public channel - D148 - fae jargon 101

[kingsroads]

If anyone, older member or newer arrival, wants information on... [ oh lord, this is going to take a while. Strange sighs slightly before obviously reading off a list of terms he's written down. ] Arcadia, the Rose Queen, Ignatius, Nightshade, the Count of Crows, Frost, the Summer Court, the Winter Court, how faerie court hierarchies work, the Wyld Fae, or the Beast, then I'll be happy to tell you what I know. I picked up some knowledge from my time in Portland and through conversations with the fae here and, for obvious reasons, don't want to bore all of you with far too many details and speculations at once.

[ There's a pause, partly to catch his friggen breath, before Strange continues talking. ]

I can at least explain Portland, though--for our new arrivals, of course. It's a city where the carnival was recently trapped for a month. Many members had their memories altered and believed they lived in the city for their entire lives. It was a...trying experience.

[ Understatement of the century. Strange sighs, like he's steeling himself for what he's going to say next. ]

Portland had it's own set of fae, some of whom I mentioned in my previous list. Plenty of the carnival members have ill-will towards those fae, who seemed determined to vex us and ruin our lives during that month. And despite the fact that we've left that world, I've a feeling that we'll see those fae again. Now that the Severing's removed, they can travel to different worlds the same way the Ringmaster can. And it wouldn't surprise me if some tried to reclaim what or who they believe they lost.

[ how dramatic! And quite possibly the worst way to end a broadcast as Strange just flips the radio off then and there. He has absolutely no clue how to best END the broadcast so not being cryptic is officially for chumps. ]

Comments

[kingsroads]

His goals were certainly different than Nightshade's. [ a pause, before, ]

I suspect more important fae in the Summer Court would be those who send him. The Rose Queen's powerful, but I didn't get the impression she was the most powerful from talking with these Summer Fae.

[anti_nonsense]

More powerful than the Rose Queen? [There's a distinct uneasiness in her tone.] Considering how the Beast couldn't handle her and her court... if we catch the attention of someone like that, we might be screwed. At least, with the way we are now.

[Which means they need to be prepared, and the first step for that is being informed.]

What else did they say about the Rose Queen?

[kingsroads]

Most people thought she was quite odd. Kept to herself, spent more time on the fringes of Arcadia and fae society than inside it. She's known for capturing and holding onto territory. I think it's safe to assume that's the reason she was in Portland in the first place.

[anti_nonsense]

Honestly... that's good to hear. I'd hate to think her way of doing things is normal for the fae.

[Actually, that's exactly what she thought. It's why she's been treating the fae of the Summerlands so rudely. But if what Strange is saying is true, then... maybe they really are different from the Portland fae. You know, like how literally everyone has been trying to tell her this whole time.]

[kingsroads]

[ Stop being so adorably tsun, Rita. Still, her reaction is making Strange a bit more calm as well. ]

Rest assured, the various Summer Fae I've talked to didn't hold back about how odd and reclusive they found the Rose Queen.

[ just......not mentioning the whole 'yeah so the fae might be trying to colonize the world' sort of thing right now. ]

[anti_nonsense]

I see... [Yeah, she might have been a little hasty in judging all the Summer fae... not that she'll actually admit that.]

What about the fae in charge here? Have you heard anything about the Summer Maiden?

[kingsroads]

She and the Ringmaster seem to be close friends!

[ they're a BIT MORE than close friends, but this is 100% Strange's obliviousness rearing it's ugly head. ]

The Summer Maiden is actually a high ranking title for the Summer Court. The three most important fae in each court are the Summer Maiden, Queen, and Crone. The Maiden's next in line to become the Queen, who will retire as the Crone once the new Queen's tenure starts.

[anti_nonsense]

Sounded to me like there might have been more to it than that. [Rita's heard a few things, herself. She was hoping Strange knew more than she did, but maybe he doesn't.]

Still, that's useful to know. Hopefully the Summer Queen's got more in common with the Maiden than with the Portland fae.

[The last thing they need is enemies in high places.]

[kingsroads]

Really? More to it how?

[ No, he's just that damn oblivious. ]

As for the Summer Queen...I'm not entirely sure. The Summerlands fae have separated themselves from the Summer Court and Arcadia for a reason, after all. And considering that the Summer Queen currently heads the Summer Court....

[ Strange's voice trails off but the implication is obvious: she probably has more in common with the Portland fae than the Maiden. ]

[anti_nonsense]

[There's a long pause, and then a similarly long sigh. Just, at both of those things. All of it. Strange is dumb, and everything sucks.]

[kingsroads]

[ Whereas Strange interprets that sigh more along the lines of 'everything sucks' instead of 'he's an oblivious moron.' ]

It doesn't look good for the carnival, I'll say that much.

[anti_nonsense]

[It's easy to tell that Rita's not happy with this situation.]

Who's in charge of our defenses here? [Rita has some inkling, but generally speaking, she never paid much attention to who does what around the carnival. Until now, this was just a short-term job she could phone in until the year's up. Portland was a wake-up call for her.]

[kingsroads]

Probably Sans. The warden protects the carnival, the nightrider repels external threats.

[anti_nonsense]

The Warden, huh... [Rita's yet to meet him.] Might be worth having a talk with him about this.

We should try to compile everything we know about our enemies' combat abilities, too.

[kingsroads]

I can compile a list of the magic I remember the fae casting. Of course, I wasn't there for most of the fight with the Count of Crows, so someone else will have to chime in for that section.

[anti_nonsense]

I might be able to fill in some of those blanks. Someone like Childermass might be more knowledgeable about the Winter Court's abilities in general, though.

There was the attack on the Rose Queen, too... but I never got close enough to see much of her fighting style. Most of us had our hands full with her summoned elementals and... other stuff.

[kingsroads]

Out of curiosity, what sort of elementals did she summon?

[anti_nonsense]

Pretty much what you'd expect. Lots of plant-based creatures. Tree elementals, beasts made of vines... Fire worked on them, but just like everything else she conjured, they didn't burn as easily as natural plants do.

There were some fire elementals too, but Ignatius might've played a part in that. Their bodies were made of flame and rock... pretty hard to take down without either iron or water magic.

[kingsroads]

Well, we'll have to make certain that I remain un-brainwashed if those fae ever show up again. I can easily summon a rainstorm.

[ but he couldn't in Portland so really, there's no use bragging about this sort of thing, Strange.

Though that does give Strange an interesting theory. ]

Those smoke creatures that man some of the game booths...I wonder if those are elementals created by the Ringmaster?

[anti_nonsense]

[Rita's about to counter with some bragging of her own, but his question gives her pause.]

Hm? I... guess that's possible? [Yeah, she doesn't sound sure at all.] I'm not too familiar with elementals or sprites or whatever else the fae summon to work under them, but... there are a lot of weird creatures around here that don't seem anything like humans or fae.

[kingsroads]

I'm not too familiar with those either, [ Strange has to admit, which pisses him off more than he wants to admit. He's supposed to be the big hotshot expert on magic! Why are there things he doesn't know, that's amazing because he gets to learn them but aggravating because he doesn't know them already. ]

I suppose I'll add that as well to my list of things to bother the Summer Fae about.

[ he will 100% forget to bother the Summer Fae about this. ]