Fae Magic¶
"Fae is elemental energy + intelligence." — the Acadian outline (S358)
Fae magic, also called Faerie or Elemental magic, is the magic of the elements and of the beings made from them. It is older than the gods' order: it ruled the world in the age of Elemental Chaos and was bound under Astral Law only when the Chaos was defeated. The Fae, the elementals and the Titans live by it, and the peoples descended from them, gnomes and goblins, wood elves and dragons, can draw on it in some measure. It is worked by feel rather than calculation, through the casting styles described under Primal Spellcraft, and divided into the realms described under Fae Domains. The plane it comes from is described under Fae Realms.
What it is¶
"Fae Magic (Faerie Magic, Elemental Magic) existed when Elemental Chaos ruled. The majority of it became bound under Astral Law at the end of the Primordial Wars, when the Chaos was defeated and order was brought to the Material Plane. Fae (Elemental) creatures are bound to and part of this energy. They use it natively and rely on it for their very lifeforce (Fae creatures do not have a lifeforce associated to Ethereal energy, unlike 'normal' beings.)" (S208). In the Primordial Age "Fae magics ruled and great elemental lords shaped, played and created on the Material Plane", and in the Age of Titans "Fae Magic was also widely practiced by Faeries and Titans" (S208).
Because the Fae are made of it, their spirits belong to it. "The Fae do not have souls like other creatures. They have a fae spirit tied to the earth which returns the to elemental plane upon death. There, the intelligence is eventually reformed by an Archon or Primordial into a new Fae being" (S279). "Since the imprisonment of the primordials there are many more fae spirits than free fae energy available to make Fae beings" (S279).
Fae magic is terrestrial. It works the Faerie Plane, which binds the four elements and the positive and negative energies, and reaches beyond them only obliquely: "Faerie magic users can access the Celestial domains only through faerie affinities to those domains" (S279). The stages of Fae life, from flora to archon, are described under Fae.
Who may wield it¶
The 2022 treatise is strict: "The ability to harness Fae Magic is restricted to Fae creatures, Elementals, Titans and Gods (under Astral Law)" (S208). Its focuses describe how others come by it (S208):
- Blood Pact. "A being make make a pact with a Faerie creature (such as an Elemental, Faerie, Titan or Dragon) in order to gain access to their magical energy. In rare circumstances, this pact may be entered into forcibly by one party or the other."
- Elemental. "One of the ancient beings who originally inhabited this plane, they are tied up in the very existence of the material plane. They can tap into their own Fae lifeforce as an energy source."
- Faerie. "As a descendant of faerie creatures, they exist in symbiance with their terrestrial environment. They can harness and gather Fae energy from their terrestrial surroundings. Gnomes and Goblins are natural descendants of Faerie creatures."
- Titans and Dragons. "Dragons were formed by the gods to fight the demons from ancient Titans, who in turn were given dominion over the Elements. A Dragon or Titan may therefore tap into their own Fae lifeforce as an energy source. This includes Draconians."
The Fae Magic notes call these lesser heirs the Faeborn: "Dragons, Titans, Gnomes, Goblins, Trolls, Dire Wolves are all Ethereal beings with a Fae connection. This means their physical forms are tied to Fae energy, but they are NOT true Fae creatures ... Creatures which are Faeborn tend to flourish in their natural demesne, and struggle when outside of it" (S279).
In the newest Fifth Age notes the order is reversed and mortals come first: Fae magic belongs to "Elves, Gnomes, Stonekin", with Elementals and Fae "(Rare)" and Titans "(Very Rare)" (S112). The Wood Elves of Oth'Baelin "make exclusive use of Fae Magic and intentionally weaken the boundaries between the material and elemental planes in their lands using Fae Vertexes. This makes their Fae casters very potent in their home territory" (S112). The Boreal Elves are "infused with cold spirits on the day of their birth" (S005).
Fae bonds and totems¶
A Fae caster draws power through a bond. The Sancturi drafts give a Fae Bond its own store of power, "independent for each Bond" (S207). "A Primal spellcaster requires a focus through which to channel their energy which produces the Spell's effects. For magical creatures, the focus is their own bodies. For other primal magic-users, a totem or other focus object is required" (S279).
The Boreal Elf Snow-Hunters show what a totem is. "As is tradition for Snow-Hunters, you wear the skull of your initiation kill as a symbol of your rank. As is also tradition, you turn it into a Fae Totem by lining it with Fae-aligned materials and attuning it to the spirits" (S005). A Fae spirit can be bound into an object the same way: one hunter wears "an Onyx pendant infused by the spirit of Uiren (A Frost Archon) with protective magics", from which she can draw power once a day (S005). The reagent catalogue knows the faerie's own anchor: "The token of a faerie is what binds them to the material plane. The person in possession of the token holds the power of life and death over the faerie" (S224).
