The Undying Lands of the Fae

The Undying Lands of the Wild and Lawless Fae are closer than you might think. Crawl through the circle in that standing stone, or sleep in this circle of mushrooms and you might find yourself upon the slopes of Cyng Dun, King of All Mountains, or lost in the depths of Phantasmogoria. It is the land where all is ruled by its proper appointed Lord (or at least, so say the Lords), and where nothing is permitted to die, except at its proper appointed time (or at least, so say the Lords).

This is something of a guide to the various areas of my Faewild, which I refuse to call it, because I don't really like the name. The Undying Lands is also a little bit too tolkien really, but I'm twisting it into something a bit more unsettling. Which incidentally, is also my take on how Fae should be. Beautiful like tolkein, but more unsettling, just beneath the surface. They may play at court-attitudes and honour, but some embrace the animals they all really are, and live wild and free.

The Undying Lands are not to traversed lightly. Each step probably breaks another law, and the Fae will come to collect...

Cyng Dun
The King of all Mountains

Cyng Dun dominates the mainland of the Undying World, the King of Mountains stretches high up into the sky, higher than any other mountain could, or should. You can see its peak always, wherever you are in the Undying Lands, it is the one constant. And as high as you might climb, you will always be able to breathe, it will never be too cold; it is after all where Sierra holds her court upon the very peak of the mountain. It wouldn't do for courtiers to faint whilst attending her now would it?

Cyng Dun is something of a common way to reach the Undying Lands, any gateway associated with stone will lead here, in the nooks in the stone.

Grand stone stairs, built for giants climb the sides of the mount on one side, to allow dignified access to Sierra's court, not that they are well trodden of course. No-one can really trust a traitor, let alone a Giant.

Resident Fae Lords:
- King Chitine
- Sierra, Duchess of the Fastigium

The Cloudy Court
Lofty and Blue

High up in the Skies, the Cloudy Court maintain the flow of the skies and the politics of the upper airs. In ivory towers of cloud with frozen bridges and roads of glittering sunlight they bicker endlessly back and forth, sending wind this way and that, sending rain one day and then the next on a whim, storms and snow and blazing sun and uncompromising cloud to wherever the court should declare.

They have a rivalry with the King of Roses Red and Fair, whom they would overthrow and supplant if they could. The will not in all likelihood, they are too discordant to ever match him.

The Feathered Prince in his grand Nest-Castle also dwells here, hanging from neath a particularly grand and remote cloud. Sometimes he brings mortal boys here to become birds like him. Probably out of bitterness, since this is what befell him.

Resident Fae Lords:
- The Cloudy Court of Blue Sky Wrought (Archfae)
- The Feathered Prince

The Spring Glades
Seat of the King of Roses Red and Fair

The Heart of the Undying Lands, where stands the Spring Palace of the King of Roses Red and Fair, lord of all the Undying Lands, Ever-Blooming Monarch of the Lands where none are permitted to taste Death, Greatest of all who call themselves Fae, whose Brilliance all Respect and Adore. These are only his most popular titles.

It is always spring here, since this is what pleases the King of Roses most. It is always beautiful here, since this is what pleases the King of Roses most. It is always perfect here, since this is what pleases the King of Roses most.

The Lady of Ribbons also dwells in the Glades, in Chateau d'Arras. Her balls and masquerades are only second in beauty and extravagance to those hosted by the King of Roses himself. She is definitely not jealous in any way.

Hekate of Sorcery and Night also holds court in the Glades, but near the edge, where it Glades bleed up against the Trackless Forest. She and her covens sing for magics in the Night, of which she is most knowledgeable of all Fae.

The Girl in Gossamer is the Ward of the King of Roses. She will come into her prime one day, and the King of Roses will be the most proud of her as any guardian has ever been of their ward, he will say. He is not as aware of her dealings and doings as he should be.

Resident Fae Lords:
- The King of Roses Red and Fair (Archfae)
- The Lady of Ribbons
- Hekate of Sorcery and Night
- The Girl in Gossamer

The Realm of Eald
The cast-off Kingdom

The Realm of Eald is where history collects like scum on the edge of a bucket, where everything will wash up eventually, given enough time. The King and Queen of What has Been rule over the slowly growing middens of detritus from the Castle of Eald, which stands atop the cliffs over the Shallow Sea, and they do not take nearly enough care of it.

The Prince of Teeth also has his Gallery in the Territory of Eald, throughout which he occasionally dispatches servants to sweep for teeth. He really likes teeth don't you know. Would you like to offer one or two? Haha, it was only a joke. Haha.
Ha.

