Changeling

Disappearances are not uncommon in this day and age. People go missing every day, and many of them never return safely to their homes. In some cases there are natural explanations to such unfortunate fates, but in others, the legends of old are right - the Faeries really did have a hand in what happened. Changelings are the once-human unfortunate few who have been stolen away by the True Fae to their home world of Arcadia, where they were held against their will as slaves, utilities, lovers... Their stay in Arcadia, no matter how brief, inevitably changes them into something inhuman, turning them more and more like their captors. The Changelings lose themselves in their new lives of servitude, gradually deteriorating as they lose their memories of home, of their loved ones - even of who they truly are. Those that lose their identity completely are forever lost to the world, living out their new lives in accordance to the will of their new masters.

There are others who do not. Clinging to their memories of their true selves and their loved ones, a tiny lucky number manage to escape. They return to the human realm - scarred emotionally and physically - and are known as Changelings, or "The Lost".

= Biology =

In the case of the Changelings, looks are truly deceiving. When they were stolen away by the True Fae to Arcadia, they were carried through a barrier known as the Hedge, a thick wall guarding the realm of the Faeries from all who might want to enter uninvited. The soul of the kidnapped human gets caught in the thorny vines that make up the Hedge, stripping them effectively of their humanity and turning them into more pliable playthings for their captors. Upon returning through the thorns during their escape, the Changeling must reclaim their soul or risk entering our world once more as soulless husks.

Forever changed by their stay in Arcadia, the Changeling might still look ordinary to the thanks to an illusion called the Mask. It obscures them from others not of Fae origins, making them pass for human. The truth is another; they have been transformed and warped beyond recognition, their flesh manipulated into a form better suited for the purpose they once served to their masters.

Unfortunately, the changes also leaves them barren/sterile, one of the core reasons why the True Fae continue to find a need to kidnap humans for their own needs.

Life Cycle
Changelings are never born - they are twisted into being by the cruel whims of the True Fae. A Changeling must hold on to their memories in order to ever make it back through the Hedge. Thus, only those with strong memories of our world - those who were adolescent, teens or adults when taken - ever stand a chance of returning.

Human children can be taken, but generally, they don't have strong enough memories of Earth to bring them back if they would manage to escape. Instead, an escaping Changeling child would be fated to wander the dangerous trails of the Hedge forever. If they do return to the realm of the human world, they are usually sent on errands by their masters and thus not free. Many of the children that are taken die in Arcadia before ever reaching adolescence due to the dangers and maltreatment of the Fae - True Fae are fickle and don't have the attention span nor interest to care for a human baby or toddler in order to ensure they survive.

The reasons for a True Fae to kidnap a human are as numerous as there are Changelings. They range from taking strong, able grown-ups for specific purposes such as tending their garden or being used as a night light, to serving as a lover or plaything, to the kidnapping being just for the fun of it - like the Will o' the Wisp leading an unsuspecting person astray. The prospect Changeling might have been unlucky, tricked into servitude by the Fae or unwittingly breaking a deal they did not know was struck, thus leaving the Fae free to punish them. They might even have come along willingly, being enamored by the beauty and strangeness of their future masters.

Whilst all are not taken by force, being in Arcadia is a gruesome experience. They are still held prisoners and forced to labour. The work in question does not need to make sense either; there sometimes seems to be no reason behind their capture. Logic does not apply to the Fae, and they are harsh masters.

No matter how long or short a Changeling's stay is in Arcadia, all of the Lost are inevitably changed by their experience in the land of the Fae. Eating the food there, drinking the water, breathing the air... even simple stuff like that changes the physiology and the mental state of those poor souls forced there. Arcadia does not work according to the laws of physics as humans knows them; in order to do such a simple thing as keeping both your feet on the ground with the help of gravity (or breathing life-vital oxygen, for that matter) you need to be under Fae protection, as even the basic things are being regulated by the Contracts the True Fae have with the very land of Arcadia. Therefore, it is impossible to survive in Arcadia without the consent of a True Fae.

Upon managing to escape - a strenuous task which only the most determined and capable manage - return is usually bittersweet. Time flows differently in Arcadia, a fact that many of the Lost discover once they get back. Some has spent years in slavery, only to find that once they return there has been mere moments since their disappearance, and the aged person they emerge as cannot possibly pass as the young, vital one that was lost. Others might feel like they only spent a few days in Arcadia, but when they return they realize decades has passed on Earth and the people they knew has since long moved on.