Titanspark¶
A dead Titan's spirit can choose a mortal. "A Titan's spirit appears as a ball of glowing colored energy that seeks out an animate intelligence. It then bonds itself to that individual. If it's a mortal this almost always results in significant scarring and can be crippling (Hence the 'mark' or 'curse') ... However, some marked individuals have been able to learn to harness the Titan's power. This power is strongest near the the Titan's corpse, but they lose all access to the it at great distances" (S448, S543). The mark is described under Titans.
The fall of the Fae¶
The Fae lost their power with their masters. "Fae Realms, whose independence and laws were once managed by the all-powerful titans, have fallen under the sway of Demons, Demi-Gods and Elemental lords. The titans have been systematically hunted and destroyed, turned or enslaved", and "natural Fae creatures have felt this shift and seen their power diminish or have embraced their new masters and evolved into something else" (S014).
In the Sancturi lands the Fae were broken by war. "When the Fae were defeated after the Third Great Fae Resurgence, one of three things happened": some "were subjugated by Daemiveus and his minions and corrupted/merged into Hollows"; some were "bound/enslaved as sources of Rune Magic. These bindings take physical form in monoliths of stone carved with Runes to keep the Fae Spirits bound. Every Runemage, Runemaster or Runepriest that creates Fae Runes has to carve their own runes in the Monolith to gain this power"; and the rest "went into deep hiding. They are hunted by the mortal races as a source of magical power, but also by those seeking to ensure another Fae resurgence does not take place. Fae-aligned races, such as gnomes and wood elves are also in hiding" (S132). "Gnomes and Wood Elves did not fare well during the War of the Faewild. Being associated with Fae meant they were targeted by many civilizations that had been tolerant of them in the past" (S327). The war is told under Faewild Wars; the rune monoliths under Rune Magic.
The decline made Fae magic, of all things, the easy option. "Fae energy tends to be more limited and fickle than other kinds of energy, which is why it has been out of favor with runesmiths. Now that Mithis is no longer available, this is probably the easiest type of power source to locate" (S246). After the Redemption, "Fae and Dragons continue their steep decline since the Faewild Wars. Most have retreated (if they can) fully into the Elemental Planes" (S112).
The Fae Conjunction¶
In the Fourth Age the wizards of Acadia tried to harness Fae power directly: "a sanctioned experiment to create a Fae Conjunction went wrong. While attempting to amplify their powers by drawing on a more direct connection with the Fae, instead they created a great tear, breaking down the barriers between the Fae and Material planes" (S358). It "led to the destruction of Acadia and the creation of many Fae-based abominations and monstrosities" (S358). The island is now held by Fae factions with creeds of their own: the Verdant Assimilators, wood fae who "revere plants of all kinds and their purpose is to build verdant jungles and forests"; the Crystalline Concord, crystal fae who "petrify matter and stabilize structures"; and the Pyric Renewal, fire and air fae who "revere the cycle of renewal through destruction" (S358). The Netherworm born of the tear consumes "Fae (elemental), Mithis (magic) and Ethereal (life)" energy alike (S358). The event is told under Fourth Age.
Lycanthropy¶
The treatise calls lycanthropy "the Fae plague", not to be confused with a shapechanger's own primal magic (S208; see Primal Spellcraft). The Sancturi Blood Magus draft instead makes it a ritual curse, "a complex hybrid between disease and curse and is not removable by any known means", that "requires the powdered heart of the beast they will be transforming into" (S276; see Elder Magic).
Gap
No source says how lycanthropy spreads as a Fae plague, how a mortal enters a Blood Pact with a Faerie creature, or how the Fae realm count of sixteen or eighteen bears on casting.
Earlier accounts¶
The 2017 Fae Magic notes omit the Titans from those who may harness it, "restricted to Fae creatures, Elementals and Gods (under Astral Law)" (S279), where the 2022 treatise adds them (S208). The 2014 Spellcasting draft gives the energy to elementals alone: "Elementals are their own source of energy ... The only wielders of Elemental energies are the Elementals themselves", and the mortal Elemental focus works by bargain, "forming a bond with Elemental beings to trade energy for their services. Elementals are energy hungry and many will do your bidding for relatively small amounts of energy" (S395; see Casting Focuses of the Earlier Ages).
Legacy rules for Fae casters are kept under Mechanics: Fae Shaman and Spellfury.