The Storytelling Game of Modern Fantasy

Changeling:Sample The Dreaming™ Created by Mark Reinfile•Hagen, Sam Chupp and Ian Lemke with Joshua Gabriel Timbrook Second Edition by Ian Lemke Contents 1 Playtesters: Charles J. Rodgers, Jean L. Rodgers, Mark K. Credits Rodgers, Erin Rodgers, David P. Spencer, Christopher A. Smith, Original Concept and Design: Mark Rein•Hagen, Sam Bobby Sinders, J.D. Hubble (Indiana); Wayne Peacock, Deena Chupp, and Ian Lemke with Joshua Gabriel Timbrook McKinney, Thomas Deitz, Gilbert Head, Brian Finneyan, Cath- Second Edition Design and Development: Ian Lemke erine Little, Forrest B. Marchinton, Catehrine Hackett (Athens); Written by: Brian Campbell, Jackie Cassada, Richard Jackie Cassada, Carla Hollar, Heather K. Williams, Nicky Rea, Dansky, Chris Howard, Steve Kenson, Ian Lemke, Angel Leigh Tadd McDevitt, Andie McDevitt, Beth Bostie (Asheville); Neil McCoy, Deena McKinney, Neil Mick, Wayne Peacock, Nicky Mick, Arwyn Moore, Jamar Andrews, Benjamin F. Stanton Rea, Michael Rollins (San Francisco) Angel Leigh McCoy, Gilbert Isla, Joseph W. Additional Contributions by: Phil Brucato, Richard Dan- Johns III, Marshall S. Bash, Kenneth Aunchman, Karin Arnst sky, Rob Hatch, Ethan Skemp (Blacksburg); Stephan Herman, Ian Gurudata, Tracey Ellison, Editing: Cynthia Summers Kateri Belanger, Rene Van Den Bosch, Anthony Green, Alan Additional Proofreading: Ken Cliffe, Donna Hardy, Jennifer J. Pursell, John F. Zmrotchek and many others who helped make Hartshorn, Laurah Norton, Allison Sturms, Fred Yelk this game possible. Art Director: Aileen E. Miles • Dedicated to Jim Henson, whose inspiration continues to return us to our childhood, and to Neil Gaiman, who tears Artists: Andrew Bates, Tony Diterlizzi, John Dollar, Jason aside the veil to show us our hidden dreams. Felix, Richard Kane Ferguson, David Fooden, Michael Gaydos, Rebecca Guay, Anthony Hightower, Jeff Holt, Mark Jackson, I would also like to thank everyone at White Wolf who Brian LeBlanc, Stefani McClure, Heather J. McKinney, Rick supported this project and everyone else who contributed to O’Brien, Shea Anton Pensa, Paul Phillips, Steve Prescott, Adam making this book a reality. Rex, Drew Tucker, Valerie Valusek Cover Design: Aileen E. Miles, Joshua Gabriel Timbrook Typsetting and Layout: Aileen E. Miles

© 1997 White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and blank character sheets, which may be reproduced for personal use only. White Wolf, Vampire the Masquerade, Vampire the Dark Ages and Mage the Ascension are registered trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Æon, Werewolf the Apocalypse, Wraith the Oblivion, Changeling the Dreaming and Werewolf the Wild West are trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by White Wolf Publishing, Inc. The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned. This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. Reader discretion is advised. Check out White Wolf online at Samplehttp://www.white-wolf.com; alt.games.whitewolf and rec.games.frp.storyteller file

2 Changeling: The Dreaming Table of Contents Introduction 4 Prologue: The Young Knight 10 Book One: Childling 28 Chapter One: The Dreaming 30 Chapter Two: A World of Dreams 50 Chapter Three: The Kithain 84 Book Two: Wilder 112 Chapter Four: Character Creation 114 Chapter Five: Arts and Realms 170 Chapter Six: Basic Rules 190 Book Three: Grump 200 Chapter Seven: Glamour Systems 202 Chapter Eight: Dramatic Systems 228 Chapter Nine: Storytelling 258 AppendixSample file274

Contents 3 Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. — The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe

The gates to the Realms of Faerie are closed. Humankind were), and that they don’t always have happy endings. You has turned its back on the magical in favor of a new dream — a will discover what it is like to be exiled from your homeland, dream of a sterile, banal world with no mysteries or wonder. A persecuted for your true nature and unable to express the beauty world where all the questions have been answered and all the welling up from your soul. You will know what it is like to be puzzles of the universe solved. And yet, in the quest for this alone in a crowd, to be aware of the power of dreams and to be Utopia, much of humankind has lost a little of themselves. able to tap the power of magic. And you will learn what it is They have forgotten how to dream…. like to be helpless in the arms of Fate and unable to stop the When the last trods to Arcadia closed and the gates slammed crushing weight of Banality from robbing your memory of all shut, there still remained a few of the Fair Folk living alongside you have discovered. humanity. These stranded fae were forced to adopt a new way of Enter into the realm of the Dreaming — a place of unimag- living in