with their tongues
  hanging. With my spear, I went on in a
  wind so wild I could barely see, and then
  I saw him, a man on a heavy horse. He
  was taller than mortal men, wearing a
  dark cloak shining with stars and carrying
  a spear to make a lance look like a child’s
  toy. I saw creatures with him, horned like
  stags; but he wore a great broad hat, and
  all I saw of his face was long hair like sea
  foam. He turned to look at me, and
  though I have looked without fear upon
  armies and kings of the Infidel, I looked
  away that his gaze would not fall on me.
  Then I saw instead that the wind was
  made by the rush of a thousand creatures,
  some riding, some flying, all bearing
  arms, and none touching the ground. The
  lord rode with hounds, creatures like war-
  dogs as dark as himself. They gave tongue
  with wild cries, though they had no faces.
  As they rode away, I called after, that they
  would not think me afraid. ‘Bring me a
  piece of your luck!’ I shouted, as one lord
  to another. ‘And when next I hunt, I’ll
  send you a piece of mine!’ The next morn-
  ing I found pieces of my horse and my
  hounds at the door of my hall. But I’ll not
  forget a bargain; I ride to the East to hunt
  pagans this day.”
  Morae (called marasor “nightmares”
  in England)
  SAME LANDS AS FATAE
  The morae are sometimes held to be
  the sisters of the fatae. Morae are the
  Habetrot at home.
  Illus. ©1995 Susan Van Camp
  
  108
  faeries of dreams. They may appear to
  mortals they touch as beautiful women,
  as monsters with fangs or with serpents
  for hair, as horses, or as motes of dust
  swirling in the moonlight. Morae only
  visit sleepers, but they have the power to
  cause sleep in those they touch if their
  targets are quiet with rest or concentra-
  tion. A person touched by a mora will
  begin to dream wild dreams as the mora
  takes his or her vitality. Sometimes these
  dreams are prophetic in nature. A per-
  son being “ridden” by a mora, as being
  inhabited by a mora is called, is capable
  both of impossible physical feats and of
  acting on knowledge that he or she
  could not possess while awake. The
  sleeper may be visited by a mora who
  might wish to help, to harm, or merely
  to play with him or her, but, whatever
  the mora’s intent, a sleeper who is visit-
  ed night after night will slowly weak-
  en and die.
  Morae must cause an object, a
  human, or an animal they’ve inhab-
  ited to physically touch a person in
  the waking world in order for them to
  “ride” that person. They may inhabit
  any form in order to do so, but favor
  those of insects and twists of straw or
  hair. This form is all that is visible to
  others, so that while a man who is
  touched by the mora may see a horse
  come into his room at night and take
  him riding across the world, his com-
  panions will only find horsehair
  clenched in his hands when he wakes,
  though they have sat awake beside
  him all the night.
  Morae may be kept away by magi-
  cal warding, or by drawing chalk lines
  around all entrances to a sleeper’s bed.
  Garlic also repels them. Morae are pos-
  sessed of intelligent minds, though a
  person must allow him or herself to be
  Lord of the Hunt
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  50
  +2
  Characteristics 
  +3 
  Int  
  -5 
  Prs 
  +5 
  Per 
  -3
  Com 
  +5 
  Str 
  +7 
  Dex  
  +5 
  Sta 
  +5 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +5
  Bloodthirsty
  +5
  Courageous
  Powers 
  15
  Curse
  12
  Glamour
  12
  Fear
  16
  Travel
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Spear Totals: 
  +20 
  +15
  +8
  +20
  Shield Totals: 
  +12 
  +14
  +11
  +12
  Dodge: -2
  Soak: +20*
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  *The Lord of the Hunt is vulnerable to iron and takes
  +1 damage from iron weapons.
  Body Levels
  OK, 0/1 -1/-1, -3, -3, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, 0/1 -1/-1, -3, -3, Unconscious
  A mara with 
  its victim.
  Illus. ©1995 Jeff Menges
  
  109
  touched by the faerie in order to hear it
  speak. A mora may only be destroyed by
  destroying the person, object, or creature it
  is resident within.
  Numina Rerum Peritus
  Minores (Lesser Faeries of the
  Known World)
  City Faeries
  IN CITIES OF THE KNOWN WORLD
  Just as the faeries have lords and peas-
  ants, they also have city folk. These faeries
  owe allegiance to no one and
  follow no known order. Unlike
  goblins, who may live in cities
  but have a place with a mortal
  church or shop, city faeries go
  where they please and do as
  they please. Sometimes they
  mimic the dress and actions of
  city mortals, but some city
  faeries have an appearance all
  their own, usually both fashion-
  able and bizarre.
  One group of city faeries, the
  Underpeople, is found only in
  those cities that have canals,
  underground sewers, or cata-
  combs, and they are thought to
  dwell in these places. These
  faeries are met with in forgotten
  or neglected places: old roads that
  end suddenly at walls, hidden
  gardens, empty houses, winding
  alleys. They dress in voluminous
  cloaks or wrappings and appear
  in strange occupations: as boat-
  men, feather-sellers, ratcatchers,
  catacomb guides, and so on. It is
  not known if the Underpeople are
  truly faeries, or simply mortals
  with too much faerie blood to
  lead ordinary lives.
  The Barabao of Venice
  “I’m the Barabao. If you haven’t
  heard of me, you must be hard of hearing.
  I’m prettier than you, pleasingly plump,
  without precedent, without pretensions—I
  really am. I’m definitely better dressed.
  I’m demanding in my dress; my scarlet
  suit suits me better than your suit suits
  you. I’m quicker than you, too; quite
  impossible to quiet; quite satisfied by cer-
  emonies secular and sacred (not bothered
  by that iron poignard, either). Let’s leave
  my legendary status with the ladies to
  legitimate my claim that the taller always
  lag behind. I’m a diplomatic dandy; I
  impress everyone alike, annoy only the
  annoying; and all my adventures have
  won me free wine in every tavern, free
  fare 
  on 
  every 
  ferryboat—honestly—
  because they can’t catch me!”
  Morae
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  25
  n/a*
  Characteristics 
  +2 
  Int  
  +1 
  Prs 
  +1 
  Per 
  +1
  Com 
  * 
  Str 
  * 
  Dex  
  *
  Sta 
  * 
  Qik 
  *A mora is normally insubstantial, and so has no phys-
  ical characteristics; instead, use those of the person,
  object, or creature it is inhabiting.
  Personality Traits
  +2
  Curious
  Powers 
  10
  Glamour
  10
  Possession
  12
  Insubstantial Form
  Mora are unaffected by iron.
  Combat Totals
  The mora has no physical attacks except those pos-
  sessed by its host. 
  Body Levels
  (As its host.)
  Fatigue Levels
  (As its host.)
  
  110
  Barabao
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  15
  -2 
  Characteristics 
  +1 
  Int  
  +1
  Prs 
  +2 
  Per 
  +2
  Com 
  +1 
  Str 
  +2
  Dex  
  +2
  Sta 
  +2 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +4
  Disrespectful
  +2
  Rowdy
  Powers 
  3
  Change Size
  3
  Shapechange to Animal
  3
  Shapechange to Object
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Fist Totals: 
  +5 
  +5
  –
  +4
  Dodge: +4 
  Soak: +5
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  Body Levels
  OK, 0, -1, -3, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, 0, -1, -3, -6, Incapacitated
  The Barabao, a city
  faerie, looking for a
  good time.
  Illus. ©1995 Julie Baroh
  Adventure Seed
  The Barabao has found a new
  amusement (his previous hobby was
  turning into a thread and wiggling
  into the cleavage of amply endowed
  ladies—which is a typical example of
  his taste in fun). He has taken to
  assuming the form of the new
  Venetian minister of public works, an
  elderly gentleman known for his
  pompous manners and his pride in a
  spotless record of personal conduct.
  Suddenly the “minister” has been seen
  performing public acts of drunkenness
  and general indecency. The minister
  doesn’t know who is besmirching his
  reputation or why, but wants the play-
  er characters to find out who is
  “inventing these horrendous slanders”
  and to stop them as soon as possible.
  
  111
  Faerie Peasants
  ANYWHERE MORTAL FREE PEASANTS
  ARE FOUND
  These faeries form the body
  of the “ordinary” faeries found
  wandering upon the mortal
  world; they are to the faerie
  lords in power and status as
  mortal peasants are to mortal
  nobles. However, the two types
  of faeries are not seen together,
  and the faerie peasants do not
  seem to serve the faerie lords in
  any way. In Wales, they are
  called the tylwyth teg, and in
  Hibernia, the fir bolg. In alpine
  lands, they are known as the
  norggen; Germans call them the
  Stille Volk; and the Italians call
  them foletti. As the peasants in
  Russia are serfs, their faerie
  counterparts are not found in
  that country, nor in the pagan
  lands where men live by hunting
  and herding.
  They are smaller and darker
  than the faerie nobles. All bear
  some animal feature, such as a
  cow’s tail, the ears of an ass, or
  a webbed foot like a goose’s.
  This feature they hide beneath
  their clothing. While the faerie
  lords need the help of mortals
  for their battles and entertain-
  ments, the faerie peasants need
  it for leavening their bread,
  making or mending their tools,
  or plowing unbroken ground.
  They also cannot be born or die
  without mortal aid. The faerie
  peasants often bargain with
  their mortal counterparts for a
  Faerie Peasants 
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  15–25
  -1 
  Characteristics 
  0 
  Int  
  0
  Prs 
  0 
  Per 
  0
  Com 
  0 
  Str 
  0
  Dex  
  0
  Sta 
  0 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +3
  Honest
  +2
  Phlegmatic
  Powers 
  2
  Bless
  2 Curse
  5
  Control Fertility
  4 Glamour (small 
  objects only)
  Discomfort from iron
  Vulnerable to religion (some, especially in recently
  Christianized areas)
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Any peasant weapon: 
  +6 
  +8
  +8
  +8
  Dodge: +8 
  Soak: +8
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  Body Levels
  OK, -1, -3, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, -1, -3, -6, Unconscious
  A faerie peasant on
  the road
  Illus. ©1995 John Ueland
  
  112
  cup of milk or flour, a tool, or the services
  of a midwife. Most changelings come
  from them.
  Field Faeries
  CULTIVATED FIELDS THROUGHOUT THE KNOWN WORLD
  These faeries resemble wilderness faeries
  in their uncouth appearance, wild ways, and
  inability to live within mortal-made walls.
  However, they live only in fields where the
  food crops grow dense and high enough to
  conceal them from prying eyes. They may
  change in size as the crop they tend grows. If
  they are not given a refuge—an uncut or
  ungathered place left in the field—they die
  with the harvest. Field faeries never look
  alike, and each seems to live without care for
  others of its kind. They may resemble mor-
  tals, but have some extraordinary feature (a
  hollow back, fingers of iron, horns). They
  can also be as weird in appearance as the
  Italian faerie who wears a dog’s head and
  has arms as long as the field he dwells in
  A field faerie.
  Illus. ©1995 Rosemary Roach
  Adventure Seed
  While traveling, the group encoun-
  ters a break in the Roman road they are
  on. It is not a ruined spot, but a place
  where it seems the original builders
  stopped the road and began it again on
  the other side of a large rye field. The rye
  is growing abundantly, and sharp eyes
  can spot peasants tending it with bone
  and wooden tools, though the peasants
  seem prosperous and civilized. The field
  is bordered by berry thickets and woods;
  going around will take several hours. If
  the characters speak to the peasants,
  they will be friendly to grogs in the party,
  but evasive concerning why the road
  stops or why they are farming with cattle
  shoulder blades and stag antlers for
  tools. They fear magi too much to talk to
  them directly or to forbid them to enter
  the field, but they will caution any grogs
  in the group that “Auntie is in the rye.”
  If the characters cross the field, they
  will meet “Auntie”: a beautiful, wild-
  looking woman, naked but for a skirt of
  rye stalks. Her long breasts are black. She
  will ask each character a question. Men
  will be asked about farming. Women
  will be asked about the growing and use
  of plants for baskets and clothing.
  Characters who cannot answer properly
  are given an animal feature, which can
  only be removed by a faerie or by a cer-
  emony performed by a high Church offi-
  cial. Characters who answer decently are
  allowed to pass. Those whose answers
  demonstrate special skill in these areas
  or who are very polite as well as correct
  will be given a special secret: how to
  whistle for the wind, call rain, spin silken
  thread from barley stalks, or perform
  some other skill. The secrets are small
  but useful, and she never gives the same
  one twice. Characters who are rude,
  crude, or violent will be wounded and
  thrown from the field if they are women,
  and infatuated and offered her poiso-
  nous breast if men. Magi, Companions,
  and grogs are treated alike.
  