If a Changeling is lucky enough to return within a timely manner, they might find that their life has been stolen by someone else - that a stranger looking just like them, with their memories, has taken their place, and that they have not been missed at all. This simulacrum is known as a Fetch, a replica that was created by the True Fae in order to fill the empty space left behind.

With their rightful place stolen or lost, they need to find a new way of living, balancing their human side and that of the fae. Just like humans do, the Changeling needs to eat and sleep regularly in order to survive. They also need to be exposed to the magic and wonder of Arcadia, lest they wither up and die.

Changelings' lives are lengthened by exposure to Arcadia, and they usually live past their hundreds, yet no longer than roughly 130 years of age.

Fae Mien and the Mask
Glamour creates an illusion of normality around the Changeling, a clever guise that makes them pass for human even around other supernatural creatures, as well as on film and digital media. This illusion is known as the Mask, and is completely involuntary. Even after death, the illusion lingers; it cannot be dropped.

With that in mind, the Fae Mien (the Changelings new, true appearance) does shine through even through the mask. There might be something wooden to their skin, or a gleam of a cat's eye in their gaze for a short instance even to the casual onlooker.

The Fae Mien is the true form of the warped Changeling, twisted and shaped into a new form befitting their purpose. A Changeling who was used as a lantern might have flames instead of hair and charcoal skin, whilst one who was tending ice gardens is frozen solid, his eyes like distant blue stars. Despite these drastic changes to their looks, however, the new features do not affect the nature around them. A Changeling's flaming hair would not burn someone touching it, nor set off smoke detectors. The talons of someone of Beast Seeming would not leave marks like those from a bear, but rather like those from long, sharpened nails. The touch of a Snowskin might be cold, but it would be perceived as if it was due to poor circulation.

The Fae Mien is always visible to others of the Lost, as well as all being associated with Arcadia; there's no hiding what you are from the True Fae or their agents.

Seeming
Seemings are the changes that have been done to the Changeling's physical appearance. They are the permanent mark of terrible trauma, the warped forms a Changelings' physiques have taken on following their captivity in Arcadia. They are horrific transfigurations, while at the same time they are like a badge of honor - the Changeling survived the ordeal and came out stronger. The marks made them who they are.

All Seemings are unique, bound to each individual's personal experiences (and areas of use during slavery) in Arcadia. The Changeling's time with the True Fae changes their very essence, and the Seeming they bear following their escape reflects that. It can be based on the tasks they were set to perform, or they can draw it from their keepers. Therefore, Seemings aren't really social groupings at all. Just like the True Fae, who have to be recognized by what they do rather than what they are, the Changelings need to be categorized in the same manner. The core difference is that the Lost describe each other by the slavery they escaped.

In the end, the different kinds of Seemings and Kiths that the Lost recognize are vague shorthand for how different Changelings have been changed by their experiences. The Kiths that further subdivide the Lost who share a Seeming are only slightly more specific sub-categories, and even they can't truly categorize the endless diversity there is within the Lost.

All this doesn't mean that it isn't actually quite helpful for the Lost to think of each other in this way. All Lost share the escape from Arcadia in common, but some have more in common than others. It's no surprise that changelings who share similar Seemings feel some affinity with each other. The Seeming represents what a Changeling can become, both good and ill.

Beast
The animal-blooded who hunt in the tangled forest of the Faerie, swim in its waters, soar in its skies or pace in its kennels. Even before being taken, Changelings of the Beast Seeming had a wild streak, but also a kind of innocence that made them attractive to the True Fae. Once they leave Arcadia, they can initially be a bit simple of mind, ruled by their instincts rather than rationality.

Darkling
The nocturnals, the fae that lurk in the shadows and call from the lightless grottoes and hidden glens. They feel their loss most acutely of the Changelings, as they are often stolen away as a consequence of having drawn the True Fae's attention to themselves, transgressing in some manner. Prefer the peace and quite of the night over the garish light of day. Often nimble and cunning, they are stealthy and conniving.

Elemental
Children of the earth, air and sky of Arcadia; those born of the raw elements of nature itself. Viewing themselves as the most changed of the Lost, the Elementals are otherworldly and truly misplaced on Earth. They were often kidnapped because because of their talents and held under circumstances that irrevocaly tore their humanity away. The variation in Elementals is as great as the variations in nature.

