Shalis and Golareth

From Changeling Venue

1 The Mark
2 The Waterfall City
3 Lord Shalis and Lady Golareth
4 Themes
5 Former Servants
6 Art Credits

The Mark

On the frontier of the domains of Faerie lies a domain known as "The Mark", a mostly barren wasteland, that borders on those places beyond Faerie that are informed by the Wyrm.

These vast, bottomless chasms are not part of Faerie. They are the home of darkness and incomprehensible horrors. They are where death was born. It would be inaccurate to claim that they are any darker than the realms of Faerie are, or can be, but they are profoundly different. Faerie is the home of magic and the home of dreams, both beautiful and horrific. The chasms beyond represent the yawning mouth of the Wyrm - the annihilation of all magic, of all dreams, of all Creation, of all that is and is not. The End.

The Mark, then, lies on the edge of Oblivion. And the Lords of the Mark have always stood vigilant, ensuring that the borders of Faerie remain intact and never retreat before Oblivion. The Mark is a bleak and barren place, lacking any features the Fae value, but with this prestigious charge comes possession of one of the most coveted and spectacular cities in all of Faerie – the Waterfall City. And here the Gentry come to dance and play as they do nowhere else.

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The Waterfall City

The Waterfall City is sometimes found upon an island in the sea, inside a verdant valley, or resting among the clouds, but it is always a tiered, jeweled arrangement of structures, monuments, waterfalls, fountains, and natural wonders. In a word, it is flawless. It is the expression of perfect balance – the dance of life and death, of truth and lies, of agony and ecstasy, poised proudly and defiantly at the edge of Oblivion. Countless changeling pets, slaves, and soldiers of every seeming inhabit the enormous city.

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Lord Shalis and Lady Golareth

Lord Shalis and Lady Golareth bear the title of "Lords of the Mark, Keepers of the Waterfall City". Both preside regularly over hunts, battles, tournaments, feasts, games, performances, and masques, and regularly entertain guests.

Green-eyed, olive-skinned, and regal, Lord Shalis spends most of his time hunting (falconry is his preferred sport) and fucking. The Sentinels of the Mark, winged spies and hunters who forever keep watch over the Wyrm and the city - report to him and him alone.

Red-haired, white-skinned Lady Golareth enjoys sculpting, playing stringed instruments, and overseeing the training and drilling of the city’s vast martial forces, known as "The Host".

It is said that it pleases them both to treat their slaves well, and even to set them free from time to time, but of course everything is relative. Not all captive mortals are transformed into Changelings. Captive mortal men, women, and children are regularly transformed into prey and savagely hunted down for sport. For some changelings, life in the Waterfall City is so pleasant that being set free is itself an unbearable punishment – an irony that amuses Lord Shalis in particular.

Under Lady Golareth, the armies of Waterfall City endure uncommonly brutal training to keep them battle-ready and ferocious. Sometimes they are made to kill children and harmless creatures, the better to harden them into merciless warriors. For one day the spawn of the Wyrm may come...for the Mark, for Faerie, for All that Is. And if they do, Golareth means to demonstrate to all of Creation why it should fear Faeries above all else. A favored and entertaining exercise involves pitting large groups of changeling warriors against unspeakable monstrosities captured from the Wyrm realms in gladiatorial games. The better to know one's enemy, and great sport to watch, as well...

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Themes

This is an ambitious Keeper concept, one of the central ideas being that there are things worse than the Fae and Arcadia, and that the Fae (or some of them) may serve a purpose in the larger scheme of things. Durance in the Waterfall City is an excellent background for any character who may have conflicted feelings about Arcadia, who, whatever else their feelings, on some level hears the siren song calling them to return.

The core idea borrows from the concepts of the Wyld, the Wyrm, and the Wyrd which I've taken the liberty to interpret as the universal forces of growth, decay, and change, respectively. All three are vital elements that must remain balanced and in check, even in the WoD, for the universe to continue as we know it. Growth/life unchecked is stagnance and chaos. Decay/death unchecked is death and annihilation. Change unchecked is madness.

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