The Story of Changeling: The Dreaming

A long long time ago (as all proper tales should begin), magic and faeries lived on this world. Some were good and helpful, some mischeivous and playful, and others conniving and harmful. Travel between Earth and the Faerie world of Arcadia was much more frequent. Then, with technology, came science. Reality given form and proof. People began to loose faith in magic. They stoped believeing in it, and the faeries. This non-belief is known to the fae as banality.

Banality was like a posin to the fae. It sapped the magic out of them, slowly killing them. In a panic, they fled back to their world... but banality was becoming very strong on earth. It grew powerful enough that the portals (trods) to Arcadia were closing, unable to stay open. Eventually, all the Trods were closed, and any left behind, were stuck on earth. This was called the Shattering.... the splitting of the two worlds.

To survive on earth, the fae became changelings. The merged their fae souls with those of humans. Their fae shapes and magics changed to the changing dreams of humans. To live, they needed had to avoid banality. Music, mysteries, art... all things that were inspiring and awesome... these things produced Glamour. it feuled their magics, and kept their faerie souls from dying. When a fae soul dies, all that is left is the human part of that soul. The human side, which would lack any memories or knowledge of their fae halves.
This the the way the fea live and survive. They did this for many years, and many were lost to bananlity. The fear of banality, and fear of their fae selves dying is lodged in the heart of all changelings. To live, they must keep up hope even when all seems doomed.

Many years later, man landing on the moon gave all of mankind a rush of glamour. The moon has been dreamed of by all huamns for centuries. These powerful dreams were enough to, for a very short while, reopen the trods to Arcadia. Many fae there, thinking that earth was safe again, came through. Many changelings were given hope that they could now return home. But, it was short lived. The trods closed yet again, trapping them once more.

The new fae concidered themselves superior to those who have been stranded on earth, and tried to rule them. Thus, a great war, The Accordance War, broke out. A civil war among the changelings. Brothers raised swords of the dreaded cold iron against eachother, and many fae souls died. The war ended as a young boy, who became High King David, united the Sidhe fae and the commoner changeling kiths.

For many years, all was farily good. Of course, there was still the danger of banality. Also, there were some changelings, Dauntain, who believed that since this was not their world, they should not be on earth. Dauntain refuse their fae selves, keeping just enough of it so they can murder the fea souls of others. There are chimera, magical beings made of glamour, dreams came to life. Some are good, but some are spawned from nightmares. And, there are the Formori. These are known by the shapeshifters was creatures of the wyrm, and most agree - But, this is a lie. They are of nightmares as much as the changelings are of dreams. As strong as they are, a Formori who remembers its true self is a fearsome power.

Many years later, High King David is nearing his older years. He kept the peace for many years, and even found a wife. But, soon after, he disapeared. No one knows where to, and many plot to rise to the throne and gain power during this time of confusion. Some speak of a second Accordance War, and others whisper of a prophecy of a new king. As if these didn't threaten fae society enough, there are suddenly strange new beings comming from the Dreaming. New sidhe of Houses previously forgotten. And the Parliment of Dreams on chaos. We stand on the threshold of Winter...

Changeling the Dreaming was the fifth in White Wolf's World of Darkness line. Many view Changeling as the "lighter side of the World of Darkness". This is because, to survive, to live, the fae must often pretend everything is still okay. In many ways, Changeling is alienated form the rest of the World of Darkness. To all humans and non-fae, they appear as normal humans, thus, they are perhaps the one supernatural being that the least is known of.