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Fey from other cultures

Faerie/Peri(e)

Quickleaf said:
Currently I'm trying to stat up a peri, basing her off of a nymph with the swanmay template and a few home-made special abilities. Here's what I know:

* Were once malevolent but has mass conversion to good...What caused such a dramatic change in their society's conception of virtue?

Man's conception of their responses. Fey are "The Lost, and The Lurking". They are often immortal, and do not respond well to global changes, nor with Human speed. When Mankind first appeared on the scene, it was a whisper, a rumour that a few Fey claimed to have heard, and then (in what seemed a sudden rush, to the Fey), Men were all over, everywhere! Places that had been "Lost", for so long, were now "Found" by Man, and denied to the Hidden People!

Naturally, such a "sudden on-rush" seemed, to the immortal Fey, an overwhelming invasion, and they (in their secretive, hidden ways) began to pick off lone travellers, thus gaining the reputation as Evil. This was met with Fire & Cold Iron, and the Fey pulled back, in shock and dismay. To the short-lived Humans, they seemed to disappear.

Meanwhile, the Dark & Light courts discussed the "Human Problem", and what to do about it. The Dark Court decided upon war, and it continues to this day (hence the Goblinoid & Giant problems). The Bright Court decided to investigate further, and "invited"/abducted some Humans to attend court, and listened to the Dryads, Nymphs, and other Fet who dwelt the closest to Man.

When the immortal Fey saw the short lifespan of the "New Race", they were moved by pity, and King Oberon & Queen Titania forbade all-out war with the species, figuring that they would die soon enough. That policy remains in effect.

Some "days" later (to the Fey point of view), first Druids, and then Rangers were discovered, and the Fey's interest in the Humans was tweaked. Now these were people they could understand, and work with! Very slowly (from a Human point of view) certain Fey began to take an interest in Humans, and watch them, whenever they came into "Lost" places, or those where they "Lurk". Some of them even make friendly contact, on occasion, out of curiosity, or due to some observed event (a boy pulling wings off flies, a farmer picking up a bird with a broken wing, the adventurer pulling a thorn from a lion's paw).

The "War" being distant memory, to Humans, and the Fey being hidden & infrequent (and sometimes helpful, if encountered), Humans have ceased to fear the Perie.

Quickleaf said:
* Peris ruled the earth thousands of years before coming of humanity...What did they do during that time?

They sang, they danced, they feasted. They built their civilization in Faerie, their own realm. They explored nature (which is all there was, then). They built Faerie Gates, and a few stone circles, and connected them with ley lines. They met the Elves and the Dwarves, and made friends with some of them, spoke long and well with the Treants and Deep Fey, frolic where they would, and did as they pleased. Their great accomplishments are all in the Faerie realm, not the Prime Material. Here, they are The Lost, and The Lurking.

Quickleaf said:
* All the stories involve female peris marrying human men... Are the stories inaccurate/biased? Are there lots of pissed male peris? Why are female peris so dissatisfied with lovers of their own species?

The stories are true, but you're leaving out all the important details! Perie males are similar to Ogres, while females are smaller, weaker, and more genteel. A female Perie is likely to find a smaller, prettier, less-pugnacious and brutish Elf or Human male interesting, if short-lived. "Life", for even an Elf, is but a brief flirtation for a Fey.

Male Perie are, like Ogres, of the "Dark & Vile" sort, anyway, so having some of their unattached females run off with an Elf or Human, for "a day or two" makes them no angrier than they already were (although it may have been an initial cause for the Perie/Human conflict).

Quickleaf said:
* They serve a monarch named Gyan...All of them? In principle or practice?

As much as a CG Elven race can have overlords, yes! ALL of them! Of course, Gyan's might is all at court, in Faerie (where even the males are courtly, and well behaved). Here, on the Prime Material, he would have great sway, if he ever appeared, but that hasn't happened in recorded history, so... He is a lot like any other god. A lot of people claim to serve him, but you can't always tell by looking at their lives!

