Into the Feywild!
Merth Camcarran, a stern and weathered old sprite, and Fizzle Pwillganog, a young and eager pixie, have been sent by Queen Titania, ruler of the Seelie Court, to ask for aid from Mag the Hag-bagger and her company of adventurers. Merth was one of Mag's first archery tutors. They gave you the following information:
An infestation of ettercaps and giant spiders have overrun Sweetmere, a pixie settlement familiar to Mag. Ettercaps, sometimes called "shepherds of the spiders," are natural predators of small Fey.
Auntie Magothy has lain as if under an enchantment since shortly before the spider infestation -- not moving, not breathing, not responding, yet tenuously alive. It is believed that her spirit might be roving the Feywild, and that she is in some way behind these events. Titania fears to slay her lest her spirit be freed of all restraints.
Dorothy, warlock in service to Queen Titania, went to investigate but has disappeared. Titania cannot reach her, and fears she has been enchanted, turned, or killed.
Titania’s warriors are presently occupied with an Unseelie uprising, more ferocious than any seen in centuries.
Titania consented to send Fizzle and Merth in search of Mag the Hag-bagger, in hopes of recruiting her aid to find Dorothy, rid the Sweetmere of its infestation, and discover the connection between these events.
In addition, Mag or Merth (who is a relatively no-nonsense Fey, and has more experience with dealing with beings from the Material Plane than most) can give you the following tips for understanding and dealing with the Fey and the Feywild:
Effectively immortal unless killed, the Fey existed “long before the dragons, long before the dinosaurs, long before your gods.” When the first plants grew on land, the first Fey were there, making their homes in the newborn forests, drawing their magic from deep within the power of life itself. Auntie Magothy was not wrong when she taunted Noomi about the mountain that gave her her powers -- Magothy is indeed old enough to remember when the mountain was the seafloor. For the most part Fey are averse to risking their lives, unless loved ones or beloved groves are threatened, when loyalty and service to their queen demands it, or (for some Fey) when honor is involved.
The Fey use their powerful magic to hide and shield themselves from mortal interference. They first arose on the Material Plane, but withdrew into the Feywild -- a sort of pocket dimension that acts as a wild, verdant mirror of the Material Plane -- when elves, dwarves, humans, and their ilk grew too numerous and powerful. Mortals who find their way to the Feywild often find it capricious and confusing. Time and distance are more elastic than most mortals are used to. Seasons can change in the act of crossing over the crest of a hill. Mortals who think they have been dancing at the Summer Court for a single night might return to the Material Plane to find that a hundred years have passed. A bard who agrees to serve Titania for seven years might find she returns home the same night she left.
Magic itself can be unpredictable in the Feywild, with wild magic zones and dead magic zones proliferating far more frequently than on the Material Plane.
It is often said that almost everything on the Material Plane has an analogue in the Feywild, and vice versa. One such analogue is the Saltwood, which is where the hag coven makes their home in Elteynnyn. In the Feywild, it is a sacred grove of great beauty and power. By making their home in the Saltwood and corrupting it with their influence, the hags mock and desecrate the memory of the Starlit Grove.
The Fey are largely divided between Seelie and Unseelie. Queen Titania rules the Seelie Fey from the Summer Court, while the Queen of Air and Darkness rules the Unseelie from the Gloaming Court. It is not a simple division between good and evil, however. The division and rivalry between the two courts is ancient and complex, involving competing loyalties and traditions that were ancient before other sentient life appeared on the Material Plane. One of these divisions is in how the courts view mortal beings.
In general, Seelie Fey are more forbearing of mortals, giving warning when unintentional offense has been given, welcoming worthy mortals into their halls, cultivating mortal allies to aid the court -- and even occasionally returning the favor. Not all Seelie Fey are good, and most can be mischievous tricksters and pranksters; even the most noble and dignified member of the Summer Court can seem capricious and flighty to mortal sensibilities.
Unseelie Fey are more secretive and aggressive, seeing little benefit in consorting with lesser beings -- other than, for some, amusement at their suffering. Offenses, even unintentional ones, can be punished swiftly and severely. Not all Unseelie Fey are evil, and the rivalry between the two courts isn’t always militant. Sometimes benign contests -- races, games, and storytelling competitions, for instance -- are held between the courts. Many more independently minded Fey reject allegiance to either court, but are most often inclined toward the Unseelie.
The hags, beings of great power who delight in evil and in corrupting the good, owe their allegiance to neither court. Seelie and Unseelie alike had a hand in banishing them from the Feywild, ages ago.
The recent escalation in the conflict between the two courts is unusual. Combat between the Seelie and Unseelie is usually symbolic, a sort of contest; both sides ordinarily refrain from taking the lives of their opponents. Not so with this recent escalation, which is why Queen Titania must use all her resources to counter it -- and must call in outside aid, experienced in dealing with hags, to investigate the Sweetmere infestation.