Fairest
The most beautiful of Arcadia, if not always the kindest; the elegant and adored, the graceful and manipulative. Taken for their beauty and their talents, they find themselves truly consumed by both traits once they return. Out of the Lost, the Fairest are the ones most akin to the True Fae in taking what they want, when they want it, even though they do try to raise above it.

Ogre
The strong and often brutal goblings and giants of Faerie, broad-backed and bloody-handed. Though not necessarily the smartest of the bunch, Ogres are certainly the most resilient, as they have managed to survive the brutal abuse which turned them into what they are today. They are therefore extremely strong-willed and can house a stubborn streak that, on the bright side, makes them quite faithful. Whilst running the risk of he abused turning into the abuser, what with the Ogres' predisposition to violence, they are forces to be reckoned with.

Wizened
The subtle and ingenious crafters of Arcadia, the wise and cunning wondermakers. Most often taken for no reason at all to be cruelly experimented on by the True Fae (for no end means), the Wizened has been transformed to tireless, industrious workers. They are incredibly nimble and skilled craftsmen, but can also be quite spiteful due to the suffering they have endured. Quick of wit, they are not afraid to get their hands dirty, and they often reach high within their respective freeholds.

Wyrd
The transformative power of Faerie is known as Wyrd, and is a tool that measures how much the Glamour, the fuel of Fae magic, has changed the character. All Changelings have it pulsing through their veins. Most can only tap into a small fraction of their tremendous powers but as they start experimenting and gain more exprience, they find that their magic grow stronger. A major setback, however, is that their memories of their servitude return in greater clarity, and some of their humanity is stripped away as they delve deeper into their Fae side.

Everything that has to do with the Faerie comes at a price, and Wyrd is no exception. The higher the Wyrd, the more intense the Changeling's emotions become. He becomes less human, and it becomes harder and harder to keep up a normal human facade. The Changeling's passions might grow so strong they become off-putting to others. Daily life becomes more difficult. As if that wasn't enough, a Changeling with high Wyrd also become bound by some superstitions and folktale weaknesses as they turn more and more like the Fae themselves (see Frailties below). For a Changeling with high Wyrd, hiding from the True Fae and their agents is much harder as well, since the strong presence of their magical potential gives them away.

Glamour
A fundamental resource of Arcadia, Glamour is the energy that drives and fuels the magic behind the miracles and horrors of the True Fae. Distilled out of human sentience, Glamour is a primal emotion needed for anything of Faerie to work it's magic. For all their powers and wonders, the True Fae cannot generate this precious resource on their own, which of course is a fundamental reason behind their need to continually steal mortals to do their bidding. Over time spent in Arcadia, the Lost learn to wield it for themselves, although not at the greater scale of the Fae; the stay in their realm integrates Glamour into the Changelings' being, causing it to flow to a degree through their veins.

Glamour is not a physical necessity unless the Changeling has a high Wyrd, but it can be very addictive. Harvesting Glamour can be an intense rush, as the feeling of absorbing such a pure, primal emotion is hard to beat. Some steel themselves against the rush and harvest Glamour only sparingly, whilst others give themselves over to the addiction willingly without regards for the consequences of their actions. Yet others linger in the unsteady ground between the two extremes, keeping a precarious balance between need and want.

Harvesting Glamour
There are several different methods Changelings use in order to gain Glamour, a process commonly known as "harvesting". It should be noted that Changelings cannot harvest Glamour from their own kind, from the True Fae, or from any other beings native to Arcadia or the Hedge.

It is possible for a Changeling to harvest Glamour from other supernatural beings. Doing so, however, is different from just harvesting from humans. It has specific risks depending on what type of supernatural, as well as what type of harvesting.

Werewolves function just as normal humans do, unless the emotion the Changeling is attempting to harvest is anger in any way, shape or form - any such attempts gives them a huge boost in Glamour, but they run a large risk of being tossed into a fit of hysteria for a bit following harvest.

Both vampires and ghosts give the least amount of Glamour; they are undead in the truest sense, and as such they are not capable of the authenticity needed for Glamour to come into existence. No matter how the Changeling might try, they can't wry more than a little out of them, and even then, the feeling is a rather hollow one. Prometheans do provide Glamour like humans do, in the right amount, but their emotions often feel strangely secondhand.

There are various ways of harvesting Glamour. This is a quick run-down of them and how they work!

