Category:The Two Courts

This section contains canon info from officially published sources

The Two Courts, comprised of the Seelie Court of Queen Maeve and the Unseelie Court of Prince Loht, comprise the collective state of the Arak, each of the Courts ruling Arak society in the Shadow Rift of six months to their year^[1] (only a fortnight outside of the Shadow Rift due to temporal fugue^[2]).

The Malachite Palace serves as the seat of authority for whichever faction is currently in power. (Maeve and Loht will rule together during the couple of days between each regime rotation.) Although some politically adept individuals remain in the Palace the full year, most court-going fey attend it only when their faction is in charge, unable to stomach the contrasting ways of the opposite Court.^[1]

The Two Courts are dominated by the Nine Major Breeds, with only members of those Breeds permitted entry into the Malachite Palace, and of those Breeds, certain noble families, whom may speak without special permission. Maeve and Loht sit at the top of the power hierarchy, with the courtiers coming in at the next highest tier of power. Although only nobles bear speaking rights at Court, the exact makeup of individuals in the Courts can vary as they are loose assortments rather than fixed arrangements.^[1]

Differences Between the Two Courts

The Two Courts differ in terms of component Arak breeds/subraces, alignment, and position on mortals. The Unseelie Court faction is mainly comprised of the shee, the alven, and the portune, whereas the Seelie Court is mainly comprised of the sith, the muryan, the powrie, and the teg. The fir may belong to either faction, whereas the brag remain neutral to the factions and may work for either one^[3]. On alignment, the Unseelie Court is mostly Evil, whereas the Seelie Court is a mix of Good and Neutral.

A possibly great point of contention between the Two Courts is their positions on mortal humanoids. The Seelie Court hold generally fond, if patronizing and dismissive, attitudes towards the interesting creatures that make up humanity^[4]. In addition, the Seelie Court is generally more content to keep to their amusements and not war against humans unless provoked. On the other hand, the Unseelie Court's fascination with mortals is more of a cruel and unfeeling kind- as subjects to be tormented, subjugated, and killed. In addition, the Unseelie Court generally thirsts for more power, conquest, and dark pleasures.^[5]

The above distinction is not to say that the Seelie Court is merely a benevolent, Good twin of the Unseelie^[6]- the Seelie as a collective are a hedonistic and, dominated by the shee, even amoral lot^[5]. The Seelie look out for Arak interests before those of mortals.^[6]

Relations Between the Seelie and Unseelie

Despite their differences, the Two Courts have lived side by side for over four millennia^[1]. They do not go to war with each other- save perhaps, specific parties through changeling proxy battles- the Law of Arak forbids Arak from every slaying Arak^[7], and each Arak subrace has its role for society^[8]. Indeed, there are situations where members of different Courts may cooperate- in times of concentrated Arak war efforts, the shee and portune may work with the sith and muryan^[9].

Although they have common cause, this is not to say that the Seelie and Unseelie Courts have the same goals. For example, the shee generally wish to preserve mortals as things to play with, watch, and sometimes admire, which sometimes puts them at odds with factions in the Unseelie Court that wish to wage violent conflict on humanity^[10]. Nor are the Courts the same on methods they use. The Unseelie Court are far more ruthless in the use of direct coercion and violence to get what they want from other parties- such as mortals- than the Seelie Court is. The increased ruthlessness might, so the Weathermay-Foxgrove Twins surmise, explain why the Unseelie Court is increasing in power and influence and why its subraces are increasing in relative population with the Shadow Rift.^[6]

References