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“Ó Tæra Máthar, ést niyr nos. Ó tél glathá, tu’an nos Ava'æthyrmar.”

“Oh earth mother, hear our plea. Oh silver star, guide us (back to) the home beyond the mist.”

Fae: 

Faefolk, whose who were born from the pollen of the sacred tree of Gaia, belong to the lesser deity class: Ạlu or Ạlat (similar to Maiar in LotR), kin to Ilu and Ilat. Mostly are spirits of nature and elements.

Origin:

Yllenkáre (ilen-Kah-leh, queen of all, the earth mother Gaia) planted a seed in the beginning of time. She placed it and watched it grow. Each day its b.ranches stretched up nine feets high, as its root drilled down nine feets deep. It took the seed ten thousand years to grow. For what was a young seeding now a mighty wood. And when the tree bloomed for the first time in millennium, its pollen awoke the entire world. Elements, mountains, rocks, flora and fauna…everything touched by its light came into consciousness. These row consciousnesses were the forebears of Faes.    

Appearance:

Faes’ appearances vary, depending on their types. They can be tall or small, pale or tan, grotesque or beautiful. Their skins, hair and eyes come in full spectrum of colours. But their most profound features are their pointy, or feathered, webbed ears and their ethereal aura.  

Classification:

There are two divinations of Faes, Solach and Dorch, note this is not entirely the same as Seelie and Unseelie, more like Diurnal and Nocturnal. Solach are those who have been touched by Zahallu and Addānu’s light, Dorch are those who received the blessings of Amainna and Litâ (li-Tah). Solach can be malevolent while Dorch can be benevolent.

However due to their nature, Solach tent to be b.right, free-spirited and playful, Dorch on the other hand are more mysterious, unpredictable and stern. Also, Solas is the more human-friendly folks, they are curious about mankind and always observe them from their plane of existence. Dorch however, are not that fond of men. Though attacking human is definitely not among their first choices, a Fae, Solach and Dorch alike, will punish any who offends them, Dorch’s punishments are more severe of course.

The three Ancestral Faes: Mabel, Pan and Yvienne

The three Ancestral Faes are the eldest in all Faefolk, they are viewed as Fae deities than actual rulers.

Queen Mabel (Mab), the May Queen: Known as Vætaláth (Vee-Ta-lah-th, lady of life) in the tongue of Fae, queen of all faefolk, the Great Lifegiver, first bloom of the Sacred Tree of Gaia. Solach looks up to her. She is the kind and benevolent figure, symbolises life and healing, spring and summer. She is the life giver of Faes, keeperess of the Sacred Pollen. Mabel is also the queen of Avalon, a Fae Dream, the Capital of all Faefolk. The blessed Isle is believed to be the closest in the mortal realm to the Sacred Tree of Gaia. Mabel herself is the anchor of the Fae Dream, thus she cannot leave its shore. Her White Women are her eyes, ears and mouth.

Pan, the Green Man: Known as Dyanlónd (dee-An-lond, lord of hunt) in the tongue of Fae, king of the forest, the Great Fae Ripper, the horned hunter. Pan, or Herne/ Cernunnos takes the form of a faun, he is the first leaf of the Sacred Tree. Dorch looks up to him. He is the grim and stern side, the keeper of Fae laws, symbolises death and rebirth, autumn and winter. He is also the spirit of dying nature, all Faes pass on to the Sacred Tree through him. 

Yvienne (i-Vee-en) the great dryad/nymph: Known as Táfarye (Tah-Fa-li-eh, great guardian) in the tongue of Fae, guardian Fae of the Temple of Gaia, protectress of the Fae Realm, first b.ranch of the Sacred Tree, foremother of the Sylvana witches. All Faes look up to her for protection.

Solach (Soh-La-ch):

Elemental Fae: Sylph, Igniph, Naiad/Nereid, Nymph, Faes of air, fire, fresh/salt water and earth. They appear as humanoid figures formed out of their representative elements (for example, Sylphs appear as lithe females, maybe winged, that made up of air). The elemental Faes are very powerful, each were blessed with the absolute control over their elements. They are celestial beings, even by Fae standard, and rarely interact with other species. Elemental Faes, with an exception of Nymphs, do not take corporeal forms. Nymphs as the Elemental Faes of earth can take up physical forms thus interact more often with men than their sister elements do.

