Courts of the Feywild

In order to harness the chaotic nature of the Feywild, powerful Archfey have created courts to enact their will on their own world and others where they hold influence.   They are the following:   The Court of Arcana   At the head of law and order in the Feywild is the Emperor, a being of authority and structure from who's graces the other archfey were granted the power to form their own courts. The Emperor holds sway over the Court of Sigils, Wands, Chalices and Swords, providing their archfey leaders the strongest base to launch their own endeavors from.   The Emperor acts as the mediator during the Strucarta, an event in which the members of the Courts of Sigils, Chalices, Wands and Swords are able to present their successes to their liege lords and gain favor and advancement becoming Kings and Queens in their own rights. In a realm governed by emotion, the Emperor's constant calm keeps the event from descending to mindless madness and has kept hundreds of eladrin and fey from slaughtering eachother for nearly 1000 years.   The Court of Sigils   The most academic of the courts, the Court of Sigils prides itself on the devotion of creation and experimentation in the realm of magic. Students of the high priestess practice the most complex forms of arcana and plumb the prayers to the divine to grant gifts and boons never before seen.   Many members of this court reside in colleges and academies across the planes, experimenting and searching for lost knowledge among the multitudes. They gain favor by becoming masters in their art and pioneering rituals that can be shared the worlds over.   The Court of Chalices   While their countrymen in the Court of Sigils rewrite the rules of magic, the Court of Chalices brings the world together through their mastery of alchemy and potioncraft. Under the guidance of the Lovers, the Court of Chalices may be the most wholly good court, crafting medicines and potions that enhance already given abilities or provide new ones for their benefit.   They see their creations as gifts too the world and if not for the benefit of their further research, most would happily provide their wares for free but instead rely on fair trading practices to not mar their love with greed.   The Court of Wands   Keeping with the theme of creation, the Court of Wands are those smiths of legends, those craftsmen whom have left their mark on the world, those who forge the weapons of champions. In the light of their patron The World, the Court of Wands practice for centuries to hone their craft to perfection, no greater blade nor bardiche has been made than by those in the Court of Wands.   Each of their works is an accomplishment worthy of their name and they take their names very seriously, allowing ambition to push them to challenge others and sometimes make people very very angry with them when they succeed. As the craft is influenced by all, the Court of Wands is the second most diverse of the Courts of Arcana with their number including Dwarves, Giants, Devils and any who would shape nothing into legend.   The Court of Swords   Seeking not to create but to hone their skills on the battlefield, the Court of Swords seek strength above all else. With any craft for violence they care for, the Swords hunt greater and greater prey, some even devoting their life to wandering while others engage in banditry, assassination, knighthood or even the use of war machines to destroy their enemies.   Their leader Strength pleased with honorable combat but is content with conquest of any kind. Luckily for those ambitious members of the Court, many great evils are the most powerful foes in the realm so even if their intentions are not pure, they become a net benefit for the worlds.   The Court of Swords has the most storied history within the Court of Arcana, being the impetus for its creation. Before the Emperor established the Court of Arcana, Strength and the Court of Swords was far larger, more akin to a standing army in scale. Following the Oath-War against mortal kingdoms in Sanctum, Strength and the Court felt owed for their losses and had no further desire to serve the Emperor and his perceived authority. Thus, the began to systematically remove members of the other courts and the servants of the Emperor and Empress in an event called the Summer of Blood. The years long massacre ended when the Empress, whom had advocated on behalf of the Court of Swords to the Emperor, was killed by their forces. It was then that the Emperor and Strength abdicated power to one another, making Strength his right hand and bringing in the Court of Chalices, Wands and Sigils to support the Court of Swords.   Courts outside of the Banner of Arcana.   The Court of Faces   The name of this organization is by far the least accurate as the Court of Faces is almost always just different bodies and faces collected by the Hanged Man. In order to join the Court of Faces, one surrenders all that they are to the Hanged Man, following his orders explicitly and sharing in his powers until the distinction between himself and the supplicant is moot.   