Sidhe
Feyri refers to the many sub-races of creatures that exist in the shadows of the Dawning and Setting worlds. Being creatures of magic, Feyri range from benign to malevolent. Good Feyri are referred to as the Feyri Nae. Evil Feyri are referred to as the Feyri Fel.
Physiology
Feyri manifest in a wide variety of forms. Sub-races of the Feyri range in size from the moth-like Sidēa Nāe to the stilt-legged Drædùr Nāe. The Feyri also have a wide variety of shapes. Most Feyri have almond-shaped eyes, wide mouths, and pointed ears. Despite a diverse collection of features, all Sidhe recognize their various kindred as fellow Feyri.
No one is certain what happens when Feyri die (partly because it seldom happens). Most believe that their life forces are released back into the Ethereal and that their personalities cease to exist. Whatever it is that happens, the Feyri survival instinct is second to none.
One attribute that all Feyri seem to have in abundance, is virility. The Feyri ability to procreate is not limited to their own kind. The “vital essence” of the Feyri is so potent that the recipient does not need to be ovulating, in oestrus, or even the appropriate gender to receive the “gift”. When the Feyri have sexual relations with a member of another race, it is the member of the other race that is impregnated regardless of gender. More often than not, males of a species do not survive pregnancy. There are stories from many Lands of fathers dying while pregnant and the Feyri offspring eating its parent to survive and continue growing.
Psychology
A complete explanation of the psychology of the Feyri would take volumes. Some Feyri seem to be very intelligent, while many seem to act on base instinct. Even those Feyri that are intelligent seem to enjoy their base natures, so it is sometimes difficult to discern between the two. Feyri personality seems to be an expression of the Chaos from which they manifest. There are both good and evil Feyri.
Feyri are generally xenophobic, fearing all those that are not Feyri. Lesser Feyri are extremely curious and mischievous, two traits that most often cause their paths to cross with those of the non-Feyri. Another trait that draws the Feyri from their private worlds is their hypersexuality. The Feyri are drawn toward attractive physical specimens of the Mortal Races. They prefer to “engage” those at the peak of virility, male or female. Such relationships can be fleeting or occur over the course of years. Tragically, these encounters sometimes slip into the anomalous Ethereal, ravaging the Mortal flesh with age. Feyri tales are rife with stories of young maidens led off into the forests by priapic Sætùr Fel, only to return in the morning as pregnant crones.
Culture
The interactions between Feyri are determined by their form (i.e., sub-race). The “natural” form of the Feyri determines the creature’s place within an established pecking order. As chaotic as the race may appear at times, this one law is steadfast.
The Feyri dwell inside one of two shadow Worlds that exist on the periphery of Waking. Metaphysicists use the analogy that the veils cast shadows on the Waking World. In these regions, where the the worlds overlap, the Feyri exist outside the laws of either domain. Access to the Shadow Realms is accomplished through the use of magical constructs called Rings, though natural passages have been known to occur. Feyri are able to move through these Rings and explore the Worlds before the Ring fades and they are drawn back into the Shadow Realms.
Though separate, there is a great deal of overlap between the realms. Sacred mounds, ancient forests, and unspoiled lands are highly valued by the Feyri. Not only do these places offer the occasional passage to and from the other Worlds, but they also serve to anchor the Shadows. Some have suggested that the Shadow Realms cannot exist on their own. It is speculated that if all the the anchors to the Waking World were removed, the domain would be absorbed into the Nether or Ether, depending on which shadow was being tampered with. For obvious reasons therefore, when these areas are despoiled, the effect on the dependent Feyri realm is immediate. Few activities raise the ire of the Feyri more, than tampering with these resources. In situations where the realms are imperiled, Feyri have been known to unite in order to preserve their ties between Worlds. During these “wars”, there is little to differentiate between the good and the evil Feyri.
Language
Feyri speak their own language, Feyri. The language is impossible for most mortal speakers to pronounce though some few have learned to understand it. Those in the extraordinary position to study the language are almost inevitably drawn into Feyri madness, often disappearing from the mortal world for years and centuries at a time.
Religion
All Feyri revere the Feyri Ralāe as the progenitors of their kind. The Feyri Ralāe are not deities, but more akin to Bloodlings that reside behind the Veils of the Concordant Lands. In the 9th century HK, Dekàlan magicians in Ildûn were able to bait and capture a wayward Feyri Nae. The Feyri prisoner was tortured for several weeks before her essence diminished and her spirit returned to the Skein. During the interrogation, a great deal was learned about the Feyri including hitherto unknown details about the mysterious Feyri Relae.
“Saloah Orolaem. Day Eighteen. The Feyri is weaker and begs for honey. Her magnified face is ashen. Her lips are cracked and lined with dry blood, once blue now black. Her gem-like eyes have not glowed for three and a half days. The arcanist reported that her wings dissolved to dust five days after removal. A drop of honey should have been enough to drown the creature, but she swallowed it greedily. The honey gives her strength enough to speak. The wizard inquisitor asked her again about the Feyri Ralāe. Initially, the creature refused but his magics proved stronger, more convincing than earlier. She explained that in the Earliest Time there were a hundred of them, but many have died. Today, there are a dozen, maybe less. All Feyri are bound to their Antecedent. It appears that there is a member of the Feyri Ralāe for every kind of Feyri, much like the Bloodlings of legend. The Feyri Ralāe reign like kings over the Feyri masses, who are but pawns before them. The creature claims that there is a connection, constant and inseparable, between her and her queen. She suggests that the queen knows what is happening, but cannot answer why there has been no response. When asked to elaborate, the subject was reduced to sobbing and repeating the words, ‘I have traveled too far. I am lost.’ again and again.” – translated from the Journal of Tærkàra of Vereç.
Magic
The Feyri attunement to magic is thought to be related to their origin. It is the belief of the Dwürden and Eylfāe that the Feyri are not native to the Waking World, having stepped through the Vor Omtenéma from the Concordant Lands in the early Ages of the world. The Eylfāe legends elaborate upon this idea. They claim that when the first Feyri stepped through the Mortal Veil, they discovered that the Land was alive and sought to drain their magics from them. To prevent this, the Feyri fashioned Rings where they might enter into the Waking World without having their life essences drained from them. The Feyri could then use silver threads to venture forth from these Rings and explore the Waking World without fear of being reduced to magic-less husks.
All Feyri are magical creatures. The Feyri believe that magic is their life essence and therefore will never seek the destruction or cessation of magics, instead preferring to change the flow of magic into another form. A sorcerer that casts a stroke of lightning at a Feyri may be dismayed to find the bolt transformed into a waft of perfumed air. To the Feyri, this change is preferable to dispelling the magic outright (even though dispelling is simply the act of separating magical energies back into their primal form). Within the Waking World, the power of the Feyri is relative to their proximity to a magic Ring. All Feyri are able to Weave small spell-effects using ambient magics. True spells however, require much larger reserves of magic. Because Feyri magic originates in the magically saturated Outer Worlds, their spells do not use magic very efficiently. Because of this, the Feyri are limited to what can be cast in the Waking World. Within a magic Ring, the fatigue cost of all spells are considered doubled. Outside of magic Circles, this cost increases to triple the original cost.
The ability of the Feyri to move between the Shadow Realms and the Waking World is something of a mystery. It is theorized (by some) that the Feyri never in fact enter the Waking World, but instead project phantoms of themselves from the Shadows. This would go a long way toward explaining how some are sometime able to reveal themselves to a limited number of people. Though often nondescript, magic Rings are impressive magical constructs that require a great deal of effort and power to create.