Sylphs are the lore keepers and censer carriers for Ilus and Ilats; Ingiphs are celestial dancers to entertain the gods; Naiad/Nereid the hymn singers and Nymphs the fruit offerers. (Similar to Gandharva in Buddhism.) 

White Women: Marbel’s retinue, handmaids and guards, petals of the Sacred Tree. They stand ever watchful on the shore of the blessed Isle and are believed to be the personification of the mist of Avalon. They appear as fair women with long floating hair of any colour, applying b.right yellow eye make-ups, wearing golden ornaments and long flowing ethereal white dresses. They roam the land of Faedom as Mabel’s envoys.

Alfyn (female: Alfyne): Elven folk, Fae of light. The Alfynfolk is believed to be one of the earliest creations of Gaia herself, the descendants of Solandyr the Diamond Tree. They built their great cities in the ancient forests; even today the ruins of their civilisation can still be found shattering across the Twilight Realm. The Alfyn, or elves are very similar to the elves in the LotRs. Their fair skin radiants ethereal glimmer, their eyes shimmer with the light of the sun and the moon, their h( )own). All of them have sailed west, saving for very few individuals.

Alfyns are light-wielders, they can modify the light of the sun and the moon into whatever form they desire. 

(The phase “sail west” refers to a Fae’s departure from the earthly realm, including the Twilight Realm, to their true home and sanctuary Æthera (EE-the-la))

Leanan Sí: Alfyn and Dorfyn maidens born with the gift of synaesthesia. They are called Míradvyn (mee-Lad-vin, peom maiden) in the tongue of Fae, they see colours in music or smell/taste flavours in poems, and are extremely talented in various of arts. Their mere presence is considered a source of inspiration by Faefolks. Men loved by them will live a short but highly inspiring life.

Xana/Melusine: Water spirits, a lower variation of Naiad, or maybe another manifestation state of them. As a single-gener race, Xanas take physical forms as blue or teal skinned humanoid females with webbed ears, hands and feet, sometimes scaled, and long free flowing hair with varioud water-related colours, or as beautiful human females with fined limbs.  

Fairy: Flora spirits, variation of nymph, take forms of humanoid plants and flowers. Solas fairies have skin tone of various warm colours and light coloured hairs. Their bodies are partially modified into flowers or plants. The size of a Fairy is associated with the size of his/her host plant. For herbaceous plants, their Fairies are smaller, people often call them pixies. For woody plants…their fairies are known as Dryads. Fairies’ lives are sustained by their host/representative plants, they live as long as their plants live. But kill a particular plant doesn’t mean the death of a Fairy, s/he simply migrate to another one of the same kind.

Dryad: Tree spirits or tree fairies, variation of nymph, take forms of humanoid female with features of their reprentative trees. Also single-gender (all females)

Animal spirits: Animals enlightened by the sacred pollen or consumed plants touched by the pollen. Some of them exist only as spirits, they are very powerful, almost as equivalents to the Elemental Faes, and are worshipped by the Oarkenlings. Some take the forms of humanoid figures with animal features (ears, tails, claws, antler….), can take on human forms if wish to. (deer woman, selkie, kitsume…)

Siren/Lorelei: Fae offsprings of merfolk and Xanas, sea and freshwater mermaids, enchanted songstresses. Merfolk is cousin to mankind, marine mammals rather than magical creatures. They have their civilisation built under the blue surface, well-hidden from the sight of their greedy territorial kin. Unlike their amphibious Fae mothers, Sirens/Loreleis cannot walk on land, however, they do inherit the enchanting voices of the water Faes. Though being classify as Solas, Siren or Lorelei are equally active during nighttime.

Dorch (Dohr-ch):

Dorfyn (female: Dorfyne): Dark elves, the Shadow Fae, Fae of Darkness, Alfyn’s counterpart. Mysterious, powerful and dangerous folk, the Dorfyn (Dohr-fin), unlike their kin of light, reside underground. They have glorious cities built subterranean. Though the majority of them have sailed west, there still is a considerable amount of their people living in the earthly realm. The Faes of Darkness are the best of shape shifters, they can take whatever form they want to. Though nomrally they appear as elves with skin of various greys, dark-coloured hair (except for green, yellow and b.rown) and very light-coloured fluorescent eyes. Their white of the eyes and fingernails are black. Seaddhú is the capital of Dorch and home to the remaining Dorfyns. Their architecture style is a mixture of Art Nouveau and Victorian Gothic, mainly a darker version of Art Nouveau.

