On Fey

Foreword by Richardo Reignheim

The book is long and heavy; but Erryx has highlighted a few sections for you

First things first. If you've picked up this publication because you seek to enter yourself into a deal with the fey, stop here and now. You will regret it, and it will end badly. What you hold in your hands is a tome that describes some of our universe's strangest and more delightful entities. They are beings that are analogous to nature itself; untamed and free! Freer than the most sovereign man in the world! So know that, before nearly any interaction you may have with such a being, you are nothing more than a game to them. You are yet another act in the great performance which is a fey's life. Luckily, know how to act accordingly and they can make you a supporting character.
This theatrical nature is at the heart of every fey. It is at the core of their conflicts, and it drives the brightest moments of their lives. They are comedy and tragedy mixed with the wild ambition of nature.
Fey follow the edicts and values of one of two principle factions: The Diurnal Assembly and the Nocturnal Assembly. Before you get any ideas, these Assemblies are extremely similar in many ways. Do not make the mistake of thinking they correspond with something like 'good' or 'bad' or 'law' and 'chaos' like most other dichotomies. Instead, consider the difference between the two assemblies being one of expression vs. impression.
The Diurnal Assembly is loud, boisterous, cheery, and heavily opinionated. These are fey that are wanderers, artists, and explorers. They are the face for the entire population so most fey a normal person would encounter come from this Assembly. They represent fey with a value of outward thought.
The Nocturnal Assembly, by contrast, is brooding, introspective, and conscious. Here we find fey that are philosophers, writers, and planners. This doesn't mean they're necessarily smarter than their counterparts, but Nocturnal Assembly fey often think things through a great deal more. They represent fey with a value of inward thought.
When dealing with a fey, the first thing you should identify is which Assembly it believes itself to represent. As a rule, Diurnal fey prefer to be praised and dramatically engaged with-- often through metaphor and analogy; while Nocturnal fey appreciate a concise description of the situation, as well as your personal intentions.
But bear in mind, good and bad actors exist in both factions.

Chapter 12.
Hags.

By Witchhunter Dorothea von Martreese
In the days and weeks proceeding the Dematalyst, the word 'witch' was used with reckless abandon. So quick, we were, to take the first sight of light extending from a young girl's fingertips and label her hideous, a damnable creature, and sentence her to death. Fifty years later and the same tale would make a girl into a hero, and a war criminal in some cultures. Two hundred years later, and the tale is celebrated-- if not common.
But in all accounts we were not prepared for how much worse the real thing was. The real witches.
Witches or, as we know them due to the risk of offending the few mortals in this world who willingly and gladly refer to themselves 'witch', hags are semi-humanoid creatures from the deepest, darkest, dankest, and most depraved corners of the Feywild. They are disgusting and irredeemable creatures, wenches and women (if they ever were women) demented and corrupted into beings far too vile and terrible in their deeds to hold a place in our world.
Not even a hag's own Assembly wants to corroborate with them. But this itself leads to a hag's greatest power, the power of covenship.
Hags, like other extremely powerful beings, have the ability to warp reality around their bodies. For most hags, thankfully, this effect is mundane and nearly inconceivable. But this differs when hags enter a coven. The power of a hag is compounding, relatively weak on its own but ragingly powerful in a group. This is how a coven is formed, as a means for hags to grow their power and enhance their abilities. And this power is shared equally; meaning the more members to a coven, the stronger each and every member of that coven is.
Hag covens are responsible for some of the worst and longest issues in the world; like the infamous the Famine of Malomus where the simple presence of a 5-member coven caused crops to blight for 6 whole years. Or the Disappearing Battle of Ronimus Pinegrove, where a cohort of over 340 men vanished without a trace due to the magicks of the hags.
What these two cases represent is a recognition of the obvious: hag magical ability. Because despite our knowledge and best efforts, we truly do not know how hags harness magic energy. Spells hags can pull off extend well beyond the limits of any conventional wizard, which has led to the popular theory that they can reach 'beyond' the limit of mortal spellcasting. Any efforts to study this phenomena has led to disastrous effects.
Hags can create powerful magic items as well, either from their own bodies or through a focus item in their territory. These items, like a Hag's Eye, allow hags to have eyes and ears wherever they choose.

