The Feywild
Since our youth, stories have been a beautiful way we can relate to one another. When you hear a story, whether you realize it or not, you are relating yourself to the characters within the realm of the fable, as if you were one of them yourself. Think of the last time you read a book. When I ponder about the stories I've read, I instinctively reimagine the world within my own imagination, and I feel connected to the characters presented to me within the world. In a way, I become a part of that story. Think of the last time you heard a story told orally from a friend who is a good story-teller. Did you not feel as if you had more insight into their life? Could you not imagine yourself epathetically in their shoes? Stories have power. Stories are doorways into otherworlds.
Some stories are based in fantastical lands, filled with whimsical creatures and environments. These stories, as you all know, are called fairy tales. In the real world, fairy tales are told in our culture as very light-hearted and kid-friendly, almost too cheesy to unironically sit through as an adult. But in the world of Cynthia, there exists a realm, a separate dimension -- if you will -- where these fairy-tale adventures are not only possible, but pale in comparison to the reality of the world.
This land, called the Feywild, is described as a mirror image of the material world, only brighter, more bombastic, and where emotions are exaggerated. In our world, when someone is angry, their blood-pressure rises, their face scrunches, and they might string togther a list of obscenities to throw at you. In the Feywild, when a powerful inhabitant is angry, the skies above might begin to turn gray with storm clouds overhead; flower petals might close, seemingly in an attempt to hide their faces; or maybe even a pristine lake nearby might begin to boil. In the Material Plane, there might be a monument reflecting the visage of an ancient hero lost to history, whereas in the Feywild, that same monument may exist, but instead, the monument is alive and sentient, whose thunderous footsteps echo throughout the forest-covered landscape.
When thinking of the Feywild, only a fool would assume that it is as friendly as our fairy tales make it out to be. Behind the glimmer and shine of the Feywild's mystical side, hides an almost eerie otherworldliness. When people from the material world travel across planes to the Feywild, it is appaarent that this is not where they belong, and it is hard not to feel somewhat uncomfortable even around all the lightheartedness. Not to mention the obvious dangers that reside within the land: dragons, evil elves, hags, and powerful archfey who can bend the world around them by their sheer power of will. The Feywild is not a place to tread lightly.
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