Emotions - The hands down most common way of harvesting Glamour is to feed off of human emotions. It's simple - the Changeling needs to find a human who is experiencing strong emotions (be they positive or negative), and attempt to leech some of that energy. The strength of the emotion is what matters rather than what type of emotion it is. As a rule, flashes of emotions or old, buried feelings cannot compare to the nourishment that can be had from fresh, in-depth emotions. However, feeding off of the emotions of a disturbed mortal or a frenzied supernatural is risky; while these individuals tend to generate a great deal of emotional energy, the act of harvesting can actually temporarily infect a Changeling with their madness.

Harvesting Glamour through others emotions doesn't physically drain energy; to the person being drained, there is no sudden feeling of fatigue or less emotion. They are virtually unaffected. Many Changelings take comfort in this, thinking that their harvesting is harmless. However, there are whispers speaking to the contrary, of humans who lose some sort of spark when harvested from during a long time. While these rumours are not verified, many Changelings avoid tapping from the same sources (especially family and friends!) too often, out of fear they might end up hurting them.

Dreams - Another common method of harvesting is to step into a mortal's dreams and absorb the emotional energy from them. Dreams, free from the moral bounds of the conscious mind, tap into deeper sources of both fear and desire that cannot be attained in in a waking state. The downside is the surreal logic, strange scenery and indescribably horrors that lurk within the part of the human psyche known as the dreamscape. Unlike emotions, harvesting from dreams takes much more preparation - the Changeling needs to have the proper Contracts or pledges to access the mortal's dreams. Also unlike emotions, a Changeling must spend a bit more time within the dream in order to soak up the energy of the dream and obtain the Glamour. Therefore, this is time-consuming, compared to the quick fix of seeking out emotional humans in daily life.

Pledges - As a reward for fulfilling oath-sworn obligations under the weight of Wyrd, the Lost can obtain Glamour, the amount of which depends on the circumstances and the specifics of the pledge in question.

Hedge Bounty - Some Changelings choose to harvest Glamour by obtaining items found in the Hedge. Not all items of the Hedge are Glamour infused, of course, so it takes some scavenging to find what you want. Most of the items that do hold glamour take the form of goblin fruits, but the meat of some Hedge creatures also hold the precious energy. In rare cases, a Changeling can ingest inedible objects for harvesting. There are also shining crystals which release Glamour once they shatter from, for example, humming a particular musical tune.

Frailties
There are many fairy tales about Faeries on Earth, and in many of them, the Faes are depicted as being governed by strange rules and limitations that make little sense to the ordinary person. They might have to pick up all the rice grains if they are dropped on the floor while counting them out loud, or they might suffer pain from hearing church bells. These quirks are known as frailties, and as a Changeling becomes more infused with the power of Glamour, they might suffer them too.

Frailties come in two forms: taboos, and banes. A taboo is a behavioural restriction that either compels or prohibits the Changeling from certain behaviours or acts in specific situations. A bane is something that causes the Changeling harm - usually an item, but sometimes a kind of person or a certain situations. Magical protection can't protect against damage suffered from bane, and no amount of healing can help the Changeling until they are removed from the presence of the Bane.

On top of those two categories, there are two different levels to frailties.

A Minor Frailty is something that is highly inconvenient for the suffering Lost, but also something that is unlikely to happen in their day-to-day life. Taboos are triggered by very specific circumstances, and are minor, like being unable to eat anything unless being allowed to by one's host. Banes cause minor damage on this level.

Major Frailties are things that greatly disables the Changeling in important areas of their lives; things that cannot easily be avoided. Banes of this level cause major damage and can quickly prove fatal, on top of being quite a bit more common than the variety on the minor level. Taboos might be such things as being forced to do someone a favour if the person speaks their true name, or being unable to go outside if it rains.

Contracts
Unlike many of the other supernatural creatures roaming the realm, the abilities of the Lost are not innate. Contracts, as they are known, are deals struck between the Fae and the natural worlds. They are literally contracts between the Lost and the natural phenomenon around them; a Changeling capable of breathing underwater has a bargain with the water to cause them no harm, or with the air to sustain them properly. Using a Contract usually costs the Changeling Glamour. There are, however, certain clauses known as catches, which might allow the Changeling to use the contract without spending any Glamour at all. These loopholes are often strange and very specific.