Dorfyns are renowned for their astral magic, a variety of arcane art including astrology, dreams and visions and harness the power of celestial bodies and constellations. Dorfyns literally can summon the celestial beings that the constellations represent (for example, the pegasus of the Pegasus Constellation). As Faes of darkness and night, Dorfyns do not have power over light (except for starlight), though they still have the ability to store the light the moon and the stars in crystal containers as lighting devices. 

Satyr/Faun: kin to Pan the great Fae Ripper, guardians of the forest, personification of the wildness. They run freely in the wild, and are viewed as Pan’s messengers, Dorch equivalent to White Women.   

Lyllaen (li-Leen): Also known as Mara, night seductresses, dream manipulators, interprators and oneiromancers. They take the forms of winged, sometimes horned, humanoid figures. Their wings, which can be described as a mixture of butterfly and bat wings, are means of luna panels rather than aerodynamic organs, thus Lyllaens cannot fly but levitation is within their abilities. Lyllaens have dark skin tone and hair of red colour scheme, they resident around the sacred huluppu tree (willow) on which the throne of their queen Lylith is placed.

Lyllaens have control over dreams, they can literally enter one's dream and alter it as their will, for better or worse. They can also create their own dream planes, being refered to as Oneirorys, and trap people's minds inside this sub-realities. Though Lyllaens are powerful over dreams, they are somehow vulnerable in the waking world, as a result, they constantly seek protection from stronger races. For a long period of time, Lyllaens were servents to Lylthians. However as the Old Ones weakened after the Queens' War, they subjected under the protection of Dorfyns.

Their male counterpart is known as Lyllu, or Maru.

Víla (Vee-la): Also known as Samodiva, variation of Sylph, personifications of dry wind and fiery wind. They are commonly depicted as ethereal maidens with long loose hair. They are usually dressed in free-flowing gowns decorated with feathers. Vílas are most often described as being blonde/silver/white/pale blue haired, tall and slender women with ashen, glowing skin and fiery eyes. Being akin to Sylphs, Vílas stole a peak at the lores of the Celestial Plane, thus magic wielders view them a source of sacred knowledges. They are the fastest of all Faes, and are sometimes called upon to deliver massages.

The majority of them reside in Seaddhú, though there are those who prefer wandering freely.

Nix: or Morgen, Dorch water Fae, kin to Xana. They reside in underwater cities, love to sing and dance under moonlight. By appearance, Nixes are hard to tell from their diurnal kin. They have darker skin tone, and are luminescent in nature. Nixes do not like men, any who offend or disturb them will be dragged to their watery end. They are often sighted with the Kelpie.

They mostly reside in Idhúnas (Ay-Doo-nas, Amethyst city), the second largest Dorch city.

Kelpie: Water horse, have the ability to transform themselves into non-equine forms, and can take on the appearance of human figures, in which guise they may betray themselves by the presence of water weeds in their hair. In their human form, kelpies are almost invariably male. Similar to Morgens, they will drown whoever dares to disturb them.

Goblin: Fae miners, Fae of stones and moss, take the forms of dwarves of green, grey or b.rown skin with their body partially modified into moss or stone. Goblins have an unexplained obsession with gold and precious gems, better to keep your fingers off their collection of treasures.

Huldra: Dorch dryad, forest seductress. Again they look just like their diurnal kin, with an addition of animal tails.  

Ghillie Dhú: Gentle and kind-hearted mountain spirits, Fae protectors of children, take the forms of dark-haired young men. They often lead children who are lost in woods back home by fireflies, or offer them shelter and food if needed to. They sometimes offer help to lost travellers, but any who b.rings harm to their residential place will suffer their wrath. 

The majority of Faes resident in forests, and their dwelling places are the most beautiful things one could ever see. Solas’s woods are always veiled in a misty lambency, the vegetation possesses all kind of unnaturally green, jade, teal, azure and sometimes blue, in autumn the leaves and grasses turn into all shades of red, pink yellow and sometimes golden, their pools crystal, springs clear. The Dorch residents in dense forests or underground, their vegetation take various cold colours, blue, purple, black and even silver. When moonlight wakes them from their day slumber, the dark forests come to life with fluorescent flowers, vines and crystal stones.  

