Thinky Thoughts on that Fae thing I had a dream about a few times.

[weirdlet]

Say that there was a subculture of Fae-Americans in the world, and they had a tendency to conglomerate around 'lords' of either Seelie (seen) or Unseelie (unseen) nature.  Say they were literally creatures of their word- what they swear will happen, will happen, whether it bend the laws of reality, whether it cost them their lives to do it (If asked why the Fae lords/gang leaders like to recruit young sidhe rather than hiring more qualified thugs and psychopaths, he would explain thus- “A sworn liegeman, bound by geas, is worth more to one of these thanes than ten more experienced men.  And that is because those men can fail him.  If I swear, as is my duty and privilege, to do a thing my lord requests of me, then I will do it- though it cost me my life, though it twist the laws of time and space, it will be done.  Thus is the power of an oath taken freely, to a being of the Fae.  For a given definition of ‘freely.’”
.  Say then that they tend to have relationships much like the Xmen of Xmen Evolution had with the Brotherhood of Mutants, wherein the pretty and socially acceptable changelings get recruited by a rich uptown patron, and the ugly and unpleasant ones get reeled in by unscrupulous organized Unseelie criminals who have equal delusions of grandeur as the Seelie ones.  They clash over their patrons' goals, with the Seelie kids getting a bit of a hero complex and press, and the Unseelie just trying to survive in the beds they've made.


Well, say all that's so, and one of your 'evil' Unseelie boys falls down in a seizure from too much iron exposure, both because he's the one the boss trusts to handle the big guns, and because it helps dull emotion that gets in the way of the job/makes him soft (and softens the bonds of vows, albeit by destroying the soulstuff they're made of).  "Kid, I haven't seen soul-burn that bad on anyone that wasn't a walking corpse." 

What would appropriate medical treatment be in that context?  Or at least, what seems like it would be mythically/magically appropriate?  Medical silver?  Herbal concoctions and bedrest?

Comments

[gamiel.livejournal.com]

"What would appropriate medical treatment be in that context? Or at least, what seems like it would be mythically/magically appropriate? Medical silver? Herbal concoctions and bedrest?"

I think a stay in the wild together with a fea-medic, a druid or something-along-that-line, drinking spring water and eating rots, berries, mushrooms and freshly killed animals. Preferably without any iron or steel equipment.


A question: is Fae-Americans only made up by British fea, like the Marry Gentry books, or are there represents of other cultures among them?

[weirdlet.livejournal.com]

It was mostly just me thinking of how such a group of people would be defined- most of them start out mundane, but can, with adherence to their vows and natures, work their way up to something pretty powerful and alien. In the meanwhile, most of them have 'normal' lives as a small, sort of ethnic group within mainstream society (said mainstream society being US American as of where I'm focusing because it's where I'm from and it's where most of the comics I read are from/set). But yes, there are other places in the world where Fae people live amid humans, this is just what they're called in America. There would be Fae-Canadians as well.

One of my friends suggested that part of the treatment be exposure to lodestone, to draw out iron's influence. I figure that makes a certain kind of sense, and what you're suggesting makes for a good policy during convalescence.

[gamiel.livejournal.com]

I think you misunderstood my question, I was wondering if Fea-americans are only creatures from British folk lore/myth or if there are represents of other cultures lore/myth among the Fea-americans?

"One of my friends suggested that part of the treatment be exposure to lodestone, to draw out iron's influence."

Maybe I'm missing something but I don't se how you use the lodestone to draw out iron's influence from a (more-or-less) human body? If the iron is in the blood stream than should it not be an better idea to use some kind of bloodletting?


P.S. Have you read 'Doc Sidhe' by Aaron Allston? If not it could be an interesting read that you can get here - http://www.baen.com/library/0671876627/0671876627.htm

P.S.S. if you are still working on the adventures of Princess Aksinya and 'Prince' Shaan I have to suggest 'Wind from the East' from White wolf as reading material, if you can get your hand on it

[weirdlet.livejournal.com]

Ahh, that clarifies things. And the trick with the Fae is that they are actually a wildly variable lot, the created servants of an ancient group that liked to experiment with their creations. Some of them actually correspond to actual myths, others share a few traits with them, and others still are just weird but in ways that could be mythical if seen at the right time and place, but there just isn't that kind of mythical 'press' around their particular gig.