Contracts come in a variety of types, each of which is available for different types of Changelings. There are some that are open for all. Others rely on either Seeming or Courts and cannot be used as simply by those not initated. Another type of Contract, considered quite unstable, is the Goblin Contract. It operates under different rules, and is often used for a single-time effect. They might be risky.

For a list of Contracts you can use during character creation, go here.

= Psychology = While the physical changes to the Lost might be the first thing that is noticeable, they are not the sole aspect that has been damaged. Changelings, by their experiences in Arcadia, have been traumatized to the point that the psyche of a Changeling is also incredibly warped. Being stripped of your soul and then having it return damaged, torn up beyond all recognition, is bound to mess with anyone's mind. There's no wonder that the few that make it back to Earth are stricken by an eerie kind of beautiful madness.

Consciousness and Thought
All that is touched by Faerie, be it the land itself, its denizens or objects associated with them, are always beautiful. It might be a terrible, maddening beauty, one that leaves you as terrified as you are awestruck, but there's always a certain elegance to all things associated with the True Fae. Thus, there's always a sort of beauty to even the ugliest of Changelings. The Lost are able to see the beauty ordinary people miss in their daily lives - they appreciate the tiniest of shifting in the colour of the sky, or the tear running down someone's cheek. It's a gift as well as a conscious act on their part to see and appreciate all that their regained life, however messed up it might be, has to offer.

Whilst there is a lot of beautiful things in the life of the Changelings, there is also vertiginous madness, stemming from the fact that a Changeling's existence is twofold. Whilst they are currently living in our reality with the mundane day-to-day life that goes on around them, there is no escaping all things Fae when you are one of the lost. They often cross paths with things of Faerie and the Hedge, even venturing into the latter on a regular basis out of necessity. The strange, creepy and eerie; things that simply should not be, that defy human rationality and all sorts of reason - all of those are part of Changeling existence. Faeries don't fit in under any mortal definition of sanity, and therefore Changelings, too, don't always know the difference between reality and dream.

Memories of Arcadia are often very foggy and nightmarish. No one escaping has total recall. Their sights and experiences are beyond all sense or reason, making them hard to keep straight once you've gotten back with both feet on solid ground. It's a mixed blessing; many are thankful that the scars left by their servitude are allowed to heal, the horrors they experienced left behind them - faded, but never completely forgotten.

The struggle to maintain a balance between their human side and their Fae one is a central one. There's a constant balancing act maintaining their human persona while at the same time not forsaking that of their other, more glamoured side. The juggling takes time and effort. Upon returning, there are tough choices to be made. Will you reclaim your old life and suffer the consequences of possibly being right within grasp from the True Fae, or will you forge a new identity and forsake your old life, your family and all you once held dear for the sake of an uncertain, but possibly safer future? There is a price to pay regardless of the path the Changeling choose to take, but they all have one thing in common: they need to maintain a balance, since denying either side of their nature always proves disastrous.

Motivation and Emotion
Predominant in the Lost is their dreams of a place to belong. Their rightful place in our society was forcefully stolen from them by ethereal beings beyond human comprehension; returning means making yourself a new place to call home, or forcefully fight for the one that was taken from you.

Most Changelings struggle with feeling safe. Knowing what other things this world holds gives them an uneasy mindset, and they can have a hard time relaxing even in the company of their peers. They do fear being recaptured by their keepers, or suffer some other unspeakable horror. Therefore, they are also quite cautious. This fear can gradually dissipate as they partake in the real world, but they never fully get past panic attacks, violent startles or terrifying nightmares ripe with the memories of their captivity. Suspicion and paranoia is very common in all Changelings; even a fully sane, functioning Changeling lacks that fundamental feeling of being safe.

The desire for safety is the reason for three major focuses in the Lost's lives: trust, hospitality and secrecy. Trust especially is very difficult for Changelings to relearn. The True Fae are always bound by their words by contracts, but they always follow the exact wording of a truce and are experts and finding loop holes. These masters of deception effectively taught Changelings distrust. This fear also make many of the Lost vary of other supernatural beings that they might know are in existence, since they naturally fear that they are cooperating with the True Fae.

Changelings' emotions are more powerful and potent than those of humans, and they feel them intensely. Ignoring their fae side is a no-go, lest they suffer emotional and physical trauma from denial. In order to successfully exist, it is imperative that they find balance.

