#fey shenanigans

[skeletinmoss]

So I saw that other fey have those cute little humans as pets. I instantly fell in love, they're adorable. I was just wondering if any of you know where I can get one and how to pick a good one ( I know some of them can be really aggressive and attack their owners and other pets) I would also appreciate any tips on taking care of the humans as a first time human owner, thanks!

[abyssalaerlocke]

Raphael as an Archfey instead of a Devilish Archduke

The feywild might be more chaotic than Hell, but fey have their own laws — both how things should be done (ie. Rules of Hospitality) and how the world works — with their own hierarchies.

He'd probably be part of the Unseelie Court, unpredictable, sharp, with a hot temper you don't want to get on the wrong side of. A dangerous force of nature.

When you see this weird copy lingering around, you question if they're twins, some strange shapeshifter creature, or your eyes are playing tricks on you.

In reality, Haarlep is probably just a horny satyr, and Raphael was flattered when Haarlep asked for his likeness, until he realised he wasn't talking about a painting or statue.

At least he's not stupid enough to give away his own name — names have power, so Raphael and Haarlep are both pseudonyms.

He keeps Haarlep by his side, so someone with his face doesn't go around misusing it, and forms devious agreements and pacts with the unwary (or sometimes the wary, figuring out how he can word a consequence past their keen mind is a fun challenge).

Kiiinda thinking about him as a verdant prince, so here's some highlights from their entry:

Verdant princes lend aid to those in need and grant the desires of the greedy, but those who strike a bargain with the fey understand too late what they've given up in exchange.

Verdant princes are evil and cruel, and they enjoy entrapping victims in supernatural oaths that seem beneficial but are not.

A verdant prince can make an oath bond with only one creature at a time.

[bla bla bla magic consequences (debilitating sickness) for breaking it, constant awareness of the breaker's location]

They often use disguise self to appear less threatening

Dryads or nymphs who mate with verdant princes, or who are themselves evil, sometimes give birth to verdant princes. [...] Powerful and convinced of their superiority, verdant princes care little for their mothers and typically despise their fathers

Verdant princes are born mischievous; their cruel streak increases as they mature over the course of a season. By maturity, nearly all become evil, but a few might be more lawful or chaotic than others. [...] winter princes cleave rigidly to their words

Verdant princes are leaders of evil fey and plant creatures. Those that reside long in a verdant prince's realm often become evil over time as they repeatedly acquiesce to their lord's will and participate in its plots.

A verdant prince lives to fulfill its selfish desires [...] and takes whatever it desires. Although frequently cruel and imperious to individuals, a verdant prince makes an effort to appear magnanimous and forgiving to its subjects at large.

This fey delights in tricking a creature into an oath bond that leads to anguish and despair. The verdant prince takes care to fulfill its end of the bargain while requesting something that seems innocuous but will cause strife.

Super interesting if his mother was an evil dryad/nymph instead of a human, and so instead of a cambion, Mephistopheles (still an archdevil) gets a verdant prince for a son.

I could be remembering wrong, maybe it's my own headcanon, but I think satyrs (all male) breed with nymphs/etc. (all female). Depending on your preference, Haarlep could be related, maybe even fraternal twins with different fathers, or — if Mephistopheles is a satyr — identical twins, with the mother's evilness only manifesting into the power and form of a verdant prince in one.

Alternatively, maybe Raphael has a general kinship with satyrs, which he doesn't like

…Or Haarlep is just a changeling and his likeness is nothing personal. (Or he's still an incubus, and Mephistopheles wants an infernal heir, and sent him to capture Raphael's likeness to impersonate him in Mephistopheles' court, something like this)

Verdant princes have druidic aspects, and are protective of the nature on their land, so there could be interesting new dynamics between Raphael and Halsin

[friendlyforestbeast]

Doodles submitted without context~

Thank you to @controlledchaosetc @dufflebagwitch & @ingredients-for-brain-soup for letting me join your campaign 💕

[abyssalaerlocke]

Names

More Archfey Raph @drownedrow

It'd be really interesting if Raphael giving his name to Haarlep actually reduced the power people could have over him (even if it was accidental because he was new and naive to the ways of the feywild, and not an intentional strategy 😅)

That name is no longer his, and contracts relating to it no longer bind him (but may bind Haarlep now).

