#faeires

Most of their weaknesses are only weaknesses because they see them as making things fair. Fae are physically capable of lying, but they consider it cheating to lie to someone who isn't familiar with the fae. Likewise, fae can create unbreakable curses or unsolvable puzzles, but it's considered improper to do so. Even their material weakness works this way, if a fae is cut by an iron sword they'll but hurt by it because it was the polite thing to do.

They'll also always match the power level of any human who wanders into the fae realms, so the human in question never meets a challenge they can't overcome. When a knight of the Holy Roman Empire and his men tried to conquer part of the fae realms in 1126 the fae fought like medieval soldiers, using tactics and strategies that would be clever and strange but understandable to him and his men, the numbers of warriors never being too much for him to defeat, even when he could. And when the D.T.L paranormal containment organization sent in modern soldiers with firearms and gas masks to assassinate the fae Queen of Winter Dawn in 2004, the fae responded accordingly, with ranged weapons, and hit and run tactics, that a modern commander could play off of. And, in 1873, when three children got lost in the fae realms, deeper then any human who had been lost there before or after, the fae filled their path of peril with puzzles and traps that the children could solve. One of the children ended up having her eyes turned into spiders, and all of them were traumatized, but it's the fairness the counts to the fae. When you're billions of years old you just care about different things.

And of course. There are some fae that break the rules, fae who will truly do everything in their power to affect the world. These fae are useally exiled from the fae realms, to far off and desolate planes, where they wander and seek power. They are truly terrifying creatures, though in the places they are sent they can rarely use their power. Few who encounter them who aren't their loyal servents escape with both their lives and their humanity.

(sorry for the fancy title idk what else to call it?)

I’m spending a few days in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado and have been surrounded by Aspen trees quite often. They are a truly magnificent type of tree for two main reasons: One, their circular-shaped leaves flutter aggressively in the slightest breeze (hence quaking aspen) and Two, they are covered in black lines and knots all over their stark white bark, and most of these knots resemble human eyes.

!! Potential spoilers for the Emily Wilde book series ahead !!

Seeing them made me remember the scenes from the 2nd & 3rd books when Emily describes the trees of Wendell’s kingdom (silva lupi) to be watching her with their eyes. Looking back made me realize that this whole time I was lowkey imagining the Attentive Oaks as a strange type of Aspen. (I am a native to CO and used to have Aspens in my backyard so I guess it makes sense)

This was probably not at all Fawcett’s intention, because Aspens are not Oaks. (obviously). I just think it’s quite interesting how the idea of trees growing watchful eyes could have originated from the appearance of the Aspen. So, personally I see the Attentive Oaks from the Emily Wilde series as a faerie species of Quaking Aspen that grow actual eyes, and are native and only found in Silva Lupi. Maybe this idea is stupid and will only get me 3 notes but i still think it’s a fun thing to think about.

also to make this post even more magical i’m writing this all on a hammock under a few actual Aspens!!

Kristina Makeeva Photography