Fae, the Mother of Many

Faen and Faren

In long years past, when the elves first awoke upon Great Mountain, they were split between those who chose Faen as their paramount and those who chose Faren. The elves of Faen were those who would kill to eat, but the elves of Faren were those who gathered only, saying, “We shall not gorge ourselves upon flesh and blood as beasts do.”

So Faren led his people into obscurity upon the surface, while the people of Faen prospered and took to the skies.

Now the elves of Faren were few and proud. They wandered the surface, gathering sustenance and shunning the other races, until they came to a great wood, which they named Neirmalas, and sought to make their home.

But a spirit of the old world already dwelled there, and in its wrath forbade them to remain, harrying them at every turn. For the spirit had foreseen that should any dwell in Neirmalas, the wood would be consumed by fire. But Faren entreated the spirit on behalf of his people, saying, “We eat not the flesh of animals and have no need of fire.”

And the spirit relented. So it was that Faren seduced this spirit, and by their union peace was struck and Faren called her Wyld. Thus the elves of Faren were permitted to remain. Therefore the elves of Faren lived out their lives having no offspring, fading slowly from the world, until their numbers were no more.

The Children of Faren in Neirmalas

But Faren sired three offspring by Wyld, and he named them Fae, Falth, and Feere.

Falth and Feere were spirits of mischief, and great harm followed wherever they walked. Even Wyld despaired of their presence and exiled them from Neirmalas. But they had no offspring, and so Erenth was spared from the further harm their seed might have wrought.

But Fae of Wyld was loyal to her mother and gentle to her father. She remained in Neirmalas as a creature of two worlds.

The Children of Faen in Aranelmalas

While the elves of Faren dwindled in Neirmalas, the elves of Faen flourished and became Aranelmalas, the great realm of the air. 

Faen himself was slain by the ignorance of men, and so his line was extinguished in the realm. Of his two sons, who had contended since the womb, one was slain and the other banished for the deed.

Aedrie, wife of Faen, endured as matriarch, and from her later line came many heroes and people of song.

Now Faelon, son of Faen, was the one who was banished for the cruel slaying of his brother. His wings were torn from him, and his wife would not follow into exile. Yet Faelon the Torn took with him his infant son Fidran, and with his own hand cut the child’s wings away. Then in grief, he fled to the Forest of Neirmalas, where the spirits of wood and water laughed and sang though the world on the surface grew dark. There he entrusted Fidran Wingless to a river-spirit who dwelt within the forest and Faelon the Torn himself was slain in the war that then came.

Fidran and Fae

Fidran Wingless grew with no knowledge of his father and when he was grown took Fae of Wyld, daughter of Faren, to wife. She bore him nineteen daughters and only one son.

Her daughters were wild and could not be tamed, nor would they remain in the House of Fidran Wingless. Rather, they found mates across the wideness of Erenth and established houses of their own. From such houses rose the dryads, sylphs, nymphs, sprites, pixies, nixies, atomies, grigs, brownies, kilmoulis, and leprechauns.

Still others of their line were untamed and became like the beasts in form, but bore still the spirit of Fae within them—swanmays, centaurs, and the like.

Ilidor to Idrisier 

But Ilidor, the only son of Fidran Wingless and Fae of Wyld, was unlike his untamed sisters. He was calm and contemplative, and he followed the ways of his father, and he eschewed the passions of his grandfather Faelon the Torn.

He took to wife Herae, a warrior of Aranelmalas who fell into Neirmalas by broken wing. Ilidor nursed her to health, and though her strength returned, her wings would never bear her aloft again. She forsook her people, cut away her wings, and clung thereafter to Ilidor in the forest. There they dwelt until such time as the war consumed Neirmalas with fire, as was first foretold by Wyld.

From the union of Ilidor and Herae came Idrisier.

Idrisier the Elf was proud and noble. He did not speak of Faelon the Torn, nor remember his name. But his people prospered upon Erenth. They traded with mortals and with the elves of Aranelmalas, who recognized him as distant kin and honored him.

In look and bearing he was as the elves of old, though wingless. In time, he took Gaera, daughter of Aneri, to wife. And she, too, gave up the sky for love of the land and of him.

And Idrisier is counted in the lineages of Harandir, Silvandir, and Sashelas who were the grandsires of Wood Elves, Wild Elves, High Elves and Aquatic Elves.

Thus are all these the children of Fae.

Faren and Wyld

Back before the cataclysm, when the Elves had first awakened in the world, they had wings upon their backs and could soar as birds. But in soaring above Erenth, they soon felt hunger for the first time. 

There were two among them, Faen and Faren by name. When their hunger turned to pain, the two agreed, saying, “Let us go out and discover what will satisfy that which gnaws at us. We shall meet back here with whatsoever we discover and share it among our people.” 

Thus, Faen flew toward the rising sun and Faren had flown toward the sea.

When Faen had traveled some distance away he grew weak for his effort and lit beside a tree. There he witnessed an owl feeding. In its talons was a rabbit caught and the owl was eating of its flesh. So Faen drove off the owl and ate of the rabbit. Whereupon he found that his hunger was diminished. When he saw a raven tearing at the flesh of a squirrel, he drove it likewise off and took and ate. Then his hunger was no more and seeing that world was full of such creatures, straightaway, he returned to his people.

Faren, meanwhile, had gone away toward the sea and when he had traveled some distance away espied geese eating from the eel grass. Joining them in their supper, he ate of that grass and found his hunger diminished. Later he saw doves eating grains which had grown wild on the stem. So he gathered and ate of those grains until his hunger was no more. Then he gathered grains again until the darkness descended and he returned to his people with his hands full.

When he was joined again to them, Faren discovered that his Faen had returned before him. In his absence all the Elves had learned to eat that which had been slain, and Faren was dismayed. He was made sick by the sight of blood on their faces and the smell of death on their hands. 

Then Faren called out and offered the Elves the grains which he had gathered, though they were yet meager. At seeing this offering, some of them were ashamed, but others were in no way contrite. These latter said, “Why should we bend to the stem and coax from the soil? Why should we work until darkness for our supper? All we have need of may be slain and eaten at once!"

Then many strong words passed between Faren and Faen, but most of the Elves ridiculed the cause of Faren and joined themselves to the cause of Faen. So Faren purposed to go his own way and to live apart from those who killed for meat. While Faen and those who stood by him were glad for his departure.

In time, Faen would repent of his words and seek his brother. He took fire from the bowl of a valley and used it to light beacons so that Faren might follow them and find his way home. The beacons remained lit for many seasons and when they burned low, the Elves kept them piled high with wood and pitch so that they would be kindled again and would be seen by all the world below. 

For many long years the other people of Erenth oft saw the beacons of Faen and wondered at their purpose, but because they were too high for those without wings, they contented themselves with their imaginings. And Faren, too, saw the beacons of Faen and did not, at first, heed them. Rather he took them to be the places he would most avoid. Thus Faren was alone in the world among his kind, and he wandered far with great sorrow. 

When he came at last to a distant wood, Faren found a spirit therein and was alone no longer. Wyld he called it and it was untamed from the beginning. But Faren took Wyld to spouse and had offspring thereby and these were the three called Fae and the twins: Falth and Feere. Much mischief has come of them and their kin.