The Changeling Chronicle deals with the realms of High Fantasy. Time has withered the dreams of old, but a few exiles from the enchanted lands remain to inspire or to plunder the dreams of Mankind. These are the fae, and gone is the nature of the world that remembered the songs of such beings. Now, even the mundane banality, the "reality" of the world, has come to claim these spirits, until they live amongst us, not knowing even themselves what glamour lies within them. But in the moonlight, in the quiet dusty corners, the shadows of the gutter, and amongst forgotten ancient dells and glades, fae that have not lost their way await, ready to ensnare the unwary into the stuff of their dreams and nightmares. And if you are one such forgotten child of the old blood, beware lest your dreams come to claim you and change you forever.

In the year 469 of the Christian Lord in the Kingdom of Dumnonia, the Incubus, Merlin, gazed upon two stones Both stones were unblemished, but when one traced the smooth irregular lines of their surfaces, one could feel the hidden ancient runes left there. One of the stones was dark and somber but of a luster and sheen that could not be denied. Flecks of gold and green could be made out within its translucent layers, drawing the eye within as if to capture buried treasure, until all of one's thoughts were encased in the darkness of the rock. The other stone, rather than capture and draw in light, reflected it in shining brilliance, so much so that the eye was sometimes forced to look away, as if in awe. Cool white like that of a Roman marble, it lay unblemished and pure, but lacking in subtlety and depth. Everything about the white stone was apparent, revealed with little more than a glance. Looking at it, one somehow knew that it was as pure and white in its heart as it seemed on the surface.
"Merlin? The Seneschal said that you summoned us." Two of the palace clerks had intruded upon Merlin's reflections.
"Yes, I know. Come in. The King awaits me and I have something to tell you both before I go."
"What are you looking at Merlin?" One of the clerks boldly advanced, gazing down at the two stones.
Merlin was amused at the boy's bold curiosity, which reminded him nothing more than of the King when he had been a lad.
"What's your name?" Merlin asked the clerk.
"Edgar, son of Dunstan." The boy puffed himself up proudly, as no doubt he'd been taught to do when reciting his name and that of his father.
"And you?" he asked the other, quieter clerk.
"I am Lucien, son of Romanus."
Merlin regarded the two clerks. Edgar was fair of hair and features, descended from those of the Saxon invaders who had been captured by Arthur and who had been allowed to remain, once they had sworn fealty to the King of Britons. Lucien was of a darker cast and obviously had Roman blood within his veins.
"Well, Edgar and Lucien, what you are looking at are two hearthstones. They are all that is left of the Kingdom of Ador Sanh;" At this Merlin laid his right hand upon the white stone; "and of the Shadow realm of Thraxenthome;" and saying this he put his hand on the dark stone.
"Tell me," Merlin asked the boys, "Have you heard of either of these places?"
Edgar at once shook his head. Lucien paused a moment but then finally agreed that he had not.
"No, I hadn't thought you would of," Merlin nodded.
"So, these stones are all that are left of two kingdoms?" Lucien regarded the stones with what seemed mixture of dread and wonder. "But what of the people? What happened to them?" Edgar asked.
"Oh, they are here," Merlin assured the boy, while patting both stones. "You just cannot see them, nor can they see you. They are parted from this world yet they exist. These people are spirit folk, who once lived everywhere, within stone, in shadow, under leaf and bark. These spirits have of late grown more silent with the coming of the Christian God and I fear that their time is passing and that they must soon fade from the world, growing quiet evermore. And for now, the time is not yet come for them to be freed."
"And you did this, Merlin?" Lucien asked.
Merlin nodded. "Yes, long ago. Before the boy could ask why, he put up his hand. "I did it to help the people of Ador Sanh. They were locked in a pointless war with those of Thraxenthome; one that would have destroyed both had it been allowed to continue. The gentle folk of Ador Sanh have done me good service in the past and I would not see them end. Also, I could not just destroy out of hand those of Thraxenthome. But so locked in strife were these two realms, that I could think of only one way to bring an end to it and save them both from the changing of Time."
Merlin pointed at the white stone. "There lays the castle and court of Ador Sanh, and it's attendant lands; it's people reposed and unaware of the change that has come upon them. The realm of Ador Sanh was in the Pennine Mountains, and far from where men dared tread, they thrived and were happy. The spirit folk, fleeing strife in their homeland of Hibernia had come here to Briton, hoping for an honourable peace." Merlin nodded toward the dark stone. "But when the Saxon invaders came, as they will someday come again, came with them some of the shadow folk. I've traced the wanderings of this people back to Thrace in the time of the great explorer Jason, who once encountered them there. They'd come to find a new home, tired of their wanderings and at first were welcomed by the folk of Ador Sanh, who lived nearby. They continued in peace and would have but for terrible happenings fostered by the wicked intervention of someone whom I shall not name."