Social system:

Solach is very loose on politics, they couldn’t be bothered with it to be honest. Diurnal Faes live in small groups, often with a group leader, within each’s territory and will seek the arbitration of White Women should conflicts occur between them. White Women answer to Vivienne (Lynláth in the tongue of Fae), Lady of the Lake, the greatest among them, and the Lady of the Lake answers directly to Queen Mabel.

Dorch on the other hand is more systematic, they subject to the rule of King Aldárégon (Al-dah-Rey-gon, noble ruler) of Seaddhú (she-Ah-doo, black geam), the current King of Dorfyn, a descendent of Tytaláth (ti-Ta-lah-th) of Téldeth (In the belief system of Æthera, the Great Tree of Gaia harvested two seeds, which grew into two trees, Solandyr (soh-Lan-di-er, pillar of light) the Diamond Tree, Téldeth (tell-deh-th, star seed) the Amethyst tree. Obelond and Tytaláth, the spirits of the two trees became the first of Fae rulers). Dorfyns are royalty and nobles in the Dorch society, followed by Lyllaens, then animal spirits, Víla, Nix, Huldra, Faeries, then Goblins and various other Sí.

With the ability of construction Fae Dreams, the Faefolks have plenty of living space, thus they remain peaceful most of the time. Still there were wars recorded between the Faes.

Faes do not have children among themselves, nor do they pair. Though they can if choose to. However, Alfyn and Dorfyn lead a life similar to men’s, they were born, not just emerge from the Sacred Pollen. Sometimes Faes would share intimidate relationship with witches or even mortals, that’s their personal choice.

Language:

Faefolks have their own language, Éyldryn (Eyld-rin), elder tongue. They communicate with each other in their own language but most of the Faefolks are capable of speaking both the Fae and human tongues.

Vowels: a (as a in bat), e (as e in end), o (as o in box), u (as in put), y (as i in little)

Long vowel: á (ah), é (eh), i (as i in island), ý (ee), ó (oh), ú (oo), æ (ee), éy (ey)

Consonant: b, d, f, g, h, j (as y), k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w, sh, ch (as in loch)

Life span:

All Faefolks are deeply connected with nature, they are the personification and spirits of all kinds of natural forces, thus their lives are tied with the earth herself. Faefolks are immortal, they cannot really die. When his/her earthly bonds are destroyed, s/he will return to the Sacred Tree. Faes normally do not enter the circle of reincarnation, they return to the earthly realm when their bonds are restored. But a Fae can choose to incarnate as humans, but that means s/he will forsake his/her immortality and power as an Ạlum or Ạlatim. And to re-ascent onto the Fae plane…is quite an impossible task.   

Diet:

Spirit Faes live solely on energy. However, formed Faes do need food and drinks to fuel their corporeal forms. Fae diet range from fruit, vegetable to meat, not too much grain actually. All Faes enjoy a good feast under star and moon light. But beware, if a mortal stumble across their festivity, do not eat or drink their amb.rosia and nectar, otherwise you will never be able to return to mortal realm. Nephilians of course are able to join their feast, but Fae beverage is pretty strong for them.

Clothing and Architecture:

Ethereal, long and flowing, inspirations include Art Nouveau, Medieval, Celtic and Ancient Greek

Magic:

Faes are the most powerful of magic wielders, in fact they are the source of magic in this world. All residents of the Twilight Realm holds great respect towards Faefolk, they are after all the last kin to gods on earth.

Hidden from Sight

Normal people cannot see Fae unless they wish to be seen, however Nephilians can see them perfectly. 

Control over representative elements

Elemental Faes have the absolute control over their representative elements. The lower variations of Faes also have certain degree of control ability.

Shape-shifting

Able to assume both Fae and human forms.

Naming magic

Control, create and destroy through the manipulation of true names.

Illusions and enchantment  

Weaving：

Various Faes have the ability to weave elements into fab.rics. Neovyns (weave maiden) of Alfyn can weave sunlight, Xanas and Morgans can weave water, Vílas weave aroma, air and wind, Nymphs and fairies weave flowers. Unlike their kin, Dorfyns do not possess this ability, it is Vouivre of the Dragons that can transform moonlight into clothes.   