Clarity
Clarity tracks the delicate balance between the mundane world and that of the Faerie. A Changeling with high Clarity is able to easily distinguish between the two worlds, perhaps even growing skilled at distinguishing supernatural phenomenon hidden from view.

By contrast, a Changeling with low Clarity finds their perceptions altered. They start having trouble distinguishing dreams from reality, and starts mixing up elements from the two worlds, seeing things of Faerie even in the real world where they ought not be. At first these illusions are relatively harmless, but as Clarity slips, they start interfering more and more until it's impossible to exist sanely in either reality and the Changeling is truly lost.

= Sociology =

Promises and pledges hold the world of the Lost together. Trust doesn't come easy to any of the Changelings, fractured as they are from their time as slaves to cruel masters. Be that as it may, they realize that the only way forward is to work together, and so the Lost community is (and should be) an integral part in any Changeling's life.

Diverse as they might be, all Changelings have a few things in common. Out of those, the escape from Arcadia would seem unavoidable at a first glance. The means of escaping differs from individual to individual; one might have tried sneaking out while another might have broken out by pure, brutal force, whilst a third might have tricked their captor into letting them go. The escape attempt might have been made in the company of others, many of whom were recaptured. The repercussions of attempted escape are so severe that many don't attempt it again. Thus, only the most capable, stubborn and resilient ones ever make it back through the hedge.

However, there are Changelings who have earned their freedom through other means than breaking out of their imprisonments. They might have been released per some clause in a contract that has now expired, won a game of riddles or wits, or simply have been set loose for no apparent reason. Lost of the latter kind are often left with a feeling of unfinished business, feeling uneasy in regards to their recent freedom and wondering what their captors got out of them being set free in such a manner.

This conundrum is another central part of Changeling life that bind the Lost together - the eternal question of "Player or Pawn?" Everything that has happened leading up to their escape and thereafter, was it their own decision or a grand scheme of their master's design? Were they being manipulated all along, or did they actually succeed in their goals through strength and perseverance?

No matter what manner of escape the Changeling has had, returning to the real world is never easy. Time might have passed, or it might not have passed at all, leaving them without any ground to stand on. Their new status as a Changeling makes everything new, strange and intimidating. This is where the strong sense of community that exists between Changelings come into play. Freeholds and their ruling Courts are absolutely essential to maintain any sort of sanity in an otherwise mad, new world.

Society, Government, and Politics
The Changeling returned to Earth is, legally, no one. Whether they are replaced by a Fetch, considered dead, or simply forgotten, the Lost need a way to reestablish themselves in the society of humans - and a way to establish themselves comfortably with the fact that they are not humans any more. After all, the Fae are disturbed and powerful creatures, and it is simply a matter of course that they will come looking for the Lost - therefore, they need societies of their own to teach them how and where to hide, and how to get along in the world at large.

Likewise, the pre-established societies of Changelings need to keep a lid on those coming freshly from the Hedge - and emergent Lost who go about blurting the truth of their stories, questioning the year or technology, making scenes of themselves almost invariably attract Privateers or perhaps even the Fae themselves if they carry on long enough. As such, those trained to find such behaviour regularly check the news, papers, blogs, anything that might lead them to find the next person that needs the help of the experienced Lost - often these people are members of the inactive Courts who are either volunteering or assigned to do so (usually depending on the nature of the Freehold's governmental structure).

Due to the vigilance, and unique form of communal understanding these people hold for one another, a Changeling returning from the Hedge often has very little trouble with acceptance into a society of their own - past the initial fear some of those who were isolated have when seeing the fae meins of other Changelings for the first time on Earth and mistaking them for the true Gentry, they experience very little difficulty in acclimating into a Freehold. What is difficult for a Changeling is 'becoming human' again - something that is never truly possible, and yet nevertheless extremely necessary for them if they are to survive in this world. The members of the Freehold, and often their Court, will work to get them back into human society - such acts as forging them new identification papers, creating profiles in government registries, and aiding in finding them work are not uncommon.

Of course, this is not to say that all Changelings get along. The subdivisions of Court serve to highlight differences among the Lost within a Freehold, and new Changelings who are expected to pick often find themselves torn between two until an especially powerful case is made for one of them. The give and take, push and pull, all serve to balance out the various facets and attitudes of the Lost that have made it back - few in number, they are nonetheless very strongly connected one to another.

