The Feywild

In the Feywild, magic runs wild, and so do the inhabitants. In the central continent, there is of course a set of courts of season reigning, ruled over by an individual bearing the Crown of Stars and Seasons, an incredibly powerful artifact with an innate attunement for whimsy, beasts, and the very heart of the Fey itself.

It wasn’t always that way. At the outset of the Feywild, before the Elves even crossed the astral sea and set foot in the 3 core planes, there was the Court of Seelie and The Court of Unseelie. It would be a simplification to call them ruled by good and evil, as all Fey are prone to wickedness and compassion in equal measure, as flighty as the wind. 

The Seelie were headed by Titania, Lady of Fairies. The seelie were mostly pure Fey

The Unseelie was commanded by the Queen of Air and Darkness, rumored to have been a corrupted form of Titania’s sister. The unseelie would accept anyone who was even partially fey, the court slowly filling with fey considered “monstrous” and other half breeds. Titania and the Dark Queen refused to outright wage war for whatever reason, but eventually Titania would challenge the Dark Queen to a chess match. Winner take the Wild. It is said that fey are bound to their word, and this arrangement was no different. Titania, knowing her and her supposed sister were entirely matched otherwise and one could never best the other, cheated somehow. The Queen was vanquished. But however the challenge was worded, did not allow Titania total control of the Fey either, because of the trickery. Titania focused her energy, sapping herself and the Queen of Air and Darkness of all of their life force, their very being, creating a Crown of Stars and Seasons with the power to rule over the Fey.

The crown chose its first wearer, an Eladrin recently cast away by Corellon after his spat with Lolth (?)

An unbiased observer. a newcomer to the fey. He set up structure, the four central courts. He appointed houses of nobility from the Seelie and Unseelie that agreed to the new world order, and his elven comrades, and he reigned for many long years. When he felt his power waning, he declared a tournament would be held for the Crown, an “Ultimate Game” or a “Trial of Ascension,” depending on who you ask, honoring the tradition of Titania and The Queen of the Unseelie, playing a game, where, once again, Winner take all. The four houses selected an Heir, and the Heirs assembled a team. The winner of the game ruled the central courts. and so it has gone ever since. Most times it is just 4 participants, but the rules do not barr other fey from competing. The consequences for losing are usually dire enough to dissuade people

What of the Seelie and the Unseelie that did not submit? The Seelie fled to the Southern Continent, The UnSeelie to the North, setting up their own courts again, but without their queens’ powers, were never able to tame the wild fully. These are now referred to as the Monster Wilds or the Unseelie Wilds, and the Fairy Wilds or the Seelie Wilds (name?) somewhere they cannot be touched by the Court of Seasons.

Traveling through the Feywild is complex, with a travel taking a few weeks to a few hours, distance and time itself depending on the whims of the wild. The Crown does a lot of footwork on MOSTLY standardizing physics in the main populated cities and roads.

The main occupied area of the feywild mirrors the central continent on the material plane, with the Dragon Elf Isle mirrored as a great castle with no equal in size or decadence sitting on a island of rock, named Heart of the Wilds. The Heart is where the Greater Fey Court is held, as well as rooms enough for all of the nobles of the land to post up there when they have Greater Court business. Each of the seasons holds a location of their own to have local court. To the Northeast, lies the Court of Summer. The Southeast, Court of Autumn. The Southwest, Court of Winter. The Northwest, Court of Spring. Outside of the central continent, there is land unclaimed by the greater courts, detailed later in the document. Listed below are notable facts about each Season.

“The people of Winter are perhaps the most sensitive, their hearts hardened on the outside like frost. Their harsh demeanor is a protective layer.” --- Unknown

Winter: The land of ice castles, lakes that shine like mirrors, and trees that jingle like windchimes when the biting cold blows through them. Home to the Hearthcrests and the Proudmores. Formerly the domain of the Darkhearts. The people of winter are, according to some, determined and pragmatic, and to others, militaristic and unforgiving. The children often get taught hand to hand combat, before being given weapons in adolescence. A Winter Eladrin’s harsh demeanor is brought on by a great, inner hurt from an ancient “betrayal” by the Court of Summer, causing mistrust and a lack of faith in the goodwill of others. They place great importance on self-reliance. The finest Sylvan smiths live in Winter, and hone their crafts in the underforges of the great ice caverns that occupy the mirror of the mountain ranges in Vallyn. The The greater population of Winter are Winter Eladrin, Fairies, Goblins, etc.

Part of the Militarism of Winter is due to their feud with Summer, certain aggressive nobles in the court’s history, and the rest is due to the fact that Winter has the most straightforward, vicious fauna.

There are the Quicklings, whom descend from an old group of sorcerers who refused to bend to the will of the court eons ago, and an old Matriarch of Winter called them lazy, cursing them to keep moving forevermore. They have hated the civilized fey since. Then there are the Displacer beasts, who used to all run wild, until Duke Zorlias domesticated them for the Frostguard, the royal guard of the Fey Court of Winter. They now help the Frostguard hunt the violent creatures of the realm, when not tied up with conflicts from the other courts. There are still some wild Displacer Beasts. They take pleasure in killing civilized people as well as their domesticated kin. The only hunting they don’t take pride in is the hunt of Blink dogs, who upon seeing them fly into an instinctual, primal rage that even elite training can’t breed out. The list doesn’t stop there. Look up fey monsters lol.

On the border of Winter and Spring, lies the Lake of Memories. The lake is known to steal bittter memories, with a twisted sense of humor. Monkeypaw style (Forget the death of a loved one by forgetting them entirely type shit.) Many fey of Spring take a regular pilgrimage to the Lake of Memories. This explains much of their behavior. Eladrin growing tired of the harsh life of Winter, or any season for that matter, are invited by the Nobles of Spring to bathe in the lake, let go of their painful past, and start anew as spring Eladrin.

Spring: Land of Dryads, Living Labyrinths, Drugged flowers, Centaurs, and much more! The people of Spring are, according to some, incredibly optimistic and playful, and, to others, ignorant and meddlesome. The inhabitants of Spring are known for their art, specifically painting and sculpting. Home of the Shimmerbrights and the Dewdrops, Spring is full of lush rolling hills and deep green forests, giant mushrooms, potions that say “drink me,” mc-escher like perception warping places like Alice in wonderland.