Origins and Nature of the Fae

The Fae are inexplicably linked to both the Umbra and the Nexus. Unlike humans and spirits, they call neither place home but seem to exist in both places at once. They are also immune to the wear that dwelling in either causes to the denizens of the opposite.

This is perhaps why the Fae are the most dynamically charged creatures existing in static reality. Their permanent physical bodies serve as custom made hosts for the dynamic energy that seems to make up their essence. These energies are not found in the primal or reflective penumbrae but seem to come from the deeper elemental umbrae, making their residence on the Nexus all the more fascinating.

When the Tellurian was young it was made up of chaotic elemental essences that slowly coalesced and separated over millennia into the respective umbral planes. This separation process was not exact and pockets of this dynamic energy were trapped in the static reality, much like pockets of magma trapped in the earth's crust. Over time, these energies gained sentience by absorbing that of other creatures, namely humans. Due to the dynamic nature of these energies, however, they could only absorb the most dynamic forms of thought such as daydreams and folklore. As respective tribes of humans multiplied and developed specific mythologies, the energies' sentience also began to take specific patterns and then to manifest itself physically in accordance with each specific mythos. In effect, the Fae are a combination of collective human dreams and dynamic elemental energies frozen into isolated bodies and consciousnesses.

The physical manifestations have existed along humans for so long some are able to breed and multiply as 'natural' creatures do, though the form of their breeding can vary radically depending on their elemental affinity. Others are able to assume human guises or can even bond with an infant at birth, thus the myth of the changeling. The majority seem to have two different faces, one aligned with the Nexus and another with the umbra. This allows them to exist among 'natural' creatures with ease and still manifest their unnatural abilities when needed.

Fae maintain a demanding balance, as they exist in equal parts dynamic and static reality. As a Fae ages, this balance becomes more difficult. It's not unusual for the physical manifestation of a fae to be extremely short lived or for the fae to become unbalanced as it ages. Whether a fae maintains its balance or not, their power appears to grow over time and eventually become living vortexes of dynamic energy, making them as dangerous as any marauder.

Part 2.