"Seeing no way to end the war, once it had begun, I have instead endeavored to save both realms by separating them. In this manner, I shall also preserve them from the ravages of changing time. It is the Age of Man now, and such spirts as they are, and perhaps myself, have no place in the world that is coming. My enchantments shall hold up until the time where all such sundering magics fade. At times, when the planets and stars are aligned correctly, then the folk of these realms will be able to pass over back into our world, but for no more than a day or a night. But when this next happens, both shall be each far from the other and can no more war nor will they have reason to voice their bitter hatred."
"So, that is why I have brought you two here, lads." Merlin laid his long fingered hands upon the shoulders of both boys. "You Edgar shall take the white stone by land. Go north, up into the land of Caledonia and leave the stone amongst the wild Picts who will give it a home and who respect such folk as you do bring them." Merlin turned to the other boy. "Lucien, yours is by necessity a longer journey. You shall ride to the coast and take ship for the continent. You will travel to far Illyria and leave the dark stone on one of it's wooded isles. The folk of that kingdom will find eternal peace amongst a people who fear and respect the powers of old."
Bundling up each stone in good cloth, Merlin told the boys. "There is an enchantment upon each stone that robs it of weight. This should help your journeys. But be quick. In a year's time, the stones shall revert to their proper weights such that ten good men would have difficulty moving them. Go each of you to prepare for your journeys. When I next see you, you shall be well travelled men whose hearts and heads will have had a lifetime full of adventures. Would it be that I could go in your stead. But duty awaits. I am off to the King."
All of a sudden in a rush to be off, Merlin ushered the boys out and then followed, locking the door behind him. When the room had grown silent, the candles burning lower and the shadows lengthening, out from one such shadow stepped two figures.
"Morgana, you see how my Master's power cloaked us. Merlin and those two dolts never even knew we were here."
Morgana Le Fey cast a dark eye upon the demonic imp who perched on her shoulder.
"Do not forget, Imp, that I am your Mistress now."
"Of course," the imp slavered. "I beg your pardon. Please do not hurt me." The imp jumped off Morgana's shoulder, uncovering the stones. "Tell me, what shall we do? Shall we kill the boys when they return and then take the stones? We could drink their blood!" The imp clapped its clawed horned hands in delight, thinking about the prospect of warm fresh blood.
"No," Morgana said, at once disappointing him. "Better to charm them and use them to take the stones back to my castle."
Morgana gazed down at the stones. "That meddling fool, Merlin! How dare he interfere in my plans! If it weren't for him, Thraxenthome would have destroyed Ador Sanh and I would have had an army of changeling slaves at my command. Who does he think he is, involving himself in MY affairs! I am only glad I have finally discovered where he has hidden the stones."
Morgana bent her hand down to caress the dark stone, which was the focus one of her designs upon Camelot. At once, a blue arc erupted, burning Morgana's hand and driving the imp off of the table, into the shelter of dark cobwebbed corner.
"Aieee!" Morgana grimaced, holding her wounded hand. She seethed, looking down at the stones. Merlin had obviously enchanted them in such a way that she could not touch them. And in doing so, Merlin had made them useless to her.
"MERLIN!" Morgana screamed her fury to the clouds outside the window.
"My Mistress," the imp pleaded, "fearing that Morgana's cry would draw attention. "We should flee. I beg you."
Realizing her anger had compromised them, Morgana nodded in agreement. "One thing first though." Taking a curved knife from her sleeve, Morgana used it to slice two deep wounds into her palms. Cradling the pooling blood, she uttered a dark forgotten curse of binding in the tongue of the ancient people who had lived in Briton even before the druids and the rocks at Stonehenge.
Uttering the spell, Morgana allowed the pooled blood to spill onto each stone. Blue fire erupted, but the blood touched the stones, soaking into each one.
Morgana recovered the stones with the cloth. "Now, though it take decades, centuries or even millennia, you folk shall find each other and the hates and sorrows I have given you each shall bear fruit once again. Though I cannot reclaim you, I can at least bring this hope of Merlin to the bitter end it deserves. As my blood has spilled upon you both, your blood shall spill and continue to spill from a wound that will never close until the end of time."
Whipping her cloak around her, Morgana fled through the shadow gate, nearly forgetting her imp familiar who just barely managed to jump on her coattail before the gate closed.

