#lore:general

[theechtra]

Of The Otherworld—The Thorn Court

The Thorn Court was one of the courts to split off from the Unseelie alongside The Autumn Court in the aftermath of The Dealg War. Currently, The Thorn Court resides in the far north of the Otherworld, near Tech Duinn (house of the dark one) and an ill-fated Glass Tower that resides in the middle of the Gealach Sea (Moon Sea). The Thorn Court is not ruled by any singular body; many who consider themselves a part of The Thorn Court are there because they are not welcomed in any other court.

In general, The Thorn Court is a rather unknown court to the other regions. With no singular ruling body and many of its "members" having been forgotten—to the point that they don't remember their own names—The Thorn Court does not have any active trade. It does have very strained relations with the Unseelie and Autumn Courts due to the history, and The Thorn Court tends to reject association with the Rose, Spring, or Seelie Courts. The Thorn Court is, in this sense, entirely independent of all other bodies.

The Thorn Court is known to have Prowler as a member, whose residence is the Glass Tower.

[theechtra]

Of The Otherworld—The Spring Court

The Spring Court is a Court renown for the paradise-esque appearances it often puts on for the outside world. Having split off from the Seelie Court alongside the Rose Court after the Dealg War, the Spring Court located itself in the South West region, which is known to have fertile lands and an abundance of fruit trees available to harvest. Like the Thorn Court, the Spring Court is not ruled by a singular body; rather, they have an elected council that often holds meetings to determine Spring Court proceedings, much like a parliamentary system in our world.

The Spring Court is well-known to the other Courts for their prosperous trades and overall benign mannerisms. They have strong relations with the Rose Court and the Autumn Court, polite/generally good relations with the Unseelie, and polite/generally good relations with the Seelie as well. The Spring Court is the one body that has attempted to make contact with the Thorn Court, but continues to receive rejections of any offers for trade.

The Spring Court serves as a popular vacation area for locals of the other Courts and is known to have a castle owned by the Unseelie King.

[theechtra]

Incident: The Dealg War

A war that was fought over several decades between the core Seelie and Unseelie Courts. The war was initiated after skirmishes on borderlands escalated to murders, and has a reputation as one of the most lethal wars fought between the two factions.

The Dealg War was concluded with the death of King Ronan and the ascension of his son, Idris, to the Unseelie Throne. It is known that Crown Prince Beithir and Crown Prince Idris were the two individuals who formed and finalized the treaty for peace between the conflicting courts. Beithir is credited for saving Idris from an untimely death; the two princes were close childhood friends, despite the hostility between their courts, which may have influenced this action.

The war in question resulted in several minor courts being formed after secessions from the Seelie and Unseelie High Courts, including the Autumn Court and the Thorn Court.

[theechtra]

author, that story synopsis is sexy as hell and i can't wait to learn more of the characters and plot when the demo comes out!

a question (that you don't have to answer in detail in case it falls under spoiler territory): what do faes look like in this story? do they have more human features or have an appearance of their own?

Glad you're excited!!

Fortunately for you, this doesn't really fall under a spoiler territory. In The Echtra, the Fae (or Aes Sídhe, as they may be called in-game) that are the main players are descended from the Tuatha de Danann who once ruled in our world, but were relegated to the Otherworld after their defeat at the hands of the Milesians (modern day people). Because of this, they resemble humans—to a degree. I'll use Idris and Séaghdha as examples because they'll be the most recurring in game.

Both of them resemble a human appearance, but only to a certain extent. Séaghdha, for example, has some features that designate their status as a Hawk-Fae; as mentioned on their character page, they have feathering on their neck and at the edges of their face as well as wings that they often cover with glamour. Their eyes, as well, are hawk-like in appearance, and their nails can be perceived as claw-like.

Brief interjection—another point I want to bring up is that Fae like Séaghdha often use glamour to alter or hide their appearance in the presence of those not from the Otherworld (MC). Some Fae don't do this, though, and will appear as they are before any humans. An example of this is Idris.

Idris also looks human, but has some features that are not human and fit with his status as an Unseelie member and what he is as a Fae (which is spoiler territory). As mentioned in his character page, Idris has dark markings like tattoos on his skin, dark sclera, horns that resemble an addax, and serpent-like eyes. Idris is a Fae who doesn't use glamour to disguise his appearance, so what you see is essentially what you get.

Both Idris and Séaghdha have the sharp teeth typical to the Fae.

On the flip side, other species that reside in the Fae Courts (Boggarts, Bogles, Lubber Fiends, Bean Sidhe, Oilliphéist, Puca, etc) don't look anything like humans, mostly because they aren't descended from the Tuatha de Danann (with the exception of Bean Sidhe who can appear quite human at times).

So, depends on the type of Fae, and they aren't entirely human-like.

[theechtra]

Of The Otherworld—The Autumn Court

The Autumn Court was one of the courts which split off from the Unseelie alongside the Thorn Court in the aftermath of The Dealg War. Currently, The Autumn Court resides in the north-east regions of the Otherworld, near Emain Ablach (Isle of Apples). The Autumn Court is currently not ruled by a monarchy like the Seelie and Unseelie, but rather with a Council, which tends to be the common situation among independent courts such as this.

In general, The Autumn Court is perceived to be rather passive in its dealings with the other regions. Strained relations exist with the Unseelie and the Thorn Courts—which tie in with the history of the secession—and benign relations exist between the Rose Court and the Spring Court. The Autumn Court heralds upcoming harvests and changes of seasons accordingly.

The Autumn Court is home to Gwyn and her family, who serve as knights of the Council.