The goals of the Hanged Man are humbling, specifically the humbling of others. He hunts the prideful, seeks them out, offering them power and reducing them to forgotten memories while gaining another follower for his legion.   The Court of Revels   Perhaps, the most chaotic of the chaos in the Feywild, the Court of Revels enjoy providing release from inhibitions in the world. Their leader styles themself off the devils of the Nine Hells, pridefully claiming the name The Devil and acting much like those vile creatures, crafting deals and offering those the chance to enact their most profane desires.   The Devil also revels in viewing the downfall of their quarries, often turning them over to real devils or whatever enemies they have made along the way. This is doubly sweet when his Revelers fall down the path of pride and the rest of the court gathers to bring about their end.   The Court of Fortunes   All things being equal, the Court of Fortunes see's no difference between good luck and bad luck, as long as everyone has a heaping helping of both. Agents of Fortune are often thieves and archaeologists, seeking lost things and being sure they can be found again or finding great things to drop in the middle of oceans.   At their heart, the Wheel guides their actions and offer all kinds of reversals of fortune at the Goblin Market, a place of trade found in al back alleys and dead ends of the world. Here is where all things can be given to make your own fate and gain the tools to reverse your fortunes. These tools are often sought out when fortunes are poor and something like vengeance is on the seeker's mind. However, the Wheel always provides so whomever's life you ruin in your cycle of vengeance will come back to haunt you if you use the tools of Fortune in your quest.     The Court of Hexes   Helmed by the Magician, the Court of Hexes differs from the court of Sigils in its exploration of the magical by focusing more on finding the magic that already exists in the many worlds they inhabit. They value resourcefulness and gain power by creating networks of favors and debts, weaving everything together in a trade that can be utilized by its members to influence events in their favor across kingdoms.   The members of the Court of Hexes see themselves as a collective for one another to rely on, for the quilt is only as strong as its weakest thread. Ambition is valued if it is not destructive to the rest of the court.   During each solstice, the members of the court gather at their means of communication and commune with one another in order to trade and meet and form coven's for smaller projects that do not require the court's whole attention. For those matters, the Magician may either decree a goal for the court or hear a proposition from a respected member to advance the collective good of the court.   The Court of the Lost   The Court of the Lost is a collection of castaways, wanderers, hermits and ascetics that have devoted themselves to solitude for reasons greater in number than stars in the sky. Perhaps they are privy to knowledge that cannot be shared with world or have committed such crimes and seek repentance through solitude. The hermit welcomes them on the Lonely Path as they seek and find whatever it is they are looking for in their solitude.   However alone they may be, the Court of the Lost requires those that seek their knowledge or guidance must be attended to and that other wanderer's of the Lonely Path must aid each-other when the paths they walk intertwine. Lonely does not mean alone. Lost is not forever.   The Court of Wardens   Often considered strange or even spoilsports by their kin, the Court of Wardens maintains the barrier between the Feywild and the other planes in order to keep the machinations of the other Courts to a safe minimum. The nature of the Feywild is to be an amorphous reflection of the Prime Material Plane and when that reflection matches to a point where differences are moot, the barrier is broken and bridges are formed to allow free access for the chaos of the Feywild to spill outside. In order to stem that chaos, the Court of Wardens seek out portals from both sides, with staunch Guardians facing down the beasts and kinfolk on the side of the Feywild to halt them from passing to the Seekers on the other side who gather help and magic from the bridged plane in order to close the open portals and reform the barrier.   Formed by Judgement after the Oath-War, the Court of Wardens reflects her ideals of laws and fairness, believing the planes shouldn't be subject to the whims of her brethren in the Feywild. To that end, she is not incredibly popular among her Archfey kin but the efforts of her Wardens have the effect of also keeping them safe from retaliation so they listen to her every once in a while. Judgement desires only that each person be able to decide their life for themselves, without the influence of powers beyond their comprehension.