Sidhe
The Sidhe (“shee”) is an elaborately structured civilization of the Goodly (and not so goodly) Folke who inhabit the Glamour Isles and parts beyond. It would take an entire book to detail these fascinating creatures so this is a distillation, a quintessence of the powerful and beautiful spirits who regard
Avalon as their personal playground.
No one knows the true origins of the Sidhe although there is a great deal of speculation, both scholarly and otherwise. One of the many reasons for this is the Sidhe’s peculiar timekeeping system which views days as an endless stretch of connected time rather than as discrete segments of regular
intervals. Another is that their world — called Bryn Bresail — is both close at hand and far away. Perhaps the easiest way to explain the proximity of the Sidhe world to ours is to use the analogy a dream: that which can be seen out of the corner of the eye is somehow clearer than that upon which we gaze full-face.
For reasons unknown, about the time that Théan history began, the Sidhe began to leave their places in the beautiful Glamour Isles of Avalon, retreating through one of the many doorways to their own world. However, they could not abandon Théah completely and perhaps that is why the Barrier between our world is thinner in Avalon than anywhere. From time to time since then, the Sidhe queens have moved their Courts completely away from the human world, only to return as if unable to cut the ties that bind them to the humans they appear to find so intriguing.
The Sidhe world is populated with as rich a variety of folke as Théah, complete with royalty, nobility, rogues and creatures of all types. At the top of the hierarchy are the three Courts of the Seelie, each with a ruling Queen who is attended by Lords and Ladies of the Court. There is rumor of a great Seelie king but no mortal has ever seen him. The social structure of the Seelie world is very proscribed, unlike that of the Unseelie, which includes less attractive creatures like nightmares, goblins, firbolgs and the monstrous Redcap.
Despite their disdain for humans, they have an almost morbid fascination of them, and often stay quite close to human settlements. They live between the blinks of an eye, hiding themselves behind the mundane and the ordinary. They draw sustenance from water, so lakes, streams, ponds in quiet wooded areas are good places to catch a glance of them, if one were foolish enough to call attention to oneself.
While the Sidhe are generally regarded as emotionless, what they lack in compassion they more than make up for in cruelty. Humans definitely provide them with endless entertainment. Although many Sidhe are friends of humans, there is inherent danger in their creations. They build enchanted “faerie hills” in hopes of protecting themselves from inquisitive outsiders looking for their gold or treasure, or seeking to have a spell cast or removed. Despite their precautions, however, humans are just as fascinated with the Sidhe as the Sidhe are with us, and faerie encampments are often irresistible traps. Sadly, entrance into a faerie hill is a one-way ticket to immortality because humans rarely if ever return — and they may regret it if they do. A day in the land of the Seelie might be a century or more in the land of Théah. It can be a heartbreaking thing to return to Théah and find everyone — and everything — you knew has gone.
The Sidhe do not possess emotions as we understand them. But they envy humanity’s capacity to feel, and try to emulate such feelings whenever they can. This leads to exaggerated or overly dramatic outbursts which can be quite dangerous to the unsuspecting. A Sidhe lover might destroy his paramour at the slightest hint of jealousy, or Sidhe knight could pursue someone who has insulted his “honor” to the end of eternity and beyond. Should a Sidhe actually experience a real emotion, the results are terrifying. The raw pain of the experience could drive them into a frenzy, madly slaying any hapless mortals in the vicinity. A few have managed to tame such feels — and gain a greater appreciation of humanity as a result — but their numbers are few. Human stories provide a great outlet for the Sidhe’s emotional pantomime, and the Goodly Folke adhere quite closely
to the unspoken rules of human drama.
