The Goat
From Changeling Venue
Known by many names in the folktales of central and northern Europe, the Goat has been a frequent visitor from the land beyond the Hedge. He typically manifests as a tall humanoid figure, often with a shaggy pelt and the horns and cloven hoofs of a goat, and he never appears when the ground is not covered with a deep coat of snow. He is known to carry a long whip or switch, and is not shy about using it on those who cross his path.
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The Goat in Arcadia
When in Arcadia, The Goat resides in an underground Hall nestled deep in a range of tall, craggy, treeless mountains. This Hall, Korvatunturi, is filled with all manner of fantastic creatures, and intermingled with these beasts are a multitude of the Lost. These poor unfortunates serve as the Goat's entourage, his lickspittles, and it is their lot in life to be constantly ready with fawning sycophantic adulation for their egomaniacal Lord. It is a tense and difficult existence, and most do not survive their Keeper's mercurial whims for long.
Every night in Korvatunturi there is a great ball, a supposedly gay and festive affair, and changelings swarm to the Grand Hall from all corners of the mountain Hold to entertain their Lord with their company. The Goat sprawls in his throne and observes the goings-on, and woe to the courtier who fails to show the proper degree of desperate joy at being in her Keeper's august presence. It is rare that an entire night passes without some unfortunate Lost or other falling prey to the Goat's displeasure, and the sating of his ire is a typical source of entertainment for the remaining attendees towards the end of the gathering.
The Goat in the Mortal Realm
The Goat is usually on the hunt for replacement courtiers when encountered in the mortal world, and since he prefers to take the young and is never abroad except in winter his activities have become intertwined with the Father Christmas/Grandfather Frost stories that are prevalent in the part of the world to which he usually travels. Early references to him in these tales are suitably dark, but in more recent times he has been sanitized and in many places is regarded as a benevolent figure, or at least as a non-threatening one.
Former Revelers
These unfortunate individuals were the sycophants, courtiers, and various and sundry other attendants who walked the knife's edge of approval or displeasure in the Goat's endless festivities and who then managed to somehow flee back through the Hedge. Most are beautiful (many are of the Fairest), most are intelligent enough to carry on witty conversation, and nearly all are incurably paranoid. Empathy is also a common trait, and many possess significant ability with subterfuge (which was a survival skill when conversing with the Goat).
Escaped Thralls
The Bondthralls are the Lost who serve in Korvatunturi's kitchens, bedchambers and dank, dark cellars. These menial laborers are subject to the direct and typically cruel whims of the Goat, unfiltered by the elaborate decorum of the Grand Hall, and most of those who manage to escape bear the physical and emotional scars of their servitude. As servants they were expected to be silent and unseen unless needed by their betters, and they are generally socially maladjusted due to their long and lonely existences in the shadows. They are if anything even more paranoid than their brethren who fled the Goat's Court.
- Tinsel - Darkling Tunnelgrub
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