  and claws of iron as large as sickles. Often
  they take the form of goats. Field faeries
  reward those who honor them, with rich and
  safe harvests, but those who insult them
  may be cut by their own sickles or die mys-
  teriously in the fields.
  Goblins
  THROUGHOUT THE KNOWN WORLD
  Goblins are the common small faeries of
  home and hearth, like small mortal men in
  form but often distorted in appearance or
  covered in hair. In Albion, they are known
  as “brownies.” The Spaniards call them
  duende; the French, lutins; and the Germans,
  poltersprites. They are known even to the
  Russians, who call them domovoyie. All
  have similar habits. They live at the hearth
  or behind the stove, do not like to be
  seen by mortals, and, if they are
  mistreated or dislike a person, tend
  to trouble the household by tan-
  gling hair, fouling food, breaking
  crockery, and bringing bad luck to
  the house. If food is left for a goblin
  each night, it will keep the house
  clean and bring good luck to the
  household in mundane matters.
  Brownies appear as misshapen little
  men or boys, and are almost always
  naked. If clothing is left for them,
  they will cease to work and leave,
  considering themselves paid and
  dismissed. Duende look like brown-
  ies, but wear clothing. They and
  their relations in other lands usual-
  ly will not leave their home regard-
  less of what is done to them, prefer-
  ring to torment the mortals in
  return for bad treatment and to
  reward them for gifts with extra
  work. 
  Domovoyie 
  appear 
  as
  dwarfish old men, and stay with a
  family, rather than a house,
  through good times and bad.
  Goblins living in cities attach
  themselves to a crafter or mer-
  chant who has a shop, and assist
  in the work. They often take on
  the appearance of the type of per-
  son they work for. Goblins are also
  common in mines, where they
  wear the clothes of miners and lead min-
  ers who feed them to rich deposits and
  113
  Auntie  Rye
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  35
  0 
  Characteristics 
  +2 
  Int  
  +2
  Prs 
  +3 
  Per 
  +1
  Com 
  +4 
  Str 
  +4
  Dex  
  +5
  Sta 
  +6 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +3
  Impatient
  +2
  Likes Children
  Powers 
  2
  Change Size
  2
  Infatuation
  5
  Curse
  4
  Shapechange Others
  to Animal
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Flail Totals: 
  +13 
  +10
  +5
  +17
  Dodge: +12 
  Soak: +20*
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  *She is vulnerable to iron and takes +2 damage from
  iron weapons.
  Body Levels
  OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3/-3, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3/-3, -6, Incapacitated
  Adventure Seed
  A priest has recently taken residence
  in a new parish. The church also has a
  resident goblin (called a “church grim”
  if the adventure takes place in Britain,
  or a monacello if it takes place in Italy).
  The goblin looks like a miniature monk,
  and he has traditionally rung the
  church bell, cleaned the church every
  Saturday, and made the holy wafers for
  the Mass. The new priest believes it is
  blasphemous to allow a faerie to make
  the Eucharist, and has ordered that the
  practice be stopped. The goblin is begin-
  ning to disturb church services. Exorcism
  has been tried, but it ended in the priest
  being booted downstairs by the angry
  
  114
  A female duende 
  cleaning a maga’s labo-
  ratory. Brownies may
  make their homes in
  some unexpected places.
  Illus. ©1995 Mark Tedin
  
  warn them of impending disas-
  ters. In some places, goblins
  reside in the stable and care for
  animals. These goblins are called
  vazilia in Russia, and massarioli in
  lands south of the Alps. They
  bear some feature of the animals
  they like best, but otherwise
  resemble other goblins.
  House Basiliscs
  IN WARM LANDS
  These faeries live in a home
  or place of business, like goblins.
  They take the forms of serpents,
  cockerels, or creatures some-
  where in between. Unlike gob-
  lins, they do not keep house, do
  115
  goblin. The priest wants the group to
  get the goblin out of the church by any
  means necessary.
  If the characters talk to the goblin,
  they will learn that he is this faerie
  community’s tithe to Heaven; he
  serves the church, and in return the
  local faeries are able to live comfort-
  ably in an area that has a mild divine
  aura. The goblin knows his theologi-
  cal rules and is careful to follow the
  rituals correctly. He is terrified that the
  faerie community will have to leave
  the area if he is not allowed to serve
  the church as much as he can.
  The Church Goblin
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  15
  -2
  Characteristics 
  +2 
  Int  
  -3
  Prs 
  +2 
  Per 
  -1
  Com 
  -2 
  Str 
  +2
  Dex  
  +1
  Sta 
  +6 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +2
  Industrious
  +4
  Stubborn
  Powers 
  5
  Bless
  8
  Invisibility
  3
  Curse
  The church goblin has no weaknesses either to iron or
  to Christian symbols or rituals.
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Thrown Small Object: 
  +9 
  +3
  –
  +5
  Dodge: +10 
  Soak: +4
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  Body Levels
  OK, -1, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, -1, -6, Unconscious
  The Covenant’s Basilisc
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  15
  -2
  Characteristics 
  +3 
  Int  
  -3
  Prs 
  +2 
  Per 
  +1
  Com 
  -3 
  Str 
  +2
  Dex  
  -2
  Sta 
  +3 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +3
  Curious
  +1
  Mischievous
  Powers 
  3
  Control Ignem
  2
  Travel
  It gives a bonus of +4 to the Lab Total of anyone whose
  lab it lives in, as well as a bonus of +2 to the lab’s safety.
  House basiliscs are not vulnerable to iron and are
  immune to all Ignem magics.
  Combat Totals
  No Attacks
  Dodge: +7 
  Soak: +9
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  Body Levels
  OK, -1, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, -1, -6, Unconscious
  
  not mind being seen, and are present dur-
  ing the day. These faeries provide extraor-
  dinary, instead of daily, help, but must be
  fed and given a warm place to bask each
  day. They bring wealth (sometimes stolen
  wealth, along with the authorities) and
  strokes of great luck to those they favor,
  and lightning strikes and fires to those
  who insult or mistreat them. Serpentlike
  basiliscs tend to be quieter and less quar-
  relsome than their cockerel-like kin, but
  are also less likely to leave rubies on the
  kitchen floor. They may occasionally fore-
  see the future. They are called aitwaras in
  the Baltic lands, tsmok in Russia, stoicheios
  in Greece, and souffle or drac in southern
  France.
  The Covenant’s Basilisc
  A large, indigo-blue serpent
  takes up residence in the magic 
  laboratory or library of the covenant. It
  likes to investigate any interesting hap-
  penings or objects (rather like a cat). If it is
  humored, it will begin to demand a saucer
  of milk a day and to be read to each
  evening (it will make its wants known
  much as a cat or a dog does). It will protect
  the covenant from dangerous effects of
  botched spells or experiments that have
  physical effects, and occasionally perform
  a useful alchemical transformation. If the
  serpent is removed, there are no positive or
  negative results, but if it is killed or driven
  off forcibly, the covenant laboratory will
  be cursed (hit by lightning in every storm).
  The source of the curse is not immediately
  obvious. The serpent can speak Latin,
  Greek, and Arabic, but will not speak
  unless spoken to by a single speaker when
  the serpent and speaker are alone.
  Sysiraeus, the house
  basilisc of Antiochus,
  alchemist-in-chief to
  the king of Cordoba.
  Illus. ©1995 Rosemary Roach
  116
  
  117
  Kobalts
  MAINLAND EUROPE WEST OF RUSSIA
  These curious faeries resemble goblins in
  their habits but are wilderness faeries who
  have been brought into the civilized world
  by mortal agency. Wild kobalts are tiny
  cousins of the hamadryads. They dwell in
  trees and other plants that have large roots
  or trunks, and are visible to mortal eyes as
  twisted places in the stem or root. If this piece
  of wood is cut out carefully and with the
  faerie’s permission, it can be brought into a
  dwelling and carved into a figure. This figure
  becomes the form of the faerie, and it may
  move and speak. The kobalt owes allegiance
  to the man or woman who made the figure,
  or to whoever cares for it, particularly the
  head of the household.
  In seafaring lands, kobalts often
  inhabit the figureheads of ships.
  Usually such ships have a small
  opening near the figurehead, for-
  bidden to all but the captain,
  through which mortals may speak
  to or hear the kobalt.
  The Koutsodaimonas 
  GREECE
  “This one, he’s a bad one. He
  comes at the end of the year with
  the callicazantaroi,65 the twisted
  spirits, always behind them with
  his horns and his hunchback, his
  dragging lame foot, and his damn
  indecent parts hanging out—talk-
  ing all the time, but just saying
  all kinds of lies, indecent things;
  making up stories about people.
  And there’s always some fool
  going to believe him. Who should
  believe him, that digs women
  Kobalts
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  10
  -2
  Characteristics 
  +1 
  Int  
  -2
  Prs 
  +2 
  Per 
  -3
  Com 
  +5 
  Str 
  +3
  Dex  
  +5
  Sta 
  +3 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +3
  Hard-Working
  +1
  Shy
  Powers 
  2
  Bless
  2
  Prophecy
  2
  Curse
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Fist/Household Tool: 
  +7 
  +7
  –
  +9
  Dodge Defense: +5 
  Soak: +7
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  Body Levels
  OK, -1, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, -1, -6, Unconscious
  65Callicazantaroi:
  The Greek form of the
  Host. See “The Host,”
  p. 101.
  A kobalt.
  Illus. ©1995 Amy Weber
  
  118
  with his horns so they lose their babies?
  Who should believe him, that teases the
  animals until they go crazy? But some
  fool always does, and then there’s trou-
  ble from it all year long.”
  Ogres
  THROUGHOUT THE KNOWN WORLD
  Ogres are dangerous faeries who some-
  times serve faerie lords but often roam the
  world alone or with others of their kind. It
  is sometimes said Baba Yaga is the queen
  of ogres, but members of this breed are far
  too restless and concerned with themselves
  to follow a single ruler. They are most often
  seen at times when divine powers are
  weakest. In form, they are twisted mock-
  eries of mortal men and women, with some
  parts outsized and others shriv-
  eled or sometimes with too many
  or too few arms, legs, eyes, or
  heads. Ogres may be of great size,
  but some are no larger than ordi-
  nary people. All have great
  strength. Many ogres hate mor-
  tals, some feed on mortals but
  bear them no more grudge than a
  man bears a deer, and a few are
  merely slow of wit and quick to
  anger. They dislike light but are
  not harmed by it. Italian ogres are
  called orci (singular orco), and are
  known for their terrible smell.
  The Moors have even been
  known to claim that ogres live
  within the walls of their cities pre-
  tending to be civilized men and
  women. This may also be true in
  places where Moorish influences
  are found. When ogres are found
  in distant or wild places, they may
  join the Host or Wild Hunt, but
  only if they are promised mortals
  to frighten or pursue.
  The Koutsodaimonas
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  20
  -1
  Characteristics 
  -2 
  Int  
  -4
  Prs 
  -1
  Per 
  -4
  Com 
  +5 
  Str 
  -2
  Dex  
  +5
  Sta 
  +4 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +5
  Vicious
  Powers 
  8
  Curse (by touch only)
  He has no special weaknesses to iron, but is repelled by sym-
  bols of the Church. He only appears for the twelve days of
  Christmas, and must leave the earth on the 5th of January.
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Horn Totals: 
  +7 
  +8
  –
  +13
  Dodge Defense: +8 
  Soak: +12
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  Body Levels
  OK, 0, -1, -3, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, 0, -1, -3, -6, Unconscious
  Baba Yaga, the most
  terrible of the ogres.
  Illus. ©1995 Rosemary Roach
  
