The Fae Realm

Each of the homes of the Fae within Lasair exist within a sort of "pocket" of distorted space and time. Within these areas, time moves differently (sometimes not at all, sometimes a little faster) and distances aren't really what they might seem. A visitor to the Altwood Forest for instance might take a day to walk around it from one side to the other while going through might take a week - assuming they make it through at all. In addition, each of the fae thrones includes a portal into an even wider world-within-the-world, the Fae Realm, in which time and space are practically meaningless and exceptionally hostile to those who do not know how to find their way through this ever-changing space.

Acknowledgement: The Fae Realm is absolutely based upon such interpretations of "Faerie Space" as appears in The Dresden Files (the Nevernever), Forgotten Realms (the Feywild), and, of course, Celtic mythology. Looking to those works and others for inspiration in your games is encouraged as it will definitely fit in with this space - and even if it doesn't quite match what is written here, it's the fae realm which is never really the same for very long.

The Everchanging Realm

Nothing is ever really as it seems within the fae realm. It is a space of magic, of thought, of emotion. As the Fae find power and delight in the feelings of mortals, so too does their realm. While mortals generally do not visit it directly, the realm draws from the reality that exists outside of it. Travelers through the space - fae and mortal alike - will find it shifting and changing in feeling to imitate their emotions. An unwittingly nervous traveler will find themselves suddenly realizing that they are in a dark and sinister part of the woods; a carefree one will find the land pleasant and even bright but may also find that they won't find any trails to follow. The land itself will also influence the emotions of those moving through it - that carefree traveler may find that they truly don't care about the fact that they cannot find a trail, deciding to wander off in search of a good place to relax... and to sleep... for a very, very long time.
Experienced travelers - and other than the fae there are not very many - know to keep a level head when transiting through the fae realm. Keeping focused on your goal is key, as a wandering or distracted mind will lead to a wandering and distracted journey. The fae themselves find this easier than mortals, partly from experience and partly from this being their home. They are more familiar with the way the realm works, with sensing their own emotions and that of the space around them. Their magic is also native to this space, which means it actually functions as expected, unlike that of mortals passing through.

"Geography" of the Realm

Attempting to create a map of the Fae Realm would be impossible. The terrain is ever-changing, paths and hills and trees moving at a whim, the sky shifting and presenting a confusing display of stars and moonlight. Navigation here is not possible, at least if one expects to travel as one does in reality by following roads or the stars. Instead, a traveler in the fae realm must - for lack of a better term - follow their heart. The Fae Realm, being a space made up of and drawing from emotion, is itself influenced by the thoughts and feelings of those traveling within it. Keeping a clear destination in one's mind, having a feeling of desire for a place, even thinking kindly of the people you'll see at your destination - these are all ways that a mortal traveler can make their way through.

That said, there is still a small level of consistency if not in location then in "theme". As a traveler enters the realm from one of the Thrones, they will find the character of the fae realm closely matching that of the Throne from which they entered. Entering the realm from the western Throne will put the traveler into a land of autumn leaves, pleasant breezes, a sky sitting orange and blue as if just after dusk. As they travel "across" the realm, they'll find it gradually shift to a more neutral presentation, with trees and flowers and wisps and a clear night sky. This will all be influenced by mood and emotion, of course, so it could be a sinister and dark place or a pleasant walk. If that traveler approached the realm closest to the fae of the north, the land will begin to chill. Snow will fall, ice will appear, and dark creatures with the snarl of wolves will begin to be heard from the shadows.
The world itself is overwhelmingly natural - and almost entirely forested - reflecting the ancient existence of the fae, who were present long before humanity. There will occasionally be small signs of the outside world in the form of cabins or staircases, or even the occasional warped and twisted fortification. The "real" world is reflected here in some ways, but the constantly-shifting nature of the space means that those reflections fade over time.

