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The Realms of Faerie

Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 12:17 am
by Artemis
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The Nations of Faerie

Kingdom of Springtime

The most moderate of the Faerie Kingdoms, and most amiable toward mortals, the citizens and servants of Spring (officially the Faerie Kingdom of Springtime) are what most mortals think of when they think of the Faeries. Affecting romantic modes of speech and manner, operating under a universal code of honor, and with connections to mortal nations going back centuries, they are certainly the nicest and most familiar.

However, Spring is not perfect - they are still ruled by an apartheid feudalism, with the Sidhe nobles at the top and the Sluagh and Goblins below, a setup that many human rights groups in nominally allied mortal nations are unhappy about. Though they are treated better that in, say, Winter, the peasants of Spring have no say in the governing of the Kingdom, may not travel to the mortal realm without the “protection” of a Sidhe, and cannot learn the High Magic of Faerie.

Spring is a major diplomatic power, mediating between Summer and Winter whenever possible, and if a mortal nation has a concern with any of the other Realms, or vice versa, it is typically handled through Spring. They hold significant territory in Faerie, the equivalent lands of Western Europe and China, and make a tidy profit trading in both Faerie and the mortal realms. Militarily, they are no match for Summer or Winter, but they are on decent terms with both superpowers, through bonds of marriage and trading agreements. They are probably the closest to the reclusive Autumnal Expanse, but that isn’t saying much - aside from a minor trading agreement, even they don’t have much dealing with them. Their attitude seems to be mixed on the subject of Solstice-Equinox, with some supporting the new Realm in their progressive mission, while others see them as upstarts with just enough power to bring down the honorable and worthy traditions of millennia of Faerie law.

Spring is currently engaged in war with the Swøgg, in temporary alliance with the Republic of Ireland. They are friendly with most European nations, the United States, Japan, and Australia, and are neutral with everyone else in the mortal realm. Spring has no particular dealings with the preternatural denizens of the mortal realm, though they have on occasion acted as intermediaries between the Duchy of Nosferatu and the Tsarate of Winter.

Sultanate of Summer

The Sultanate of Summer is the most militarily powerful of the Faerie Realms, and also the owner of the most lands in Faerie, stretching from the equivalent lands of the Middle East and Africa to Central America, and they have even established a colony in Venus’ aurasphere since the 1970s, the first Faeries to manage such a feat. They have managed to get where they are today by a combination of constant modernization and a healthy paranoia of everyone they deal with. Both the Sultaness and the Chancellor are formidable leaders, with a loyal population of free Fae and an industrial base that does its best to keep up in both magic and technology with the mortal realms.

That said, Summer is engaged in war with Winter that has lasted since before mankind and Faerie had contact, and this war is a constant drain on Summer’s resources, time, and manpower. Though they respect the mortal nations and those they share Earth’s aurasphere with, they are unwilling to go to them for help against Winter. What’s more, Summer’s brief alliance with Muslim extremists during their war against the Soviet Union, a former Winter ally, is coming back to bite Summer, as they are being watched closely by the United States, which is doing nothing to help Summer’s weak connections in the mortal realm.

Though technology and magic both work differently in Faerie than in the mortal realm, Summer still uses many tools and techniques that would be fairly similar to many mortals. With the absence of iron in Faerie, the most common industrial material is steinkristal, on which Summer has a near-monopoly in mining and refinement. They are the industrial powerhouse of Faerie, and Spring, Autumn, and Solstice are all reliant upon Summer for such products. Winter is forced to make due with adamantium, a stronger, but much rarer substance.

Autumnal Expanse

If Spring is the diplomatic, outgoing polity amongst the faeries, Autumn is the secretive, totally neutral one. Occupying small areas of land spread all over Faerie, rather than being centralized, dealing with the Autumn is like dealing with a Grecan Hydra - no one head is the single core of the entity. Autumn is concerned mainly with keeping itself to itself, as far as both mortals and Faerie are concerned. Ideas about what they are doing with their solitude vary wildly, and Autumn is the source of conspiracy theories and urban legends aplenty.

Autumn has only engaged in warfare twice in the memory of all living faeries. The first time was an uncharacteristically brutal invasion of the lands of Winter in Central Asia more than three thousand years ago, the surprise and ferocity of which nearly led to the collapse of the great Tsarate. And yet, once reaching the capital of Winter, the armies of Autumn receded, leaving awake of destruction all across Asian Winter. Winter promptly retaliated, but their armies were so exhausted that they could do little more than burn a handful of border towns. The second time is no more obvious as for its reasoning - As of 1938, Autumn has maintained a force of more than a millions soldiers and war machines in the sulphur wastes of the Congo Desert, and no one has been allowed inside this vast expanse. All that is known is that Autumn is constantly resupplying and remanning this region, meaning that whatever fight they appear to be engaged in, it is a difficult one.