  119
  Baba Yaga
  “Who wants to know Baba Yaga? Are
  you here for your good, or are you here to
  be food? Oh, little magicians smelling like
  sulfur, I’m so very impressed; it makes my
  limbs tremble. Or perhaps it’s the
  thought of the food you resemble. So you
  found your way in, put your face to the
  door. So now you’ll be asking for some-
  thing, then more. Throw open the win-
  dows to get rid of your stink—and watch
  the lock: I don’t figure you’ll want to part
  with a finger or two. We’re moving? Of
  course! Weren’t you coming to look for a
  horse? My hut runs on the legs of a roost-
  er; in my mortar I fly, over land, sea, and
  sky, to the ends of the earth where my
  pasture holds all of the horses of worth.
  Oh, they know to come back to me. White
  for the dawn and red for the sun and black
  for the horses of the night sky. I have so
  many things wanted by heroes and magi.
  What shall I ask for one? A heart? An eye?
  Well, straighten the skulls up on the poles,
  and bring me water for all my hors-
  es, in this bowl—no, the one with the
  holes. Light the fire; build it higher
  than the sun. Find me something to
  eat. I’d like more than your meat—
  I’m getting hungry—then we’ll talk.”
  Padfoots
  GERMANY AND LANDS WEST
  These are the faeries of roads. They
  appear as black or green dogs, as large
  as any that have ever been seen, with
  great eyes that glow in the darkness.
  Baba Yaga
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  60
  +1
  Characteristics 
  +4 
  Int  
  -3
  Prs 
  +5 
  Per 
  +3
  Com 
  +8 
  Str 
  +2
  Dex  
  +7
  Sta 
  +2 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +1
  Cruel
  +2 Playful
  +3
  Demanding
  Powers 
  5
  Bless
  16
  Enchant Object
  14
  Control Animals
  18
  Fear
  12
  Control Elements (all) 16
  Glamour
  14
  Control Person
  10
  Prophecy
  12
  Curse
  10
  Shapechange Other 
  to Animal
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Pestal Totals: 
  +9 
  +10
  +6
  +23
  Dodge Defense: 0 
  Soak: +20
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  Body Levels
  OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -6, Unconscious
  Padfoots 
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  15–20
  0
  Characteristics 
  0 
  Int  
  +2
  Prs 
  +2
  Per 
  -2
  Com 
  +2 
  Str 
  +2
  Dex  
  +5
  Sta 
  +3 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +3
  Curious
  Powers 
  2
  Control Person
  5
  Travel
  Vulnerable to religion
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Horn Totals: 
  +5 
  +7
  –
  +8
  Dodge Defense: +6 
  Soak: +8
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  Body Levels
  OK, 0, -1, -3, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, 0, -1, -3, -6, Unconscious
  
  120
  They are usually met at night. A padfoot
  may follow travelers for miles doing noth-
  ing, or one may chase down a man or
  woman—in which case the victim’s only
  possible salvation is in prayer or a cross, for
  they will not touch anything bearing the
  mark of the Church. Padfoots may catch the
  spirit of any man or woman who meets
  their eyes. Such a person may be seen in dis-
  tant places, performing
  wonderful feats or doing
  harm to persons or goods
  for reasons he or she can
  never afterwards remember.
  This enchantment seems never to
  last for longer than the next sunrise.
  Those who have seen padfoots agree
  that they act as thinking creatures, not as
  beasts, but no one living knows why they
  act as they do.
  Trolls
  NORTHERN EUROPE
  Trolls dwell upon the earth in the
  places where the nobility of faeries are
  found. Where a mound or ring of standing
  stones shows an entrance into a regio, per-
  haps even to Faerieland, the trolls will
  make their homes. Most often they shun
  companionship and are found alone, but
  sometimes a few will come together to play
  ponderous troll games.
  In shape, the trolls resemble men and
  women of another kind, sometimes hairy
  and with the features of animals, sometimes
  with the smooth thick skin of pigs or the
  short shining coats of horses. Always their
  eyes are set far back in the heavy bones of
  their heads, and stare with a sort of incuri-
  ous wisdom at the mortal world. The sun
  turns them into statues of stone, precious
  metal, or iron. Some trolls are dwarfish, and
  some huge, but it is said that all have the
  power to grow to gigantic size if they wish.
  Most times, trolls leave the mortal world
  to its own devices and ask the same of mor-
  tals, but they are known both for their great
  generosity and their terrible anger if dis-
  turbed. In Britain, they are called spriggans
  and serve the Daoine Sidhe. They appear as
  dwarfs dragging clubs the size of trees, and
  may grow large enough to use them in the
  blink of an eye. In France, they are known
  as korred or crions. These trolls usually
  remain small, live beneath standing stones,
  bear claws of iron, and have fur and horns,
  Trolls
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  25–30
  +2
  Characteristics 
  +1
  Int  
  -2
  Prs 
  +4 
  Per 
  -2
  Com 
  +6 
  Str 
  0
  Dex  
  +6
  Sta 
  -2 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  -2
  Concerned with Mortals
  Powers 
  4
  Change Size
  5
  Control Terram
  Trolls turn to stone in 2 rounds if exposed to the direct
  light of the sun.
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Club Totals: 
  +6 
  +9
  +8
  +15
  Dodge Defense: -2 (-current size) Soak: +20
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  Body Levels
  OK, -0/0, -1/-1, -3, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, -0/0, -1/-1, -3, -6, Incapacitated
  The troll Majuna.
  Illus. ©1995 Julie Baroh
  
  121
  and they are known to offer gifts of leaves
  and horsehair that turn to jewels when
  touched by sunlight. They may destroy mor-
  tals who disturb their stones or interrupt
  their games, and are known for their terrible
  laughter. In Sweden, they are the tomtra
  (singular tomte), translucent blue herders
  from beneath the earth, who disappear
  along with the pale blue cattle they drive
  when seen against the evening sky.
  Faerie Animals
  (animales vana)
  Certain types of wild animals are
  strongly associated with faeries or are
  under their protection. Animals whose
  strength, fertility, intelligence, beauty,
  swiftness, or rarity are notable are most
  likely to be considered touched by the
  faeries. Sometimes whole species of natural
  beasts are faerie-associated. Sometimes
  special individuals are known and named
  as faerie creatures.
  The White Hart
  This rare creature is a huge stag,
  white as snow, always fully antlered, and
  maned like a lion. It appears to those who
  have some special destiny—young men
  and women who will grow to be great
  rulers, travelers on a sacred quest, war-
  riors on the eve of their greatest battles. It
  can appear to as many or as few as it
  likes. This mystic beast can move without
  sound or scent and can outrun the
  swiftest horses. This hart usually appears
  either to lead someone to a special object,
  person, or place or to lead someone away
  from disaster. The White Hart appears
  only in forested country. It is held sacred
  by Christians and pagans alike.
  Faerie Domestic Animals
  Faeries, like mortals, have domes-
  tic animals. Faerie horses, dogs, cattle,
  pigs, and other creatures are known to
  exist. Wilderness faeries may tend
  wild creatures.
  Domestic faerie animals are noted for
  their unusual size (large or small), color-
  ing, and behavior. All faerie stock will fol-
  low faeries in preference to mortals and
  will return to faerie areas unless actively
  prevented (penned, tied up). Faerie horses
  are usually white or black, originate from
  the sea, and are very dangerous to mortals
  who try to ride them. Faerie cattle are usu-
  ally white, dun (pale brown or tan) or
  spotted. They are extremely strong, fertile,
  and healthy. Faerie dogs are generally
  white, black, or green, with red, green, or
  black ears. Unlike faerie horses and cattle,
  faerie dogs become weaker and weaker the
  farther from the faerie realms they travel.
  Faerie pigs are small, and white or red.
  They can prophecy with the aid of objects.
  Les Chevaux d’Ys
  These are the horses of the faeries of
  the Chateau d’Ys, a castle of the faerie
  lords beneath a lake in France. They are
  large aristocratic animals, silver in color,
  The White Hart
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  45
  +3
  Characteristics 
  -1
  Cun 
  +4
  Prs 
  +2 
  Per 
  n/a
  Com 
  +6 
  Str 
  0
  Dex  
  +6
  Sta 
  -2 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +5
  Brave
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Antler Totals: 
  +8 
  +7
  –
  +24
  Hoof Totals: 
  +8 
  +5
  –
  +12
  Dodge Defense: 0  
  Soak: +20
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  Body Levels
  OK, -0/0, -1/-1, -3, -6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, -0/0, -1/-1, -3, -6, Incapacitated
  
  122
  with blue eyes. Well-traveled people will
  recognize that these horses are Arabian in
  appearance. They have the virtue of being
  able to travel over both land and water. A
  faerie or mortal who rides one can move
  through water at normal speed and can-
  not drown while touching or riding it.
  Those mortals with Faerie Sight can see
  the horses playing amid the foam in the
  waves on the lakeshore. A lady of the
  Chateau can sometimes be seen abroad
  on the land, riding with a hawk on her
  wrist and asking passersby if they can
  help her find her way home.
  Faerie Plants (herbae vanae)
  These plants are commonly found in
  faerie places and more rarely in mortal
  countrysides. Some are mortal plants that
  have been enchanted by faeries to create a
  new type of plant.
  Cypress
  These tall, narrow, unmistakable
  dark evergreens grow in wastelands
  wherever the weather is warm year-
  round. They are faerie trees that possess a
  limited power to move in the presence of
  mortals. Anyone sleeping within fifteen
  paces of a cypress will attract its mobile
  roots. They poke through the ground and
  touch the head of the sleeper, gently
  winding around ears or hair. A sleeper in
  contact with a kind cypress may experi-
  ence prophetic dreams, gain knowledge
  as if the tree had been spoken with, or
  even awaken with memories or knowl-
  edge from others who had previously
  slept beneath the tree. Malevolent
  cypresses steal from those who sleep
  beneath them: memories are lost, night-
  mares are experienced, and the sleepers
  may awaken in confusion, knowing nei-
  ther where nor who they are. Stories have
  been told of travelers in cursed forests
  finding bodies whose skulls are entirely
  empty except for a tangle of cypress
  roots. An individual tree may be benign
  or malevolent depending on how it is
  treated. Benign cypresses are often used
  by local people as oracles, and malevo-
  lent ones are known and avoided.
  Destroying Angel
  This mushroom is uncommon. It is
  about four inches tall, pure white, with a
  scarlet cap. Eating a single mushroom
  will cause madness and death, yet many
  insist this is the most potent of the
  charms that allow mortals a glimpse of
  the faerie world. It is claimed that those
  who eat Destroying Angel and do not die
  become entranced. They not only can see
  and converse with the inhabitants of the
  faerie realms but can understand the
  faerie’s ways like no mortal born. As with
  many faerie gifts, it is difficult to sepa-
  rate the gift of Destroying Angel from the
  curse. No one is sure of the correct dose.
  Some say the gift comes only from
  Destroying Angel found growing in
  faerie forests and all others are pure poi-
  son. Many exotic wizards use Destroying
  Angel to create special spells and
  potions. 
  Each 
  perfect 
  specimen 
  of
  Destroying Angel has one point of either
  Les Chevaux d’Ys
  Faerie Might 
  Size
  15
  +3
  Characteristics 
  -2
  Cun 
  +2
  Prs 
  0 
  Per 
  n/a
  Com 
  +3 
  Str 
  0
  Dex  
  +4
  Sta 
  +2 
  Qik 
  Personality Traits
  +2
  Elusive
  +5
  Spirited
  Powers
  5
  Travel
  Combat Totals
  Weapon
  1st
  Atk
  Parry
  Dam
  Bite Totals: 
  +6 
  +4
  –
  +7
  Hoof Totals: 
  +8 
  +5
  –
  +12
  Dodge Defense: -1 
  Soak: +10
  Fatigue: n/a
  Encumbrance: 0 
  Body Levels
  OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3/-3, –6, Incapacitated
  Fatigue Levels
  OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3/-3, –6, Unconscious 
  