order to survive the sheer power of humanity’s collective ined wonder and impossible terror. disbelief in all things magical: they became mortal themselves, sheltering their fragile faerie souls in mortal flesh. And yet these About This Book fae continue to dream of a day when humanity will once more Changeling is a game of make-believe, of pretend. But it return to the mystical. In the centuries following the Shattering, is not a “game” in the normal sense of the word; Changeling is the fae have quietly fostered the dreams of mortals, seeking to more about storytelling than it is about winning. If you’ve never usher in a return of the halcyon days when the fae were welcome played a storytelling game before, you may be confused by the and could openly walk among mortals. whole premise of such games. Once you grasp the basic concepts, Changeling is a storytelling game about the Dreaming. It’s however, you’ll find storytelling games aren’t all that strange. about lost innocence, about the cynicism of adulthood and make- You and your friends are going to tell stories of wonder and believe come to life, about imagination taking fruit. Herein you delight, tales of love and romance, tragedy and peril, lurking will find an invisible world of fantasy that exists alongside our evil and heroic triumph. And at the heart of these stories are realitySample — a place of delight, mystery and enormous peril. the lost fae. file When you play Changeling, you will come to understand These stories will capture your imagination far more read- that faerie tales aren’t just for children (not that they ever ily than any play or movie. Likewise, they are of a darker tone 4 Changeling: The Dreaming than the children’s fairy tales you might remember (although It need not be this way. Storytelling on a personal level can those, too, were rather grim in places). This is because you are be returned to our culture. This is essentially what Changeling is inside the story, not just watching it. You are creating it as you about: not stories told to us, but stories we tell others. Through go along, and the outcome is always uncertain. the game and art of collaborative storytelling, we create new What you need to do now is read this book, a little bit at a stories and claim the ancient myths and legends for our own. time, and enjoy it. You don’t have to study it like a textbook or Storytelling allows us to understand ourselves by giving us a devour it like a newspaper. Just browse. Later on, when you’re medium to explain our triumphs and defeats. By looking at our playing, you can consult and refer to whatever you need. You culture, our family and ourselves in new contexts, we can understand don’t need to memorize anything — just have an idea of what things we never before realized. Storytelling is entertaining because your character can do and understand the world in which she it is so revealing, exhilarating because it is so true. Our fascination adventures. Don’t let anything in this book scare you out of having with stories has a purpose to it — of that there is no doubt. a good time — storytelling is, first and foremost, about fun. Roleplaying Changeling is a storytelling game, but it is also a roleplay- Changeling Kind ing game. As a Changeling player, you not only tell stories, but You lead a double life, alternating between reality and fan- actually act through them by assuming the roles of the central tasy. Caught in the middle ground between dream and wakeful- characters. It’s a lot like theatre, but you make up the lines. ness, you are neither wholly fae nor wholly mortal, but burdened with the cares of both. Finding a happy medium between the To understand roleplaying, you need only think back to your wild, insane world of the fae and the deadening, banal world of childhood and those wonderful afternoons spent playing Cops humanity is essential if you are to remain whole. ‘n’ Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, or Dress-Up. What you were doing was roleplaying, a sort of spontaneous and natural acting Such a synthesis is by no means easy. Mortal affairs seem that completely occupied your imagination. This play-acting ephemeral and trivial when you stand amid the ageless mag- helped you learn about life and what it meant to be a grown-up. nificence of the Seelie Court. When you don garments spun of It was an essential part of childhood, but just because you have pure moonlight and drink wine distilled from mountain mists, grown up doesn’t mean you have to stop. how can you go back to polyester and soda pop? In Changeling, unlike pretend, there are a few rules to help Alas, you have no choice. Although your faerie self is ageless you roleplay. They are used mainly to avoid arguments — “Bang! and eternal, your mortal body and mind grow older and less resilient Bang! You’re