Freeholds
Freeholds are the basic unit of Changeling society - the grouping to which they flock, or are taken, when emerged from Arcadia. They provide basic social support, and a sense of community. They also function as training groups of a sort - even though each Changeling is more or less unique, they all share certain qualities with one another, or one trait in particular with several different peers. This being the case, they are able to aid their newfound fellows in the use of their fae qualities, or lead them to particularly useful or helpful Contracts (a complex and slightly uncomfortable idea for the new-coming Changeling, to be sure).

Freeholds are a tradition predating the Courts; a tradition as old as civilisation itself. For as long as the Fae have been taking humans, those that escaped have needed a place to go - and they have clumped together, often as though out of thin air, in places where humans gather or the Hedge is particularly weak (both of which apply to some places, like London). Often a freehold starts out courtless in its entirety - one Changeling may be elected to lead ten, or up to twenty, before courts are officially established. Because of their supicious and cautious nature, freeholds (even in large cities) rarely exceed 300 members - instead remaining much lower, on average, at about 150.

Seeing as one cannot simply say, "How's the freehold doing?" or, "Are there any threats to the freehold?" lest a Privateer or True Faerie should overhear them, freeholds are given strange names by which they are addressed. Once, these names were obscure, as though from (human) fairy-tales; grand and fantastic names that often confused humans but made perfect sense to the Changelings. However, during the 1700's, privateers (who naturally caught on) formed large groups the world-over after hearing these names and details, and swept across the Changeling community as a mighty wave, and captured a huge number of Lost.

This brought about the abandoning of fairy-tale names, and introduced more practical ones - for example, freeholds may be named after the main street in a freehold ("Main Street" being a functioning name in some places), a combination of their founding member's names ("Eric Smith"), a code word (or words) that is notable but not unusual in the area (asking after the "red mailbox" is not too odd, from one Changeling to another), a building in the area ("Folsom Court House") or any other such thing that may function as a suitable moniker.

Courts
Changelings have formed societies of their own; no others can truly understand their lot, after all. More than comfort, though, their social groupings grant safety from the Fae. The Changeling Courts are associated with powerful concepts which grant their members powers and abilities and some measure of protection from their former masters. In Europe and the rest of the Western world, these Courts are most commonly based on the seasons, each one associated with an emotion which represents a powerful tie between mortals and the Fae:

Spring; Court of Desire - Through the use of not only desire, but indulgence and revelry, the Spring Court aims to turn the Fae away by rejecting any form of clinging to their old masters' torment, and replace it with hedonism in humanity. That they are engagers in revelry does not mean they are to be taken lightly, though; the Emerald Court has members that are just as powerful as any, and perfectly capable of acts of violence. It is simply that they wish to trick the Fae into passing them over by enjoying their regained humanity, and in the process actually enjoy it. They endeavour to bring up the spirits of the otherwise cold, dour, or hurting Changelings and teach them to enjoy life again.

In London: The Spring Court's Merrymakers spread their message of vitality and life to their fellow Changelings.

Summer; Court of Wrath - Raw angry passion fuels the Crimson Court; the desire to paint the ground with the blood of the Fae is the end to which they use their means. Molded into a military, paramilitary, or simply militia group, the Summer Court's wrath should not be made synonymous with fury or fervor - they are a controlled, dedicated group, and their leader is one to whom they show loyalty in the absolute. Considered to be a protectorate of a freehold, the Court may spend its season hunting down whatever they feel to be dangerous to their populous.

In London: The Summer Legion brings back the harsh and firm traditions of the Roman Empire to hunt and kill Privateers and the Fae.

Autumn; Court of Fear - Where the Crimson Court uses might, the Autumn Court uses fear - turning their newfound might not only upon their former captors, but in subtle ways against humanity. Likewise, they live by fear - fear of being taken back to Arcadia, and fear of being exposed to humans. To combat these fears, as stated, they use fear - and through posturing and cruelty find victory. In using their power, however small it might be compared one to another and how assuredly small it is compared to the Fae, the Ashen Court must be ingenious - and so cunning, especially in the capacity of being able to use what one has to a greater projected effect than it could achieve, is prized.

In London: The Autumn Watch prevents the Fae from coming too close, projecting great and terrible posturings at them, and keeps in control the Freehold.