  123
  Mentem, Imáginem, or Perdo vis. The
  type is not known until the specimen is
  inspected by a wizard, a faerie, or some-
  one who has eaten of Destroying Angel
  and survived.
  To determine the amount of a non-
  lethal dose of Destroying Angel, make a
  stress roll of CHIRUGERY + INT of 9+. A botch
  means the character thinks a lethal dose
  is nonlethal. Eating a lethal dose requires
  making a stress Stamina roll of 9+, or
  death results. Eating a nonlethal dose or
  surviving a lethal one gives the character
  the benefits listed above.
  Ergot
  Also known as Jack-in-the-rye, ergot is
  both a faerie and a faerie plant. Few peo-
  ple have seen its faerie shape—a tiny, tiny
  man with grass flowers for hair who hides
  in the heads of growing grain—nor its
  other form of strange purple seeds in the
  place of kernels in the ripe grain head;
  but many have felt its effects. Those who
  eat the faerie flesh in bread or porridge
  are seized with the faerie madness:
  visions, sudden paralysis, and terror. And
  often, they die. Millers careless enough to
  allow Jack-in-the-rye into their flour have
  been put to death, and farmers whose
  blighted crops show his touch have been
  banished from their villages. Those few
  who survive the taste of this flour are usu-
  ally marked with the faerie touch—a dead
  and useless limb, madness, or occasional-
  ly the Virtue Faerie Sight.
  Ergot is always poisonous to human
  beings, although faeries give it to their
  half-breed children to give them the Virtue
  Faerie Sight. A good alchemist can distill
  ergot. The ergot used must come straight
  from the grain head, not from flour or
  bread. One ounce of ergot “seed,” distilled,
  yields both a clear liquid containing 3
  points of Imáginem vis and a black pow-
  der containing 3 points of Perdo vis. Half
  an acre of infected grain will yield an
  ounce of ergot “seed,” but cultivation of or
  traffiic in ergot in any grain-growing area
  is a serious crime.
  Mandrake
  This name usually refers to the root of
  the mandrad plant, a low, fleshy herb. It is
  rarely found anywhere on ground trodden
  by living feet. Mandrake can be found in
  faerie forests and at places where someone
  has been murdered. The root is a tiny copy
  of a person (there are both male and
  female mandrakes). The root is capable of
  movement and bleeds if cut. To be used,
  the root must be pulled whole from the
  ground at midnight when the moon is full.
  The mandrake will always scream when
  pulled from the ground, and all who hear
  the unearthly shriek will die. Traditionally,
  deaf people and dogs are the ones who pick
  mandrake. Parmae magicae can also pro-
  tect. Treat the scream as a level 45 Perdo
  Corpus spell. The scream’s range is fifteen
  paces in every direction. Animals who hear
  the sound will go mad.
  There is a chance the root will break
  (Dexterity roll of 9+ to avoid). The broken
  root has 4 points of Corpus vis and no
  other properties. A whole root has 4 points
  of Corpus vis for every fragment or shaving
  taken (an average-sized root has about
  twenty shavings). The damage from taking
  one shaving from a root can be healed
  with 2 points of Vim vis or with a pint of
  blood from a warm-blooded creature.
  Theoretically, if the root is fed for every
  shaving taken, a whole mandrake can sup-
  ply an infinite amount of Corpus vis.
  However, shaving the root injures it, so
  only one shaving can be taken in a day,
  even if the damage is healed. If the root is
  maintained whole, it can be used like
  mistletoe in divination. Since the root
  writhes its answers, only a trained diviner
  can interpret them (see the previous sec-
  tion, “Mistletoe”).
  Alternately, a whole root can be made
  into a homunculus, but only if it has not
  been used for any other purpose. Making a
  homunculus requires a person with the
  “Alchemy” Talent. A pint of blood from the
  person who will own the homunculus is
  needed, in addition to 4 points of Vim vis. A
  finished homunculus resembles the blood
  donor closely and is the size of the original
  mandrake root (Size -4). It can speak, move,
  
  124
  and do anything else a human being its size
  could do. It has the Virtue Faerie Sight, can
  detect and analyze magic by sight, and can
  see in the dark like a cat. Its flesh is deadly
  poison: any animal who even mouths it is
  instantly paralyzed. Homunculi have the
  Ability Faerie Lore, and have knowledge of
  magic equivalent to a score of 20 in all Arts
  known to the donor. They cannot cast spells,
  however. They will teach magic or give
  advice; but they are free-willed, and their
  advice is only as good as they want it to be.
  They want to be paid for their advice and
  assistance, and must be treated well.
  Homunculi have an innate permanent
  Magic Resistance of +45, which they can
  bestow at will on anyone they are touching.
  This is not additive with Parma Magica.
  Homunculi can double the amount of coins
  that are in physical contact with them
  overnight. Their vegetable nature means
  that they are immune to Mentem spells,
  and their Faerie Sight renders them immune
  to deception by Imáginem spells. All
  homunculi have individual personalities
  and are free-willed, and most demand some
  form of payment for their services in the
  form of information, additional privileges,
  services in return, or fresh blood.
  All mandrake roots have innate Magic
  Resistance of +45, although homunculi
  are the only form of the root that can
  share this power with others. All roots can
  move, though homunculi are better at
  walking. Roots have at least a rudimenta-
  ry intelligence, and raw roots and homun-
  culi alike will attempt to overcome any
  barrier to wreak horrible vengeance on
  anyone who has mistreated them.
  The Church has very ambivalent feel-
  ings towards mandrake. At best, they are
  believed to be soulless copies of individual
  men and women or soulless products of
  strange faerie magics. At worst, it is
  believed that mandrake is found only in
  the possession of diabolists. The Church
  has not yet come out with an official state-
  ment on mandrakes.
  Mistletoe
  These dark green, glossy plants spring
  mysteriously from the highest branches of
  trees. As with truffles, the presence of the
  plant is a sign that its tree is inhabited by
  faeries. The waxy white berries of mistletoe
  are worth 1 point of Herbam vis each and
  can be plucked without affecting the plant.
  Cuttings of the mistletoe itself are worth 3
  points of Creo vis. Unless the cutter has
  been given permission by the faeries, how-
  ever, cutting mistletoe arouses their
  anger—the cutting can root itself in the
  body of anyone who touches the cut end,
  or any preparation made with the cutting
  may turn out to be a deadly poison.
  There is an elaborate ancient ritual for
  the taking of mistletoe that is still remem-
  bered in a few places. If the ritual is cor-
  rectly performed, the faeries are pacified
  and the tree’s hamadryad is contained
  within the piece of mistletoe. If treated
  well, the hamadryad may answer ques-
  tions and give faerie knowledge through
  movements of the mistletoe, which must
  be interpreted by a trained diviner (SIMPLE
  DIE + FAERIE LORE + INT roll of 9+). If the
  mistletoe ever touches the earth or any
  base substance, the hamadryad disap-
  pears and the mistletoe’s power is lost.
  Sea Foam
  This substance is found only very
  rarely, in faerie woods after high noctur-
  nal winds or on the sea after storms. It
  appears as a finely divided, snow-white
  lump, resembling lichen or a mass of
  branching coral, but is very soft and cool
  to the touch. It is supposed to be either
  the foam that falls from the mouths of
  faerie horses, or a kind of faerie plant
  that springs up from such foam. Each
  mass is worth 1 point of Creo vis. Hedge
  witches and healers can brew Sea Foam
  into a broth that cures elfshot and other
  faerie curses.
  Stinkhorns
  Stinkhorns grow in unexpected places
  where the ground has been turned, and
  also appear often on dung heaps. They
  closely resemble the human phallus,
  stink profusely, and attract hordes of
  
  125
  flies. On nights of the great pagan festi-
  vals, faeries who are troublesome but not
  truly malicious often create numbers of
  them around churches, and around the
  houses and fields of farmers who have
  offended them. Each pound of stinkhorn
  contains 1 point of Creo vis. Grogs are not
  especially happy about a magus’s locat-
  ing this sort of Creo vis, as they are usu-
  ally the ones who must gather it. Magi
  are not happy about the way stinkhorns
  ripen into black slime unless picked
  young and quickly dried.
  Toadstools
  This term covers most inedible mush-
  rooms. Faeries, particularly the smaller,
  less manlike woodland faeries, are often
  found near places where toadstools grow
  abundantly. They may use toadstools for
  food or shelter, or nurse them into faerie
  rings. Or perhaps abundant toadstools
  may be a measure of the strange fertility
  of the faerie-inhabited country.
  Hedge witches sometimes use toad-
  stools to acquire familiar “animals,”
  which are often faerie animals or small
  faeries in animal guise. The formula for
  acquiring such a creature involves pick-
  ing a toadstool found in a faerie wood.
  The person desiring the creature waits
  motionless, holding the toadstool in an
  outstretched hand until something
  arrives to investigate. If the creature that
  arrives takes the toadstool and eats it,
  the animal has accepted the offer to
  become the person’s familiar animal.
  The creature that arrives is said to
  resemble in personality and appearance
  the toadstool that is used to summon
  it—a round toadstool might bring a dor-
  mouse or a turtle, a black toadstool
  might bring a black rat or snake, and a
  very poisonous toadstool might bring a
  malicious faerie. The creatures that
  arrive may resemble normal animals
  (mice, crows, rats, etc.) strange creatures
  (tiny deer, roosters with tails of fire), or
  small semi-human faeries. In all cases,
  the supplicant must be favored by the
  faeries and remain completely still, or
  no creature will arrive. Once the crea-
  ture has accepted the toadstool, it is that
  person’s familiar from then on. The
  unfortunate person who attracts a bad-
  tempered or prank-playing creature
  must learn to live with it. The creatures
  summoned all seem to be quite intelli-
  gent and have minds of their own. They
  have the Virtue Faerie Sight.
  Truffles
  Truffles are irregular black masses
  that grow beneath the earth, springing
  mysteriously out of the roots of certain
  oak trees. Their rich flavor and magical
  properties make them worth their weight
  in gold to both gourmet cooks and inter-
  ested magi.
  Each truffle-tree has its own special
  earth faerie. Like most earth faeries,
  those of truffle-trees are jealous of their
  treasure, and thieves or careless truffle
  diggers are likely to rouse them to
  anger. Truffle-hunters who ask their
  permission before digging are usually
  allowed to ply their trade in peace
  (though trained pigs or dogs do the
  actual digging—just in case). Those who
  are favored discover truffles poking
  through the soil, or even catch a
  glimpse of the faerie itself herding its
  band of tiny black swine.
  Truffle faeries look much like truffles
  themselves: squat and black, with incred-
  ibly wrinkled, horny skin. Their eyes are
  tiny and deep-set, and their sense of smell
  is uncannily accurate. The size of the truf-
  fles on a tree is a good indicator of the size
  of the faerie. They have a weakness for
  fine old oak trees, and for quality swine,
  which they breed and judge as mortals do
  hounds and horses.
  The truffles themselves are similar to
  mushrooms and grow completely covered
  by earth. To a noble’s cook, they are worth
  up to their full weight in gold, depending
  on the market and the quality of the truf-
  fle. To a wizard, each truffle is worth 2
  points of Creo vis per inch in diameter.
  