Also, being the product of an Archdevil and an evil dryad definitely sounds like the result of one of those "promising your firstborn to a fey/devil, and then making it theirs by literally making it their baby too". Not a contract that would probably refer to him by name, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It'd be cool if that was how they were able to leave Mephistopheles/Hell and go live in the feywild, but the timeline would need some shenanigans. Mephistopheles accidentally ending up with Haarlep as his 'son' is an interesting twist on the characters' relationships/dynamics.

Secondly, Raphael giving away his name doesn't get one in return. He just literally has no name now. He goes by Raphael now as an alias that has no power over him

Except Haarlep, who does genuinely have Raphael's name, and retains its power over him — the only one to have direct power over the verdant prince.

[abyssalaerlocke]

Aquafey

Masterlist

Stolen I

Raphael rubbed at his arms as the itching burn coursed through his veins. The only injury had been from his own scratching, but he felt the threat of his father's hellfire under his skin. It had shown up since he settled into his new home in the feywild, and been gradually worsening; Mephistopheles was angry.

"Are you Raphael?"

He leaned forward, looking down at the satyr from his perch in the trees.

"I could be."

The young man grinned, and started talking animatedly, the Sylvan words slipping through Raphael's fingers faster than he could translate them, but from what he caught, he seemed to be a fan of the new verdant prince, and wanted… a picture? a statue? Some kind of image or likeness. The wording felt a bit odd when he tried to mentally translate it to Infernal, but translations weren't exact — every language and culture held its own nuances and connotations.

It's why devils used Infernal for their contracts — regardless of how it might be translated for the other party's convenience, the Infernal version, with its meanings, clearly defined in Infernal law, was the version that was binding, in case of any disputes.

Likewise, Raphael wasn't sure if he was asking for it to be autographed, or just have the subject's name on a statue's plaque. He drew a sheet of paper from thin air with a flicker of sparks, thick, woody vines extending from his back and grasping the branches as he carefully lowered himself to the ground. "Of course."

By the time he landed in front of the smaller fey, who looked up at him with a mix of awe and terror, the magic quill had finished its work. Raphael looked at the paper, delicate lines recording his features. He took the floating quill, adding his name in practiced calligraphy, before offering it. "Is this what you wanted?"

The satyr took it, holding it up in front of him as he looked between Raphael in the flesh, and on paper. "It's not, but thank you!"

Flattering. He had his first fan. Maybe the satyr would be his first follower on the path to becoming something more powerful; he wanted this to be more than where he fled from hell, solidifying himself as a significant figure in his permanent home. The feywild native probably knew more about becoming an archfey, and the Seelie and Unseelie courts. "I didn't get your name."

The fey lowered the page, beaming up at him — with a new face. His face.

It lacked the frosted lashes and distinct features of the winter prince, still clearly a satyr, but those were his cheekbones, his eyes, nose, mouth…

"You already know it, but…" The thief paused, thinking, as _______ glowered at him. "You can call me Haarlep."

Stolen II

[abyssalaerlocke]

Enver and the Feywild

expanding on the Archfey Raphael AU

The fey definitely take children, so the Flymms could have sold Enver to an Archfey. And how would that look, growing up in a feywild forest under a verdant prince?

There's so many possibilities for what his forest looks like, how much it reflects its lord as a winter prince, what kind of structures/shelter/accommodations might be available for a human ward...

But I'll lean into it being dark, trees towering over them like redwoods. And although you can see sky between the branches, sunlight has a hard time finding a path all the way to the ground unless it's directly overhead — and well, this area seems to be the kind of feywild that's in almost perpetual twilight (at least that's the impression from the ground. It could be something like near the poles, with the sun mostly staying near the horizon, at some points getting higher in the sky, depending on season, feywild nonsense...).

The plants aren't dead or dormant, barren of leaves or life, but the lack of warm sunlight lends to dull and cool and dark tones. They grow enough foragable food regardless of sunlight because Raphael makes them.