Winter; Court of Sorrow - The Onyx Court is buried to its figurative neck in secrets and secrecy; their belief that the Fae cannot be beaten, and so must be hidden from, rules their entire way of life. Therefore, their extensive use of codes, safehouses, trickery, and spy networks is of little surprise; the Winter Court is shrouded in layers of mystique as a simple matter of course. Their spies also ensure that none who see them - not an unprecedented, but certainly rare occurrence - live long enough to tell the Fae of it. The best way to remain hidden, they know, is to look as though you have nothing to hide - living among the humans as the everyman, keeping observances secret.

In London: Winter's Ring of spies keeps an up-to-date and nearly iron-clad network, keeping secrets from everyone without of the system and transferring them promptly within.

Privateers and Loyalists
Some among Changelings are not those who keep hidden from the Fae - some who return do so with a purpose opposed to secrecy in mind. These are the Privateers, those viewed with a vicious and visceral hate by other Lost, whose mission it is to not only find other Changelings, but to cappture and sell them to the Fae. They do so at special places along the edges of the Hedge, bringing their quarry at certain times of the day, week, or month to return to the capricious slavers. They may be hidden within freeholds, or violent and criminal against the Lost outright (though the former is, statistically, much more successful) The privateers' reasons for imprisoning others once more are many and varied, but there are some general threads that tie them together:

Agreements - To some, escape is not feasible. They may be imprisoned in an iron cage, or kept high in a tower; whatever their predicament it, it is one from which they had no hope of escape, and become desperate. In such case where a Changeling is brought so low, the Fae may sometimes offer them a deal: the Fae will release the Changeling back to Earth, with some way to track them, and in return the Changeling will become a Privateer. They are often threatened with death or worse if they do not fulfill a certain quota to their masters.

Desperation - Once escaped, many Changelings cannot find a way back into societies on Earth, human or otherwise. They are homeless, cannot provide for themselves, or simply do not know how. These are cases in which they may be inclined, especially by those who already are privateers and keep an eye out just for such situations, to hunt down other Changelings, and in turn are provided for by the Fae or those superior privateers they happen to work.

Loyalists - Without a doubt, these are the most hated of all privateers; where the position of others who were forced into the business are understandable, if not acceptable, the position of the loyalist is simply horrific. These are the Changelings who give their loyalty to the Fae - perhaps they became smitten with the magic-folk while enslaved, or even wanted to be taken away from their human life in the first place. Upon their return, they are dedicated hunters of their escaped brethren - often imbued by their "Gentry," as they affectionately call the Fae, with high and powerful Wyrd (especially if they do not desire to blend in to the "lesser" Lost, but hunt them outright).

History
Changelings have existed since man has existed; the Fae are a race much older than humans, and so it is only a matter of course that they should have been tormenting humanity since their very beginning. Over the course of time, any concrete history has been worn away - only that Changelings have had to escape from their tormentors, and made bargains with the natural world to gain some small measure of power, for as long as written record has been around.

Changelings believe it was the Fae who brought magic to Earth through the Hedge - and that through them, the horrific monsters that plague the world - vampires, werewolves, spirits - were given the ability to come about; that the very presence of the Fae horribly warped the budding homo sapien. This was a creature whose intelligence, and proliferation, they found interesting - and so they began to take the humans away, to become their slaves. These disappearances seeded the folklore that became the tail of the Changeling.

While occuring everywhere, the Fae of the British Isles were the least careful in their presence - so obvious were their actions, that the stories became heavily ingrained part of culture. Humans believed their children to have been switched with children of the Faerie when the child began exhibiting specific signs that lined up with the supersition. Some even went so far as to kill children suspected of having been Fae to prevent them from soiling the population of humans. Those that legitimately were Changelings abducted by the Fae could not admit such upon return - they were most often summarily and very superstitiously executed, to prevent them from leading the monsters to human society.

The other prevalent occurrence, much more widespread than the tale of the Changeling, was the Witch Hunt. While not always directly observed, the tales of witches most likely began with Changelings - someone saw or thought something was amiss, or even possibly witnessed some form or Contract being made or used, and relayed this sighting to the masses. These events were relayed to the church - and because it was seen as the devil's handiwork, hated with a passion. This began the practice of the church's witch hunts - which, despite being marginally successful, ultimately killed a far greater number of humans than Changelings.

In the modern age, the Changeling (like other supernaturals) has been 'disproven' by science - a massive boon to their existence. As such, their main enemies in this day and age are one another and the Fae - but they live in constant paranoia of their discovery by humanity. Being one of such cautious and healing creatures, where will you fit in; where will your freedom place you?