Quickleaf said:
* They’re spirit guides who represent the emotional soul of men. They free a man from his desires so that he may strive toward enlightenment... How do they free a man from desire? By sex? Love? Abandonment? Wish fulfillment? Does every body have a peri as spirit guide? Only men? Only those in need?

Women being what they are, what male can understand them? A Peri chooses whomever she pleases, be it a hulking Peri Prince, a Human Commoner, or an Elven Ranger. She can certainly satisfy his baser desires, and lead him along the Faerie path... so long as he is willing to follow! Peri-Humans, like Elves, tend to live onger, and be more attuned to nature. Many know the spells to detect and open the Faerie Gates, and walk the Faerie paths.

No, not everyone (not even those in need) have Peri guides. A Peri is hidden, lurking in lost places, and only shows herself (or her power) to those she chooses to (or the stealthy, who catch her unaware). Attractive Elven/Human males who are young, comely, and kind are the usual sorts selected by Peri, although an occasional Halfling (Periannath), or even a Dwarf has gone missing, in their woods, or other "Lost" places.

While a male Perie could take a female mate, most Elven/Human females would not be attracted to something that resembles an Ogre. Also, males don't have the "Emotional Soul" of the females, and are less likely to be interested in guiding, aiding, and nurturing the "New People" along the enlightened path. Even the females won't try to help those who refuse to learn.

Quickleaf said:
* When you lose an object you make a knot and say, “I have barred the way to the daughter of the king of the peries.”... Do knots act as a ward against peries? Is the daughter of the peri king a notorious thief?

No, and no, respectively. Peries are, again, "The Lost, and The Lurking". They gain this name from lurking in places lost to Men, and being hidden from them... As such, when a civilization falls, and is forgotten by the mortal peoples, it becomes a Perie haunt. Likewise, when things are lost, and/or forgotten, curious Peries tend to pick them up, play with them for as long as pleases them, and then pass them on to other Peries, or leave them lying in odd places, like tree-tops, etc.

Also, Perie peddlers on their way to Faerie often buy these things, selling them at a great Faire, at the Farie Court. Thus, many "Lost" things pass out of this world, and into Faerie.

In order to prevent this, one must learn to tie the "Faerie Ring" knot, which is DC:15 Rope Use. If the knot is tied properly, and the sentence pronouced, it has several effects upon Perie:

1) Any Perie who finds it instantly knows who it belongs to, and that they are not only looking for it, but have (more importantly) laid claim to it. Thus, as long as the claimant lives, it is not truely "lost", just "misplaced"! Should the "binder" die, however, the item becomes "Lost", again (and no, the Peri may (can!) not simply kill the binder, either)! Ever "misplaced" your car keys, and found them in an... odd... place? You may have had a visit from a mischievious Peri! ;)

2) A Perie may (can!) not touch it (even with a stick), nor affect it with magic (even to the extent of not being able to cast Rock to Mud upon the ground under it). They are bound from affecting it in any way.

3) Worse yet, it disallows that item to be transported along a leyline, or through a Faerie Gate, Teleported, Plane Shifted, etc. (and Fey hate to travel long distances by mortal means)! Thus, Faerie peddlers cannot "acquire" it for sale at the Grand Faire. :(

Quickleaf said:
* They have a weakness for fragrances, which the deevs use to lure them into captivity. Is this a sign of vanity? An old trait from their evil days? An association with air or the celestial?

Are Elven or Human women vain, for wanting to smell nice? Fey like these sorts of things, and enjoy fruits and flowers as much as females of any other species! Fey, however, do not make perfumes, and this idea intrigues many Peri females, just as new magic does Elven ones.
 