Enver's first accommodations when he arrives is just an alcove in the hollowed out base of a tree. He has to curl up in the dirt and moss — at least the bugs seem to steer clear of this tree. If he's lucky there are some bushes or curtain of moss hanging over the opening for privacy. Many of the creatures, including the verdant prince himself, like to hang out above him in the branches, eyes glowing ominously down at him in the dark.

Maybe he does eventually find some nicer homes. Candle lit burrows that are warm and inviting and charmingly furnished. He digs out the dirt in his alcove for more space and height.

They aren't allowed to cut down trees, but the weather reflects the lord's mood, and Raphael's stormy anger brings down a boon of dead branches — terrifying to have huge branches crashing down, and littering the ground (why most make their homes like underground bunkers 😅). But it's like a harvest after, a flurry of cheery activity as people use it for furniture and doors and such. Enver furnishes his room over the years, nothing lavish, but it's his.

He fits in his friends' burrows less as he grows up. Longer limbs and practice do lend to climbing the trees, though. Raphael probably has a home in the 'sky' — situated high in the branches where the sunlight reaches with it's warm tones, the trees weaving their branches together to naturally form a floor.

I normally see artificer Gortash as a reflection of Raphael who makes his own enchanted artifacts — maybe chose him for that potential, trained him... The feywild and verdant princes themselves lean more into druidry, though.

I'd still see Enver as some kind of artificer, but with druidic flavouring. (I actually have an OC like this, but they're an armorer, and the Steel Watch makes Gortash more battle smith).

Wood Watch, The Pack, The Herd? I could see them as a variety of animals, made from living bark. Mice and cats for infiltrating and spying, wolves and the occasional bear patrolling the streets, a herd of elephants defending the walls of the city from the Absolute. Who wouldn't trust a man bringing some nature into the city, and protecting you with a herd of strong and intelligent animals?

(this flavour of Gortash also lends itself well to durge!Isobel, which, wondering if I could combine these worlds is what got me thinking about Enver growing up in the feywild. The softer, nature and animal loving Gortash that's more trustworthy and benevolent seeming, wolves and Selûne. I think Isobel would feel at home with that, especially given the lack of nature and appreciation for it living in the city the last 100 years)

The biggest impact, though, is

How does this affect Karlach?

Do we get a Karlach who was sold to a fey to do whatever their bidding is, and has been living and surviving in the feywild? Is there any body modification in that? Or did she lose something else, like her name, some other part of her identity, history/memories (did her friends/family forget her existence?)... Is her condition and looming doom because she violated a magically bound fey contract, and they either find a way to break it, or she'll die if she doesn't return to the feywild where she's supposed to be?

Or does Gortash not using infernal engines for his Watch mean he has no reason to sell her, and Karlach has stayed at his side? 😯

What about Wyll? Whether his patron sent him after her or not, does he have a fey patron, and experience in the feywild instead of Hell?

Some final things about leaving the feywild:

I don't know if Enver would be as desperate to leave in this setting, it's possible he accidentally stumbled through a fey crossing and just found himself back on the Sword Coast.

When you leave the feywild, there may be time distortion — from only seconds having passed per day you spent there, to years per day.

How does that affect the timelines of Gortash, Karlach, and Wyll? Have they suddenly aged and gained experience since their families recently saw them? Or is everyone they knew dead?

If ten years have passed in the material, how much longer was it in the feywild for Karlach? Or did Gortash only recently put her there, because as the Absolute plot ramped up, she finally objected — but Karlach comes back shortly after with the grudge formed from a decade of exile and servitude?

[abyssalaerlocke]

Look, the feywild's time distortion is a neat way to get your goodie friends out of both your hair and the line of fire if you want to join Gortash and take over. Just time it right, and after a few days there, many years will have passed, your rule is absolute, or you're both long dead and it doesn't matter anymore.

But what if Gortash got shunted to the feywild? Demigod Durge outliving most of the companions, looking more or less the same when Gortash comes back, not much older than when he left. Do they get along with Astarion?

[abyssalaerlocke]

"Copper for your thoughts?"

You sigh, explaining what's on your mind.

The person slides over a copper, thanks you, and your head feels empty, whatever you were just thinking about gone