Construction of Fae Dream

Powerful Faes can create an independence reality called the Fae Dream. These artificial realities are sustained by the root system of the Sacred Tree, or by themselves if choose to, and serve as sanctuaries and living space of Faefolk. The Fae Doors appear as doors or sometimes sets of staircases in the wild, are gateway to these Dreams. Humans cannot pass through these gates, horrible consequences will they suffer should they cross the line. Nephilians can walk through these doorways, but none of them dare to enter without permissions. 

"We are the servants of Gaia, followers of her sacred root. We see light in nature and seek harmony within the elements. Do as thou wilt but harm none, for what thou giveth out shall return three-fold."

Sylvana Witch: 

Daughters of nymphs and men, kin to Feafolk, they are sometimes referred to as earthly Fae or as "our earthly kin" by Faefolk. All Faefolk are believed to be born from the pollen of the sacred tree of Gaia, hence the witches consider themselves grandchildren of Gaia. 

The line of Sylvana runs deep and wide, they are tightly bound in a matriarchy sisterhood, among which the descendants of Yvienne, those who took the name Sylvana-Tílyach (Tee-li-ach, direct), are the most powerful.

Emblem：

Triple moon. Order of Candeliana with a tree pattern inside the fullmoon. Union of Vengeance with a Moon Glyph that means Dark inside the fullmoon.

Origin:

In the time of yore when god and men lived side by side, Yvienne and her sister nymphs descended to the mortal realm. They walked and lived among men. They learned humanity’s ways, their joy and sorrow, love and hatred, and mostly important, left descendants of Fae linage.

Brief History:  

The witches may have the longest history, they existed as matriarchs, healers, shamans since the dawn of mankind, but not until ancient Greek did they systematized. The three sisters, Melaina the seeress, Chloris the healer and Amarantos the priestess, founded the Sisterhood of Koriselena, where they beckoned the gifted and taught their arts.

Not until Melaina developed a strange obsession of the dark magic did divergence emerge. The witches knew the dark side of their gift well, like the dark side of the moon. Practicing dark magic was not a taboo but an art needed to be treated with great caution. However, Melaina's sickly obsession worried her sisters. About 2000 years ago, the Queens’ War b.roke out between the Old Ones, the Sisterhood chose Lylthian’s side. However, the war had no winner, the Witches weakened after the war, their divergence widened.

For the next 500 years they lay in recovery, they regained their strength and soon formed a new ally with the Alu Sages, Keepers of Knowledge. Together they could have made a history, had not the serpent-eyed returned from their dying embers. The Iretmoses barnstormed across the land of Twilight, they were welcome, also rejected and finally they bet on Yelaadim, who share with them the equal amount of extremism. Little by little, they spread fear of the Witches and Sages into people’s minds, and humans are so easily to be motivated by fear. Witches and Sages were massacred systematically by the hands of men and Yelaadim, while the sly serpents manipulated them both from shadows. The persecution ran far and wide, across both Realms, even to the Faes’ territory. The Scourge as the survivors call, and it will forever haunt the Witches' dreams. About 800 years ago, Alu Sages were pushed to the edge of extinction, another century later they are believed to have ceased to exist.

The sisters eventually met their rupture 700 years ago. The Sisterhood split into the Order of Candeliana (vine of light) and the Union of Vengeance. The order adhered to the ancient lore while Melaina’s followers continued her work in dark art in order to seek vengeance on their oppressors. And the vicious circle continued, the vengeful witches sought to destroy their enemies with a plague, yet men survived and another wave of persecution engulfed the land. This time, Yelaadim and Iretmoses tasted their own retribution, a witch hunt led by men themselves. Witches have their safe haven of Twilight Realm, Yelaadim? They were stripped off their access to the other Realm as a punishment, this time, no way out (but they do survive in the end and both learned a good lesson of men's strength)… 

Appearance：

Skin tone: Witches’ appearance varies and not much difference can be seen between Candeliana and dark witches. Though Candeliana witches tent to have a healthy darker skin tone due to their connection with earth, the dark witches appear to be clammy and pale, mainly thanks to their practice of dark magic.