Magic in the Otherworld

Some Mages have made a study of the Fae Realm over the centuries, wishing to learn more about it. Some have wished to map it (and discovered the futility of the quest others have desired to understand the way that magic works there. The latter have had a little bit of success, at least regarding the Magic as taught in the Mage Schools. To put it bluntly, it sort of... doesn't work.
The arcane magic of the Mages is magic of intellect and knowledge. It is created through intense focus on specific details, movements, gestures. It taps into the natural magic that exists within the world, but gets there through study and thought. In the fae realm, the magic is overwhelmingly that of emotion rather than intellect. As such, Mages often find that their spells will fizzle out, or will cause unpredictable and unintended effects. The Fae themselves are generally amused when they witness these effects, unless the mage in question is so unspeakably rude as to allow that magic to affect or harm the fae or someone in their protection.
The magic of The Virtues is a different story entirely. Divine magic draws from the will, from feeling, from belief in one's connections to the world. Clerics of the Virtues find themselves experiencing a clarity to their magic like they will rarely feel in the "real" world, able to grasp power with ease and create effects well beyond what they are normally capable of. This carries its own risks though - more than one cleric has found that their discipline waned under the temptation of such easy access to their power. When this happens the cleric in question has been known to refuse to leave, or to draw too much power into their minds, causing damage. It is a very careful balance that they must keep to survive when traveling through the realms.
A distinct exception to these risks are the Paladins of The Virtues. The training, balance, and devotion that the paladins go through in order to achieve their position puts them into a unique position of having a very high level of control and understanding of their power. When a paladin visits the Fae Realm, their focus allows them to actually influence the realm back. This generally simply results in the realm being unusually stable in the presence of a paladin, but extremely experienced paladins (usually those elevated to the level of "senior paladin" of the order) have been known to be able to calm or even cleanse small pockets of the fae realm to resemble nothing more than the real world with some strange light. Most Fae are somewhat unsettled by witnessing such a thing, and the more elder fae consider it an affront that a mortal can exhibit such control over their domain.

The Fae Realm and the Wurmborn

Among mortals, none find the fae realm quite so comfortable as the Wurmborn. The sorcerers, with their Dragon-created ancestry and innate connection to magic, have an intuitive understanding of the way the realm functions. Their magic is completely drawn from their emotions, and here they can feel their emotions amplified back at them, multiplying their power. When a wurmborn ends up in the fae realm, they almost feel at home: they can see changes in the terrain coming, they can feel creatures around them, and they exhibit little trouble in navigating to the place they wish to go. Some wurmborn have even done something that can otherwise only be done by fae: create a temporary opening into or out of the Fae Realm without passing through one of the fae thrones.
The Fae themselves have a curious relationship with the sorcerers. One of the Thrones was virtually destroyed as collateral damage by the Dragons in their war against the Elves and Humans. The Wurmborn were a tool in that war, and while the fae do not carry a standing execution order such as the Mages do, they do harbor some level of distrust. The fae understand that tools cannot be blamed for their use by their masters, but they do recognize that they are potentially dangerous.
On the other hand, the fae also recognize the inherent humanity within the sorcerers. Most of the fae have a soft spot for mortals - those in the north and east notwithstanding - and have a certain amount of distaste for the Mages' policy regarding the wurmborn. As such, many fae will actually find delight and joy in allowing the wurmborn to pass through their realm, especially when it allows them to evade the draconian sentences handed down for merely existing. They will, however, expect absolute care to be taken by any given sorcerer when in the fae realm. Wurmborn are powerful within the fae realm and could cause harm to the land or to fae within it, and harm given to a host by a guest is the most unforgivable sin among the fae.
And while the wurmborn are more powerful than usual within the fae realm, that realm is still the home of the fae. Any mortal offering insult to the fae within their home will quickly find out exactly how far their power exists.

Other types of magic-users will find varying experiences within the Fae Realm. As those are further defined they will be added here, but in general shamanistic types of magic such as that practiced by the Orcs or Centaurs will behave relatively normally here. Their connection to nature allows them to feel very similarly between the "real" world and the reflection within the realm. (That said, the orcs have almost never interacted with the fae in living memory due to their location - the Ironwood Forest is not home to a fae throne.)

Creatures of the Fae Realm

In addition to countless Fae of endless variety that choose to spend much of their existence within this space, a number of magical creatures exist here as well. Many are "reflections" of animals - several are in fact descendents of creatures that long ago wandered into the fae realm and never made their way out. Dark and twisted version of wolves, feline predators, or even Hornbeasts exist here, though most would not want to actually see them.
These creatures will generally behave similar to their real-world counterparts - whether hunting in packs or alone - and will very much prey upon the unwary and lost. Rather than using senses of scent and hearing, however, they are drawn to emotions. A fearful or tired or frustrated soul will show up very brightly in their mind, bringing them closer to potential prey. The fae realm is a very dangerous place for many reasons - and these creatures are very near the top of the list.

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