Archfey

Also called "Elf spirits", "Elflords", "Forest spirits", "Witch Queens/Kings" and "Faerie Kings/Queens".
Ederstone is a substance of immense magical power, but power that is very rarely tapped directly. Deep in the chaos wastelands, there are some mutated entities capable of channeling that power. Some of these are powerful sentient spirits, whose minds are warped by magic and bound to complex rules. These are the things that some people call Archfey.
Archfey are rare and powerful creatures - difficult to kill, ageless, and quick to ensnare their opposition with honeyed and magical words. Each one is unique, prone to its own whims and obsessions. Most of them are ethereal and require a mortal body to fully manifest - and a number of these Archfey even have Elf communities to serve as captive wardrobes and cultish attendants. Archfey are, for the most part, detached from traditional morality. It is unclear how much free will they themselves even have, or if they are puppets to the pre-programmed habits, rules, and fixations given to them by the Ederstone.
The Scouringwood Wastes are particularly infamous for their Archfey, but are not the only place for those spirits to be found. Once, a number of Archfey inhabited the land that is now the Kingdom of Dovenar: these Archfey, called "Elves" at the time, fashioned the mortal Starspawn now known as Elves to serve as living vessels. While the mortals have remained 'elves', the spirits now go by more illustrious names befitting their ascended status: Archfey, Elflords, Faerie Kings and Queens. Many marks of their old magic, such as the Elfengrove have been left behind across Dovenar.
Mortal elves, unsurprisingly, have a diverse range of opinions about these creature ranging from admiration to disgust. "Dark Elves" in particular are the popular name for those whose families only recently left Archfey control (or haven't yet altogether) - these 'Dark Elves' are taught to worship their Archfey masters in cult-like environments, and some families retain that faith even after they run away. The best known of these Dark Elf cult-communities is that of Drowlish, a castle taken over by the Archfey currently going by "Queen Melobalath the Spider Queen". Melobalath enjoys macabre aesthetics as well as courtly sophistication, and her close proximity to "civilization" has gone a long way in making the 'Dark Elves' dark in the eyes of outsiders. Most Archfey are far more whimsical and 'natural' in their aesthetics, though.
Archfey have been known to invest their power in Warlocks on rare occasions. This has become much more common recently, for reasons yet unknown.
The Archfey are not associated with the Desmian Feywilds

Geographic Distribution

• Scouringwood Wastes
• Stildane

Related Materials

• Ederstone