dead!” “No I’m not!” — and to add a deeper sense as you move through life. Sooner or later, nearly all changelings suc- of realism to the story. Rules direct and guide the story’s progress cumb to one of two equally terrifying conditions: Banality, the loss and help define the characters’ capacities and weaknesses. of their faerie magic; or Bedlam, the loss of their mortal reason. Changeling can be played with nearly any number of play- But is this fate inevitable? Can you retain your childlike ers, but roleplaying games in general work best with six or fewer wonder while fighting against the frigid Banality that seeks to players. Mystery and flavor are diminished when players must numb your mind and steal your past? Can you ride the currents compete for attention. of the Dreaming without being swept away in the maelstrom of Bedlam? The essential rules of Changeling are described in Chapter Six. You stand alone in the mundane world. No mortal will ever understand the depth of your alienation, strangeness and uniqueness. Though you may try to communicate your condition The Storyteller through art (and many have tried and failed), only those with Changeling is structured a little differently from the games faerie blood will see, understand and appreciate what you are. with which you might be familiar. In the first place, there is no An exile among exiles. Lost among the lost. The stranger board. Second, one player must assume the role of Storyteller in every crowd. — the person who creates and guides the stories. Hail, fellow traveler — welcome to the Dreaming. Being the Storyteller is a bit like playing the Banker in Monopoly™, but bears greater responsibilities and rewards than control over a handful of play money. The Storyteller describes Storytelling what happens to the characters as a result of the players’ words Long ago, before movies, TV, radio and books, we told each and actions. She decides if the characters succeed or fail, suffer or other stories: stories of the hunt, legends of the gods and great prosper, live or die. Storytelling is a very demanding task, but it heroes, bardic epics and tales of ravening monsters. We told is equally rewarding, for the Storyteller is a weaver of legends. these stories aloud, as part of an oral tradition — a tradition The Storyteller’s primary duty is to make sure the other that we have virtually lost. players have a good time. The way to do that is to tell a good Today we no longer tell stories — we listen to them. We tale. Unlike traditional storytellers, however, the Storyteller Sampledoesn’t simply tell the story. Instead,file she creates the skeleton wait to be picked up and carried to prepackaged worlds. We have become slaves to our TVs and VCRs, permitting an oligarchy of of a story, and then lets the players flesh it out by assuming the mythmakers to dictate the content of our imaginations. roles of its leading characters. Introduction 5 Storytelling in Changeling is a careful balance between nar- don’t know who or what we are. It is from this essential diver- ration and adjudication, between story and game. Sometimes the sity of self that our desire and ability to pretend to be someone Storyteller must set the scene or describe what occurs, but mostly else originate. she must decide how the environment responds to the characters. Characters are the literary versions of real people — they She must be as realistic, impartial and creative as possible. are not real, but they do capture some aspects of reality. Only As the Storyteller, you are in charge of interpreting and when you enter the world of the story can your characters become enforcing the rules, yet you are also an entertainer — you must complete. They are real only with you as the animating force — struggle to balance your two roles. This book was written to help the soul, if you wish. Treat your characters as unique individuals, you do just that. It won’t make being a Storyteller easy, because as works of art, or as fragile expressions of your poetic sensitivity. it never will be easy, but it will make you better at it. You must treasure the characters that you create. The role of the Storyteller is explained in more detail Changeling characters are easy to create. It takes less than in Chapter Nine. half an hour to choose all the Traits that describe your character. It takes more time and effort to turn this collection of numbers Players into a living, breathing character. You must reach deep inside Most Changeling players will not be Storytellers. They yourself to produce a complete character. The Frankenstein will instead assume the roles of the central characters in the monster was easily assembled from available body parts; it was story. Being a player does not require as much responsibility as the breath of life that proved difficult. being