Modern Times:
Scottish settlers who came to found the mountain communities of Ben Lomond, Bonny Doon, Boulder Creek, and Scotts Valley back in the 19th century brought with them many things from their homeland; not the least of which was a stone from an ancient ruined castle on the northernmost edge of the Isle of Skye. The stone was a founding stone, and said to be magical. Despite its pagan association, there was comfort that something old and part of Scotland would accompany the settlers on their journey. However, when the Presbyterian minister discovered that some of his more superstitious brethren had brought the stone with them, he ordered it dumped off the wagon. In time, the stone became covered with grass and lay buried quietly in the earth until the time of its first awakening.
Serbian settlers from Yugoslavia, when they settled in the Watsonville-Pajaro area back in the 20's and 30's, brought with them the cornerstones of churches from the old country. One of these, a stone said to be a powerful saint's relic that had been captured from the Croatians, was divined by the Orthodox priest accompanying the settlers to be the work of the devil instead. He ordered it destroyed. Though up to twenty men attacked the black rock with heavy sledge hammers and chisels, they did nothing more than to blunt their tools. Fearing it was a work of the devil, the minister ordered the stone taken to the sea by fisherman, to be thrown overboard on the morning of November 1st. Before that could be done, the stone mysteriously disappeared.

Two courts, one seelie, one unseelie exist in the area. The seelie court lies in the realm of Ador Sanh, somewhere in the mountains near Big Basin Park, while the unseelie court, has recently surfaced in North Monterey County, in the wild area behind Laurales Grade Road. Whether by design or strange coincidence, both courts have a feud with each other that is millennia old, older than even the sundering of changelings from Arcadia.
However, though ancient, there is a spell on both courts of a strange and powerful nature such that both courts are separated from each other except for certain times of the year; namely on the days or nights of certain Celtic holidays, like Beltain and Samhain (& other holidays as given in the book), for twenty-four hours after both the Spring and Autumnal equinox, Midsummer Night, All Fools Day, May Day, and for twelve nights culminating in the Festival of Yule. These are called the times of joining where the castles and attendant lands of these courts mysteriously reappear in the context of the world. Because both courts exist far from where humans lives, neither has been discovered except on the rare occasion when some traveller happens upon the court and is taken prisoner, only to be released years later still unaged.
There are also rare astrological times in which a Dream Portal can open to one of these realms, usually through the imagination of a mortal rich in glamour. Taking advantage of these times, warriours and assassins of either court can enter the world, but only while the dream lasts.
Since these courts were enchanted before the time of the Shattering, the members of the courts are out of touch with time. If they stay in the world past the end of time for a Joining, then they are trapped in the world, often left to horrible death where they whither and fade away, sucked dry by "reality." Such is called the Withering and it is feared by members of both courts. The only hope for such caught is to find magics, dreamings and glamour of such quality that the changeling can survive until another time of Joining, where he/she can return home.
But because the courts are both so very ancient, in both exist faerie folk unlike others dwelling in any other kingdom outside Arcadia - namely the Dragonlords who rule both courts. These spirits, who always bind with a human soul and are "born" into the world, manifest themselves in a time of test and ultimately find their way to either Ador Sanh or Thraxenthome. They are beings of immense power and sagacity, having the collective memories of all Dragonlords of their line within them. Except for the time of their human existence, they rarely venture again into the real world.

