#faerealm

Introduction to the Unseelie

Definition: The terms Seelie and Unseelie aren’t actually species of fae, they are fae courts. So “Unseelie fae” are fae spirits who are a part of any smaller court that falls under the Unseelie Court at large, or is loyal to the Unseelie Court in general. There are many smaller courts local to different areas and principalities, and those individual courts may be aligned with the much larger Unseelie Court or not. Members of the Winter and Autumn courts tend to be Unseelie aligned as well, but they are separate courts so it depends on the political climate of the time.

Species: Since this article discusses Unseelie fae and the Unseelie Court, that means it covers a very wide variety of different fae species. Certain species of fae are commonly known as Unseelie because they have an extremely high likelihood of being aligned with the Unseelie Court, but every individual fae’s court alignment is actually independent of their species in theory. In practice, since family lineages and court alignments are essential to fae culture, certain fae species tend to be so closely associated with Seelie or Unseelie because family lines usually stay loyal to the same court for many generations. 

Here’s a short list of some fae species that are typically Unseelie aligned:

Alp Lauchra

Bean Nighe or Bean Sídhe

Cat Sídhe

Cu Sídhe

Dullahan

Fachen

Fuath

Gean Cánach

Glaistig

Leanan Sídhe

Sluagh Sídhe

Personality: The word “Unseelie” is typically translated to mean “unblessed” or “damned”. If anyone has ever seen the TV show Supergirl, then you’ll understand what I mean by saying that the Unseelie remind me a little of the Daxamites - they are generally hedonists who enjoy entertainment, indulgence, and delicious food. Unseelie fae cuisine includes magical plants native to their regions in the fae realms and sometimes even human spirits. Unseelie fae enjoy music and dance as much as any fae, but entertainment for them also may include tricking or torturing others (particularly those they see as lesser than them like humans and other mortal species). However, the Unseelie are willing to be accepting of outsiders when those non-fae can prove themselves extraordinarily skilled, powerful, and strong in ways that they respect.

Morality: If there was an Unseelie motto, it would be “we do what we want to.” While the Seelie sense of pride and honor relies more on a set of cultural rules, the Unseelie respect power and might. Many behaviors considered rude or cruel by others are in fact respectable and natural to an Unseelie fae. For example, not taking advantage of someone or dominating them when one has the power to do so is actually considered weak and dishonorable by Unseelie standards. This is why they do not consider it inappropriate or rude to treat humans disrespectfully or cruelly by human standards, and also why they do not necessarily need any provocation at all to initiate such behavior.

The Unseelie Court

Origins: I’ve read this from multiple sources and had it verified by the Unseelie fae I know that originally, in the beginning, there was only one large fae court, which then split when the Unseelie wanted to do things differently from the Seelie and no longer be bound by their philosophies and laws.

Political Power: Though the Unseelie Court may seem unorganized or unstructured compared to the Seelie Court, there is always a hierarchical power structure - it is just very fluid at times. Essentially, the survival of the fittest is the rule of the court. Theoretically, any Unseelie fae can challenge the king and queen of the court to a royal duel for the throne. In practice, only fae belonging to noble Unseelie family lines would ever make such a challenge - and only if they are willing to bet their otherwise immortal lives on it. Unseelie duels are always to the death to ensure that the winner is truly the strongest and most powerful of the two. In this way, Unseelie culture has a distinct vicious warrior-element to it. Noble families tend to have many advantages in fighting each other, which makes commoners and outsiders unlikely to win duels against those considered superior to them. 

Generally, the longer a king and queen reign the Unseelie Court, the more noble fae they have had to kill to maintain their positions over time. The same that is true of the throne is also true for all the lower positions on the political hierarchy - all court titles are earned by might through duels and maintained by dealing with any challenges that may appear. Thus title appointments are essentially non-existent in the Unseelie Court. Shifts in who occupies which titles and positions occur at what may seem like random intervals since it all depends on the strength of those current leaders and the willingness of any challengers to come before them. Hence the appearance of disorganization or fluidity at times.

Hierarchy: At the top of the court is the king and queen, who work together but each have their own responsibilities and must both defend and maintain their titles. There are other positions within the upper Unseelie Court, which typically live in a castle. While noble Unseelie fae vie for power and fight amongst each other to control the upper levels of the whole court, there are lower positions that relate to specific regions within the fae realms and places on Earth as well. These localities may choose to be Unseelie aligned or not, and thus the upper levels of the Unseelie court must work to maintain loyalty - very occasionally threatening war if absolutely necessary.

Other Information

The Host: Common Unseelie fae who do not belong to a noble family line may do any number of things with their time and have a large variety of functions in fae society or the natural world at large - usually this is highly dependent on their species. Some common Unseelie fae choose to join the Sluagh Sídhe of “The Host” or “The Slought,” which is known as “the band of the unsanctified dead who fly above the earth, stealing mortals and take great pleasure in harming humans” (x). They are brutal, chaotic, and enjoy harming and not infrequently kidnapping humans. I recommend staying away from Unseelie fae when they are traveling as a part of the Host at all costs. They are known to particularly active on Samhain/Halloween and mostly associated with the Autumn Court.

Human Interaction: While Unseelie fae are often characterized as bad or evil, it really depends on your perspective and how you choose to interact with them. I recommend that most humans generally stay away from the Unseelie and don’t choose to get involved. Most (but not all) Unseelie fae will only stop seeing you as just another pitiful mortal and weak human if you are able to display and demonstrate some real strength of magical prowess and character - which is difficult to do even in comparison to ordinary common fae and their innate powers.

If you encounter one by accident and just want to avert trouble, as irksome as it is to do so it is usually safe to tell them what they want to hear (apologies, I’m such a weak human and you are so power, etc., please just let me live I’ll leave now) and you try to can back away and leave safely. If you see the Host, genuinely just run as fast as possible. If you have permanent Unseelie residents - do not try to just banish them from their own territory. The offerings that are generally accepted by other fae will usually be accepted by Unseelie fae as well (cream, milk, honey, glittery objects).

- Mod Fire

Sources of Information: Mostly UPG via interactions with Unseelie fae nobles and many articles on fae in general (compared to or verified by Unseelie fae I’ve met) in addition to my own observations and speculation.

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