#fihrie

[ertrunkenerwassergeist]

When - or if - was the last time the Fihrie rode to war?

Only once.

And that was a long, long time ago. Even before the Astral War.

It was during the first days of the Solheimr Empire. The Astrals were spreading their influence all across Eos and the fihrie Did Not Like That. When the Astrals did not accept their version of a very clear 'No, Fuck Off!' they rode to war.

So the fihrie also aren't fans of the Astrals.

.

They nearly rode to war twice.

Once during the Astral War, when Ifirt's fires threatened to reach their shores, when Leviathan's waves threatened to drown them.

Twice when the first humans settled on their shores. They changed their shores. Changed them into Galahd. That change started the moment the humans stepped foot on the land, so the fihrie knew they were here to stay.

But the change did not make the land unrecognisable and the humans learned their manners surprisingly quickly. They still weren't happy about it, but that was it.

(It was wonderfully delightful.)

[ertrunkenerwassergeist]

That line about flesh bags puts an entirely new spin on the fact that the Whisp decided to show up with one of the Bogmen.

please ignore the fact it's a bit waterlogged and maybe possibly rotting on the edges

Ohhhhh

In that au of Salt Line there would be to fihrie showing up. Whisp, the one who lured the human, and Bog, who possessed the human body after if drowned in the swamps.

(Or, if we're nice, Whisp did not lure a human to his death, but it and Bog found an already dead body in the swamps. And Whisp's job was just to lead Bog to where the Galahkari are.)

Either way, I can just see Nyx, staring judgemental at the both of them. He doesn't say anything (that might be against some rules - not Rules though) but his look is enough.

The humans around them may not have seen a fihrie other than Nyx in over a decade, but they fall into their roles perfectly and without missing a beat. Nyx would be impressed, if he wasn't so busy trying to figure out why a Bogman had come trying to impress him with his possession act.

[ertrunkenerwassergeist]

In Fae au, how are Nifs dealing with that cursed storm with the Voice in the Wind? By which I mean, how many have disappeared never to be seen again and how spooked the rest are?

*cackles*

The first year they have to deal with the Voice in the Wind, no one who wasn't there believes the survivors. But something did happen. Because nearly half the Niffs on the islands have vanished into the storm without a trace.

"Mass desertion," the upper crust whispers behind closed doors.

They order people to go looking for the 'deserters' and of course they find nothing. Not even one tiny hint.

The next year it happens again. And the one after that.

By now even the 'rational' upper crust knows Something is going on. People are scared shitless to be stationed on Galahd, especially during autumn. Thing is. Even the MTs vanish during those storms. (They are barely human enough to hear the voice, but they do hear it, and it's magic is enough to break the programming. It makes them barely rational enough to want to join the voice of their own free will. Because, well... becoming an MT is not something anyone would ever agree to.)

After year four the leadership on the islands wants to pull back the staff during autumn, but Aldercapt won't let them. So the people have to stay and hunker down. They do the best they can to protect themselves. It's never enough.

[ertrunkenerwassergeist]

With how much Galahd culture was influenced by their contact with the Fihrie, they probably have Opinions about people who try to coerce oaths or obtain them under false pretences. And they definitely have Opinions about oathbreakers.

Oh, yes, definitely.

Oathbreakers are the worst. Many Galahkari think they deserve nothing but death. Or something worse than death.

Coercion of oaths ans promises is considered a form of rape and treated as such. In the older times people like that lost their tongue.

[ertrunkenerwassergeist]

You wrote that children with Galahkari parents got taken by fihrie too. But what if the parent didn't know about the child, like, it was from one night stand with a Lucian or something? Would they still get stolen?

Yep, that kid would still get taken.

Is it nice? No

Is it fair? Also no.

Do the fihrie care?

No :D

[ertrunkenerwassergeist]

recent response making me curious: is it meaningful at all to compare the fihrie and the fae? are they like two types of apples or are we talking trying to compare apples and cucumbers?

aside: your world building is spectacular and endlessly fascinating! I love reading about everything you've come up with, it's wonderful!

Hi there, Anon!

Thank you so much for the compliment! I love worldbuilding and this whole Galahd project is very much a labour of love and quite a few years by now. So it's very heartening to see people are still interested in it ^_^

To answer your question:

If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it very much is a goose.

That's the relation between the fihrie and the fae.

Not very helpful, I know.

Hmm...

They both are more similar to each other than they are to humans, but they're still different people. But they can also be the same if they want to. Fihrie and fae logic makes my brain hurt.

Fihrie are made of primordial Chaos, so they can be what they want. The only thing resticting them are the Laws they as a people agreed upon and carved into their very being.

The fae as a people are younger, but still made from Chaos. Though their Chaos is a bit more 'orderly' for lack of a better term. There's a dash of a worldly element to them. They can still choose to an extend, but they're not as malleable as fihrie.

I hope this makes even a lick of sense. XD

If not, I'll try to explain again.

[ertrunkenerwassergeist]

The Fihrie want 'their' people back - partly because they're *bored*. The Galahdians *know* how to play the game - know what steps to take, what moves to make, how to challenge and give and work within the Rules. It's almost sweet, in a rather amoral fashion.

Yep!

It’s like dancing. The Galahkari are experienced dance partners while the Niffs just stumble along and step on everyone’s toes.

In the fihries minds the Galahkari belong to them. Not neccessarily in the ‘I possess them’ way, but in the same way the sun rises in the east, water is wet and fire burns. To them it belongs to the order of thing. Galahkari belong on Galahd and Galahd is the home of the fihrie. Which means the Galahkari are part of home.

It may have been cute at first when most of them left. You know like people moving out of their house and the new neighbours are interesting until you realize how much worse they are from their predecessors. And now they want their Galahkari back. Like now.

They know the Laws and rules. With them the fihrie can have fun, because both parties know how far they can go. Oh, don’t get them wrong. Torturing and killing the Niffs is great fun, too. But it gets stale. All that blood and screaming and begging. There is no... finesse behind the interactions anymore. If they get to kill someone, they want to have earned that through trickery and well placed words and not because some idiot trampled over the wrong border.

[ertrunkenerwassergeist]

Finally found one of our bioluminescent mushrooms! Giving huge fae vibes- made me think of you. Do the fihrie use them? To lure people astray, lay claim to things in a fairy ring, or lull wanderers to sleep? XD thank you! These are jack o lantern mushrooms btw xD

That is one damn cool mushroom!!

You know, maybe the fihrie use the mushrooms, but also the mushrooms could be fihrie. That would be fun.

They settle in the marshes and bogs. Maybe they're cousins to the Will-o'-the-Whisps. But instead of making you lose your way, the mushroom fihrie (never thought I'd type those two words in that order XD) make you hallucinate.

Or we could make it more body horror and they possess people. Maybe make them look a bit like the zombies from The Last of Us.

Fun thoughts, fun thoughts.

Another fun one!

These kind of mushrooms are a way for the fihrie to lay claim on things. Like a 'no touchie, that's mine!' type pf thing. They could be used to mark and devide territories and if viewed from a bird's-eye-view, they would form a map.

Or maybe they're both. Like a kind of watch dog fihrie in the form of a mushroom. Because why not? And they possess people as a form of punishment, when said people touched something under their protection.