The Shadow War: Though both courts chafe under the peace of King David, both are more concerned with conducting their secret "Shadow War" and thus both give at least lip service to the idea of peace. Pretending to be friends openly, secretly, they wage incessant warfare - mostly raiding and glamour plundering - on the foe court and any attendants and allies. But because of they can only exist in the world during the time of a Joining, the courts rely more on the neutral changelings born outside of their realms to act for them. These changelings are bribed, threatened, seduced and/or cajoled into acting for one side or the other so that there is strife within the changeling community and changelings, who had no stake with either side find they must deal with this ancient feud one way or another.

Ador Sanh - The seelie court of Ador Sanh is ruled by the Dragonlord, Cedric Marchaine. Cedric, born in the mannish year of 1638 in the Kingdom of Scotland, and like all Kings (and Queens) of Ador Sanh born after the Dark Ages, is a descendant of a Saxon named Edgar, son of Dunstan. All of this line tend to be fair haired and pale skinned.
The court of Ador Sanh is made up of mostly seelie aligned sidhe, trolls, boggons, satyrs and pookas. It is very rare for a nocker or eshu to be a member of this court and redcaps are almost unheard of. The diminutive sprites, like their dragonlord counterparts, are an ancient line that suffers withering too easily outside of the courts and usually remains within the lands of the realm.
Manners and customs within the court are reminiscent of the Middle Ages, with strong Scottish influences and Gaelic is as freely spoken more than any other language. The rule of Ador Sanh is of goodness through good laws and the adherence to such. The gleaning of glamour is to be done in such a manner that it will not harm the creativity or person of the man or woman it is taken from. There is little tolerance for those who violate the King's Will. While life in the fief lands is structured and orderly, life within the court is often quite merry and gay, revolving around intrigues of courtly love and the pursuit of pleasure. Titles are hereditary and nobles look down on commoners who aspire to be "better" than the station their birth has allocated them.

Thraxenthome - The unseelie court of Thraxenthome is ruled by the Dragonlord, Valeria Romanus. Valeria was born in the mannish year of 1496, in a part of the Adriatic Coastline that at that time belonged to the mercantile City State of Venice. Like all Queens (and Kings) of Thraxenthome born after the Dark Ages, Valeria is a descendant of a Roman Briton named Lucian. As is typical of her line, she is pale skined with a slight olive cast to her skin, dark-haired and dark-eyed.
The court of Thraxenthome is home to all types of Changelings, save sprites; though its population is mostly made up mostly of redcaps, trolls, dark sidhe, sluagh, boggans, pookas and satyrs. There are a few eshu who call Thraxenthome home and though nockers try to stay aloof from the courts, more are willing to side with Thraxenthome if pushed than with Ador Sanh.
Manners and customs within the court are reminiscent of the Middle Ages, with a strong Italian and Roman influence. Title names awarded are often Roman in origin, such as Equitas or Centurion; and Latin is spoken more than any other tongue. The rule of Thraxenthome is of personal freedom and that all changelings are above humankind and as such, are free to use them as they will. There are no restrictions of the gleaning of glamour as long as a fair tithe of dross is paid to the Queen. If not, the violating changeling will be tortured and killed in a manner to entertain the court. Again, sharing the paradox of the enemy realm, court life in Thraxenthome is quiet, serious and very studious and aesthetic while life in the fief lands, though regulated, is done so in such a manner to allow the greatest personal freedom where the strong rule the weak but where everyone has the chance to move up in station according to their own talents.