SEELIE AND UNSEELIE
The Queens of Earth, Sky and Sea rule over the three Seelie courts. The Queen of the Sky is most usually referred to simply as “The Queen” and is regarded by many (including herself ) as the supreme ruler of the entire Sidhe race. The Queen of the Earth is more commonly known as the Lady of the Lake. The Queen of the Sea is a dark and distant Seelie who must constantly contend for domain over her kingdom against the vicious Black Siren. The Queen of the Sky favors the style of humans in the structure of her Court. This is the most familiar to humans, where coldly elegant Lords and Ladies pursue their jaded interests within an atmosphere of court intrigue that would put a Vodacce prince to shame. The Queen of the Sea, intent upon building enough power to wrest control from the Black Siren, has taken to collecting the souls of drowned sailors, hoping that she can draw on their power to augment her own. The Queen of the Earth — the Lady of the Lake — possessed a stronger spirit than her sisters and thus was the last to move through the gate of Bryn Bresail to experiment with mortal form. She knew how seductive the world could be and feared that if she gave in to temptation, she would be drawn into the mortal world forever — a premonition that proved to be devastatingly prophetic. But her sisters would not stop talking about the mortal world, its excitement, its myriad pleasures and the strange and amusing ways of the humans. Eventually her curiosity grew stronger than her resolve but she took elaborate precautions to insure that her foray into Théah would go undetected. Hoping to avoid direct contact with humans, she sought a deserted place in the wilds. She emerged from a hidden lake in the form of a beautiful woman, naked and covered with a shimmering cover of water that sparkled like hundreds of diamonds. It was a spectacular entrance that — alas for her — did not go quite as she planned it. A wandering knight had paused at the lake and when he saw her, his heart nearly stopped beating. In return, she saw the look of utter and complete love in his eyes, a look that she had never seen before, and she knew that she would never be happy again among the Sidhe. The majority of Seelie are Lords and Ladies of the Queen’s Court. Like all Seelie, they are inhumanly beautiful. Slender and almost fragile in appearance, they possess an inhuman strength, and regard themselves as the elite of the spirit world. Often described as cold and distant, they display a capricious nature that often compels them to commit acts of unspeakable cruelty simply to please their jaded tastes. There is another Court in the Sidhe world inhabited by those the Queen calls “Unseelie” or Unforgiven. If the Seelie are creatures of spring and air, the Unseelie are creatures of summer fire that burns brightly but does not consume. To encounter them is to know the madness of a Midsummer’s Night. Their emotions are all about passion, whether anger or pleasure, and they count among their number some of the wickedest beings in creation. Even so, proper courtly behavior — good manners, if you will — is highly prized by all Sidhe nobles. Those who pay proper obeisance to a Seelie lord or lady will find that things go much more smoothly. Regardless of their exact title, you are perfectly safe addressing a Sidhe noble as “Lord” or “Lady”; if you know their correct title and use it with proper respect, you might even win some favor. Outside the ring of the Court are the “common” Sidhe: goblins, boggins, bogeys, brownies – usually smaller beings with peculiar appearances who often thrive on tormenting humans with a myriad of practical jokes. Even they have a title (“Hob”) but unlike the nobles, it is not as safe to use it unless you know that the bearer has actually earned it. GLAMOUR
Sidhe use this power effortlessly and without visible drain. Woe betide the human sorceress who claims that she is the equal of a Sidhe practitioner — a grave insult, indeed, which may result in punishment that leaves the recipient begging for death. It is important to remember the word “illusion” when dealing with the Sidhe. Eating their food can cause mortals to fall under the spell of their time and for all intents and purposes to be asleep for years. Beware the Seelie who offers untold wealth, for however solid the gold and jewels may appear when in the presence of the giver, when exposed to the harsh light of the mortal world, it may vanish into nothing. On the other hand, when a Seelie creates an Illusion, it draws power from those who see it. “If you see a tree that a Sidhe has created from Glamour — and believe it to be real — … it takes on all the qualities of a real tree… Because of this, Sidhe magic almost never kills; it merely alters.” Sidhe are adept shapechangers, able to alter their garments as well as their appearance at will. Although some of the common folke cannot alter their appearance, they can cast spells that alter the viewer’s perception, so in some cases it amounts to the same thing. PROTECTION AGAINST THE SIDHE