a Storyteller, but it does require just as much effort and Character creation is discussed in detail in Chapter concentration. Four. As a player in a Changeling chronicle, you assume the persona and role of a changeling — a faerie being whom you invent and then roleplay over the course of one or several stories. Winners and Losers There is no single “winner” of Changeling, for the object is The life of your character is in your hands, for you decide what not to defeat the other players. To “win” at all, players need to the character says and does. You decide which risks to accept or cooperate with each other. Because this is a storytelling game, decline. Everything you say and do when you play your character there is no way for one person to claim victory. Moreover, the has an effect on the world. Changeling world is fraught with danger: monstrous chimera, You must also be an actor. You speak for your character and implacable Dauntain, ever-encroaching Banality and the machi- act out whatever you want your character to do or say. Whatever nations of the Unseelie Court. Players cannot afford to squabble you say, your character says, unless you are specifically asking with their brethren, for so doing leads to death — and the only the Storyteller a question or are describing your actions. true measure of success in Changeling is survival. As a player, you try to do things that allow your character If, however, a character has some overwhelming motivation to succeed and thus “win the game.” This strategic element of (such as a need for vengeance), accomplishing this goal also the game is essential, for it is what so often creates the thrill becomes a measure of success. Stories and extended chronicles and excitement of a dramatic moment. often come to conclusions that either benefit or harm the Often, after describing the actions “you” want to take, characters. If the players can turn stories to their characters’ you may have to make dice rolls to see if your character suc- advantage, they have “won,” at least for the moment. When a cessfully accomplishes what you have illustrated with words. group of changelings manages to rescue a fellow changeling who Your character’s Traits — numbers quantifying her strengths has been captured by one of the Dauntain, those changelings and weaknesses — dictate how well your character can do can be considered to have “won” a temporary victory. If the certain things. Actions are basic elements of Changeling, for it Dauntain has powerful friends among the occult underground, is through actions that characters change the world and affect however, attacking that individual may prove a dangerous ex- the course of the story. ercise in the long run. A “victory” under these circumstances Characters are central to a story, for they alter and direct can become worse than defeat. the plot. Without characters you can’t have a story. As the story To achieve even partial victory, characters must usually flows, the characters, not the decisions of the Storyteller, direct become friends, or at least watch out for and have a modicum and energize the progress of the plot. of trust in each other. The World of Darkness is a dangerous To some extent, each player is an assistant Storyteller. place, so trustworthy allies are essential. A divided group will Players should feel free to add ideas and elements to the story, not survive for long. although the Storyteller may accept or reject them as she sees fit. In the end, a good story is the most important goal. Players Playing Aids and Storytellers work together to make a story come to life. Changeling was designed to be played around a table. SampleThough the game does not requirefile a board, a number of props Characters require a table to use properly. Dice, pencils, paper and photo- Many different elements compose what we think of as the copies of the character sheet are the only other necessary items. “self” — too many, in fact, to separate or identify. We really 6 Changeling: The Dreaming The dice required are 10-sided; these you can purchase in any • Book Three: Grump: These final chapters contain some game store. The Storyteller may also want paper (to sketch extra systems and Storyteller help to add a few bells and whistles to out a setting, thus making it easier to describe to the players) your Changeling game. Chapter Seven: Glamour Systems offers and a few other props to show the players what the characters all of the rules pertaining to changeling magic. Chapter Eight: see (photographs, matches, scarves — anything to make the Dramatic Systems outlines a number of different ways to resolve experience more vivid). conflicts during a game as well as showing how a character’s Traits increase or decrease during the course of a chronicle. Chapter How to Use this Book Nine: Storytelling is