Resident Fae Lords:
- The King and Queen of What has Been (Archfae)
- The Prince of Teeth

Phantasmagoria
Mushrooms and Fungus

Phatasmagoria is the realm of all things fungal, one great tangled Mycellium-World where growth is the only law and consumption the only demand. Get lost within the flesh-stalks, the vented fronds, within your own head, lose all awareness, become one with Phantasmagoria.

Absolom is not Phantasmagoria. It is its own organism. That is enough.

Resident Fae Lords:
- Absolom, the Blossoming and Blooming

The Filigree Bridge
The Silver-Spun Bridge between Heavens and the Earth

No-one quite remembers who built the bridge, but it still serves as quite a useful connection between the Spring Glades and the Cloudy Court. It would be more useful if it were not so, so long, or if the Filigree Man did not live halfway up it in his silver-spun castle. He has a habit of imprisoning his enemies (or friends, its something of a mystery which is which) in filigree casing, never to leave again. Most everyone who stays for long in his castle meets this fate.

Of course, this is not a trouble for Fae Lords. The Filigree Man knows better than that.

But you aren't a Fae Lord are you?

Resident Fae Lords:
- The Filigree Man

The Unkept Gardens
The Stolen Land

Everyone was shocked when the Rose King's second home was taken by claim of Right of Demesne by Lord-Sir Brackenwelts, who had never been to court before, or since. The Briarfields, as Brackenwelts calls his domain, is the very picture of a Grand Noble Estate, only left to decay and nature's unkind ministrations. Overgrowth and collapse rule here, and through the lianas and tall grasses Lord-Sir Brackenwelts stalks.

Perhaps he has even grander designs than the Unkept Gardens, but his behaviour would not suggest that. Which is exactly what everyone thought before he seized the gardens...

Resident Fae Lords:
- Lord-Sir Brackenwelts

The Trackless Forest
Wild and Untamed

A forest, lovely, dark and deep. All manner of beasts dwell within, all manner of trees grow uncut here, all manner of men are lost between the boughs of wood and stone. They say in the Dark Heart of the Woods, Lost Ilmarod's court drinks the blood  of those lost within, whom they hunt like dogs. Many other such monarchs dwell within the woods too, it is said. The Prime Unicorn, the Master of Worms, the Duke of Owls, many others such that lack names known to mortals as well.

The Goat-Boy dwells here too, forever hunted by Ilmarod's courtiers. He is never caught. He never will be. He has no court, save for those animals who run with him. They will run forever, but they shall never find the jaws of death nipping at their heels while they run. Occasionally they get rest, but mostly, they run, and run, and run.

Resident Fae Lords:
- Lost Ilmarod of Path Untrod (Archfae)
- The Goat-Boy

The Hunting Glens
Beasts and Those that Stalk Them

Wide and wild, if a menagerie of menageries dwells within the Trackless Forest, then every beast ever formed must dwell on the Glens. Hunters of all stripes dwell here, glutting their thirsts on the beasts, and being glut upon on return if they are foolish.

The King of all these Beasts, the Elken-Wolf is also the King of all these Hunters, the Apex Predator, the Dominant Life-form. His court takes all, beasts, hunter, predator, prey; one and all. It only meets once a month, on the highest night of the full moon, when all hunts are called to truce, if only until the sun rises again. Of course, this being the Undying Lands, who knows how long that will last, or how long it will be before the next.

The Huntsmaster is one of the most diligent of the Hunters of the Glens. He alone is free to ignore the armistice of the Full Moon, as long as he declares his intentions to his prey. He only sometimes does. His pack of earthen dogs is always at his heels, and no others. He hunts alone; except that all have the right to hunt with him once, and only for a single night. Since he roams as widely and as quickly as he does, few ever manage to take him up on this.

The Silvered Knights also dwell out in the Glens, their Mirrored Hall standing bright and lonely amongst the fields and copses. It is considered quite cliche these days for a Silvered Knight to bring back the Head of a Great Beast it has slain out on the Glens, after all, every such Knight has many trophies of such hunts. Thus, you are only ever likely to see the half of their Order that dwell at court for this Questing Season. Enjoy their hospitality while you can, for you are entirely safe whilst within their walls. You may only remain for one day and one night.

At the opposite end of the Glens, stands the Tower of Night, where the famous salons of She of the Midnight Stars are conducted. Do not ascend too high without invitation, you may not be able to return if you do.

