Overview

A kingdom occupied by Faeries and the like, heavily inspired by Celtic Mythology. Whilst generally peacful, the chaos around them and the risk of invasion by outsiders has driven them to a state of combat readiness, willing to fight and die to protect their glens and glades.

Geography

Lescatie is well known for its expansive forests and hilly walks. The Fae's penchant for building homes underground or in treetops means that the environment is mostly untouched, with the occasional cairn or milestone. The whole nation has a wild and rugged look, and is incredibly rich in resources that the Fae never use. To hold Lescatie would be to hold one of the most environmentally stunning places on the planet
Lescatie is run from the capital city of Glasborough, with other major cities including Kilderry, Strathness, the Orcadian Island and Redwing Brae. Major military forts include Fort St Wick, Fort Melitta, Fort Dalkenny and Fort Belclyde

History

(Pending)

Government

The Seelie Court functions as a standard Monarchy, with the King or Queen being the De Jure leader of the nation. Inheritance laws permit the monarch to choose their own heir, which causes many princes and princesses to clamour for support from their parents and other lords alike. However, King and Prince are largely nominal titles, since female rulers are almost always chosen to rule. The last time a male heir was elected, the following succession crisis saw him abdicate mere weeks after taking the throne. Below the Queen are, of course, her dukes, earls, counts, viscounts and barons. Other than the dukes, Vassals tend to focus their efforts on other vassals.
The vassal contract is a very loose and flexible arrangement, allowing dukes to run their duchies almost like independent nations. It is not uncommon for one duke to declare war on outside territories in the name of expansion without the Queen's backing. This means the Queen cannot be held accountable for her Duke's actions but also means she cannot stop a duke from declaring war on outsiders and must specifically have enforced realm peace through her Court to prevent internal wars - a process that is both unpopular and time consuming.

Race Description

Lescatie citizenry is comprised mostly of Aos Si, or Aes Sidhe. These fae creatures are shorter than the average human, with males being around three and a half foot and females roughly four foot tall. Aos Si are universally feminine and lissom in looks. Males are easily mistaken for females to humans, though to these fairies the difference is very clear. What is masculine to most other races is considered animalistic and bestial to an Aos Si. The distinction between Aos Si and Fae is a blurry one and the two terms are often used interchangeably - however there is a very big difference between Fae and Faeries/Fairies. Simply put, a Faery is a subspecies of Fae. A pixie, for example, is a Fae but not a Faery. Locals tend to get very upset when they are mislabeled, even though from an outsider's perspective there is little different about them.
Aos Si possess a variety of powers and abilities depending on what sub-race they are. Just about every Aos Si can fly, for example - some have big, beautiful butterfly wings, some have fluffy moth wings, some have bird wings and some have no wings whatsoever and simply glide through the air. By looking at the wings of the Fae and where it lives, one can find out just what kind of Fae it is
Faeries, Pixies and Sylphs are easily the most common types of winged Fae, and other than wing shape and skin colour, these creatures appear very alike. Faeries have beautiful gossamer butterfly wings, pixies have nimble bee wings and Sylphs have fluffy moth wings. Sylphs are also pale green in colouration, whilst Faeries are dark skinned and pixies light skinned. In the water you will find Nymphs and Nereids - physical differences are negligible, but both have different magical abilities and cultures. The parrot-winged Mockingfae, known for its ability to imitate sounds perfectly, are considerably rarer than other types and most make a profession singing at taverns and inns. Redcaps, Spriggans and other more earthy faeries can be found in the deep forests - earth fae are considerably more serious and humourless than their air and water dwelling cousins, and are typically stereotyped as grumpy wet blankets.
It isn't all fun and games, though. Sinister and creepy beasts dwell in Lescatie that inspire nothing short of terror in their merrier cousins. Banshees are a well known example, being so horrendous they are often mistaken for ghosts. The Three Riders make every little Faery tremble and the Tooth Fairy? Well, let's just say she isn't what modern myths make her out to be. A lot of the time, these Dark Fae are no more aggressive or dangerous than your average Pixie. That doesn't stop them being nightmare inducing to the unprepared.
Finally, there are the "animal" Fae. The most common of these are the Cait Sith and Cu Sith, which resemble bipedal cats and dogs, but sheep, wolves, horses and seals have also been noted - Defaid, Wulver, Kelpies and Selkies respectively. Due to their bestial looks, it is not unheard of for pet trappers to accidently take these things instead of real cats and dogs. They are just as intelligent as any other Fae and have retained the ability to talk to the animals of which they are based off of.

Culture

Lescatie Culture is split right down the middle between the Seelie and the Unseelie.
Seelie, or "light fae", are the average pixie, sylph, faery, Cait Sith, etc. It is the nature of these creatures to discover and learn. A more curious culture one will struggle to find. The adventurous and playful aspects of society are those most stressed, to the degree where many Fae dont have settled homes and instead wander between barrows and cities. A Seelie is expected to wear bright colours, be a social butterfly and foster a healthy curiosity for foreigners. Seelie can talk to total strangers as if they knew each other their entire lives. In order to build and maintain relationships between friends, Seelie hold large banquets, tea parties and, on smaller scales, perform pranks and tricks to build bonds.
The Unseelie are far more serious. They focus on honour and duty, and that duty is to defend Lescatie to their last breath. Often suspicious of foreigners, Unseelie look to themselves and the Seelie to do the duty they believe they were created to do. Unseelie are more practical and less social, often coming across as cold and blunt. They speak of the "greater good", which is used to excuse poor acts performed by its members if the action contributes to this greater good. Unseelie are far more socially conservative and more brusque.
Both Seelie and Unseelie worship two deities, the Allfaither and the Sea Mither. The Allfaither is believed to be a creator deity who gave fathered all living creatures, whilst the Sea Mither is responsible for creating non-living things, like rocks, earth, gems and the oceans. They are truly benevolent deities. The Fae, both Seelie and Unseelie, believe it is their job to look after Lescatie, as commanded by the Allfaither himself. "Ye shaa swatch tae yir mither's wark, 'at she has created fir ye, an' ye shaa watch ower it. Fur it nurtures ye an' keeps ye alife, sae ye main dae th' sam fir it". The Allfaither also teaches benevolence to foreign cultures and religions. "Th' allfaither is worshipped in mony forms, by mony names an' by mony fowk. Ergo, ye wulnae strike doon those ay an alien faith tae yoorselves in mah nam, fur ye will strike doon yer ain brithers".
Because of the political nature of marriage in these turbulent times, it has been weaponised to its fullest potential. Polygamy and the use of concubines and consorts has always been accepted, but relatively recently same-gender marriages were legalised. This helps Dukes, Counts and the Queen herself broaden the marriage pool for heirs and children - though usually the married couple needs to employ some consorts of the opposite gender to reproduce.

Economy/Industry

Agrarian to the extreme, Seelie culture despises more industrialised methods of production. Their economy is incredibly strictly run and anyone hoping to get into business is going to be regulated out the wazoo. Great care must be taken to avoid pollution and environmental damage. This, of course, makes creating large scale businesses incredibly difficult and the economy is propped up mostly by small trading stalls and independent businessmen. To counter this, Lords have the power to directly appropriate businesses whose owners fail to pay regular taxes, violate the environmental protection laws or generally violate rules and regulation. Foreign goods, particularly those mass manufactured, are taxed to hell and back in an act of blatant protectionism. Many foreign imports are banned altogether.

Magic

Military

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