intended as an introduction to Storytelling, The information in Changeling has been divided into three giving both new and experienced Storytellers ideas for chronicles books for easier access: and advice for how to keep things moving. The Appendix provides • Book One: Childling: These three setting chapters offer a a range of potential enemies and other characters for changelings wealth of information about the history, society and cosmology of to interact with, including mortals, chimerical beasts, wraiths, changelings. The actual rules for playing the game can be found vampires, mages and werewolves. later on, but reading these chapters allows you to understand what Changeling is all about. Chapter One: The Dreaming examines Other Changeling Sourcebooks the realms of the Dreaming as well as the chimerical creatures that The following books offer you a range of possibilities beyond changelings often interact with. Chapter Two: A World of Dreams the basic rules, and are recommended for serious Changeling offers a complete history of the fae as well as an in-depth look at players. changeling society. Chapter Three: The Kithain details the various Nobles: The Shining Host offers a detailed look at the races of the fae as well as the noble houses of the sidhe. nobility of the fae, plus a new noble house and new Arts. • Book Two: Wilder: These three chapters contain the The Shadow Court is an invaluable book for Storytellers core rules needed to play Changeling. Chapter Four: Character who wish to have a strong Unseelie presence in the chronicle. Creation contains all of the information you will need to create This book not only offers complete information on the Unseelie a character. Chapter Five: Arts and Realms explains the magi- Court, but has complete information about the three Unseelie cal powers of the fae, known as the Arts and Realms. Chapter houses and new Unseelie Arts. Six: Basic Rules covers the basic ideas of how to play the game, The Immortal Eyes Trilogy (The Toybox, Shadows on converting ideas and situations into dice rolls. the Hill and Court of All Kings) is a series of settings and ad-

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Introduction 7 ventures that mirrors the novel series of the same name. Each Enchant — To imbue a mortal with the power to see the of these books offers a complete setting for Changeling as well faerie realm. as mini-adventures that can be inserted into any chronicle. Escheat — The highest faerie laws. Dreams and Nightmares presents an in-depth look at the Fae, Faerie — A being indigenous to the Dreaming (though realms of the Dreaming. not always a current resident thereof). Fae Mien — A changeling’s faerie visage, visible only to other changelings and enchanted beings. Lexicon Far Dreaming, The — The Far Dreaming is only attainable The fae have a distinct patois that draws on many different through the Near Dreaming. Many Dreamrealms exist here. tongues and gives many new shades of meaning to mortal words. One can often identify a changeling’s age or station by listening Fathom — A deep-seeking, protracted use of the Art of to the parlance he uses. Soothsay. Also called the Taghairm. Fior — A contest, the point of which is to determine Common Parlance justice. Following are the most common general terms in use among Fledge — A newly awakened changeling of any age. changelings. Freehold — A place that is infused with Glamour. Important Arcadia — The land of the fae; the home of all faeries to all changelings, freeholds are proof against Banality — for within the Dreaming. a time. Arts — The ways of shaping Glamour. Gallain — 1) “The Outsiders,” those who may be Kithain Autumn — The modern age. but whose origins, customs and magical ways are not understood. Balefire — The fire that is the focus of Glamour ina 2) Any inscrutable creature of the Dreaming. freehold. Glamour — The living force of the Dreaming; changeling Bedlam — A kind of madness that falls upon changelings magic. who stray too far from the mortal world. Grump — A changeling of elder years, usually beginning Banality — Mortal disbelief, as it affects changelings and at about the age of 25. Very few changelings reach this age — their Glamour. most succumb to Banality long before. Bunk — The price Glamour exacts for its power. Hue and Cry — 1) A hunt called out against a criminal. 