Hair: All witches of Sylvana linage have red in their hair. Their hair comes in all manners of red: ginger, orange, copper, fiery red, red-b.rown, b.rick, scarlet, merlot, wine-red and even sometimes, dark magenta. Their hair is always long and thick, can be both curly and straight, but always very thick and fluffy. 

Eyes: All witches of Sylvana linage have green in their eyes, in addition to leaf vein or vine patterns. Dark witches’ patterns are red.

Clothing inspiration: 

Greek, Medieval, Bohemian and Mori girls.

Staff:

Candeliana witch: wooden, with vine pattern all over the staff and a crystal attached to its head.

Dark witch: similar to the Candeliana witches’ in design, but with thorned features and dark coloured crytals.

Housing:

Witches of Sylvana lineage have an unb.reakable bond with nature. They love to garden their residential places with various plants and herbs, they love wood cabins and a relaxing/spiritual atmosphere of a mixture of Celtic and Bohemian.

Power:

Witches are the strongest of magic wielders among the Nephilians, and their advantage lies in the extent of their abilities. Other Nephilian kinds may have their special powers (mind-reading, elements control ect.), with proper study and practice, a witch is able to master them all. Which means theoretically there is no upper limit for a witch's ability. However, they can't practice magics of contradictive nature (for example, Chaotic magic and Enochian magic), but nothing can stop themfrom mastering one and still performing elementary spells of anther). And you think they ride b.roomsticks? Neee, in Twilight Realm, Witches are gryhpon Riders! Yes, they ride gryphons, not b.roomsticks.

Enhanced sensations, but relatively weak in strength and speed.

Control over vegetation

Elemental magic (manipulation) fire, wind, earth, water, ice and lightning for forest witches; the dark witches with the additions of metal and life force. The Dark Witches usually imbue the elements they wield with dark energy, these artificial elements appear in a darker, almost black colour. They are more aggressive than the elements in their purer forms, and takes exetra care to wield. (All witches of Sylvana lineage are gifted with earth magic, so each one of them can master at least two of the elements.)

Summoning spirits/familiars

Protection magic (seal, cloaking, invisibility)

Herbology/potion/poison

Charm/curse (channel through precious stones or herbs)

Power of words/spells (witches’ spells are mostly in the tongue of Faes)

Version and prediction (Wylyes of the Stone Circle)

Construction of Fae Dream

Being akin to Faes, Sylvana witches can also cast similar spells, however, they must found powerful Fae relic to sustain the dream, or if powerful enough, sustain the dream by their corporeal forms.

Witches pass down their knowledge mothers to daughters, mistresses to apprentices. They meet on a monthly base, on the night of the full moon (dark witches on the first day of the dark moon) where they exchange knowledge and study spells. The grandest meetings are held annually on the night of the harvest moon, when they pray to the moon goddess, bestoweress of magic and mother goddess, giver of life. New members of their covens are introduced on this night as well.

Witches' hierarchy:

The Order is led by three Mistresses Supreme, one of them must be a Sylvana-Tílyach. They are selected from the Electors. Only High Mistresses can be elected as Electors. 

The three current Mistresses Supreme are Ynarra Sylvana-Tílyach, Aisling Sylvana-Tílyach and Niyam Sylvana.

Novice--Advanced Novice (Advancer)--Wielder (outer circle)

Mistress--High Mistress (middle circle) (some of the high mistresses are in the inner circle)

Elector—Mistress Supreme (inner circle)

The Union of Vengeance on the other hand has only one Mistress Supreme. They don't have Electors, their hierarchy system runs like such (low to high):

Novice - Wielder - Mistress - High Mistress - Mistress Supreme

Belief:

Witches worship the triple goddess, the maiden, goddess of moon; the mother, earth mother Gaia; the crone, goddess of the dark moon.  

Lifespan:

A Sylvana-Tílyach Witches can live up to 1000 years, while the common Sylvanas up to 800 years. Their daughters are all witches...while sadly...their sons sometimes are taken into the hunter guild...and hunt down their blood...The dark witches will kill or use their sons as sacrifices without hesitation, while Candeliana witches tend to raise their sons into adulthood and leave with their daughters.

