changelings are a difficult topic to cover, but an important one many are interested in.
to begin, there are three types of things that can be called changelings. the children of fey gifted to human parents; the children of humans the fey take in; and, albeit rare, there are fey borne to human parents.
the first, children of fey gifted to human parents can happen for many reasons. most humans seem to simply assume fey have ill intentions to doing so, but that is typically not the case. more often than not, it is fey who desire their child to have a greater understanding and respect of humans that do this, and they will often give their children to human parents whose child has died, as repayment.
it may seem a bit counter-intuitive, but there are many fey who hold great respect for humans. fey are naturally above other beings, but humans were able to reach their way up to the top as animals. there are fey, of course, who still do not like humans, and there's not a good way to tell at a glance whether a particular fey will respect humans or not.
occasionally, a fey will give their child to a human parent for mischievous reasons, but there can be as many reasons for leaving their child to a human as there are fey who do it, such as for protection, which is also rare, but not unheard of.
onto the second, children of humans taken in by fey. in some cases a fey will simply desire the experience of raising a human, as it is more challenging than raising a youngling fey. human children are very mouldable, and these children often wind up part-fey themselves, with a more fey outlook on the world.
other times the more stereotypical thing happens, and a fey adopts a human child simply for fun. there are certainly fey out there who would take a human child as a slave or object of entertainment. it is not uncommon for humans to be given as gifts to the Lords and Ladies of the Courts. and, yes, sometimes we eat them.
the last and rarest form of changeling are those fey who are borne to human parents. it is near impossible to pin down a reason or reasons which would be more common than others, but, as an example, a fey may be incarnated within a human body to human parents. a young human who is able to see or interact with fey is also capable of winding up fey, even without intervention. one who imitates fey earnestly can become fey themselves.
as for a changelings place in fey society - unless taken for a specific purpose, they are typically treated as very intelligent pets or very powerless children. upon proving themselves changelings can hold most positions within society or Courts, and generally aren't regarded as lesser than fey.
again, changelings are a difficult subject to cover, and this is only a brief overview. let us know if you'd like to hear more on the subject, and, if so, what you would like to hear.
