The Aelfyn Sith are the first inhabitants of Grimmloch, born of nature's primal forces: sacred groves, untamed wildernesses, and ancient spirits given form in this realm. They embody the wild, untamed, and unpredictable aspects of the natural world, understanding and maintaining the delicate balance of giving and receiving with nature. Their whispers at Grimmloch's dawn emphasized the cyclical nature of actions, stories, and journeys in the Dream World.
They cultivate harmony between the natural world and civilization, nurturing wisdom and reciprocal relationships with all beings. But they also understand that power is neither good nor evil in itself, it simply is. The Aelfyn Sith pursue power as their primary goal, knowing that strength and influence are necessary to maintain the equilibrium they value.
The Aelfyn Sith are divided between two courts, ruled by the dual luminaries Lord Horn and Lady Ivory. These courts take their names and nature from the classical Gates of Horn and Ivory.
The Court of Horn is associated with true dreams, reality, and unvarnished honesty. In Greek mythology, the Gate of Horn allows true dreams to pass through. Lord Horn offers the unvarnished reality of Grimmloch: its dangers acknowledged, its bargains honored with brutal honesty, its nature accepted without flinching. His court values directness, keeps oaths to the letter regardless of cost, and sees the world as it actually is rather than how one wishes it to be.
The Court of Ivory is associated with false dreams, illusion, beauty, and appearances. In Greek mythology, the Gate of Ivory allows deceptive dreams to pass through. Lady Ivory offers the dream as it should be, reality filtered through beauty and artistry until it becomes bearable, transformative, transcendent. Her court values aesthetics, crafts illusions that contain deeper truths than mere facts, and understands that sometimes the lovely lie serves better than the harsh reality.
This is not a division of good versus evil, but of approach and philosophy, the eternal tension between what is real and what is beautiful, between harsh truth and pleasant illusion.
The Aelfyn Sith organize themselves into five distinct subgroups, each with their own culture, values, and approach to fey existence. These subgroups shift allegiance between the Court of Horn and Court of Ivory as circumstances require.
The Gentry - Noble fey who weave webs of influence through politics, obligation, and reputation in glittering halls where every word carries binding weight.
The Horde - Fierce clans dwelling in deep places, where strength speaks louder than silver tongues and clan loyalty trumps every other law.
The Unhallowed - Death-touched beings who have transcended mortality, dwelling in forgotten crypts and abandoned towers in sovereign isolation.
The Folkling - Those who find power in domesticity and daily life, whether dwelling alongside humans or in their own cozy settlements.
The Wilderkin - Primal spirits of untamed nature who dance in deep forests and wild places, embodying raw freedom and natural power.
At the heart of the Aelfyn Sith's territory lies Alderwen, where ancient alder trees bleed red sap and their roots drink from waters that flow between worlds. Here stand the twin gates through which all dreamers must pass: one carved from horn, dense and honest; the other gleaming with ivory, smooth and beautiful.
Lord Horn and Lady Ivory are not merely rulers of courts; they are the living embodiment of the threshold itself, the question every dreamer must answer: Do you seek what is true, or what is beautiful? Together, they maintain the boundary between the Waking World and Grimmloch, guardians of every moonlit glade and still pool that serves as gateway. They do not compete; they complement. One cannot exist without the other, for what use is truth without beauty to make it bearable, or beauty without truth to give it substance?
Noble fey of glittering halls, where a smile topples kingdoms and a favor costs centuries
Fierce clans of deep places, strength speaks louder than silver tongues
Death-touched sovereigns of forgotten crypts, beauty found in elegant decay
Hearth spirits and cozy burrows, domestic power in small kindnesses
Primal spirits of deep forest and wild river, untamed and beholden to no law but the seasons