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green slime said:
I agree to a certain extent that this theory about the origins of the word "faerie" may be correct. Nevertheless, the concept is older than the lending/borrowing of this word. You yourself point out the "existance" of the "aelf" prior to "faerie".
Where in my posts do you get the idea that I'm claiming the concept comes from Persia when I say
me earlier said:
And the Persian Peris did change European faeries a fair bit. For instance, the Celtic faeries who had, up to that point, been larger than humans became smaller, like the Peris. Similarly, the elaborated court structure was very much a Muslim import onto which pre-existing fairy lore was grafted.
As to their reduction in size, I can quite easily see this in connection with an expanding human population, reducing the potential places for these mythical beings to be hidden, so that the creatures are required to be smaller. Until you end up with faeries the size of tinkerbell, and can basically hide in your pocket.
I agree that this is a factor too. There's a fine German book on medieval forestry that advances the thesis that the size of faeries varies directly with that of the largest fauna. I guess I just see these two things as mutually reinforcing rather than mutually exclusive.
 

Quickleaf said:
* Hatares: Amazons of Amazigh (Berber), Ethiopian, and Scythian cultures

Strange mix. Anyway, the Caucasians have a mix of native, Scythian and Greek mythologies. There is a race of dwarves called the ip. (I think; I've lent my book "Narts' sagas of Caucasus" out). They ride rabbits, make magic scythes and have hidden knowledge.

Also in Caucasian legends are a race of giants, who seem cognate with the Greek cyclopes and the Irish Formorians, and lots of magic horses.

Speaking of amazons, the Dahomins had amazons as well.

Quickleaf said:
* Mazinderan: Rakshasa myth, India (as inspired by Ramayana) with touch of pre-Islamic Arabia

The obvious choice would be jinn. Change them from being outsiders to fey.
 

The Tanuki are raccoon-ish creatures that can shape change. Not too dissimilar from the fox people, perhaps you could refer to them as the raccoon people.

The Kappa are a turtle like humanoid creature with a cup like hollow on the top of its head. While full of water its strength was greater than any man' but while empty it was as weak as a child. Needless to say, it was often found in or near water. Sort of a turtle people (even had a shell on its back, as I recall).

Tengu are sort of bird people / oni.

There is a term for the fox people (the Japanese term for fox, actually), but I forget it at the moment.
Kitsune
 

Agreed.Persian fey, primarily, are peris, the creatures we get the name "fairy" from. No reason not to go with pretty conventional fey here. Many things we now associate with elves and fairies were, like the institution of univesity, imported from the Muslim world during the Scholastic Renaissance.
The djinn
 

The Tanuki are raccoon-ish creatures that can shape change. Not too dissimilar from the fox people, perhaps you could refer to them as the raccoon people.

The Kappa are a turtle like humanoid creature with a cup like hollow on the top of its head. While full of water its strength was greater than any man' but while empty it was as weak as a child. Needless to say, it was often found in or near water. Sort of a turtle people (even had a shell on its back, as I recall).

Tengu are sort of bird people / oni.

There is a term for the fox people (the Japanese term for fox, actually), but I forget it at the moment.
Kitsune-moji and Tsukimono-suji … depending on the region … a hereditary familiar spirit, inherited by families of witches. The soul contract was the witch would provide care and food in exchange for the foxes alliance and magical assistance.
 

The djinn
Origin of the anglicised Genie. Similar to the Gael fey … some were benevolent, some neutral, some malicious. Made of fire in the way man is made of earth. The tattvas … Sylph : Air/ Salamander : Fire/ Undine : Water /Gnome : Earth … the djinn are of the Salamander fey
 

Where in my posts do you get the idea that I'm claiming the concept comes from Persia when I
Kitsune-moji and Tsukimono-suji … depending on the region … a hereditary familiar spirit, inherited by families of witches. The soul contract was the witch would provide care and food in exchange for the foxes alliance and magical assistance.
Closely related to the Huli Jing of Chinese folklore… (potentially) the more ancient origin of the magical shapeshifter fox archetype in Japanese mythology cited above
 



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