  126
  Not all magi are
  accustomed to the
  presence of faerie
  Companions in the
  covenant.
  Illus. ©1995 Julie Baroh
  
  127
  “S
  ometimes the getting into Faerieland is easier
  than you think. It’s the getting out that’s tricky.
  Mark me: once they’ve taken you, they’ll hold you for-
  ever, wherever you be living and whatever be your
  trade. If they’re going to call to you, they’ll call to
  you, and when it’s your time, you must go. But if a man
  has faith, a good head on his shoulders, and courage
  running in his veins, he can go in his own time, on his
  own terms. I have gone to them as the faerie messenger,
  and a bard of a queen in Faerieland. You will pay for it—
  they have given me a tongue that cannot lie—but if you
  can bear it, you can make your own way even with
  them.”
  —Thomas the Rhymer, a mortal with faerie powers
  
  128
  Roleplaying Faeries
  I
  n a campaign that focuses on faeries and
  faerie areas, or in any campaign where
  players desire an unusual change of pace,
  the question of whether faeries can be
  played may arise. Playing a full-blooded
  faerie who has always been faerie is not rec-
  ommended, simply because faeries can be
  so mentally different from mortals.
  Similarly, playing a faerie magus is not rec-
  ommended, because such a character
  would be much too powerful. For players
  wishing to play faeries, there are two
  options. The simplest option is playing a
  Companion or magus who has faerie blood
  that is unusually strong, and the other is to
  play a full-blooded faerie Companion.
  Playing someone with the Virtue Faerie
  Blood is not the same as playing a faerie
  Companion. The former is a mortal, while
  the latter can more truly be called a faerie.
  The boundary between the types is not nec-
  essarily crystal clear, but generally mortals
  with faerie blood have only subdued faerie
  characteristics. Faerie Companions, on the
  other hand, are basically faeries who have
  adapted to living in mortal society.
  The Faerie Companion
  Player Character
  There are many different ways a faerie
  could have been sensitized enough to mor-
  tal ways to survive and even thrive in the
  mortal world. The faerie Companion may
  have once been human and has become a
  faerie, or perhaps was a faerie child who
  was raised by humans. There are many sto-
  ries of people either being kidnapped by
  faeries or wandering into Arcadia, and of
  their becoming faeries by eating faerie food,
  by being put under faerie enchantments, or
  by simply staying too long in Arcadia. There
  are also many stories of human infants kid-
  napped by faeries and replaced by faerie
  children. The advantage of these characters
  is that they will have the ability and desire
  to interact with mortals, and the ability to
  be comfortable in Arcadia.
  It must be noted that a faerie
  Companion is quite powerful and should be
  regarded as an alternative to playing a
  magus. Remember too that though faerie
  Companions are quite powerful compared
  to ordinary mortals, they are of only moder-
  ate power when compared to the hosts of
  Faerieland and the various faerie areas.
  Faerie Companions are more powerful than
  the majority of hobgoblins, brownies, and
  other numina minor, but less powerful than
  the numina maior.
  Creating Faerie Companions
  A faerie Companion’s basic characteris-
  tics are generated the same way any other
  character’s are. Faerie Companions receive a
  number of innate Abilities and must choose
  a limitation in regards to iron.66 Also, there
  are a number of Virtues and Flaws only
  faerie Companions and those with faerie
  blood may take. Some Virtues and Flaws are
  not available to faerie Companions.
  Probably the most potent and interest-
  ing characteristics of faerie Companions
  are their faerie “Powers.” These Powers are
  simply limited forms of faerie magic and
  should be selected after the character’s
  Virtues and Flaws have been decided on.
  Chapter Ten:
  Playing Faeries and the Faerie-Touched
  66Cold iron is the tra-
  ditional bane of faeries
  and the faerie-blooded.
  
  129
  After faerie Powers are chosen, personal-
  ity traits are determined in the usual man-
  ner. Next, regular Abilities are chosen. Faerie
  characters have 55 + A SIMPLE DIE ROLL in expe-
  rience points with which to buy Abilities.67
  Since faerie characters either are
  faeries raised among humans or are
  humans who have been turned into
  faeries, they may leave their faerie areas
  and travel freely in the mortal realm, due
  to their connection with it. In addition,
  areas of divine power affect such charac-
  ters less than other faeries because faerie
  characters have at least some minimal
  connection to the Dominion. In game
  terms, divine power affects faerie charac-
  ters just as it affects magi, not as it affects
  non-player faeries. Other powers affect
  faerie characters normally.68
  Innate Abilities
  Due to the strange strength of their
  mystical blood, faerie Companions innate-
  ly have powers considered extraordinary in
  the mortal world. Their connection with the
  power of nature allows them to heal rapid-
  ly, recovering one Body level per day auto-
  matically. This same bond with the living
  world around them automatically gives
  them the Virtue Ways of the Woods (at no
  cost to the player). The Virtues Faerie Eyes
  and Faerie Sight are also innate Abilities
  that are free to faerie Companions.69
  Faerie Companions have an Ability
  called “Magic Resistance.” They begin with
  a score of 3 in this Ability, and this Ability is
  incompatible with Parma Magica (their
  scores are not cumulative). This Magic
  Resistance may be raised through experi-
  ence. The faerie Companion must spend a
  season in either Arcadia or a faerie regio of
  at least level 6 and spend the following
  experience points: 4 experience points to
  raise his or her score to 4, and 4 EXPERIENCE
  POINTS + THE POINTS NORMALLY NEEDED TO ATTAIN
  THE NEXT LEVEL (AS PER THE ARS MAGICA RULES) to
  buy each higher score beyond 4.70 A faerie
  Companion’s Ability Magic Resistance gives
  him or her a Magic Resistance equal to 5
  times the score in the Ability.
  Also, faerie Companions do not age or
  become ill, and will not die unless killed.
  Limitations
  All faerie Companions must take an
  iron limitation: Discomfort from Iron, or
  Vulnerability to Iron. Bound by Iron is both
  too much and not enough of a limitation
  for player characters. Faerie Companions
  take +1 extra damage from iron weapons.71
  Faerie characters who give their
  solemn word must keep it. Most will not
  even consider breaking their word, and
  those who do know that dire things may
  happen to them (such as acquiring the
  Flaw called Faerie Enmity).
  Virtues and Flaws
  Faerie Companions choose Virtues and
  Flaws just like magi and Companions, and
  may have up to 10 points in Virtues, bal-
  anced by 10 points in Flaws. Innate
  Abilities do not count toward the limits on
  Virtues and Flaws for faerie Companions.
  However, it is impossible for faerie
  Companions to use magic other than
  faerie magic, and these alien-natured
  beings may not have Hermetic Virtues or
  Flaws, since they are not magi. But though
  there are also a few other Virtues and Flaws
  not available to faerie Companions, there
  is a whole new variety of faerie Virtues and
  Flaws open only to faerie Companions and
  those with faerie blood.
  Unavailable Virtues and
  Flaws:
  Latent Mystical Ability, Withstand Magic,
  True 
  Faith, 
  Failed 
  Apprentice, 
  Magic
  Resistance, Werewolf, and Guardian Angel
  are Virtues unavailable to faerie Companions.
  Diabolic Upbringing, Magic Susceptibility,
  Offensive to Animals, Tainted with Evil, and
  Demon-Plagued are Flaws not available to
  faerie Companions.
  67Unlike 
  those 
  of
  other characters, faerie
  characters’ 
  experience
  points to buy Abilities are
  not based on the charac-
  ters’ age, since faeries are
  immortal and ageless.
  68Faerie Companions
  use the magic column of
  the Power Interaction
  Chart in the Ars Magica
  rules, not the faerie col-
  umn.
  69For description of
  the Virtue Ways of the
  Woods, 
  see 
  the 
  Ars
  Magica rules. For descrip-
  tion of the Virtues Faerie
  Eyes and Faerie Sight, see
  the 
  section 
  “Faerie
  Virtues,” p. 133, in this
  chapter.
  70The cost to go from
  a score of 4 in Magic
  Resistance to a score of 5
  would be 9 experience
  points. Raising the score
  to 6 would cost 10 expe-
  rience points. Raising
  the score to 7 would cost
  11 experience points,
  and so on.
  71For descriptions of
  faerie 
  limitations 
  in
  dealing with iron, see
  “Faerie Weaknesses,” p.
  95, in Chapter 9: Faerie
  Folk, a Bestiary.
  
  130
  Faerie Powers
  Like their brethren of the faerie
  realm, faerie Companions have mystical
  powers. These “Powers” can be so potent
  that a faerie character may be the near-
  equal of a magus. Faerie Companions
  may have up to 4 points of these Powers.
  Most of these Powers require no rolls to
  use. 
  When 
  applicable, 
  the 
  Form,
  Technique, and level equivalents are
  given for purposes of magically affecting
  or dispelling these abilities.
  Aquatic
  You can function normally underwa-
  ter, and you can give up to 9 mortals at a
  time tokens that allow them also to func-
  tion normally underwater. You can dispel
  these tokens by touch, even while they are
  in use.  This Power gives you the Ability
  called Swim, which you must buy a score
  in as you do with all regular Abilities.
  Cost: 1 point.
  Change72
  You may alter your appearance to
  that of anything remotely human. Deer
  ears, any kind of horns, and cat’s eyes are
  all permissible attributes of a remotely
  human form. You can add +1 to your nor-
  mal Size or decrease it by up to 2 points.
  An additional Size point gives you +1
  Soak, +1 Strength, and -1 Defense.
  Reducing your Size has the reverse effect
  per Size point lost. In addition, you can
  change your basic body form so that you
  are muscular (+1 Strength), or graceful
  (+1 Dexterity). You cannot raise your
  Presence by more than 2 using this Power,
  though you can lower it as much as you
  wish. Cost: 1 point.
  Equalize Resistance
  You can make any creature’s or
  magus’s Magic Resistance equal in score to
  your own Magic Resistance, for purposes of
  resisting your own Powers only. With this
  Power, you may only affect one being at a
  time. Cost: 2 points.
  Fascination
  This Power causes those who look at
  you or listen to you to see you as someone
  whose praise they desire and whom they
  are inclined to obey (as long as any orders
  or requests you make are reasonable). This
  Power affects nobles as well as commoners,
  though it may have less effect on those
  who feel bound by oaths and other loyal-
  ties. This Power may not be dispelled by
  magic, but its effects on a particular person
  may be dispelled (ReMe 25). This Power
  need not be used all the time. Cost: 1 point.
  Flight, Greater
  (ReHe 25, ReAn 25)
  You can fly as fast as a galloping horse.
  You fly by riding on an object you cause to
  fly (straddling a flying broom is a classic
  example). The objects you use to fly with
  do not retain their flying power once you
  are finished with them. This Power gives
  you an Ability called Flight, which you
  must buy a score in as you do with all reg-
  ular Abilities. You may only fly at night,
  and if you fly over a church or within
  earshot of a ringing church bell, you must
  roll a STRESS DIE + YOUR STAMINA + FLIGHT of 9
  or greater or be forced to land; on a botch,
  you fall out of the air. Cost: 2 points.
  Glamour, Greater
  (CrIm 25, MuIm 25)
  With this Power, you can create an
  image up to the size of a horse and rider
  (Size +2), with sounds appropriate to it.
  Optionally, you change the image and
  sounds of any one thing, including living
  things, up to Size +2. The glamour is broken
  if it is shown to be false: for example, some-
  one who attempted to touch a glamour of a
  tree would show it to be false, or a dog with
  a glamour of a rock over it would show the
  glamour to be false if it ran away. You may
  cast a glamour on yourself but cannot raise
  your Presence more than 2 points, though
  72With 
  the 
  Power
  called Change, you may
  make yourself look like
  someone else.  To do this,
  make a simple Perception
  roll of 6+ if you know the
  person well, 11+ if you
  have only seen the person
  once or if you only have a
  picture of the person.
  
  131
  you may lower it as much as you wish. This
  Power may dispelled by magic; if it is not
  dispelled, the glamour lasts until the next
  sunset or sunrise. Cost: 1 point.
  Healing
  For the cost of one Fatigue level, you may
  heal one Body level in yourself or another by
  touch. The recipient must make a Stamina
  roll of 3+ to benefit. You can also cure disease
  in the same fashion. Cost: 1 point.
  Hex/Blessing73
  This allows you to exercise powers
  identical to both of the Virtues Hex and
  Blessing. This Power also gives the
  Companion the Hex/Bless Ability. Your
  base score in this Power is 10, and can be
  raised with experience. Cost: 1 point.
  Improved Characteristic
  Add +4 to any single characteristic
  of your choice. This Power may be taken
  only once but may be used on a charac-
  teristic that already has a positive
  value. Cost: 1 point.
  Invisibility
  You can become invisible at will and
  may perform any desired action, including
  combat, while invisible. While invisible,
  you still cast a reflection (in mirrors, still
  pools, and so on). You can remain invisible
  for 8 hours per day but can become visible
  during that period at will. Cost: 2 points.
  Lord of the Wild Forest
  (MuAn 15, ReAn 15, ReHe 15)
  You can communicate with and com-
  mand all manner of animals and plants.
  These conversations cannot be understood by
  onlookers. Under your command, the ani-
  mals are transformed into flawless specimens
  of their type, giving them a +3 to their
  strongest feature (to sight, for a hawk; to
  speed, for a horse), and causing them to
  become brave and confident. Plants are
  empowered with limited movement—small
  branches can whip at targets to distract them
  or knock things from the grip of the targets.
  Long grasses and undergrowth can grow to
  twice normal size and can attempt to trip
  people. Dexterity rolls are needed to avoid
  falling—of 6+ to 9+, depending on the speed
  of the person and the thickness of the vege-
  tation. This Power works as long as you con-
  centrate; it will not work on domestic plants
  or animals. The animals transformed by this
  Power cannot thereafter be domesticated by
  any means, including magic. Cost: 3 points.
  Make Animals Tame/Wild
  You may make wild animals tame and
  tame animals wild. This Power works at
  will, on one animal a turn, and is perma-
  nent. Taming and untaming animals may
  be done either by touching the animal or
  by looking at it. However, if the Power is
  used on an animal you are not touching,
  then each animal affected costs you one
  Fatigue level. Cost: 1 point.
  Shapechange
  At will, you may take the form of a par-
  ticular animal. The desired animal must be
  selected at character creation and may not be
  changed. The size of the form assumed must
  be between Size -5 and Size +2. Cost: 1 point.
  Speak with Animals
  You can speak with all manner of ani-
  mals; these communications cannot be under-
  stood by onlookers. Generally, animals will be
  well-disposed towards you, but they are not
  bound to follow your requests. Cost: 1 point.
  Summoning
  You may summon minor faeries from
  your realm. You may summon faeries of
  73Hex is described in
  the Ars Magica
  rules.
  Blessing is described in the
  “New Virtues” section, pg.
  140.
  