2) The call of all changelings to come and defend a freehold. Cantrip — A spell created through Glamour by using a combination of Arts and Realms. Kin — Human relatives of a changeling who do not pos- sess faerie blood. Champion — A warrior chosen by one of higher rank to fight in his stead. A champion always wears the token of his Kinain — Human kinfolk of a changeling who possess patron, which he keeps if he wins the duel. faerie blood and frequently have strange magical “gifts” because of it. Changeling — A fae who has taken on mortal form in order to survive on Earth. Kith — All the changelings of a kind, or race. One’s kith determines the nature of one’s faerie guise and soul. Childling — A child who has come fully into his changeling nature; this lasts until he becomes a wilder, around 13 years of Kithain — Changelings’ self-referential term. age. Childlings are known for their innocence and affinity with Liege — One’s sworn noble sovereign, whether baron, Glamour, and are well-protected by other changelings. count, duke or king. Chimera — A bit of dream made real; unseen by mortals, Long Winter, the — The prophesied eradication of all chimera are part of the enchanted world. Chimera may be Glamour. objects or entities. Mists, the — A metaphysical curtain of humanity’s collec- Commoner — Any of the changeling kith who are not tive disbelief. The Mists are responsible for the following: 1) sidhe. The tendency of mortals to forget the effects of Glamour and the Dauntain — Faerie-hunters, deeply twisted by Banality. presence of changelings after a very short time; 2) The tendency of Banality-tainted changelings to forget their faerie lives. Deep Dreaming, The — The furthest reaches of the Dreaming. The most powerful Dream Realms, such as Arcadia, Mortal Seeming — The mortal appearance of a changeling. exist here. This is how mortals perceive a changeling. Dreaming, the — The collective dreams of humanity. Motley — A family or gang of commoners. Changelings often travel in these realms both to seek adventure Near Dreaming, The — The realm of the Dreaming most and to gather the raw dreamstuff that can be used in crafting easily assessable from Earth, usually by a trod. chimera. Noble — Any changeling raised to noble title; although SampleDreamrealms — The lands comprising Arcadia and the nobles are traditionally sidhe, latelyfile commoners have begun other realms of the Dreaming. receiving noble positions.

8 Changeling: The Dreaming Oathbond — The mystical bond created by the swearing Jimp — To create a faerie token or charm. of an oath. Mew — A commoner freehold, typically controlled by a Realms — The five aspects of the world with which motley. changelings have affinity. Mux — To really screw up something; to add chaos and Resurgence, The — The time when the sidhe returned disorganization to things. “You really muxed things up this in 1969. time!” Retainers — Any servants of a liege. Sots — Mundane people; “sothead” and “sot-brain” are Saining — “The Naming”; a ritual performed on a newly popular epithets. awakened changeling to determine his kith, his True Name and his place in the Dreaming. Old Form Shattering, The — The time when the last sidhe departed These are the terms used by nobility (especially sidhe) and the last trods to Arcadia closed. and more sophisticated grumps. These words are seldom used Sundering, The — The time when humanity first began by younger exiles, but are still fashionable vernacular among to turn away from their dreams; the Iron Age. the older members. Tara-Nar —The great freehold castle of High King David. Burgess — A mortal; sometimes used to refer to com- Beneath it is the Well of Fire, from which all balefire comes. moners. Time of Legends — The age when magical powers ran Crepusc — The period at the end of any faerie festival free in the world. when activities have begun to die down, but the night is not yet over. It is said to be a particularly mystical time, when the Trods — Magical gateways, faerie roads; some lead to other perceptive will discover many secrets. freeholds, some to the Dreaming itself. Clarion — A call to war made by a noble to his vassals. Tuatha De Danann — The mysterious progenitors of the fae. Covey — A group of changelings united by an oath- Vassal — The sworn servant of a liege. bond. Vellum — A specially preserved chimerical hide on which Chrysalis — The dawn of fae consciousness, the great changeling scribes write. awakening into one’s changeling nature. Wilder — A changeling of adolescent years, usually from Dán — Fate; one’s destiny and karma. age 13 to age 25. Known for their wild undertakings and loose tempers, wilders are the most common changelings. Draocht — Cantrips and other changeling magic. Yearning — Also called “the Gloomies,” the Yearning is Driabhar — A treasure, usually one of great power. the utter longing for Arcadia that overcomes grumps as Banality Entrant — A worthy rival, one assumed to merit prolonged encroaches upon them. struggle and respect. Gosling — A childling changeling or very young faerie. Vulgar Argot Fychell — 1) A chesslike game played by nobles. 2) A These are the words most frequently used by commoners, stylized dance popular among grump nobles. and have been picked up the wilder exiles (even those of the Fuidir — The vassals to whom one owes fealty. noble houses). They tend to be somewhat crude and abrupt, Gloam, the — 1) The blackest part of the night. 