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Green Hag There are 26 tally marks next to this entry
Green Hags are the most hateful of their kind. Their purpose is one of treachery and tragedy. Green Hags are masters of manipulation and lying and their affinity in magicks reflect this skill. These are hags that have gained the ability to alter their appearance at will along with mimic voices to a degree that would only be seen in a kenku.
Greens seem to have a disdain for physically attractive creatures, targeting them first out of any group in an effort to 'help' their appearance. These hags can also be obsessive, locking onto a target and tormenting them day after day.
This is aided by a Green Hag's other staggering ability: perfect invisibility. When a Green Hag uses invisibility, every trace of her vanishes including smell, footprints, sound, etc. This means a Green Hag can be directly behind you without you ever noticing. This ability is further enhanced within the hag's lair-- often at the heart of some dreadful tree or deep within the murk of a mire-- as the hag will be able to phase through walls, floors, and ceilings with little trouble. This means that, in the right conditions (which the hag will almost ALWAYS try to skew in her favor) a Green Hag's ability of movement is shockingly adept.
Particularly powerful Green Hags have been known to be able to create full duplicates of themselves in whatever disguise they choose. They also have the ability to hold dominion over the simple-minded beasts of their territory. These beasts will let the hag know who's coming and going. To that end, the hag can will her conscious to any fixed point in her territory and allow herself to exist in that space.
The stories of a pregnant mother developing a deep bond with a new "family friend" are numerous-- and they all end in the death of the newborn at the hands of the disguised Green Hag.
Annis Hag There are 13 tally marks next to this entry
Standing at well over 8 1/2 feet tall with massive broad shoulders and powerful pectoral muscles, Annis Hags are easily the most physically imposing of their kind. Their strength is well and away far above that of any man (and most beasts for that matter). In a fight between a grizzly bear and an Annis Hag, the Annis Hag could kill the bear in a single heavy crushing strike.
Annis Hags get their thrills from sowing the seeds of mistrust and discontent into a community. They enjoy acting as legends and warnings; to have children fear their names and to have commonfolk scrutinize every stranger that walks upon their threshold. To an Annis Hag, tormenting the weak and spreading fear is akin to a rich source of food.
Annis Hags are matronly by nature and often adopt groups of beasts like trolls or ogres. This nature extends to normal children as well. Annis Hags have a tendency to disguise themselves as kind elderly women and develop relationships with the children in a nearby community. They use children as agents to further spread fear; often making the child perform bad deeds or cause cruel pranks. She'll continue to manipulate the child until the child is exiled or severely punished.
An Annis Hag also has the ability to make an 'Iron Token'. This is a tooth or nail that the Annis Hag rips from their body and fashions into a trinket of some sort. This token allows the Annis Hag and the owner of the token to whisper to each other from across any distance.
While they are physically imposing, Annis Hags do not have as proficient of magical prowess as others of their kind. However, particularly powerful Annis Hags are known to be able to command rock and stone; causing avalanches and rockslides on any who would try to stop its misdeeds.
Bheur Hag There are 3 tally marks next to this entry
The Bheur Hag is the embodiment of winter's worst aspects. These are hags that are cold, selfish, and miserable to behold. Their blue-gray skin looks like a frozen corpse's and their bodies are emaciated and shrill-- like that of an animal starved through hibernation. Unlike other hags, these are hags that take direct action when the mood strikes them. They will murder someone just to take the ration they were about to eat. They will immolate someone to have a bit extra warmth. They will tear someone apart just to wear their coat. The Bheur Hag gets more satisfaction the more these actions are random and completely unwarranted.
When a Bheur Hag decides it will not cause carnage itself, it shifts the focus to nearby settlements. Its ability in magicks is so great that it can manipulate the weather for miles around itself. This often means settlements are blasted with blizzard-filled winters once summer is over. This will happen again and again until the villagers turn on themselves and begin to fight over resources.
A Bheur Hag is happiest when she's left mortals with little hope for survival. The greatest pleasure of a Bheur Hag's life comes at the moment when a group of travelers must decide between eating the leather of their shoes, or each other. They fancy themselves as the complete and utter loss of hope.
This selfish nature extends to combat as well. In a fight, a Bheur Hag will always aim to eliminate someone in the most horrific way possible. This takes the form of the Hag brutally, violently, and horrifyingly consuming the body of someone she's recently downed in front of their allies. The Hag is fully aware of the psychological effect such a display has, and exploits it.
Finding Bheur Hags is even more difficult. Their lairs are prone to avalanches and sudden blizzards. They decorate their territory with huge ice sculptures with corpses inside, often animated to undeath. And even the trails and paths in a Bheur Hag's territory are unreliable, as they will twist and shift to confound and confuse travelers.
Bheur Hags also have an extremely powerful magic weapon called a Graystaff. This is a yew sapling enchanted by the hag. The Graystaff allows the Bheur Hag to fly. It also allows the hag access to stronger spells; like the ability to instantly drop the temperature of the air in front of its body to -250F. Extreme caution recommended.