#vispill

SEASONS OF TORJA

Before I explain the courts, let me quickly go over the basis of why there are 5 courts for the fae in this world.

Torja, the world where CoF takes place, has a bit of a different system for the seasons and calendar years. Rather than being divided into 12 months of varying numbers of days, the 365 day year is chunked into 5 seasons of 73 days each.

The seasons are Steady Thaw, Great Growth, Bright Heat, Swift Chill, and Dim Cold.

Steady Thaw (January 1st to March 13th) is the period where the ice and snow from the previous season (Dim Chill) begin to recede, as the land steadily warms up and begins to make way for what we would call spring. 

Great Growth (March 14th to May 26th) is when plants and animals begin to pop up once more. It’s the time of rebirth, life, and basically things thriving without the obstacle of the cold once more.

Bright Heat (May 27th to August 7th) is when things steadily warm up, and the haze of what we know as summer fully sets in. Plants and animals are at their height in numbers, and preparation for harvest begins.

Swift Chill (August 8th to October 19th) is when temperatures finally start to drop again, steadily sinking lower and lower as the weeks go by. Leaves start to change color, and most harvests take place around this time.

Dim Cold (October 20th to December 31st) is when it finally starts to snow, and daylight is at its shortest. Many animals go into hibernation, and plants either die off or go dormant as temperatures drop.

If you’d like a more visual representation of this, there’s this little chart I’ve made! It also explains how people indicate their birthdays, and how you can convert your own!

FAE COURTS

As mentioned, there is a fae court for each of the seasons. Each ruler of these courts is one of Ysen’s children, created as the fae grew in numbers and needed more delegated work.

As you may notice, they all bear the same mark somewhere on their body--This is Ysen’s Crest, the same mark on their wings that they use to brand something as ‘theirs.’

With the exception of Siolae, they’re all pretty much their parent’s kids and overgrown brats, but let’s get into each of them individually!

Lorír

(Pronounced ‘lor-EAR’) | She/they

Lorír is the oldest of Ysen’s children, and presides over the Great Growth court. She is a self-proclaimed ‘master of beasts’ and apparently keeps quite an extensive collection of the various species found over Torja--and this includes mortals.

Though she shares the fae’s hostility towards mortals, her habit of preserving individuals for her own interests rather than simply killing them has earned her the spot of the family eccentric, though as she only keeps one of each species and terrorizes the rest, it’s not a major point of contention within the group.

Timme-T’et

(Pronounced ‘timmeh-tet’) | He/they/it

Timme-T’et is the youngest of Ysen’s children, and presides over the Bright Heat court. He has an affinity for all things arthropodic, but has a preference towards insects and arachnids. Like Lorír, he has a collection, but prefers to keep their numbers high.

Timme-T’et also oversees the production of Doppelgangers, a unique entry in the ranks of the fae that require quite a bit of preparation before they are sent out into the mortal world. 

Gospella

(Pronounced ‘goss-PELL-a’) | She/her

Gospella is the second-oldest of Ysen’s children, and presides over the Swift Chill court. She is quite arrogant of her power, and this grew to the point that she actually tore off her other head. Because of this brutality, she is believed to be Ysen’s favorite.

She doesn’t get along well with her other siblings, seeing some of their own habits and hobbies as weaknesses, and maintains a fierce hostility towards mortals.

Vispill

(Pronounced ‘vis-pill’) | They/them

Vispill is the middle of Ysen’s children, and presides over the Dim Cold court. Unlike the rest of their siblings, they do not directly antagonize mortals, and instead prefer to keep a distance and leave them to their own despair.

Vispill was not a direct creation of Ysen, and instead was created with one of Phoena’s plumes, technically making them a child of both Ysen and Phoena. Only Ysen knows this, however.

Siolae

(Pronounced ‘shuh-LAY’) | He/it

Siolae is the second-youngest of Ysen’s children, and presides over the Steady Thaw court. Though the second-youngest, he was actually the last to join as a court ruler, as he was originally not a member of the fae at all--he was the first mortal to be turned into a unicorn, by Ysen themself.

Siolae now oversees all unicorns. Though his morals do not align with the rest of the fae, he has resigned himself to working with the other courts, seeing no other alternative other than risking death as punishment. His horn has worn down over the centuries, and is now little more than a nub.

COURT SYSTEM

As one might expect, each court takes precedence as each season rolls around--Though at the moment I’m unsure if I’ll make the rulers of the courts the respective gods for the seasons, too...

There’s definitely a lot of squabbling and bickering when it’s time for somebody to give up the seat for their sibling, but for the most part, change-overs have been without serious issue.

Certain things do tend to happen more often when one is in charge, too. As you might guess, Doppelgangers come about more often during Bright Heat, and unicorn attacks are more likely during Steady Thaw.

The ruler of the court currently in power is supposed to be the direct line of communication for Ysen, who is often busy doing their own things. When good or bad news happens, it falls on the one in charge to notify their parent.

When other gods wish to speak to Ysen, they must first go to the one holding the seat, though certain children are definitely more willing to do this than others. Siolae and Timme-T’et are typically the easiest to speak to, while Gospella is very picky about who she allows to speak to Ysen.