Upon birth, a witch will be given a name and a mark by her mother. The name is different from her given name but a True Name. This name can never be taken lightly. A witch gives a man her heart by giving him her True Name. A mark is a magical b.rand, something to validify her Sylvana lineage. Witches love to name their daughters after flora, but it depends on individual preference. They take names of Greek, or Celtic/Gaelic origins, and sometimes in the tongue of Fae. (Elector Fáletian’s name is of Fae origin, Fálet(y) means maple in the tongue of Fae)  

A witch of Sylvana lineage ages ten times slower than human as soon as they reach 16, but they each has a few spells and potions to maintain a youthful look. They generally are assigned to a mistress at their annual grand meeting, in order to promote knowledge flow, but every mother has a few tricks hidden in her sleeves.

Novice witches study with their mistresses for total fifteen years, they are granted the title Advancer after the first ten years of study. When they graduate from their apprenticehood, they come as independent wielders. A witch’s learning is a life time one, they become a mistress after 150 years of continuous learning or make major contribution. As Mistresses they are entitled to pass knowledge onto Novices. The title of High Mistress is a reward for major achievements.

Generally, witches are very independent female figures, can be man-hating sometimes, but beautiful, wild, sensual and powerful. In fact they, both Candeliana and Dark withes hold intimidate relationship very seriously and will remain faithful for the given time.

Witches' Calendar:

Beith Moon:  (Birch)

Luis Moon: (Rowan)

Nuin Moon: (Ash)

Fearn Moon: (Alder)

Saille Moon: (Willow)

Uathe Moon: (Hawthorn)

Duir Moon: (Oak)

Tinne Moon: (Holly)

Coll Moon: (Hazel)

Muin Moon: (Vine)

Gort Moon: (Ivy)

Ngetal Moon: (Reed)

Ruis Moon: (Elder)

Imbolc: half way between winter solstice and the spring equinox

Beltane: halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice

Lammas: halfway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox

Gealachna: full moon of the Muin Moon

Samhain: halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice

Others:

Before the Scourge, witches would unite with Alu sages in marriages. The two races held a friendly revelry relationship and paid each other great respect. However after the genocide of Alu sages, witches lost one of their strongest allies. Nowadays most witches join with mortals in marriages, though some of them choose Faes or Oakenlings as their spouses.

Sylvana Witches’ most sacred place is a large system of stone circle. It locates somewhere north inside the vast forest that blankets the middle of the known part of the Twilight Realm. Their grandest annual meeting is held there.

The Witches do build their settlement, Beithyon (Beh-thi-on, this is a pending name, I’m open for suggestions), around the stone circle. The town is named after a large white birch woods surrounding the area. Witches have a particular attachment to birches, lady of the woods they call them. The White Birch Woods is the Witches’ sacred burial ground. They bury their deceased sisters with seeds or seedlings of birch, in the hope that the deceased could ascend to Fae Plane and watch over the living. The birch woods, known as Wyndúbeth (Win-doo-beth), is forever shaded in twilight, the ground is covered by fresh snow/frost, the b.ranches, not barren, but crowned with their autumn golden leaves.

Witches adapt a 13 months lunar calendar, they celeb.rate five most significant markers of the year, Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas, Gealachna (night of the harvest moon, Sylvana Witches’ grandest annul gathering) and Samhain.

Being banished from their original land, the Dark Witches found settlement far north into the forest. They rebuilt a smaller Stone Circle using the materials they carved out from the original. The Dark Witches’ basecamp is called Ankánas (an-KAH-nas), they share the similar burial ritual with the Candeliana Witches, though their value elder tree over birch, and their sacred burial ground is called Talladúman (ta-La-DOO-man), the hall of elder trees, a dense and dark elder woods. The Dark Witches also adapt a 13 month lunar calendar, though they view the Ruis Moon the beginning of a new year, while Candeliana Witches view the Beith Moon the beginning. 

Though many decide to stay in Beithyon during the persecution, young Witches nowadays, especially those who were born after the ‘Scourge’, prefer to live in the human world. After all it is much more prosperous in materials. You don’t get free wifi and smart phones in the other Realm! No mention for fashions. However, all witches agree that both sides are equally important, many ingredients of their arcane arts are only accessible in Twilight Realm, and of course, Griffons!!!  

Oakenling

Oakenling: Druids and shamans of the Golden Oak Forest, descendants of the Moon Maiden and man. 

