Feywild

The Realm of Magic

The Feywild is a realm draped in mystery, legends, myths, and contradictions. It is another plane of existence, separate from the Material Plane but existing in tandem with it. The elves describe it as an "echo" of the Material Plane, similar yet wildly different, suffused with wild magic and primal emotion, and inhabited by creatures collectively known as fae or fey. The realm makes little sense when attempted to be understood logically. The elements are not bound by physics or natural law but emotions and magic. The mood of powerful fey creatures can influence a mountain to melt or a snowstorm to pelt a region for centuries. Time is of little reliance in the Feywild as well. Visitors who spend years there may find their journey was only a few hours in the Material Plane, while others who may visit only for a week may return to find they missed out on entire eras in the Material Plane. Portals to the Feywild are plentiful and often accidental. Mushroom circles, curious groves, and hollowed trees are just a few of the common ways mortals can accidentally stumble into the strange realm. Once there, the mischievous denizens of the Feywild may be inclined to let a visitor leave, but usually not before playing with them and possibly even making a tricky deal for their escape.

The First Folk

Some legends tell of the Feywild as being the land from where the elves originate from. In this telling, not only the elves but also goblinoids and gnomes were originally magical fey spirits who found their way, through exile or curiosity, to the Material Plane, and slowly lost the extent of their innate magical nature. The remnants of the elves who never left the Feywild became the eladrin, a race of elves with a connection to latent magic so intense it changes their form and grants them innate powers. It is impossible to know the extent to which these myths are true, though some things are quite certain, such as the existence of the eladrin as an elven people and the fact that elves retain a degree of innate magical ability which may astonish humans but remains miniscule when compared to the wild magic of the Feywild. Nonetheless, the Feywild is inhabited by all manner of fey, magically infused creatures with a morality and sense of reality completely alien to the Material Plane's inhabitants. Some of these creatures include dryads, eladrin, redcaps, and treants.

A Game of Thorns

Much like the Material Plane, the Feywild is ruled by a class of powerful beings who struggle for power, influence, and territory. The archfey are the most powerful of the fey who have godlike powers, rule over various dominions of the realm, and have the ability to form pacts with warlocks and clerics even upon the Material Plane. Countless Archfey command influence in the Feywild, including Baba Yaga, the Prince of Frost, and Cerunnos, but none from their ranks enjoys more authority than Titania, the Summer Queen, and the Queen of Air and Darkness. These two immortal archfey rule over magical courts, to which most of the denizens of the Feywild have allegiance. Titania, the Summer Queen, rules over the Seelie Court, a fey court that tends to be good if a bit playful towards foreigners to the realm, though restricts non-fey from joining. The Queen of Air and Darkness, however, holds dominion over the Unseelie Court, a dangerous though more welcoming court open to fey and non-fey alike. While many fey align themselves with either court, some serve other archfey or retain enough power to be independent, such as hags and fomorians.