There are as many old wives’ tales about actions and talismans to protect against the Sidhe as there are grains of sand. Each region has its own wisdom, so it is important to know what does and does not work — if it’s possible to know. Does learning a Sidhe noble’s name give you power over him? Perhaps not, but it certainly will prevent an immediate death. Will putting pieces of bread across the threshold of your home keep the Sidhe out? While it may not deter an Unseelie noble, it will certainly occupy one of the common Sidhe — unless of course it’s exceptionally good bread, at which point you may have a permanent resident upon your stoop. Theirs is a peculiar sort of vanity, for they have an intense horror of mirrors and cannot look at themselves, except perhaps as reflected in water, but even then rarely when the water is still. Flashing a mirror in a Sidhe’s face will certain deter them, but probably only temporarily. The only thing that does seem to work as protection is cold iron: raw, untempered iron which has never touched a blacksmith’s forge. The MacEachern Clan of the Highland Marches learned a secret for forging cold iron weapons, but the Sidhe destroyed them when they learned of the threat. Even so, a few MacEacherns survived the attack, and their descendants still carry the secrets of cold iron — the only way known to Slay a Sidhe. Good luck coaxing a MacEachern blacksmith to make you a weapon. They know better than anyone else in Avalon and probably the rest of Théah, how swift and merciless the Sidhe can be. They are reclusive and hidden and not eager to bring the wrath of the Sidhe down upon themselves again any time soon. There may be Syrneth weapons or artifacts that could be used against the Sidhe, but first it would have to be found. COMBATING THE SIDHE
The level of Sidhe power is almost unimaginable. The most adept of them can do more than cast illusions; they can warp reality itself. A Sidhe enchantment can last a lifetime without hope of cessation. Although cold iron will protect against most Sidhe, there is nothing known to humans that will kill any of the Queens — nothing. While certain weapons may cause a Queen temporary pain, it will not kill her; it will, however, make her very very angry. And that is not a good thing at all. The Seelie are as well trained in the art of weaponry as is any noble of Théah, and with their natural grace and mobility, they are even better than the best swordsmen in the land. Sidhe rarely fight with an unenchanted weapon, so that adds a dimension to the combat that could prove fatal for any would be foe. If by some chance, ta human is able to kill a Sidhe, the celebration should be short-lived. The race seems to be psychically connected and the death of one is broadcast through the Sidhe nation. They can rest assured that they will be found sooner rather than later. However, it is possible, if one is very clever, to outsmart the Sidhe. Their love of drama is an Achilles’ heel, and clever foes can use that against them. If they can detect the patterns of the “story” the Sidhe are living out — the dark lord trying to seduce one of their number, jealous warrior hoping to steal their glory for himself, or what have you — then they can play up the circumstances to destroy their foe. They must adhere to proper theatrics — a final confrontation, a fierce duel, etc. — and in some cases must gain permission of the Queen before attempting such an action. Even then, the Sidhe does not truly die, but rather returns to Bryn Bresail, never to trouble mankind again. It should be noted that the Unseelie do not share this connection. They have been cast out of the Queen’s Court, and should a human manage to slay one, the Queens and their entourage will do nothing to intervene.
The Queens of Earth, Sky and Sea rule over the three Seelie courts. The Queen of the Sky is most usually referred to simply as “The Queen” and is regarded by many (including herself ) as the supreme ruler of the entire Sidhe race. The Queen of the Earth is more commonly known as the Lady of the Lake. The Queen of the Sea is a dark and distant Seelie who must constantly contend for domain over her kingdom against the vicious Black Siren. The Queen of the Sky favors the style of humans in the structure of her Court. This is the most familiar to humans, where coldly elegant Lords and Ladies pursue their jaded interests within an atmosphere of court intrigue that would put a Vodacce prince to shame. The Queen of the Sea, intent upon building enough power to wrest control from the Black Siren, has taken to collecting the souls of drowned sailors, hoping that she can draw on their power to augment her own. The Queen of the Earth — the Lady of the Lake — possessed a stronger spirit than her sisters and thus was the last to move through the gate of Bryn Bresail to experiment with mortal form. She knew how seductive the world could be and feared that if she gave in to temptation, she would be drawn into the mortal world forever — a premonition that proved to be devastatingly prophetic. But her sisters would not stop talking about the mortal world, its excitement, its myriad pleasures and the strange and amusing ways of the humans. Eventually her curiosity grew stronger than her resolve but she took elaborate precautions to insure that her foray into Théah would go undetected. Hoping to avoid direct contact with humans, she sought a deserted place in the wilds. She emerged from a hidden lake in the form of a beautiful woman, naked and covered with a shimmering cover of water that sparkled like hundreds of diamonds. It was a spectacular entrance that — alas for her — did not go quite as she planned it. A wandering knight had paused at the lake and when he saw her, his heart nearly stopped beating. In return, she saw the look of utter and complete love in his eyes, a look that she had never seen before, and she knew that she would never be happy again among the Sidhe. The majority of Seelie are Lords and Ladies of the Queen’s Court. Like all Seelie, they are inhumanly beautiful. Slender and almost fragile in appearance, they possess an inhuman strength, and regard themselves as the elite of the spirit world. Often described as cold and distant, they display a capricious nature that often compels them to commit acts of unspeakable cruelty simply to please their jaded tastes. There is another Court in the Sidhe world inhabited by those the Queen calls “Unseelie” or Unforgiven. If the Seelie are creatures of spring and air, the Unseelie are creatures of summer fire that burns brightly but does not consume. To encounter them is to know the madness of a Midsummer’s Night. Their emotions are all about passion, whether anger or pleasure, and they count among their number some of the wickedest beings in creation. Even so, proper courtly behavior — good manners, if you will — is highly prized by all Sidhe nobles. Those who pay proper obeisance to a Seelie lord or lady will find that things go much more smoothly. Regardless of their exact title, you are perfectly safe addressing a Sidhe noble as “Lord” or “Lady”; if you know their correct title and use it with proper respect, you might even win some favor. Outside the ring of the Court are the “common” Sidhe: goblins, boggins, bogeys, brownies – usually smaller beings with peculiar appearances who often thrive on tormenting humans with a myriad of practical jokes. Even they have a title (“Hob”) but unlike the nobles, it is not as safe to use it unless you know that the bearer has actually earned it. GLAMOUR