  132
  up to a Faerie Might of 15. You may have
  no more than three present at any one
  time. It takes one full turn to summon one
  faerie creature. Cost: 3 points.
  Transformation
  (MuAn 15, MuAg 15, MuHe 15,
  MuTe 15)
  You may transform any small object,
  plant, or animal into another form.
  Common examples include: gold into
  coal, jewels into mice, leaves into money,
  water into wine, and so on. Nothing larg-
  er or heavier than a suit of clothes may be
  transformed. The range of transformation
  is touch only, and the transformation lasts
  until the next sunrise or sunset, whichever
  is sooner. Transformation may be dis-
  pelled. Cost: 2 points.
  Very Tough
  Add +7 to all Soak rolls. Cost: 1 point.
  Faerie Defects
  Each point of Defect taken gives you
  another point with which to choose faerie
  Powers. You may take no more than a total
  of 2 points of these Defects.
  Partially Controlled Power
  One of your faerie Powers is partially
  out of your control, and is activated by spe-
  cific conditions. For example, you auto-
  matically Hex anyone who breaks his or
  her word in your presence, or you trans-
  form from human form to animal form
  when entering a Dominion aura. Add one
  point to select faerie Powers.
  Susceptible to Divine Power
  This Defect has the same effects as the
  faerie Flaw of the same name. Characters
  may not take both this Defect and that
  Flaw. Add one point to select faerie Powers.
  Uncontrolled Power
  One of your faerie Powers is not at all
  under your control, and in many ways
  may be as much, or more, a curse as a
  blessing. For example, you may Hex any-
  one who is inhospitable in your presence
  and Bless anyone who follows the rules of
  faerie etiquette, but you are unable to use
  this Power voluntarily. Add two points with
  which to select faerie Powers.
  Vulnerable to the Dominion
  This Defect has the same effects as the
  faerie Flaw of the same name. Characters may
  not take both this Defect and that Flaw. Add
  two points with which to select faerie Powers.
  Characters with Faerie
  Blood
  Most characters who have faerie blood
  will simply have the Virtue Faerie Blood as
  described in the Ars Magica rules system.
  However, in some exceptional mortals
  (meaning human Companions, not faerie
  Companions), faerie blood will run espe-
  cially strong and pure. In addition to the
  benefits of the standard Virtue, such char-
  acters will have additional special abilities
  and limitations. For these characters, Faerie
  Blood will still be a +2 Virtue, but its exact
  parameters must be chosen by the charac-
  ter. Human characters with faerie blood
  choose up to +5 faerie Virtues balanced by -
  5 faerie Flaws, in addition to the regular
  Virtues and Flaws. These faerie Virtues and
  Flaws must balance to zero, and faerie
  Virtues must be balanced by faerie Flaws,
  not normal Flaws, and vice-versa. This does
  not include the Virtue Faerie Blood itself,
  which is counted as a regular Virtue and so
  must be balanced by a regular Flaw. Faerie
  Companions may also take faerie Virtues,
  but these Virtues may be balanced by either
  regular or faerie Flaws.
  
  133
  Faerie Virtues
  Only 
  characters 
  who 
  are 
  faerie
  Companions or those with faerie blood
  may choose faerie Virtues and Flaws.
  +1 Animal Ken
  This Virtue gives you the Ability called
  Animal Ken, which you must buy a score
  in as you do with all regular Abilities. This
  Ability is outlined in the Ars Magica rules.
  +1 Faerie Eyes
  Faerie Eyes allow you to see normally in
  deep woods and also at night. Your eyes will
  be unusually bright and reflect light like a
  cat’s. The eyes of a faerie look “normal,”
  though they will usually be a strange color,
  like bright green. All faerie Companions
  have Faerie Eyes as an innate Ability.
  +1 Faerie Sight
  This Virtue gives you an Ability called
  Faerie Sight, which you must buy a score in
  as you do with all regular Abilities.
  This is similar to the Virtue Second Sight,
  except that you are automatically special-
  ized in seeing faeries and faerie things. It
  allows you to see through faerie illusions on
  a FAERIE SIGHT + STRESS DIE roll of 12+. Just as
  Second Sight allows you to see into magic
  regios, Faerie Sight allows you to see into
  faerie regios. All faerie Companions have
  Faerie Sight as an innate Ability.
  +1 Standard Equipment of Bronze
  Manufacture
  All of your standard equipment that is
  normally made of iron uses bronze
  instead. Thus the equipment is less harm-
  ful to your nature.
  +2 Enchanting Music
  This Virtue gives you the Ability called
  Enchanting Music, which you must buy a score
  in as you do with all regular Abilities. This
  Ability is outlined in the Ars Magica rules.
  +2 Glamour, Lesser
  (MuIm 20)
  This Virtue gives you an Ability called
  Glamour, which you must buy a score in as
  you do with all regular Abilities.
  This Virtue grants you the ability to
  change your appearance. On a GLAMOUR +
  STRESS DIE roll of 9+, you can change your
  appearance to that of anything that looks
  even remotely human. This transformation
  includes changes of voice, sounds, and
  accouterments such as clothing and
  weapons. Glamour changes only sounds
  and images, smell and taste, but not touch.
  Glamours cannot be completely perfect,
  though usually flaws are very subtle; ani-
  Exempli Gratia—Faerie Blood, Special
  System
  Aelfgar, a human Companion, chooses
  the Virtue Faerie Blood and the faerie Virtues
  Animal Ken +1, Faerie Eyes +1, and Healing
  +3. She balances the cost of these faerie
  Virtues with the faerie Flaws Vulnerability to
  Iron -3 and Susceptible to Divine Power -2.
  To balance out the +2 regular Virtue Faerie
  Blood itself, she takes the -2 regular Flaw
  Small Frame. She therefore has +5 faerie
  Virtues and –5 faerie Flaws—the maxi-
  mum—and +2 regular Virtues and –2 regu-
  lar Flaws. She may now take up to +3 more
  points in regular Virtues, balanced by -3
  points of regular Flaws, but may choose no
  more faerie Virtues or faerie Flaws.
  Faerie Companions may mix faerie and
  regular Virtues and Flaws at will. Rowan the
  faerie Companion chooses the faerie Virtues
  Faerie Affinity with Terram +3, Standard
  Equipment of Faerie Iron +3, and the regu-
  lar Virtue Redcap +4. To balance these she
  chooses the faerie Flaw Strong Fey Nature -
  1, and the regular Flaws Fury -3,
  Overconfident -2, and Midget/Dwarf -4.
  
  134
  mals are more likely to notice the imperfec-
  tions than humans. In order to imitate a
  specific person, you need a GLAMOUR + STRESS
  DIE roll of 12+. Once cast, the glamour lasts
  until sunrise or sunset (whichever occurs
  next). You can lower your Presence as
  much as you like, but can only raise it by 2
  points, maximum. Specialties: Faeries,
  men, women, nobles, and other human
  types. 
  +2 Good Equipment of Bronze
  Manufacture
  All your standard equipment that is
  typically made of iron uses bronze instead.
  In addition, you may have one expensive
  piece of equipment that is made of bronze.
  +3 Faerie Affinity
  You have a close affinity with one vari-
  ety of minor nature faerie associated with
  one of the four elements or associated with
  animals or with plants. You may create
  spontaneous effects using one Form, with
  your choice of Form being limited to Animál,
  Aquam, Auram, Herbam, Ignem, and
  Terram. You are granted an Ability called
  Magical Affinity, which you can increase
  with experience. First you decide what effect
  you wish to occur and ask the faeries associ-
  ated with your particular affinity to aid you;
  then you make a MAGICAL AFFINITY + COM
  roll. If your roll is equal to or less than the
  level of an equivalent Hermetic spell desired,
  then the effect occurs. No Fatigue need be
  spent to use this Ability. You must verbally
  ask the faeries to aid you. Doing this takes
  time, but no gestures are required. You may
  produce effects duplicating both regular
  Hermetic spells and faerie-magic spells. Only
  faerie Companions and Companions with
  faerie blood may take this Virtue.
  +3 Flight, Lesser
  (ReHe 25)
  This Virtue gives you an Ability called
  Flight, which you must buy a score in as
  you do with all regular Abilities.
  You can fly as fast as a galloping horse.
  To fly, you must succeed on a FLIGHT +
  QUICKNESS stress roll of 9+. You fly by riding
  on an object that you have caused to fly,
  such as a broom, sawhorse, or bundle of
  sticks. You cannot fly on your own; you can-
  not make living things fly. The objects you
  use to fly with do not retain their flying abil-
  ity once you are finished with them. You
  can only fly at night, and if you cross over a
  church’s land or fly within earshot of a ring-
  ing church bell, you must make a FLIGHT +
  QUICKNESS stress roll of 9+ (minus the divine
  rating of the church) or be forced to land. 
  +3 Healing
  (CrCo 20)
  For a cost of 1 Fatigue level, you may
  heal one Body level in yourself or in some-
  one you touch. The recipient must make a
  stress Stamina roll of 3+ to benefit from this
  healing. Also, you can cure most common
  diseases by touch. This Ability will not
  regrow limbs, cure leprosy, erase scars or
  deformities, or reset healed bones.
  +3 Standard Equipment of Faerie Iron
  All of your standard equipment that
  normally would be made of mortal iron
  has been made out of faerie iron instead.
  +3 Superior Equipment of Bronze
  Manufacture
  All of your equipment that would nor-
  mally be made out of iron has been made
  out of bronze instead. Your armaments and
  your armor may be of the expensive type. 
  +4 Good Equipment of Faerie Iron
  All of your equipment that normally
  would be made out of mortal iron has been
  made out of faerie iron instead. In addi-
  tion, one piece of expensive equipment is
  made of faerie iron as well.
  