2) Mid- and carry with them a certain disregard for tradition and rank. winter’s Night, also called “the Gloaming.” Many of these terms are very ancient, others are quite new, but Greybeard — A grump; a term of respect. all of them are quite in vogue among wilder nobles. During the Grandame — A powerful female sidhe, often used when Interregnum many commoners formed or joined circuses in order speaking of a queen. to escape the stupefying Banality of mortal society, and much vulgar argot originates from that culture. Knarl — A special magical knot that serves as a type of ward. Churl — A vassal; insulting if used to describe a noble. Laud — To receive the glory of courtly acclaim. Often Codger — A word for grump. some sort of token is bestowed as well. Callowfae — Self-absorbed faeries with no purpose higher Mot — An adage, maxim or saying. than that of play; often said in reference to childlings, insulting if used to describe any other changelings. Privy Council — The inner council of a liege and his high-ranking vassals. Chiven — Craven, cowardly or wimpy. Retrorse — To revert to one’s mortal seeming. Chummery — A particularly hospitable freehold. Reune — A noble rendezvous, often a secret negotia- Cozen — To cheat someone or steal something. tion. Fancypants — A nickname for sidhe or any self-absorbed Trollop — A promiscuous fae. noble. SampleVoile — Chimerical clothing, filegarb and/or jewelry. Foredoom — When a use of Soothsay prophesies very bad news.

Introduction 9 Once upon a time in a not-very-magical land called Suburbia said they were. Truth be told, they looked more like green-and- there lived a perfectly ordinary little boy named Justin. Justin lived red squiggles, or maybe overly aggressive pasta, but to Justin, they with his father and his father’s second wife in a split-level ranch were dragons. And dragons, like beauty and magic, live in the eye house with white aluminum siding, a lawn with three sycamore trees of the beholder. and a driveway that Justin’s father refinished every other summer. Justin’s mother died when Justin was very small. His father, Justin had a room at the end of the house that had two windows; he whose name was Jake, had remarried when Justin was only a little decorated the walls with pictures of dinosaurs. Justin’s stepmother bit bigger, and Justin could barely remember his mother at all. disapproved of the dinosaurs and said that the walls of Justin’s room His stepmother, whose name was Leah, didn’t seem to like him should just be white, but Justin’s father let him keep the dinosaurs. It much, and sometimes Justin could hear her fighting with was better, Justin’s father said, than trying to keep his father. On those nights, Justin closed the door the walls white, then coming home from work to his room and put his pillow over his head, one day to find that Justin had covered them pretending not to hear and wishing that he in crayon drawings of dragons and knights. At was somewhere else. Occasionally he wished least that’s what Justin he was in the land of his crayon dragons, but most of the time he just wished he was somewhere else.

Sample file There was one other little boy who lived on Justin’s block, and his name was Devin. Devin and Justin were best friends, which was funny because they were complete op- posites in many ways. Justin was tall and clumsy, with blond hair and blue eyes, while Devin was short and quick, and had brown skin and black hair. Justin and Devin did everything together; they raced their tricycles and Big Wheels, dug holes in the backyard, explored the mysteries of Around The Corner, drew pictures and watched cartoons — everything. Justin sometimes got the feeling that his stepmother didn’t much like his being friends with Devin, but he didn’t care. So it was Devin that Justin told when he first started seeing things — flashes of butterfly wings and curious faces peeping out from trees. Devin told Justin that he saw these things too, and had been seeing them for a while. After that, whenever one saw a magical shape, he would laugh and smile and point it out to the other. It became one more secret for them to share. “But,” Devin said, “you can’t tell your parents about this, or something bad will happen.” “What could they do?” asked Justin. “I don’t know,” said Devin, “But I can tell that it would be bad.” And he went home shaking his head, because he already knew that Justin wouldn’t be able to keep the secret. Sure enough, Justin forgot Devin’s warning and told his father about what he had seen. The second he had done so, Justin knew he’d made a mistake. Later that night, he heard his father and Leah talking. They used words he didn’t understand, like “therapy” and “boarding school.” Leah used them a lot, he noticed. The next day, Justin’s father told him that he would be going to a new school, far away. Justin asked if Devin was coming with him, but his father said no. “This is going to be an adventure just for you,” he said. And so Justin went to the school far away. The visions of strange and magical things, though — they didn’t vanish. He saw more and more of them every day. He’d daydream for a moment, and suddenly his teacher would be eight feet tall and blue — with horns! Or, late at night, after all of the lights were turned out and he’d been sent to bed, Justin would hear the strange voices of the Monsters Under the Bed in secret conversation. Justin had learned from experience, though. This time he told nobody what he saw. Then, one day on the playground outside, Justin saw something wonderful and terrible. As he played with the other children, he heard phantom footfalls loud as thunder. Finally, he could ignore it no longer. He looked up, and there he saw all his dreams and nightmares come true — a dragon! It was green and gold, and where the sunlight sparkled on its scales it shone so bright it was like a knife to the eyes. Its neckSample was long and thin, its claws huge and sharp, and its roar file loud enough to call rain down from the skies. Justin thought that he was the only one to see the dragon, but his teacher saw it, too. Ms. Lombard ran to where the dragon stood, and as she ran Justin saw that his teacher wore armor and held a huge sword that was so bright that it gleamed. None of the other children saw, but Justin watched Ms. Lombard (who was blue, of course — Justin had expected no less) battle the dragon. Stroke and counterstroke, challenge and echo — Justin watched it all in rapt fascination. Ms. Lombard won the battle, and the dragon turned to run. Bleeding from a score of cuts, it turned to her just before it vanished and spoke three words. “I shall return,” it said, and then vanished into the rows of corn beyond the distant soccer field. Ms. Lombard sheathed her sword, then turned back to her charges. She seemed rather surprised when Justin came up to her and said, “I didn’t know that dragons could talk.” Sample• • • file Late that night, when everyone else was asleep, Justin sat up in his bed. He knew that it was important that he be awake, just as Devin had known so long ago that to share their secrets would somehow be folly. Quietly he dressed and waited for the door to open. He only had to wait a few minutes. Ms. Lombard came for him, beautiful and cold in her armor. She was not at all surprised to see Justin ready for her, and he in turn was not surprised to see that his skin was the same color as the sky. “Come with me,” she said, and he did. Out in the hall two others, garbed and visaged like Ms. Lombard were waiting, also armored and unsmiling. They took up positions to Justin’s front and rear, and refused to speak a single word. Somehow he knew, though, that the man who marched before him was Mr. Simms, the janitor, and that the woman behind him was Ms. Loveless, who taught the girls’ gym. And even though no one said a word or even so much as looked kindly upon him, Justin could sense a secret joy bubbling up out of the three who escorted him. They led him out of the building into the night, and shimmering firefly globes sprang into existence to light their way. Out past the main courtyard they walked, across the soccer field and past the waving stalks of corn. Finally, they came to a place that Justin had never seen before, where laughter and music heralded their approach. At the edge of the woods was the most wonderful and most terrible thing Justin could imagine. Seated upon a throne of glass that sparkled like it encased a thousand stars was the most handsome man Justin had ever seen. The man’s hair was black and fine, and his face was thin and pale. He wore armor of black and gold, and a naked sword thin as a whisper lay across his lap. At his brow the man wore a thin circlet of gold, set with a single green gem. Around the throne dancers cavorted, graceful men and women like the man with the circlet. In a wider circle whirled other dancers, but dancers like none that Justin had ever seen. Men with the features of animals cavorted with elegant, dark-skinned women, while faerie musicians made sounds that would call the woods themselves to dance. Thin, sad-faced waifs in tattered finery waltzed as wine was poured and songs were sung. Glowing lanterns hung from every tree bough, and the very grass seemed to put forth a dew of pure silver. The dancers parted for Justin and his escorts, though the music never faltered. To the very base of the throne the four walked, and the man who sat upon it greeted them. “Well met,” he said, “and welcome to you and yourSample charge, Anneke.” file