Resident Fae Lords:
- The Elken-Wolf of Cloven Hoof (Archfae)
- The Huntsmaster
- The Silvered Knight
- She of the Midnight Stars

The Smoking Shore
Ash and Sand

Tigers stroll lazily and contentedly along the basalt sands and between the brimstone stacks. Crystal glitters amongst the stones. The blasted remains of Dawn-For-Eye's many towers litter the shore too, as the sea gently steams and laps against the rocks. The Charred Ports are abandoned now, as they always have been. None have ever lived here, no-one who mattered at least. Except the Tigers. They are beings of impeccable grace, taste, and are unrivaled company; obviously. The Court of Amber and Black  are the few non-Fae beings permitted in the Undying Lands, and indeed they have a whole area of the Smoking Shore given over to them. This does not please Dawn-For-Eyes.

Resident Fae Lords:
- Dawn-For-Eyes

The Seeping Fen
The Grand Mire, forever Rotting; Barrier to Lost Fomoria

Why should be speak of it? It is wretched and blasted, monster-haunted, nothing of worth lies there. Besides, you wouldn't be going to Old Fomoria now would you?

Unless you wished to visit Cerastes? Few do. He is a loner, and besides, all his court is curved to better accommodate him, and to inconvenience guests. If you seek a craftsman though, there are none as skilled as him. None. Regardless of medium or technique. Of course, you have to brave the monsters and the wastes to get to him, so all in all, I'd say you should seriously consider settling for the second best...

Resident Fae Lords:
- Cerastes, the Coiler and the Slitherer

Old Fomoria
Where once lived Giants

Giants do not live in the Undying Lands now, save for the one who ended the war, who now lives upon the Mount.

Dead Fomoria is not visited. It has been left to rot and decay. The old Giants who lived there have been driven from this land, and this was once their fortress, but now there is nothing. Not even echos. Their land has been burned and salted.

The King of Roses Red and Fair will permit none to call this their home. The Titan of Flowers ensures his law is kept.

Perhaps one day Sierra will petition to reclaim her ancestral home. She will not if she is wise.

Resident Fae Lords:
- None, it is blasted and wasted; none shall live there upon decree of the king

The Smouldering Isles
Flame and Faith

Speak not of the Banished Fey. They who would take the Abhorrent God's words upon their flesh. They are blasted with flame at the order of the King of Roses Red and Fair. Never again shall they set foot upon our shores. Leave them with their delusions and trouble yourselves not with the thought of them.

Resident Fae Lords:
- Insolence

Sahandralar
The Great Democracy of the Twinned City

In the distant and sandy city of twisting spires and minarets, everything (everything, even the time of day) is democratically decided. Two Administrator-kings ensure the smooth running and application of the people's wishes, each ruling in turn during the day and the night respectively. Tigers walk freely amongst the people, goblin colony-constructs stride down the high-ways, Elementals chat with Angels in the smoking parlours. Paramours meet in secret by the water-gardens, and rag-clad thieves steal the jewels off the peaks of the towers under the sparkling stars of the night they voted for.

Resident Fae Lords:
- None; Fae Lords shall not be permitted within this grand institution of democracy, upon decree of the twin Sultans-Elect

The Many Isles of the Shallow Sea
Where one could find Anything and Everything

To list all that can be found upon the Shallow Sea would be an exercise in futility. There are the isles of Eternal Youth, the Isles of the Flower Eaters, the Isles of Stone, of Flame, of Ice. There is an isle for everything and anything, if one would sail enough. Indeed, even the fabric of the Real and Is, thin as it is in the Undying Lands, runs thinner still amongst those isles. It is impossible to predict what awaits you there.

Resident Fae Lords:
- The Sailor on Dark Waters
- Many others, it is not known what their names or titles are

Flodhelm
The Sunken Palace of the River King

They say that eventually, all rivers must flow down to the sea. Some say all rivers also must eventually flow through Flodhelm, the grand-mire of the River King. If you saw it, you would believe it. The castle itself is black and pitted, soft and rotten rock heaped into a rough castle slowly sinking into the mud, rivers flowing through windows into basements and hallways, which fits the Sodden Court of the River King just fine. The marsh around it isn't much better; endless dark greys and browns, flies and low shrubs, filthy water.

It isn't much wonder that this court is one of the least visited.

Resident Fae Lords:
- The River King of Sodden Grin (Archfae)

Scathenmere
The Crystal Lake of the Nymphs

It is beautiful and serene, like its nymphs.

It is crystal clear and sparkling, like its nymphs.

It is vast and terrible in its wrath, like its nymphs.

It is treacherous and vindictive, like its nymphs.

It will enchant you with its allure and swallow you up, like its nymphs would.

It is a predator, like its nymphs.

Resident Fae Lords:
- Cirrah, Queen of Nymphs