The Court of Eyes
A defeated yet resolute Arborean power-state
A Court in Three Acts
The Court of Eyes is the smallest of the major political powers formed following the Upheaval. A minor fey-wild court before the Upheaval led by Lolastre, The Autumn Queen, the Court of Eyes fell under the influence of Shadowfae, dedicated to sacrificing Arborea to the Shadowfell. After having corrupted key elements of Arborean society, notably the Eladrin defenders of the Wild Realm, the Court of Eyes was defeated by the unified draconic and free-Eladrin forces, but not before raising a substantial military and magical force that laid waste to once-thriving parts of Arborea. Following their defeat, and seemingly sincere contrition from several key Court leaders, the Court followers and their families were settled in east Arborea, a devastated landscape stripped bare by the encroaching Shadowfell. Many Court supporters were forced to publicly denounce former Court leaders - which many did willingly once they'd witnessed the glass-like broken lands touched by the Shadowfell.A Revived Court
The memory of the fanatical Shadowfell forces are still fresh in the memories of many. Even those who avoided major battles have have their own stories of Court interference, plots, and general skullduggery. From snuffing out whole volcanoes to cracking the top of the world down to local Court hags causing havoc among the tiniest of villages, the nefarious reputation of the Court of Eyes was well earned. But, just as the storms of Arborea rise from a single breath and subside within the blink of an eye, the collective memory of Arborea is short-lived, focused on the present. Currently, the Court of Eyes is governed by five sects, all of whom hold a position on the ruling Noble Court. Several sects are remnants of the Old Court, while the remaining sects are reformers determined to restore their reputation and blasted lands.A Secretive Court Undone
A minor fey-court within a regional realm, the original Court of Eyes were known as gossips, rumour-mongers, and trouble-makers, never more so than for their own amusement. While every fey-court loves intrigue, the Court of Eyes were addicted to endless political in-fighting and bickering, often constructing convoluted narratives, pointless etiquette, and boundless secrets designed to test their acumen in navigating the political morass. As befits a secretive court, the exact origins and details of Lolastre's deal with the Shadowfae remains a closely guarded secret, likely due to prudence or a desire to bury the past. However, historians have raise a third, enticing theory - such was the web of intrigue, Lolastre herself may have forgotten the murky origins of her intentions to woo the Shadowfey, much to her own peril.t
"Were the Court not replete with sycophants and oil-slicked survivors, Lolastre's tomb would stretch from the Void Isles to the cursed Isle of Veyn, a charnel-house of endless corpses of the unrepentant grubbers who once thought themselves a noble court of Fey. Alas, Owena good grace and empathy - ever our weakness - permit the so-called Touched to sow the same seeds of discord and strife even as they re-sow their broken lands. They may have dropped the 'shadow' from their moniker, but mark my ink-drenched words, there's a reason the Touched remain unable to remove the shade-stain from their broken lands." - from 'The Conflict That Twain the Wildest of Realms', by X'ankris Ni-Celenist, Songsell, Hero of the Upheaval
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