An infestation of ettercaps and giant spiders have overrun Sweetmere, a pixie settlement familiar to Mag. Ettercaps, sometimes called "shepherds of the spiders," are natural predators of small Fey.
Auntie Magothy has lain as if under an enchantment since shortly before the spider infestation -- not moving, not breathing, not responding, yet tenuously alive. It is believed that her spirit might be roving the Feywild, and that she is in some way behind these events. Titania fears to slay her lest her spirit be freed of all restraints.
Dorothy, warlock in service to Queen Titania, went to investigate but has disappeared. Titania cannot reach her, and fears she has been enchanted, turned, or killed.
Titania’s warriors are presently occupied with an Unseelie uprising, more ferocious than any seen in centuries.
Titania consented to send Fizzle and Merth in search of Mag the Hag-bagger, in hopes of recruiting her aid to find Dorothy, rid the Sweetmere of its infestation, and discover the connection between these events.
In addition, Mag or Merth (who is a relatively no-nonsense Fey, and has more experience with dealing with beings from the Material Plane than most) can give you the following tips for understanding and dealing with the Fey and the Feywild:
Effectively immortal unless killed, the Fey existed “long before the dragons, long before the dinosaurs, long before your gods.” When the first plants grew on land, the first Fey were there, making their homes in the newborn forests, drawing their magic from deep within the power of life itself. Auntie Magothy was not wrong when she taunted Noomi about the mountain that gave her her powers -- Magothy is indeed old enough to remember when the mountain was the seafloor. For the most part Fey are averse to risking their lives, unless loved ones or beloved groves are threatened, when loyalty and service to their queen demands it, or (for some Fey) when honor is involved.
The Fey use their powerful magic to hide and shield themselves from mortal interference. They first arose on the Material Plane, but withdrew into the Feywild -- a sort of pocket dimension that acts as a wild, verdant mirror of the Material Plane -- when elves, dwarves, humans, and their ilk grew too numerous and powerful. Mortals who find their way to the Feywild often find it capricious and confusing. Time and distance are more elastic than most mortals are used to. Seasons can change in the act of crossing over the crest of a hill. Mortals who think they have been dancing at the Summer Court for a single night might return to the Material Plane to find that a hundred years have passed. A bard who agrees to serve Titania for seven years might find she returns home the same night she left.
Magic itself can be unpredictable in the Feywild, with wild magic zones and dead magic zones proliferating far more frequently than on the Material Plane.
It is often said that almost everything on the Material Plane has an analogue in the Feywild, and vice versa. One such analogue is the Saltwood, which is where the hag coven makes their home in Elteynnyn. In the Feywild, it is a sacred grove of great beauty and power. By making their home in the Saltwood and corrupting it with their influence, the hags mock and desecrate the memory of the Starlit Grove.
The Fey are largely divided between Seelie and Unseelie. Queen Titania rules the Seelie Fey from the Summer Court, while the Queen of Air and Darkness rules the Unseelie from the Gloaming Court. It is not a simple division between good and evil, however. The division and rivalry between the two courts is ancient and complex, involving competing loyalties and traditions that were ancient before other sentient life appeared on the Material Plane. One of these divisions is in how the courts view mortal beings.
In general, Seelie Fey are more forbearing of mortals, giving warning when unintentional offense has been given, welcoming worthy mortals into their halls, cultivating mortal allies to aid the court -- and even occasionally returning the favor. Not all Seelie Fey are good, and most can be mischievous tricksters and pranksters; even the most noble and dignified member of the Summer Court can seem capricious and flighty to mortal sensibilities.
Unseelie Fey are more secretive and aggressive, seeing little benefit in consorting with lesser beings -- other than, for some, amusement at their suffering. Offenses, even unintentional ones, can be punished swiftly and severely. Not all Unseelie Fey are evil, and the rivalry between the two courts isn’t always militant. Sometimes benign contests -- races, games, and storytelling competitions, for instance -- are held between the courts. Many more independently minded Fey reject allegiance to either court, but are most often inclined toward the Unseelie.
The hags, beings of great power who delight in evil and in corrupting the good, owe their allegiance to neither court. Seelie and Unseelie alike had a hand in banishing them from the Feywild, ages ago.
The recent escalation in the conflict between the two courts is unusual. Combat between the Seelie and Unseelie is usually symbolic, a sort of contest; both sides ordinarily refrain from taking the lives of their opponents. Not so with this recent escalation, which is why Queen Titania must use all her resources to counter it -- and must call in outside aid, experienced in dealing with hags, to investigate the Sweetmere infestation.
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