The Court of Arcadia
Beneath the surface, just inches away from the material plane, lies the feywild. Once a plane of complete anarchy, now it is governed by the Court of Arcadia, a fey pseudogovernment with the primary purpose of keeping fey from interfering with the lives of humans. It is divided into five separate courts, four of which govern large swathes of the feywild while the fifth governs the other four courts. At the head of it all is Titania, among the eldest archfey and self proclaimed queen of the feywild. The court exists to protect mortal creatures from the fey, as well as maintain a level of order within the feywild.
Structure
The highest court of Arcadia is the central Arcadia court itself. This is governed by Queen Titania and cares mostly for keeping peace amongst the other courts, and for enforcing the main four laws of the court. Other than that, it manages the city of Arcadia and the surrounding countryside but is otherwise passive in the affairs of the feywild. The seasonal courts work far closer to mortal governments, keeping order in the territories under their control. Each court is governed by a monarch, with all of them other than Titania elected by the other members of the court. Often, however, the leader of the courts is simply the archfey that finds themselves the most in the favor of the queen, as all within the court fear the wrath of Titania.
Public Agenda
The court of Arcadia exists mainly to enforce four principle rules among the fey that it governs.
1. Fey cannot knowingly say things that are not true.
2. Fey must not demand help or take things from mortals without offering something in return.
3. Fey must not wield the corrupted dark magic, for fear of furthering the expansion of the shadowfell.
4. Fey cannot directly harm dwellers of the mortal plane except in defense of themselves or their property.
1. Fey cannot knowingly say things that are not true.
2. Fey must not demand help or take things from mortals without offering something in return.
3. Fey must not wield the corrupted dark magic, for fear of furthering the expansion of the shadowfell.
4. Fey cannot directly harm dwellers of the mortal plane except in defense of themselves or their property.
Assets
The central court itself does not have much in the way of assets as its will is enforced mainly by the power of the archfey that make it up. Arcadia has a military, but it is mainly for defensive purposes. More notably, the courts themselves have many knights and fighters in their retinues, sworn to one lord or another that they use to carry out their businesses. The White Riders are a sort of elite police force that are sworn directly to Titania, with the express purpose of hunting down fey who do not bow to the whims of the court. The white riders consists of about a thousand soldiers but its numbers are constantly changing.
History
Arcadia draws its roots back to the time of the great scourge. Before then, the Feywild was somewhat of a garden of magic, pretty to look at but mostly abandoned by the gods who found greater interest in the material plane. And likewise, the powerful beings that would later become known as archfey lived there as well. All of that changed when Asmodeus laid down his plan for the future of the world. When both sides moved to arm themselves, the material plane quickly got dangerous. Fighting between gods leads to enormous collateral damage, and while full fledged gods were extremely difficult to kill, their offspring who had not fully manifested domains were not so durable. For fear of death, the children of the gods fled the material plane in droves, accompanied by other powerful beings possessing the means for planar travel. A large portion of the elven race shifted over as well. The feywild, which had previously been rather sparsely populated by intelligent beings, exploded with life. It's already potent magics flared up, infused with the essence of so many powerful creatures making their homes there. This greater volume of magic led fey to develop the attitudes they have today, a very carefree attitude caring more for fun than anything else.
While the gods did battle over the fate of the cosmos, the fey made a habit of shifting planes to prey on the mortals who cowered in fear on the sidelines. And fearful groups make easy targets. These pranks were cruel and often deadly, with the fey basking in the surprise and terror of their victims. This went on for two hundred years before it was stopped. Titania, daughter of Thahmir, laid claim to the feywild as her dominion, demanding obedience from the fey who dwelt there. At her side stood several other of the eldest, chief amongst them was Oberon, a mighty warrior who inspired fear in his enemies. Together, they bound the fey to her will, establishing the court of Arcadia. The fey are a fickle, chaotic lot, and would not stand for a monarch of absolute power. In order to get them to accept her rule, Titania created the four seasonal courts, to spread the power of governance among other fey and allow all fey to have a voice in the government. With that, she bound them also to laws which would lessen their interference in the mortal realm. Over the centuries that followed, the court would expand to encompass nearly all of the feywild. There would always be the fey who resisted, hiding in the shadowed corners of the feydark, but they would live life on the run, unable to show themselves for fear of inviting the wrath of the court.
While the gods did battle over the fate of the cosmos, the fey made a habit of shifting planes to prey on the mortals who cowered in fear on the sidelines. And fearful groups make easy targets. These pranks were cruel and often deadly, with the fey basking in the surprise and terror of their victims. This went on for two hundred years before it was stopped. Titania, daughter of Thahmir, laid claim to the feywild as her dominion, demanding obedience from the fey who dwelt there. At her side stood several other of the eldest, chief amongst them was Oberon, a mighty warrior who inspired fear in his enemies. Together, they bound the fey to her will, establishing the court of Arcadia. The fey are a fickle, chaotic lot, and would not stand for a monarch of absolute power. In order to get them to accept her rule, Titania created the four seasonal courts, to spread the power of governance among other fey and allow all fey to have a voice in the government. With that, she bound them also to laws which would lessen their interference in the mortal realm. Over the centuries that followed, the court would expand to encompass nearly all of the feywild. There would always be the fey who resisted, hiding in the shadowed corners of the feydark, but they would live life on the run, unable to show themselves for fear of inviting the wrath of the court.
