Post by Lorekeeper on Apr 29, 2007 21:50:15 GMT -8
The Mists
Born from a mixture of Banality and the ancient protections erected by the fae to hide themselves from the eyes and minds of mortals, the Mists stand as the greatest barrier (second only to Banality itself) between the Kithain and the Dreaming. Because they have made themselves part of the mortal world, all changelings suffer from the forgetfulness inflicted by the Mists. These clouds of disenchantment and befuddlement deprive most changelings of their memories of Arcadia, their post lives and even keep them from remembering their true selves.
Unless they work aggressively to retain enough Glamour to ward off the effects of the Mists, changelings quickly degenerate into their mortal forms,losing not only the physical evidence of their faerie nature but the memories that they were ever anything more than human. This state of partial amnesia leaves afflicted changelings with a gap in their minds that aches to be filled, driving them to search desperately for what is missing. For them, the hero's quest of self-discovery is a journey undergone many times, much like a recurring dream - or,in some cases, nightmare.
Occasionally the Mists part, revealing glimpses of a changeling's past. Most often, this occurs in dreams, for the dreams of the fae are, in fact, rare moments of contact with the Dreaming. Once in a great while, a changeling recalls something of her life in Arcadia or a snippet of information about one of her past reincarnations. Too often, however, the curtain drops, and the dreamlike memory dissipates under the harsh glare of Banality.
The Mists always hide the Dreaming or anything connected to it from the eyes of true mortals. The Banality inherent in most humans blinds them to anything that exists outside the normal parameters of their world view. What they don't believe in, they don't see, or else they find some rational explanation for it such as a momentary hallucination or a "trick of the light." Unless deliberately enchanted, mortals remain wrapped up in their comforting layers of reality, logic and cynical disbelief.
The Mists separate the fae from the mundane, clouding the minds of mortals so that they do not remember their encounters with things faerie . A side effect of Banality, the Mists exemplify the force of human rationality.
Most mortals, and un-enchanted supernatural beings, do not remember their encounters with the fae accurately. The Mists are likely to erase much of these memories. The amount of Banality an individual possesses determines exactly what she remembers.
The following is a chart should be consulted whenever an un-enchanted mortal (or supernatural) witnesses a chimerical effect or chimerical creature. This chart is also used to determine what happens to mundane beings that have been enchanted and are subsequently returned to the mortal world:
Banality Rating - - - - - - - - - - - Memory:
0 Total Recall: Everything remembered with crystal clarity.
1 Startling Clarity: The entirety of the encounter is remembered as if it were yesterday.
2 Hazy Memory: Nearly everything is remembered,though some of the details may be hazy.
3 Disoriented: The individual is slightly confused and possibly shaken, but is able to recall most of his experiences.
4 Uncertainty: The person has a vague memory of what occurred, but is plagued by doubts as to the validity of the experience.
5 Haze: A hazy recollection of the experience is possible, but the individual doubts her own memories. She dismisses the experiences a momentary delusion, unless she has physical proof.
6 Flashbacks: The person may experience occasional vivid flashbacks of his experiences, but they otherwise seem like a distant dream.
7 Dreamlike Quality: The individual recalls only vague, dreamlike images, and doubts that the experience ever occurred.
8 Distant Dream: Something must provoke the memory the memory and even then the experience are recalled as nothing more than a faded dream.
9 Complete Denial: The character has only faint scraps of dreamlike recollection and completely denies the experience ever occurred.
10 Complete Blank: The person remembers absolutely nothing of his experiences with the fae.
Born from a mixture of Banality and the ancient protections erected by the fae to hide themselves from the eyes and minds of mortals, the Mists stand as the greatest barrier (second only to Banality itself) between the Kithain and the Dreaming. Because they have made themselves part of the mortal world, all changelings suffer from the forgetfulness inflicted by the Mists. These clouds of disenchantment and befuddlement deprive most changelings of their memories of Arcadia, their post lives and even keep them from remembering their true selves.
Unless they work aggressively to retain enough Glamour to ward off the effects of the Mists, changelings quickly degenerate into their mortal forms,losing not only the physical evidence of their faerie nature but the memories that they were ever anything more than human. This state of partial amnesia leaves afflicted changelings with a gap in their minds that aches to be filled, driving them to search desperately for what is missing. For them, the hero's quest of self-discovery is a journey undergone many times, much like a recurring dream - or,in some cases, nightmare.
Occasionally the Mists part, revealing glimpses of a changeling's past. Most often, this occurs in dreams, for the dreams of the fae are, in fact, rare moments of contact with the Dreaming. Once in a great while, a changeling recalls something of her life in Arcadia or a snippet of information about one of her past reincarnations. Too often, however, the curtain drops, and the dreamlike memory dissipates under the harsh glare of Banality.
The Mists always hide the Dreaming or anything connected to it from the eyes of true mortals. The Banality inherent in most humans blinds them to anything that exists outside the normal parameters of their world view. What they don't believe in, they don't see, or else they find some rational explanation for it such as a momentary hallucination or a "trick of the light." Unless deliberately enchanted, mortals remain wrapped up in their comforting layers of reality, logic and cynical disbelief.
The Mists separate the fae from the mundane, clouding the minds of mortals so that they do not remember their encounters with things faerie . A side effect of Banality, the Mists exemplify the force of human rationality.
Most mortals, and un-enchanted supernatural beings, do not remember their encounters with the fae accurately. The Mists are likely to erase much of these memories. The amount of Banality an individual possesses determines exactly what she remembers.
The following is a chart should be consulted whenever an un-enchanted mortal (or supernatural) witnesses a chimerical effect or chimerical creature. This chart is also used to determine what happens to mundane beings that have been enchanted and are subsequently returned to the mortal world:
Banality Rating - - - - - - - - - - - Memory:
0 Total Recall: Everything remembered with crystal clarity.
1 Startling Clarity: The entirety of the encounter is remembered as if it were yesterday.
2 Hazy Memory: Nearly everything is remembered,though some of the details may be hazy.
3 Disoriented: The individual is slightly confused and possibly shaken, but is able to recall most of his experiences.
4 Uncertainty: The person has a vague memory of what occurred, but is plagued by doubts as to the validity of the experience.
5 Haze: A hazy recollection of the experience is possible, but the individual doubts her own memories. She dismisses the experiences a momentary delusion, unless she has physical proof.
6 Flashbacks: The person may experience occasional vivid flashbacks of his experiences, but they otherwise seem like a distant dream.
7 Dreamlike Quality: The individual recalls only vague, dreamlike images, and doubts that the experience ever occurred.
8 Distant Dream: Something must provoke the memory the memory and even then the experience are recalled as nothing more than a faded dream.
9 Complete Denial: The character has only faint scraps of dreamlike recollection and completely denies the experience ever occurred.
10 Complete Blank: The person remembers absolutely nothing of his experiences with the fae.