The Autumnal Expanse is notable for having a nearly 75% Sluagh population, with the Sidhe and goblins a definite minority. As far as anyone can tell, Autumn is ruled by a council of elder magicians, academics, and generals, with no known head of state. They use a combination of a barter and credit system for their economy, and almost never trade with other nations, of Faerie or the mortal realm. Their technology level is comparable to 1920s America and Europe, for a mortal reference, yet their advances in the magical fields are greater than any nation of Faerie. Beyond this, little is known of their government or society.

Tsarate of Winter

Summer’s eternal rival, the Tsarate of Winter is a nation of dramatic dualism. At times, the people and leaders of Winter have been honorable, just, and wise, and at others they have been ruthless, selfish, and foolhardy. Their fortunes change as often as their spirit, and in the recent past they nearly dominated Faerie, militarily and economically, until internal struggles and the fall of their mortal ally the Soviet Union led to the return of Summer’s dominance. They are known as a fickle and contrary people, the epitome of the malevolent tricksters that mortals associated with faeries as recently as the Victorian era.

The Tsarate, as its name implies, is ruled by an autocratic Tsar, though democratic reforms have had some impact, especially on the local level. While the Tsar rules over all of the lands of Winter in name, the farther down the food chain one goes the more things even out. Almost fanatical devotion to the Tsar, whom many Winter citizens consider an almost godly figure, has kept any national reforms from gaining ground, however. The population is evenly split between Sidhe, Sluagh and Goblin, though the Sidhe dominate the major cities, while the Goblins are rarely seen outside the countryside.

Winter remains a formidable nation because of their economic strength and their close ties to the mortal realm, especially the nation of Russia, with whom they have been allies since before the rule of the Tsars. They maintain normalized relations with the Kingdom of Spring, and are neutral toward Autumn and Solstice-Equinox, though they are suspicious of both nations, Autumn for the secrecy and their past transgressions against the Tsarate, and Solstice-Equinox for their radical democratic leanings. Their war with Summer is currently in a lull, but it would only take a minor incident to spark up major conflicts with Summer again.

Dual Republics of Solstice and Equinox

Two hundred and fifty years ago, the Principality of Equinox, a former protectorate of Autumn, declared its independence and quickly began setting up infrastructure in the Polynesian islands and western Australia. A mere twenty years after that, a successful, if bloody, revolution in Winter’s holdings in western Canada led to the creation of the Free Lands of Solstice. These radical liberal changes in the normally static political climate of Faerie changed the course of history when the two nations met and agreed to form a coalition against the other nations, specifically Winter, and later became the unified Dual Republics of Solstice and Equinox. they have since gained territory from Summer as well, as revolutions in Cuba and South Africa brought these lands over to the Dual Republics.

Solstice-Equinox is now seen as the rising star of Faerie, as the most progressive of nations and for having defended themselves ably from both Summer and Winter, though both times at great cost. They have set up and maintained a fully democratic government, with a Prime Minister, a Parliament, and a Supreme Court, and have completely done away with the concepts of oligarchy. This has gained them many allies among the mortal world superpowers, which have embraced democracy for centuries. While Spring is still the most diplomatically active in the mortal world, it might be argued that more mortals choose to visit Solstice-Equinox than any other fae nation. The sidhe make up the majority population in Solstice-Equinox.

Solstice-Equinox does pay for its freedoms, though. It has an unstable economy that is entirely dependent on trade with Summer and Spring, and they fight near-constant brushfire wars with Winter. They have been seeking closer ties to Summer to help in this conflict, but the Sultunate has not forgotten the loss of its territories, and is neutral toward their liberal neighbors at best.

Re: The Realms of Faerie

Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 12:32 am
by Mobius 1
As I said earlier, I've truly never seen anyone add Fall, Spring, and Solstice/Equinox, and they're personified so well as individual groups that I feel like I'm reading character profiles of fully developed people. Well done.

Re: The Realms of Faerie

Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 5:41 am
by Ford Prefect
Despite the general article being very good, I was struck mostly by them ention of the 'Duchy of Nosferatu'.