Faerie

Nearly every mortal being, of any species, on the Material Plane has a concept of Faerie. To some, Faerie is a threat - a bringer of death and magics and creatures unknown to mortal history. To others, Faerie is a motherly figure: the creator of the Mysts and all the Fey beings who inhabit them. Many see Faerie as a god-like being, meant to be worshiped. Others choose to believe Faerie is a shapeless, primordial force that out-dates all other creation. In truth, Faerie is both all and none of these things - and so much more.

Faerie was once a singular being, but has split themself into multiple beings known as the aspects. While they are not omnipotent, their power in The Mysts is limited only by their imagination. The Mysts are thought turned into form, and so bend to Faerie’s will.

Faerie is a feminine deity, though her aspects may not reflect that always. She is considered a Mother to all the Fey, and looks after her children closely, appearing often to speak with her followers. Her symbol is a butterfly, often depicted as purple, and the term for her worship is Feyism.

Worship
The Fey are also not religious in the way that humans think of it. That’s not to say that an Elf set loose in the world may not choose to convert to one of the human religions, but those who do are generally looked down upon by their cousins. This doesn’t mean that the Fey races don’t have a being that they sometimes worship. The main thing that separates this from Human religious worship is faith. Fey don’t need to believe in Faerie and the True Fey for them to be real. The average Prime has faith in NOS even though they have never met. The Fey lived with Faerie and the True Fey for decades, centuries or even longer. If you are Fey, you are playing someone who’s grandparents lived in God’s house (if they weren’t gods themselves). That puts a very different spin on they way you think.

There’s a huge world of difference between believing “Thou shalt not kill.” and knowing that if you kill an other Elf, Faerie comes and gives you the metaphysical spanking of your life. The fact that most Fey personally know their gods does something else to them - it makes them right. Very few humans live 100% without doubt in the validity of their religion and culture, everybody has doubts from time to time, but the Fey don’t. Elves and the other Fey make mistakes, sure, but the fact that they know they are right about some of the more important secrets of life (at least as far as they’re concerned) has a tendency to overshadow those mistakes. Some call it self-confidence, some call it egotism, but whatever you call it, it creates a profound schism between Elven and Human thought.

Faerie Rings
Faerie Rings are the holy spaces of Faerie. They are unnaturally perfect rings found in nature, usually mushroom rings. These spaces are where it is easier to speak to Faerie, and they are kept safe by the Honour Guard, or a local Faerie Champion.

Honour Guard
The Honour Guard are the paladins of Faerie. Their primary job is the protect the Goddess and her emissaries. Other than that, they care for wild places, and tend the circles, and protect her beloved children the rest of the time. When possible they will also often do odd jobs to repay the common folk for the hospitality that they receive from them, be that preparing meals, tidying or helping in the fields etc.

In addition to taking a vow of poverty, the Honour Guard literally can't speak because they have given their words to the goddess and are physically incapable of speaking. Faerie in return accepts their ability to speak as a gift, and proof of their resolve. Another purpose according to the Honour guard themselves is to help them better contemplate the goddess's will.

The initiation is not tremendously formal but is significant. When one enters the Honour Guard, they seek out the sponsorship of a former member who will teach them to sign, and what it means to take the vows. Afterwards, an announcement is made in their community, and there is a celebration with feasting, and this is usually when a new initiate would be gifted their wargear. Several current members will gather, the new initiate's vows are taken, and one of the assembled Honour Guard will then take the newly mute elf as a sort of apprentice, showing them the ropes for a couple years, rarely more than 5, before they strike out on their own. It's not so much a squireing, as individual Honour Guard are as self sufficient as they can manage, though both parties will happily accept any help they can get with their armor.

The Honour Guard lack a formal hierarchy and when a task requires a number of them to work together they usually default to the most senior or the one with the most relevant experience. The only even relatively standardized thing is their weaponry, a one handed weapon and a shield. Most wear steel plate, but leather isn't unheard of.

The Honour Guard is composed entirely of elves at present, but other lower order fae creatures taking the oath aren't unheard of in times past. Joining, however, does require a certain fanatical level of devotion, given that one is forswearing all personal possessions outside of their war gear and taking vows both of silence and to protect the goddess and all she holds dear.

The Honour Guard does have a lot of leeway in elven society, being beholden only to Faerie, and answering to no other hierarchy. They can generally expect to be treated well enough and be provided their necessities, which is usually just food, water and someplace to sleep, by other elves, who do so as a way of Honouring the goddess herself, by providing for her holy warriors.

While the role is not hereditary, it is often a point of pride should a member of the next generation take up the calling. That said having a member of the Honour guard in one's family is generally a point of pride in the same way having a cleric of the goddess would be. Every Honour guard is gifted their armor by their family or community when they swear themselves to the goddess and so there is a wide variation in their gear, but it is generally the best that those groups can manage to provide. Eventually most Honour Guard who survive their service will return to normal life, and often settle down to raise a family.

The Elven Code
The code is not as some people believe to be a set of laws that all Elves must follow. It is more a general set of morals that each Elf interprets slightly differently. An Elf would not just lie to another if it suits their means. They would find that as soon as they open their mouth to say the lie they would most likely find themselves speechless instead. Due to the code, Elven townships do not war with each other and will always provide and help for their fellow Elves in times of times of drought and war with others. Negotiations are more common in disputes with neighbors and an Elf would never worry about a child’s safety visiting another Elf’s home. Elves who have joined armies or taken alliances with clans or tribes of people tend to become deserters as eventually they find themselves against another Elf.

The Elven Code is a pact with Faerie, innately part of them rather than rules to follow or break. IF a character fails to uphold the Elven Code, they will receive punishments from Faerie's enforcers, the Adjudicators.

The Code:


 * I must protect elves from harm, unless that elf has chosen to take that harm upon themselves and has made their intentions known.
 * I must assist elves who have fallen on hard times.
 * I must never break my word or lie to an elf, a True Fey, or an aspect of Faerie.
 * I should strive for the overall betterment of all Fey in the world.
 * I must be a role model for all Fey, and live elegantly.

The Known Aspects

 * The Elven Aspect - The Patron
 * The Faunish Aspect - Ambergris
 * The Kaern Aspect - Kytra’lienan, with the Kaern prefix “Ky” for Goddess. Often referred to as “The Prydemother of Prydemothers”.
 * The Dwarven Aspect - The Allsmith
 * The Arluru Aspect - Shiro Yuki
 * The Halfling Aspect - Master Baker
 * The Orcish Aspect - War Chief