  135
  +4 Magic Resistance
  You have an innate Magic Resistance
  of +20, incompatible with Parma Magica
  (they’re 
  not 
  cumulative). 
  As 
  faerie
  Companions already have a similar innate
  ability, they may not choose this Virtue.
  +5 Superior Equipment of Faerie Iron
  All of your equipment that is normally
  of iron is of faerie iron. You may have any
  expensive arms or armor.
  Faerie Flaws
  –1 Disfigured
  You have a visible disfigurement that
  makes you ugly and easily recognized.
  Subtract 3 from your Presence score. Faeries
  and characters with faerie blood may have
  almost any imaginable disfigurement,
  including horns or duck feet.
  –1 Faerie Enmity
  Some particular kind of common
  faerie hates you and takes every oppor-
  tunity to harm or pester you. Whenever
  you are within an area frequented by
  such fey, they will take time from their
  everyday activities to spoil your food,
  plague your dreams, and otherwise tor-
  ment you. Luckily for you, these faeries
  prefer to let you live so they can contin-
  ue to hassle you. Examples of acceptable
  faerie types are household faeries, faerie
  peasants, or tree faeries.
  –1 Magical Air
  People are instinctively aware that you
  are a magical being. You suffer –3 on rolls
  for social skills when dealing with ordinary
  people. You are typically distrusted and
  feared by the common people.
  –1 Orphan
  You were either abandoned by the fey
  for unknown reasons, or by your mother
  because you were a bit too strange.
  –1 Strong Fey Nature
  The blood of Faerie is so strong in you
  that you feel the full effects of divine
  power on your faerie nature. Instead of
  using the magic column of the Realm
  Interaction Chart, you must use the faerie
  column, with its harsher divine and infer-
  nal effects, for any faerie Abilities or
  Virtues you use. Magical areas also aid
  you less, but you get greater benefits from
  faerie auras.
  –2 Minor Discomfort from Iron
  You are uncomfortable touching
  things made from mortal iron. Touching
  iron will not harm you; it is just some-
  thing that does not feel good (you experi-
  ence mild nausea, headache, or ringing in
  your ears, or make up your own discom-
  fort). You are at -3 to use any iron weapon
  or tool if you have to touch the iron to use
  it.74 You also lose 2 Fatigue levels if you
  are wearing iron armor. This Flaw cannot
  be taken if you already have the Flaw
  Vulnerability to Iron. This Flaw is open
  only to those who are of faerie blood, not
  to faerie Companions.
  –3 Vulnerability to Iron
  The touch of iron burns you. You
  take no actual damage from just touch-
  ing iron, but it hurts. You cannot use
  iron weapons or tools where you must
  touch the iron, and you cannot wear
  iron armor. Iron weapons do an addi-
  tional +1 damage to you. Also, your
  faerie blood is so strong that your blood
  does not look like human blood. It might
  be black ichor or white wine—be cre-
  ative. This Flaw cannot be taken with
  the Flaw Discomfort from Iron. Faerie
  Companions may not take this Flaw.
  74To use a sword or
  pair of iron tongs, you
  must handle the iron. If
  you are using an iron-
  headed spear or arrow,
  you do not handle the
  iron and would not be at
  a disadvantage.
  
  136
  –4 Cursed
  You must always keep your word
  when you freely give it. Should you fail to
  do so, disaster will strike you (and likely
  your associates). Faerie Companions have
  a stronger version of this Flaw, and so
  may not take it.
  –5 Vulnerablilty to the Dominion
  Your faerie nature is so strong that
  you feel the full effects of other realms on
  you. You take the bonuses and penalties
  listed in the Realm Interaction Chart to
  all rolls other than Soak rolls. In addi-
  tion, the prolonged touch of Holy Relics
  and Holy Water hurts—and may actual-
  ly burn—your skin. Your lack of faith
  and impure nature (according to Church
  doctrine) drives you away from holy
  items. Of course, you cannot take
  Communion or holy vows, either.
  Suspicious people may think you demon-
  ic since entering a church causes you
  obvious discomfort.
  New Virtues
  These Virtues are available to all char-
  acters.
  +1 Blessing
  (CrMe, CrCo, CrAn, CrHe, etc. 20)
  Blessings bring aid and comfort to
  those on whom you bestow them. You are
  granted an Ability that you may increase
  with experience. You must wish a specific
  blessing upon a person, animal, or place
  by speaking the Blessing aloud, and the
  storyguide determines how much of it
  takes effect (based on the die roll, modified
  by Blessing score) . The Blessing generally
  reaches its full extent within a full day.
  Specialties: Crops, healing, children.
  +1 Faerie Sight
  The Virtue Faerie Sight is also available
  to characters without faerie blood.
  Brother Quercus, a
  faerie monk.
  Illus. ©1995 Anson Maddocks
  
  137
  +2 Faerie Friend
  You have a house basilisc, goblin, or
  other minor faerie (Faerie Might of 15 or less)
  as your companion. This creature is small,
  completely intelligent, and can speak if it
  chooses. It will have one or more minor mag-
  ical powers and will aid its owner. Whether it
  will aid its friend unto death depends how it
  is treated and on how close the friendship is
  between you and it. Minor faeries are usual-
  ly mischievous and somewhat troublesome,
  and some steal and bring the loot to their
  owners. Anyone who is known to have a
  basilisc automatically receives Reputation
  “Dishonest 2.” Numerous other minor faeries
  also carry similar bad reputations, simply
  because they are faeries.
  +3 Strong Faerie Blood
  This Virtue includes all of the effects
  of the Virtue Faerie Blood. In addition,
  you have +3 to resist-aging rolls, you
  have the Virtues Faerie Eyes and Faerie
  Sight, and you suffer from the Flaw
  Minor Discomfort from Iron. In addition,
  you may take any faerie Virtue at a cost
  of one Virtue point less than normal.75
  The Flaw Vulnerable to Iron only counts
  as a -1 Flaw for characters who have the
  Virtue Strong Faerie Blood. Characters
  with Strong Faerie Blood have natural
  longevity and so begin making aging
  rolls at age fifty, not thirty-five; also,
  they respond as magi to longevity
  potions they are given, in terms of sub-
  tracting from aging rolls.
  +4 Faerie Doctor
  Faerie doctors are a variety of hedge
  wizard who act as intermediaries between
  mortals and the faeries. Faerie doctors
  exist in all Celtic and Germanic countries.
  The position is hereditary, with faerie doc-
  tors teaching suitable nephews or nieces.
  Often faerie doctors pass on the full
  secrets of their power on their deathbed.
  Faerie doctors all possess the Virtue Faerie
  Sight, with a base score of 3.
  Faerie doctors are granted an Ability
  called Summoning. They are able to sum-
  mon faeries by rolling SUMMONING + COM
  + FAERIE LORE + A STRESS DIE equal to or
  greater than the Might of the faerie they
  wish to summon. This process takes 1
  minute per 5 levels of Might the faerie
  possesses, and may require props such as
  special herbs or other items. Each sum-
  moning costs the faerie doctor 1 Short-
  Term Fatigue level.
  Faerie doctors have an Ability called
  Command. Roll COMMAND + PRESENCE + A
  STRESS
  DIE equal to or greater than the
  faerie’s Might to force the faerie to obey
  any single command that is not directly
  harmful to the faerie and that takes no
  more than a single day to complete. The
  faerie’s Might is doubled for purposes of
  resisting this Talent if you command an
  action that would set a faerie against its
  innate nature: for example, if you asked
  a wilderness faerie to harvest a field or
  clean a barn. In contrast, the faerie’s
  Might is halved (round down) for pur-
  poses of resisting this Talent if you com-
  mand an action that would be in com-
  plete accord with a faerie’s nature: for
  example, if you ask a brownie to clean a
  house, or some vodyaniye to drown
  someone in their lake. In all cases, the
  commanded action must be one the
  faerie is capable of performing.
  75For characters with
  the Virtue Strong Faerie
  Blood, the Virtue En-
  chanting Music would
  be a +1 Virtue, and
  Magic Resistance would
  be a +3 Virtue.
  Example Blessing Roll
  Cause a field or an animal to be
  especially fertile for a full year:
  9
  Aid a woman in having a safe
  birth, or help someone recover
  from a fever:
  11
  Bring a family health and luck in
  all they do for the next year:
  16
  Cause someone at death’s door
  to recover from an injury
  or illness:
  21
  
  138
  Finally, all faerie doctors have a base
  skill of 2 in Faerie Lore and Legend Lore.
  Faerie doctors are also subject to sev-
  eral vows and restrictions. Each, whether
  male or female, must remain celibate
  and never marry. In addition, each must
  keep some vow such as a promise to
  never cut his or her hair, never eat in a
  house, or never handle money. This vow
  is hereditary, and varies from family to
  family. Finally, all faerie doctors must aid
  any who come to them who are afflicted
  by the faeries, though they may request
  payment for such services.
  +5 Homunculus
  You are the owner, or perhaps the ser-
  vant, of an animate mandrake. It has all
  the animate mandrake abilities described
  in “Faerie Plants” in Chapter 9: Faerie Folk,
  a Bestiary, and it is reasonably well-dis-
  posed toward you, as long as you treat it
  well. This is a +4 Virtue for magi.
  Animate mandrakes can teach magic.
  A very few people find escaped or natu-
  rally occurring mandrakes and are taught
  magic by them. If you are such a “man-
  drake magus,” your character is generat-
  ed as normal except that you have
  Reputation “Hedge Wizard 2” and you
  suffer from the Flaw Isolated From the
  Order. You are automatically a member
  of House Ex Miscellanea. This is a +1
  Hermetic Virtue if you are such a “man-
  drake magus” and your teacher is still
  animate, and a -4 Flaw if your mandrake
  has left or was destroyed. See the
  “Mandrake,” p. 123, in Chapter 9: Faerie
  Folk, a Bestiary for more details.
  An animate man-
  drake about to escape
  from confinement.
  Illus. ©1995 Rosemary Roach
  
  139
  +5 Magical Music
  You have the Ability Enchanting
  Music. In addition, you may control with
  your music both living things and your
  surroundings. Such music can compel
  animals, plants, rocks, and even the
  winds to do your bidding or to answer
  your questions. You may cause any
  Intéllego or Rego effect with Animál,
  Aquam, Auram, Herbam, Ignem, or
  Terram while playing your music. First
  you decide what you wish to occur; then
  you must make a successful Play
  Instrument roll. If you succeed, you then
  make an ENCHANTING MUSIC + PRESENCE roll.
  If your roll is equal to or greater than the
  level of an equivalent Hermetic spell, then
  the effect occurs and you lose a Fatigue
  level. If the roll is equal to or greater than
  twice the level of effect desired, you lose
  no Fatigue. If you spend a point of Short-
  Term Fatigue, you add +5 to your roll. No
  more than one point of Fatigue at a time
  may be spent in this way.
  To take this Virtue, you must also
  have the Virtue Free Expression; there-
  fore, only mortals may have this Virtue.
  However, it is a Virtue most easily learned
  from contact with the faeries, so many
  characters who have it will have either
  the Virtue Faerie Blood or the Virtue
  Faerie Upbringing. This Virtue is unavail-
  able to magi.
  New Hermetic Virtues
  +2 Faerie-Raised Merinita
  Many members of House Merinita
  are merely mortals who have always
  been fascinated by faeries. Others are
  mortals who have faerie blood. However,
  a few of the House’s members lie on the
  borderlands of mortality. They are those
  mortals who spend too long a time in
  Arcadia and eventually become faeries.
  Small children are especially susceptible
  to this transformation. When infants are
  taken into Arcadia and not recovered by
  their parents, they usually slowly become
  fey. Some members of House Merinita
  bargain for these children while they are
  still mortal, because they often have the
  Gift. It is unknown if their having the
  Gift is one of the reasons they are taken
  by the fey or if the Gift is developed as a
  side effect of their becoming fey. As a
  consequence of their living in Arcadia
  and being weaned on faerie food, these
  children are partially faerie in their
  nature and so have the same Abilities
  and limitations that individuals with
  Strong Faerie Blood do.
  Because their parens must also teach
  them how to live in and interact with
  others in the mortal world, these faerie-
  raised apprentices end up somewhat
  slighted in their training in Hermetic
  magic. They have only 100 points with
  which to purchase magical Arts, and
  may take only 100 levels of spells to
  start. The faerie nature of these magi
  gives them all the Flaw Wild Magic.
  However, due to their innately change-
  able and fluid manner of thought, they
  excel in spontaneous magic and do not
  need to expend Fatigue when casting
  any spontaneous magic. These charac-
  ters divide their spontaneous magic rolls
  by 2 without the need to expend Fatigue.
  However, such characters are by their
  nature unable to take the Virtue
  Continuous Spontaneous Magic. All
  faerie-raised Merinita magi innately
  have the Virtue Faerie Magic.
  Illus. ©1995 Christopher Rush
  