Origin: 

The Great Ancestor Qaletaqa roamed the land freely, he heard two magpies talking, “The Mistress is bathing, we have to return fast, we have to return and guard her feather coat!” “If she loses her coat she cannot return home!” The two magpies hurried through the sky, Qaletaqa followed their tracks closely. They led him to the Moonfell Hill. The moon was so b.right and big that night, so b.right and big as if she had fallen on top of the hill. 

Qaletaqa ascended the hill, he saw her, the Maiden of the Moon, the Mistress of the Wild. She bathed in moonlight, she bathed in water, she bathed in watery moonlight. She was adorned by her pristine beauty, crowned by her natural gleam. Like a lotus on clear water, she is and forever will be, the queen of the wild. Qaletaqa chased away the magpies with a stone, he hid her feather coat. The High Far turned to discover the stranger, with a gasp she reached for her feather coat, but it was gone.

Qaletaqa married the maiden, together they had three children. The Fae blessed her first born Bjorn the strength of bear, her second daughter Peta the speed of eagle and her youngest son Ohcumache the agility of wolf. At dusk of his eighteenth birthday, Bjorn journeyed north. He ran across the wild and stopped by a vast lake surrounded by oak trees. Bjorn settled here, Eikenvat he named his home and his line passed in the north. At dawn of her eighteenth birthday, Peta unfolded her wings and flew east. She reached the highest cliff by sea and made her home there, Yu’oodah, the High Cliff, her line passed in the east. At moon-rise of his eighteenth birthday, Ohcumache howled to the silver lady. He galloped west through the woods, he followed the creek bank deeper and deeper into the forest, he settled by the running water, Wahyaweya, the Wolf Creek. His line passed in the west.

The two magpies returned, they had retrieved their Mistress’ feather coat. “Farewell my husband, tis is the time.” The Fae said to Qaletaqa. The two magpies dropped the feather coat on their Mistress’ shoulders, she transformed immediately into a white owl and flew away. Qaletaqa stood in guardian of the pool and the Hill where moon fell. He stood and waited, in the hope one day she would return. He stood, his feet rooted into the earth, his arms reached skyward, he stood, as an Oak tree, the first Golden Oak Tree. 

Appearance:

Skin: tan, darker skin tone, usually b.rown.

Hair: colours associated with nature, range from blonde to dark b.rown, even green, but rarely black. The Moon Children, the Oakenlings who are blessed by the moon have pale violet hair. 

Eyes: animal eyes that match their representative tribes, bear, eagle or wolf.

Ears: slightly pointy, sharper than humans’ but duller than Faes’

Nail: sharp, hard, clawed or taloned.

Oakenlings are divided into three tribes, bear,eagle and wolf. They look up to Pan the great Fae Ripper and the Moon. They can turn into animals of their representative clans (wolf, eagle and bear), can communicate with anminals, they specialise in Rune magic. 

Oakenlings have special vocal cords that enable them to generate sounds of a wider spectrum, sometimes even ultrasound and infrasound. Therefore the power of the sacred runes is for them to fully master, since after all the runes are acoustic control. However, the rune magic is widely adopted by the other residents of the Twilight Realm, it is mainly used as a carrier of magic/energy that is etched on weapons and mystic items to enhance their wieldability.  

The Runes are transcription of the sound of nature, they believe that power exists in sound and through voice they resonate with the power of nature. They translate the sound of nature into runes. They would draw the rune, chant out the sound, sometimes with the help of drums and bells, and unleash the power through resonate. They are also the best of the archers. None can defeat them in forest.

Housing:

The Bear Tribe lives in north, in Eikenvat, around a lake surrounded by oak trees. Their houses resemble the semi-underground Viking style. The Wolf Tribe lives along the creek bank in the west, in Wahyaweya. They built tree village of the Native American style Tipi. The Eagle Tribe lives in caves on cliffs of the east, in Yu'oodah. They sleep in nest like beds. Eagle Tribe is a Matriarchy clan, the other two are Patriarchy.

Sacred Ground:

The Moonfell Hill. A hill flourished with oak trees of golden leaves. It is believe to be the conjunction of the Twilight Realm and the human world, a place exists in both realties. It is their ancestral land, where their forefather forever stands in waiting for their foremother. The Moon Children are sent here to study the art of Rune Transcription. 

(culture inspiration: Old Norse, Native American and Tibetian)