It's not (necessarily) literally a matter of physical iron, it's more on the order of 'what's the opposite of iron? magnets!', sort of like the opposite of earth is air or fire and ice. I do not know how the science of iron poisoning would work, only that it's a chunk of mythology that I feel works and would like to keep in this instance. In context of myth symbolism, iron seems to me to be more about humanity's rise to prominence by finding and adapting resources that allowed them to overwhelm what was there before and cover the earth- but in context of the actual story, it's both that, and it's stuff that disrupted the ancients' power and thus that of their creations- which is why today you have human dominance and not ancient magical being dominance.

I have not seen either of those, but will add them to my list! All of these ideas are kind of percolating back-of-the-skull, and I scribble down ideas when I have them.

[gamiel.livejournal.com]

I have no idéa what kind of world you are creating but if you have not seen the movie 'Cast a Deadly Spell' I can really recommend it. You can find the whole movie here (at least for now) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXIrQtqVhvQ -

[weirdlet.livejournal.com]

Think of X-Men Evolution, but with Sidhe instead of mutants. Will watch!

[gamiel.livejournal.com]

So… Gigantic fea hunting robots that cost the state millions to make and ancient evil awakening in Egypt?

[weirdlet.livejournal.com]

Okay, more like the premise of X-Men Evolution than the execution, although I'm sure there's going to be some high-flying adventures in there as well. A little deconstructiony as well, because it's basically that two opposing gang-leaders are gathering high-powered kids to fight in their causes, with the pretty ones getting the good press.

[gamiel.livejournal.com]

So it is more alonge the line of XM:E Brotherhood vs. Massachusetts Academy?

[weirdlet.livejournal.com]

Yes, that works. Perhaps the Seelie patron means well for their students- but there's still the little problem of them being someone's private child soldiers, even if they're busting up the organized crime of Unseelie groups.

Potential things- something to do with the Ancients, someone finding old secrets of theirs and using versus burying them. Nobody wants the Ancients back, or to be ruled by them as they were a thousand years ago. Anyone who tries to take up their old power is going to either be a king, or be dogpiled by everyone and their mother to prevent such a thing from coming to pass.

"It doesn't matter that you are a person, a thinking, feeling being- because at the bones of it, what you are, what you are descended from, is a made thing. Made of spirit, made of flesh, all just tools for the Ancients to amuse themselves with in creating their servants, who can neither lie nor disobey. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can begin to understand it. And then- to work around it."

[gamiel.livejournal.com]

Do all fea believe/know they were created by the Ancients? Or are there some who follow other believes?

[weirdlet.livejournal.com]

It's been a long time, and many of them have mortal lifespans without the power of the ancient strongholds to feed them and make them immortal. There are those who think it's all a crock, there are many who have forgotten completely and are just trying to live their lives as funny-looking mortals with a few tricks. Some only remember the time they lived after the Ancients waltzed off into the ether without a word, living it up as kings and queens in their palaces Underhill, until the remaining magic dried up and they had to make their way out.

Those who do remember, and pass on that education, have an advantage over those who just believe that they are mythical beings of power from time immemorial.

[gravebug.livejournal.com]

Halloo, odd lj traveler lurking about here (I found you through an interest search on tieflings oddly enough) and I would second the notion of being cared for by a druid or fae-healer. In my mind's eye I picture some sort of wytch or woman of the forest tending to a fallen fae with a mixture of tinctures and bedrest, maybe applying salves if any iron-burns are present. Possibly burning some sage or other herbs known for cleansing (couldn't hurt) and as a last resort, bloodletting. Most of what I've read has iron exposure causing some type of skin reaction (boils, burns, etc) and I think that'd be one of the major things to treat.

Also: VERY interesting story concept, would you mind if I added you to my friends list to keep an eye on it?

[weirdlet.livejournal.com]

No problem. I tend to throw things up here where I'll remember where they are, while waiting for them to coalesce.