| Changeling Lore x0: Unsained Basic understanding that Changelings draw magic and sustenance from creativity itself (Glamour) and that both Cold Iron and disbelief are detrimental to your existence; Faeries are dream-spirits from another world, given captured human forms; Most Changeling magics only affect other Changelings; Recognize four or five of the most basic kiths (sidhe, trolls, satyrs, redcaps, plus your own) but have never really heard of the stranger types; Most humans, you're told, forget encounters with faerie magic, or even fail to see it at the time; You've heard of Freeholds, and maybe even seen one; Some people use titles like those in a history book, although you don't really know who's more important than whom. x1: Mentored Changelings are faerie souls in human bodies, there in an attempt to survive in the mortal realm; True faeries are gone from the world; Changelings protect themselves from disbelief by hiding in mortal forms, reincarnating into new bodies when their mortal host shell dies; Each "kith" traces its heritage back to a fragment of myth and dream; You can recognize and name all the most basic kiths (boggan, eshu, nocker, redcap, satyr, sluagh, sidhe, troll) as well as their common abilities, and know that there are other kith rumoured to be in the world; You've learned the names and effects of the most common Arts (chicanery, legerdemain, primal, soothsay, sovereign) and Realms, and you know about Bunks and how they're related to the Arts; You're aware of the distinction between Chimerical and Autumn Reality; You are familiar with the common modes of gaining Glamour - Reverie, Rapture and Ravaging; You've heard sketchy details of mighty quests, magical treasures, realms of fantastic legend and such myths; You know that Cold Iron is anathema to you, and disbelief and boredom will seek to destroy you; You know of Freeholds, and the nobility (also that most of the nobility are sidhe), and have heard beautiful stories of Arcadia, and been told that it is sadly "closed" and lost; You know that promises are binding, and have heard terrible tales of those who break them. You can recognize (but know no details of) the less common European kith (clurichaun, ghille dhu, selkie) and can name the five most common Houses of the nobility; You understand the basics of the titular heirarchy (squire, knight, baron, count, duke, king) although nicities such as "lord," "lady," and "esquire" escape you; x2: Still Mostly Unfamiliar You know some vague tales of the Shattering and of the resurgence, and have heard that some nobles have Arts lost to other fae, such as the famous Sovereign, Chronos and Naming, and you know sketchy details of the abilities of these Arts; You have heard of Trods, and the Near and Far Dreaming; You know that the sidhe departed in the Shattering and are different than other Changelings, although you're uncertain on "how" exactly; You know the most basic of descriptions of each of the dominant European kith (as presented in the basic summaries in the Shining Host). You know that the Five Great Returned Houses are Seelie, and also that there are rumours of one or two other Houses on Earth, but you have no details, and you can recognize the basic Heraldry of the principal Five Houses on sight; x3: Familiar You can tell some tales of the days of the War of the Courts, Shattering, the Interregnum, the Resurgence; You have heard tell of the coming Endless Winter, and you understand what it would mean for the fae on Earth; You have heard of the Tuatha de Danaan; Can likely guess someone's Court after speaking with them for a few moments; Can name and explain most of the major Kithain festivals which round the Wheel of the Year; Can recognize names of many major Kithain currently active and make a guess as to what Duchy they live in, can name many of the Kings and Queens of Concordia; Knows many of the old terms and their meanings; Can tell tales of the Acordance War; Has heard rumors of the Shadow Court (the Unseelie Sidhe), and knows why the sidhe are different from other Changelings (see Nobles : TSH for Changeling: the Dreaming); Knows the Escheat thoroughly; Has a basic understanding of the "Game" of sidhe Politics, and the continued struggle between the Courts, and between Commoner and Noble. Basic knowledge of the existence of the two "other" Houses, Scathach and Ailil; x4: Knows a Few of the Great Secrets Can name many legendary fae, and knows who some of them have been reborn as today, perhaps knows a few of your own former legends; Knows many tales of the Sundering, the Shattering, the Resurgence, and the Accordance War, and can name many of the key players in that drama; Has a vague understanding of what the Fomorians are, and the War of the Trees; Knows many of the Great Oaths off by heart; Can conduct a Fior and a Fior Righ; Knowledge of some of the politics of the Great Houses and the Parliament of Dreams, who really supports whom; Knows how to identify even the most arcane title as to its proper standing in the noble heirarchy, can recite any such personal title right up to King or Queen; Detailed knowledge of fae history (this knowledge will likely be slanted from the Changeling's own background); Knowledge of some of the various kiths of the Nunnehi Nations; Know the legends of Silver's Gate; Knows much of the truth (such as it is) about the Beltaine Massacre, rather than simple commoner rumour; Knows that House Ailil has more members than are visible, knows some details of Scathach and Ailil; x5: What the Kings and Queens Keep to Themselves Believes that there may be other Houses also returned, but hidden; Can see the hidden meanings in day-to-day sidhe politics; Know some details of the War of the Trees, and of the Three Courts of the Fomorians; Can name several of the "Lost Kith" such as the Lords of the Mound; Have heard of the Courts of the Mer, although you have no details; Can cite details of the sidhe's treaties and oathbonds with other supernaturals such as the Fianna Garou, but still believe that these "gallain" are simply misplaced kithain; You know the detailed history of each of the Five Great Houses, and some details of the Unseelie Houses as well; You think that you understand just what Glory and Perfection was Lost when Arcadia was locked away; Your Dreams are more real than the Autumn World; You know some of the details of the Oldest Rituals; You know the "Great Game" to be only a pale reflection of the Pageant of the Seasons; You can recognize most any noble by name, and have a basic understanding of their character and motivations; Know that the Shadow Court is much more than simply the Unseelie Sidhe, but as to its "true" nature, you've no idea. |
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