Sidhe use this power effortlessly and without visible drain. Woe betide the human sorceress who claims that she is the equal of a Sidhe practitioner — a grave insult, indeed, which may result in punishment that leaves the recipient begging for death. It is important to remember the word “illusion” when dealing with the Sidhe. Eating their food can cause mortals to fall under the spell of their time and for all intents and purposes to be asleep for years. Beware the Seelie who offers untold wealth, for however solid the gold and jewels may appear when in the presence of the giver, when exposed to the harsh light of the mortal world, it may vanish into nothing. On the other hand, when a Seelie creates an Illusion, it draws power from those who see it. “If you see a tree that a Sidhe has created from Glamour — and believe it to be real — … it takes on all the qualities of a real tree… Because of this, Sidhe magic almost never kills; it merely alters.” Sidhe are adept shapechangers, able to alter their garments as well as their appearance at will. Although some of the common folke cannot alter their appearance, they can cast spells that alter the viewer’s perception, so in some cases it amounts to the same thing. PROTECTION AGAINST THE SIDHE
There are as many old wives’ tales about actions and talismans to protect against the Sidhe as there are grains of sand. Each region has its own wisdom, so it is important to know what does and does not work — if it’s possible to know. Does learning a Sidhe noble’s name give you power over him? Perhaps not, but it certainly will prevent an immediate death. Will putting pieces of bread across the threshold of your home keep the Sidhe out? While it may not deter an Unseelie noble, it will certainly occupy one of the common Sidhe — unless of course it’s exceptionally good bread, at which point you may have a permanent resident upon your stoop. Theirs is a peculiar sort of vanity, for they have an intense horror of mirrors and cannot look at themselves, except perhaps as reflected in water, but even then rarely when the water is still. Flashing a mirror in a Sidhe’s face will certain deter them, but probably only temporarily. The only thing that does seem to work as protection is cold iron: raw, untempered iron which has never touched a blacksmith’s forge. The MacEachern Clan of the Highland Marches learned a secret for forging cold iron weapons, but the Sidhe destroyed them when they learned of the threat. Even so, a few MacEacherns survived the attack, and their descendants still carry the secrets of cold iron — the only way known to Slay a Sidhe. Good luck coaxing a MacEachern blacksmith to make you a weapon. They know better than anyone else in Avalon and probably the rest of Théah, how swift and merciless the Sidhe can be. They are reclusive and hidden and not eager to bring the wrath of the Sidhe down upon themselves again any time soon. There may be Syrneth weapons or artifacts that could be used against the Sidhe, but first it would have to be found. COMBATING THE SIDHE
The level of Sidhe power is almost unimaginable. The most adept of them can do more than cast illusions; they can warp reality itself. A Sidhe enchantment can last a lifetime without hope of cessation. Although cold iron will protect against most Sidhe, there is nothing known to humans that will kill any of the Queens — nothing. While certain weapons may cause a Queen temporary pain, it will not kill her; it will, however, make her very very angry. And that is not a good thing at all. The Seelie are as well trained in the art of weaponry as is any noble of Théah, and with their natural grace and mobility, they are even better than the best swordsmen in the land. Sidhe rarely fight with an unenchanted weapon, so that adds a dimension to the combat that could prove fatal for any would be foe. If by some chance, ta human is able to kill a Sidhe, the celebration should be short-lived. The race seems to be psychically connected and the death of one is broadcast through the Sidhe nation. They can rest assured that they will be found sooner rather than later. However, it is possible, if one is very clever, to outsmart the Sidhe. Their love of drama is an Achilles’ heel, and clever foes can use that against them. If they can detect the patterns of the “story” the Sidhe are living out — the dark lord trying to seduce one of their number, jealous warrior hoping to steal their glory for himself, or what have you — then they can play up the circumstances to destroy their foe. They must adhere to proper theatrics — a final confrontation, a fierce duel, etc. — and in some cases must gain permission of the Queen before attempting such an action. Even then, the Sidhe does not truly die, but rather returns to Bryn Bresail, never to trouble mankind again. It should be noted that the Unseelie do not share this connection. They have been cast out of the Queen’s Court, and should a human manage to slay one, the Queens and their entourage will do nothing to intervene.
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