Neutrals - Changelings of all sorts live in the mountains and coastal plains of the area, delighting in the rich fields of glamour present in the population. Though no doubt such would be pleased to live out their lives in freedom, such is not always the case - at least without effort. The presence of two hostile courts on either side has forced Changelings to adapt by either hiding, fighting (for either side, both or just to remain free) or walking a precarious political tightrope. Though the powerful presence of both courts plays fully only at times of Joining, adherents to both courts who live in the Sun Lands (the real world), will still place pressure on other changelings, forcing them to adhere to the will of Dragonlords sundered. If tithes of dross and aid when demanded are not given, such changelings could find themselves facing the wrath of a Dragonlord's troops at the time of a Joining. Woe be it to the changeling that finds her/himself with fealty bonds to both courts, but as strange as it sounds, this often happens. Such poor individuals often have to give up most of their dross as tithings.
Though such a fact acts as a deterrent to most changelings, the high amounts of glamour in the area to be gleaned makes changelings willing to brave this factionalism in order to reap such rich harvests. And not all changelings gravitate toward one or the either court. Many act as mercenaries, being paid instead of paying for their services if they grow powerful enough. Others simply defy the courts, acting on their own power and support to help them fight or flee in times of a Joining or when being pressured by a thug from one side or another. Many eshu, knockers, boggans, trolls, satyrs and sluagh refuse to give allegiance to either court, rightly seeing the Shadow War as none of their concern. Though not so rare, there are troll, redcap and sidhe warriours who fight for the common changeling and who aid them when unduly pressured by one side or the other. But given the power of the courts at a time of Joining, such an activity, though brave, is very dangerous.
Most PLAYER CHARACTERS will be assumed to be of the neutral population of the Sun Lands unless permission is otherwise given. However, they are free to ally themselves with either side or neither as they see fit.

Tithes and services - Though it seems that not much is gained from allegiance to either one of the courts, courts will still aid their vassals in times of Joining when such aid is called upon and seems justified. This in itself has caused some neutral changelings to willingly espouse the cause of one side or another. Some clever changelings even manage to have the best of both worlds, playing turncoat to whichever side seems to be winning for the moment.
Aid when given will vary depending on which court a vassal is subject to.
Vassals of Thraxenthome can always call upon troops of that realm to aid them in a grudge or grievance against a neutral or enemy changeling. However, if a grievance is against another Thraxenthome vassal, then the changelings must fight and whoever wins is judged to be in the right. Also, if a changeling has done good service or has given good favours to the Queen's interests, then sometimes judgement will be arbitrarily decided for that changeling.
Vassals of Ador Sanh cannot make a false claim against another, regardless of who that changeling does or does not give allegiance to. In all cases of accusation and grievance, judges who are employed by the court, or even the King himself, will sit in judgement of a case, trying to make a fair and just decision based on the facts.
Ador Sanh will try to aid its adherents, with information, and at times, loaned magic items if the need seems justified. For extraordinary efforts beyond the call of duty, the King will award bequests of land, magic items, and (rarely) even titles (much to the consternation of the nobles).
Tithes of dross are expected. Ador Sanh assigns a standard tithe that is called upon all changelings to pay. Thraxenthome usually assigns tax collectors to gather the "harvest." Such collectors will assay as they can and often stronger individuals will pay less than those weaker who can offer little resistance.

Boundaries - Within the areas of North Monterey County, Watsonville, Pajaro, Capitola, Live Oak, and Santa Cruz, changelings tend, if not neutral, to give vassalage to the Dream Court of Thraxenthome.
Within the areas of the North Coast, Bonny Doon, Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond, Zayante, Scotts Valley, U.C.S.C. campus, Aptos and Soquel, changelings tend, if they are not wild neutrals, to give vassalage to the Dream Court of Ador Sanh.