these are all thoughts I’ve had before, maybe as starting point. Disorganized rambling. Idk how much I have or haven’t posted before
it’s vague now, because they’re stuck with wild, reflexive magic before they know more about what they are.
There’s the idea Faeries can’t lie, but can instead bend reality a bit so whatever they say is true. Val is constantly doing this inadvertently, by saying something they believe is true. They heal at the rate they expect to, which is usually quicker than other (actual) borrowers. They expect the food they find to be edible and fresh, so nothing on the counter ever rots. They worry something they built is going to fall apart, so it does. This is a really fun skill to give a character with horrible anxiety and I should do more with it (but then I probably do need to write out rules and limitations)
Faeries’ magic affinities are based on their species and court of origin. An ability to bind each other with verbal contracts and make tweaks to reality/chance is inherent to pretty much any faery. The amount of power they can exert varies wildly.
Val is a changeling, which makes them a natural shapeshifter. This is boosted because their “soul” is from the autumn court, which is aligned with change. Their size shifting is an extreme shapeshift that not all changelings could pull off, especially not accidentally.
Their soul/predecessor Dryden was a pixie and they eventually inherit that form and magic. This is associated with plant magic. Again, they have an autumn origin. They’re better at causing decay or at least bringing about the end of a life cycle than spawning anything new. Could probabky do something with fungus idk
Winter magic generally causes very real, tangible changes while Summer magic creates a lot of illusions. Spring and Autumn are mixed.
Classic fantasy magic, like flinging fireballs or making ice storms, is definitely something that exists within Faery, but not something Val really inherits. They would have to study and for the most part they don’t want anything to do with this, so they probably won’t. Probably.
The seasonal courts are the primary/high courts. There are lesser courts that are less permanent as well as borderlands full of free folk.
I go back and forth on whether Dryden was in the Spring or Summer Court, but regardless, he was supposed to return to service as some kind of spy or some such. His absence after being so graciously reincarnated means he’s failing to fulfill his end of a bargain and means he (now Val) is a fugitive, however low priority. Getting into the mortal world is kind of a pain and a low ranking pixie isn’t worth it unless you’re already making the trip, you know.