  140
  Farewell to Arcadia.
  Illus. ©1995 John Ueland
  
  141
  Faeries at a Glance
  Faeries embody the world of mystery and imagination. They occupy
  both those unknown lands over the next hill as well as the secret corners
  close at hand. Faeries bring us stories of faraway wonders: the ship that
  sails beneath the stone barrow, and the tree of golden apples that lies at
  the end of the earth. Faeries also touch the mortal world: they breathe life
  into rising bread, tend the wild things in the forest, and put magic into
  song and story. Much is said of faeries, yet little is truly understood. The
  folk wisest in faerie lore are as likely to be peasants as they are to be schol-
  ars or magi.
  Greater faeries: Compared to mortals, these faeries are as wolves to
  dogs: magnificent and powerful, dangerous and wild. The most powerful
  of them thankfully do not roam freely in the mortal world, but the least of
  such faeries wields the power of a king.
  Lesser faeries: These are the servants, peasants, and beasts of the faerie
  world. Though less powerful than the greater faeries, they are no less won-
  derful or bizarre. Many lesser faeries mingle freely with mortals, even
  becoming their lovers or stealing their children.
  Wild faeries: These creatures scorn the world of mortals, cities, and
  plowed fields. In their own domains they may be lords, herdsmen, or wild
  beasts. Woe to the thoughtless traveler who meets these faeries, for their
  forms are uncouth and their manners as wild as their faces.
  Worldly faeries: Most taking the forms of mortal men and women,
  these faeries usually reside with us in the mortal world. They hold court in
  the habit of mortal princes, knights, and magi, and haunt the dreams of
  sleepers. But also they may be heard in cellars, workshops, dark corners,
  and under floorboards almost everywhere.
  Faerie regios: Some places and some moments have the faerie touch. A
  forest path may lead on through trees with shining leaves of silver and
  gold. On a certain night of the year—or perhaps to a lost traveler—a
  mountaintop that has been climbed a thousand times may reveal itself to
  be a palace. Stories grow up around these places, but those who seek them
  out find them as elusive as the fey themselves.
  Faerieland: Arcadia is the realm of faeries and the source of their
  power, though many faeries have never been within it. Some say that no
  mortal who has been there may return, while others claim to have visited
  it and found a realm unlike any other—a place where a song may make
  the sun rise and where time and distance mean nothing.
  
  142
  A
  Animals, Faerie, 121
  les chevaux d’Ys, 121
  White Hart, The, 121
  Arcadia, 8, 83
  cities, 85
  correspondences, 87
  directions in, 73
  entering, 72, 85
  guardians, 86
  inhabitants, generally, 76
  passage of time, 67, 85
  passage of time, Passing of the Faerie Sun spell, 86
  power of the Church in, 77
  travel in, 87
  Auntie Rye, 113
  Auras
  regios, interaction with, 81
  troubadour’s tale. See Troubadour’s Tale
  B
  Baba Yaga, 119
  Barabao of Venice, 109
  Bargains
  diabolic and divine, 48
  trade and borrowing, 50
  troubadour’s tale, 15
  Basiliscs. See House Basiliscs
  Bibliography, 9
  Borrowing and Trade, Faerie Practices, 50
  Brother Quercus
  character stats, 49
  story of, 48
  C
  Cathar Heretic, 18
  Changelings, 54
  troubadour’s tale, old woman’s story, 17
  Characteristic Possessions, 43
  Charms Against Faeries, 59
  Church and Faeries, 45
  angels, faeries as, 24
  bargains, diabolic and divine, 48
  clergy and faeries. See Clergy and Faeries
  City Faeries, 109
  Barabao of Venice, 109
  Clergy and Faeries
  Brother Quercus, faerie monk, character stats, 49
  Brother Quercus, faerie monk, tale of, 48
  diabolism and Joseph Pietro, bishop of Venice, 28
  Frederick, priest of Lyon, comment of, 25
  Maelin, 24
  redcap goblin at Old Sarum, 45
  Stonehenge encounter, Father John Robbins, 46
  Cockaigne, Land in Arcadia, 74
  Companions, Faerie
  creating, 128
  Defects. See Defects
  Flaws. See Flaws
  innate Abilities, 129
  Powers. See Powers
  Virtues. See Virtues
  Curse. See also Powers
  troubador’s tale, duc de Berry, 65
  D
  Dark (“Away from the Light”) in Arcadia, 73
  Defects See also Flaws
  Partially Controlled Power, 132
  Susceptible to Divine Power, 132
  Uncontrolled Power, 132
  Vulnerable to the Dominion, 132
  Destroying Angel, 122
  Diabolism Among Clergy, 28
  Dog Saint, 55, 56
  Dryads. See also Hamadryads
  bestiary entry, generally, 96
  leshiye, adventure seed, 97
  leshiye, tale of, 53
  troubadour’s tale, hanging-tree regio, 34
  Duc de Berry. See Troubadour’s Tale
  Duende. See Goblin
  E
  Ergot, 123
  Estates of Medieval Society, 22
  F
  Faerie Animals. See Animals, Faerie
  Faerie Blood and Player Characters, 128
  special rules, 132
  Faerie Lords, 104
  Faerie Peasants, 111
  Faerie Plants. See Plants, Faerie
  Fatae, 105
  Habetrot, English fata, 106
  Field Faeries, 112
  Auntie Rye, 113
  Flaws. See also Defects
  Cursed, 136
  Disfigured, 135
  Faerie Enmity, 135
  Magical Air, 135
  Minor Discomfort from Iron, 135
  Orphan, 135
  Strong Fey Nature, 135
  Vulnerability to Iron, 135
  Vulnerability to the Dominion, 136
  Free Expression. See Virtues
  G
  Gateways to Faerie Realms, 57
  Gerin. See also Troubadour’s Tale
  character stats, 19
  Gifts from Faeries, 53
  midwife tale, 53
  Glamour. See also Powers; Virtues
  nature of, 42, 43
  troubadour’s tale, block of ice, 13
  Gnomes, 98
  Goblin, 113
  adventure seed, 113
  church goblin stats, 115
  duende, in Toledo, 46
  Greater Faerie Lords, 106
  Guardians in Arcadia, 86
  Guinifore the Dog Saint, 55
  H
  Habetrot, English Fata, 106
  Hags, 99
  troubadour’s faerie tale about, 15
  Hamadryads, 99
  Homines Ferae, 100
  Host, The, 101
  House Basiliscs, 115
  covenant’s basilisc, 116
  I
  Iron, Faerie Weaknesses to
  Bound by Iron, 96
  Discomfort from Iron, 95
  Minor Discomfort (Flaw), 135
  Minor Discomfort (Flaw), troubadour’s tale, 63
  Vulnerability to Iron, 95
  Vulnerability to Iron (Flaw), 135
  K
  Kelpies, 101
  Mackinee and Harry Dean, 102
  Kobalts, 117
  Koutsodaimonas, 117
  L
  La Verdure, 25
  Law of Similarity, 44
  Les Chevaux d’Ys, 121
  Leshiye. See Dryads
  Light in Arcadia, 73
  Lord of the Hunt, 107
  M
  Mackinee and Harry Dean, 102
  Maelin, 24
  Magi and Faeries
  Monstro of Merinita, comment of, 27
  Olaus Ex Miscellanea, comment of, 27
  Tiresieas of Tytalus, comment of, 26
  Magic of Faeries. See also Defects; Flaws; Powers; Virtues
  generally, 7
  Index
  
  143
  Magic Resistance, Innate Faerie Ability, 129
  Mandrake, 123
  Merinita Magi, 26
  troubador’s tale, bargain with Queen of Winter, 64
  Midwife Tale, 53
  Mistletoe, 124
  Morae, 108
  Mother Friday, 23
  N
  Nobility and Faeries, 25
  La Verdure, 25
  Nymphae, 103
  O
  Ogres, 118
  Baba Yaga, 119
  P
  Padfoots, 119
  Peasants and Faeries, 22
  Plants, Faerie, 122
  Destroying Angel, 122
  ergot, 123
  mandrake, 123
  mistletoe, 124
  Sea Foam, 124
  stinkhorns, 124
  toadstools, 125
  truffles, 125
  Possessions, Characteristic, 43
  Powers.* See also Virtues
  Aquatic, 130
  Bless, 92
  Blessing, Hex/Blessing, 131
  Brew Faerie Potions, 92
  Change Size, 92
  Change, 130
  Communicate with Animals/Plants, 92
  Control Animals, 92
  Control Element, 93
  Control Fertility, 92
  Control Person, 92
  Curse, 93
  Elfshot, 93
  Enchant Objects, 93
  Enchanting Music, 93
  Equalize Resistance, 130
  Fascination, 130
  Fear, 93
  Flight, Greater, 130
  Glamour, 93
  Glamour, Greater, 130
  Healing, 94
  Healing, 131
  Hex/Blessing, 131
  Improved Characteristics, 131
  Infatuation, 94
  Insubstantial Form, 94
  Invisibility, 94
  Invisibility, 131
  Lord of the Wild Forest, 131
  Make Animals Tame/Wild, 131
  Possession, 94
  Prophecy, 94
  Shapechange Other to Animal, 95
  Shapechange Other to Object, 95
  Shapechange to Animal, 94
  Shapechange to Object, 94
  Shapechange, 131
  Speak with Animals, 131
  Summoning, 131
  Transformation, 132
  Travel, 95
  Very Tough, 132
  Q
  Queen of Winter, character stats, 69
  R
  Rebecca, Librarian of Harco, character stats, 29
  Regios, Faerie, 81
  entrances to, 81, 82
  nature, generally, 44
  redcap goblin at Old Sarum, 45
  troubadour’s tale. See Troubadour’s Tale
  S
  “Saint” Maelin, 24
  Sea Foam, 124
  Serpent Bride of Raymond of Poictiers, 57
  Spells, New
  Glimpse Through the Mystic Veil , 82
  Passing of the Faerie Sun, 86
  Stinkhorns, 124
  Stonehenge Encounter, Father John Robbins, 46
  Summer in Arcadia, 73
  T
  Toadstools, 125
  Trade and Borrowing, Faerie Practices, 50
  Trods, 80
  Trolls, 120
  Troubadour’s Tale. See also Specific Subject
  aura, duc de Berry’s house, 62
  aura, frozen river, 34, 37
  aura, hag faerie tale, 15
  changeling, old woman’s story, 17
  duc de Berry, first encounter, 37
  duc de Berry, Gerin’s stay in his house, 62
  duc de Berry, siege well entrance to Arcadia, 63
  fair at St. Lazare, 36
  Gerin’s character stats, 19
  hag, faerie tale about, 15
  Queen of Winter, alliance with French, 64
  Queen of Winter, final encounter in Arcadia, 67
  Queen of Winter, monk’s tale of, 32
  regio, hanging-tree, 34
  regio, secret siege-well room, 63
  Truffles, 125
  V
  Virtues.** See also Powers
  Animal Ken (faerie), 133
  Blessing (all characters), 136
  Enchanting Music (faerie), 133
  Faerie Affinity (faerie), 134
  Faerie Doctor (all characters), 137
  Faerie Eyes (faerie), 133
  Faerie Friend (all characters), 137
  Faerie Sight (all characters), 136
  Faerie Sight (faerie), 133
  Faerie Sight, entering regio (faerie), 81, 82
  Faerie-Raised Merinita (Hermetic Virtue), 139
  Free Expression and correspondences in Arcadia, 88
  Free Expression, troubadour’s tale, 35, 67–69
  Glamour, Lesser, 133
  Good Equipment of Bronze Manufacture, 134
  Good Equipment of Faerie Iron, 134
  Healing, 134
  Homunculus (all characters), 138
  Magic Resistance, 135
  Magic Resistance, innate faerie Ability, 129
  Magical Music (all characters), 139
  Standard Equipment of Bronze Manufacture, 133
  Standard Equipment of Faerie Iron, 134
  Strong Faerie Blood (all characters), 137
  Superior Equipment of Bronze Manufacture, 134
  Superior Equipment of Faerie Iron, 135
  Visions, troubadour’s tale, 14
  W
  White Hart, 121
  Winter in Arcadia, 73
  troubadour’s tale, 65
  *Standard faerie Powers are described in the bestiary
  section, pg. 92. Character Powers are in the
  character-generation section, pg. 130.
  **Some new Virtues in this book are designated for
  faeries or characters with faerie blood; oth-
  ers, for all characters.
  Index
  
  Illus. © 1995 Eric David Anderson
  The Queen of Winter comes from Arcadia to steal a child.
  
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