Sidhe

See also: Fae

Sidhe is the proper name for the spirit beings that dwell within the Twilight Lands. Their lands are close to the Mortal Plane, but not as close as the Fae Lands.

The difference between Sidhe and Fae is mostly argued over by scholars and the Sidhe themselves. In practical terms both creatures were born in the Shadow Realms closest to the Mortal Lands; however, many Sidhe will take great offense at being referred to as fae or faeries.

Most scholars do agree on one aspect fo the Sidhe, they have a sense of self and the passing of time. The sense of self means that the Sidhe have a purpose and goal, not just a reflection of the mortal world. The passing of time allows them to understand what has happened to them before and plan for the future. Given that a Sidhe has no natural lifespan, insulting one carries a lifetime of risk. A particular Sidhe's self can be destroyed, but its spirit simple returns to the greater whole of the Shadow Realms.

Unlike mortals, a Sidhe's self cannot be changed it is everlasting and set when it comes into being. They are incapable of re-examing their lives and changing what they are - what they are can never be changed. Appearance, methods, and other such things can be changed - and often are - but the core of a Sidhe cannot be changed.

The Sidhe divide themselves into two courts based largely upon a system that only the Sidhe can understand. Ruling over these courts is a queen and all those who serve the court pay her fealty and respect or face her wrath. A Sidhe court is a very deadly place for those caught unawares. No king or emperor is surrounded by such treacherous waters as the deadly game of politics played by the Sidhe.

While the courts are very powerful within the Sidhe, a not small percentage of Sidhe stand outside of the courts. They may visit one court of another, but they do not pay fealty to the queen. Woe unto them that do not pay her the proper respect, but they do not have to answer call to attend. Given how powerful Sidhe Queens are most of the nonaligned Sidhe prefer to keep far from their courts and thus avoid the intrigue.

Seelie Court

The Seelie court are known to seek help from mortals, to warn those who had accidentally offended them, and to return human kindness with favors of their own. From the persepective of mortals this court is the most favorable of them, but that is only when looking at the surface.

A Sidhe of the Seelie Court is still prone to mischief and will avenge any insult (real or percieved). Given that a mortal's concept of death is a something that Sidhe feels is a foolish distinct, their tricks can easily prove deadly to the mortal. For the Sidhe, death is nothing but a small point on the life of a spirit and so its occurance matters little.

Other names for the Seelie court are “The Shining Throng”, “Summer Court”, “The Golden ones” and “The Light Court”. These names represent the fact that mortals consider the seelie to be “good” Sidhe, when in fact they are simply Sidhe.

Unseelie Court

The categorization of fairies based on court is whether or not they are a light or dark fairy. Light fairies are known for playing pranks on humans and having a light-hearted attitude, forgetting their sorrows quickly and not realizing how they might be affecting the humans they are playing pranks on. The Unseelie Court consists of the darkly-inclined fairies. Unlike the Seelie Court, no offense is necessary to bring down their assaults.[6] As a group (or “host”), they appear at night and assault travelers, often carrying them through the air, beating them, and forcing them to commit such acts as shooting elfshot at cattle.[7][8] Like the beings of the Seelie Court who are not always benevolent, neither are the fairies of the Unseelie Court always malevolent. Most Unseelies can become fond of a particular human if they are viewed as respectful, and would chose to make them something of a pet. Some of the most common characters in the Unseelie Court are Bogies, Bogles, Boggars, Abbylubbers and Buttery spirits.[9] The division into “seely” and “unseely” spirits was roughly equivalent to the division of Elves in Norse mythology, into “light” and “dark” distinctions.[10]

Main Article: celestial_court

The most well-known Sidhe in the mortal lands are the elves, not as they exist now, but as they existed when they first came to Miranda. There are very few True Elves remaining in the world and those that do prefer to keep themselves apart even from their near-kin.