How we began-
In the beginning, or at least, when we began, there was already light. We were of it, bathed by it, made flesh or fancy as the whim took us.
And She who spawned us from the void was pleased with us, and gave us her blessing. “Go and bring wonder onto that which He creates.”
It was then that we realized there was a He, who very much had his own agenda. He had forgotten his help meet, the one that had labored with him to bring forth his world the moment that world came to exist.
Of mischief, His children have said we were born, and who is to say they are entirely wrong? For how could we be otherwise, we who have our Mother’s blessings still echoing in our ears? And their fear and fury when they found we could not be banished, that Her light is always upon His world one way or another- by sun, by moon, by starlight, any of it and all of it is enough to sustain our people. But I am getting ahead of the story, for His children came long and long after we had already lain eyes and feet and souls down upon the wonder of the world.
So first after we were born and began roaming the earth, it came to pass that some of us embraced the warmth and bright of the sun, and became the Court of Day. Others were enchanted by the dim shadows and cool of the evening and played by the light of the moon and stars, and became the Court of Night.
And so it was that with every touch of our feet to the earth, we felt anew the blessing of the Mother, and created wonders without thought or care, blithely as children. In time, we brought forth children of our own, though rarely in vast numbers, so we learned to cherish the few that appeared.
In time, we began to encounter the Father’s Children, who regarded us at first with fear, then sometimes with awe or envy. Some of our kind chose to go among them as equals, other played at divinity or deviltry as it suited their mood. Magic, they called our gifts, and some were wise enough to nurture friendships where they could.
Try as we might, the one thing we couldn’t seem to do is leave one another alone- even fae that preferred the solitary life couldn’t help themselves when the opportunity to interact with humans came along.
Of course, the best part of history, of anything at all, are the tales. And when you combine faekind with human kind, there are always tales.
I have spent more time than I care to figure up chasing these tales- I’ve performed great labors, been tricked into servitude, embarked on grand quests and adventures, suffered the loss of dear friends and loves, righted grievous wrongs, and I did it all with only one goal in mind.
Being able to tell the stories, to make my poor attempt at fitting them into the frame to form a vast, sweeping picture.
Will I ever tell my tales? Well, that remains to be seen.
So there we were, two very dissimilar species, poised in the relationship that continues to define us- Fae as the older sibling, Man as the younger child seeking to understand and enforce their will upon us by making us fit into their concept of rules.
It was that very penchant that gave rise to one of the neverending sources of entertainment for faekind- making deals. Once honor came around to being a general concept, fae were entranced with (in true older brother I will do everything the best manner) keeping their word. Folded, spindled, and mutilated at times, but always to the perfect letter, if not spirit, of the agreement. We’ll see that as a recurrent theme as we go along here.
I want to point out that some of the tales I’m about to tell may sound familiar, courtesy of those dastards Grimm and Disney. You may want to argue with me about truthiness or whatever it is you folk call it these days.
To that, I would remind you that the heart of every tale has three if not five sides. The only angle that I have is to understand my own people and the wondrous, astounding scope of history of this world.
In short, carp if you like, I’ll be over here on the high road. You paid for it, so keep reading or don’t, it’s all the same to me.
Getting on with it- this is one of the earliest tales I was able to procure, through great personal peril.
Be you fae or man, the sparks of life within some burn brighter than others. And for all the gifts we’ve been given to create, enchant, bemuse, for foresight… only with very painful lessons do we learn to temper the fires of passion with the knowledge of regret.
To help you understand, let us turn to the tale of the Lady in the Tower.
Curiouser and Curiouser 