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known for their Machivellian
political acumen, House Ailil is the best known of the Unseelie noble houses.
The house's founder, King Ailil, was the husband of Maeve, the queen who
instigated the Cattle Raid of Cooley, in which the great hero, Cuchulainn
lost his life. Ailil was an astute politician, a philosopher and a great
student of secret knowledge. Both House Ailil and House Eiluned hark back
to this line. It is said that Ailil stayed on Earth when the sidhe laft in
order to preserve its connection to the Dreaming, taking a new name and gathering
around himself a group of changelings dedicated to pretecting his sanctuary
from Banality. Although Ailil himself can hardly be considered Unseelie,
the house which bears his name is firmly entrenched among the unseelie and
are active participants in the Shadow Court.
Members of House Ailil tend to be masters of politics, intrigue and manipulation. They are rarely fully trusted by other Kithain, even those of their own house. They make the most of their talents and have an innate arrogance and supreme confidence in their ability to handle any situation and come out ahead. They love creature comforts, fine clothing and other evidence of thier noble standing, taking these as their due, but they love power even more than the trappings that come with it. Ailil often fine tue theru Ravaging to evoke as much pain and terror from their victims as possible, claiming that nightmares produce the sweetest and most potent Glamour. They have little regard for those they Ravage, believing that there is always more Glamour to be had.
Those of House Ailil often have dark hair and eyes. Regardless of their actual eye color, they are noted for having extremely compelling gazes. They perfer dark attirem with their favorite combinations featuring black clothing set off by silver accessories.
Because of their political skills, when thet interact with Seelie Courts, they are often found as advisors to kings, leaders of political factions and as the real power behind the thrones of weaker rulers. Fiefs ruled by House Ailil are hotbeds of intrigue and often suspected of Unseelie and Shadow Court activity even when they are not actively involved. Of course, the word "actively" can have so many meanings...
As a house, Ailil wants to overthrow the Seelie nobility and gain influence in the mortal world. They believe the Seelie have become stagnant and that Ailil is most fit to lead (through the Shadow Court) the fae through the Endless Winter and into the coming Spring. They are not trying to bring on the Winter, just preparing to survive it and gain power while doing so. They plan to allow WInter to demoralize and destroy their opponents and seize power when their foes are weakest.
The more traditional members of the house are members of the Purist faction. They see the need to right the Balance: The Seelie ruled for 600 years; now there needs to be an Unseelie time, then a return to alternating rulership. The younger members and the real movers-and-shakers want total Unseelie rule. They control the Reformist party. Many Ailil, particularly those of the Reformist party, masquerade as Modernests, promising equality to the commoners in exchange for their loyalty. These are usually marked as cannon fodder; Ailil has no intention of giving up their noble rights and privileges.
Though it has been forgotten by all but a few of the eldest fae, the Kithain of House Balor trace their ancestry back to a line of sidhe who mixed their blood with that of the Formorians. Most changelings believe that the house name is simply an Unseelie joke, a slap in the face to the proud Seelie. The twisted members of House Balor have no intention of disillusioning them. Because of this, most Seelie believe that members of House Balor are like bad children, that since they are dissatisfied by their place in fae society, they say and do things merely tro shock their Seelie cousins. Few understand the true danger the house poses.
The house reckons their founder as Lugh of the Long Arm, grandson of Balor of the Evil Eye, king of the Formorians. Thus, they believe they are doubly royal and laugh at the pretentions of House Gwydion. As Lugh slew his own grandfather, they believe that they are destined to rid themselves of the weak and foolish Seelie, and take their rightful place as the rulers of the fae. They would then demand tribute from all their subjects, and rule the humans as overlords. House Balor believes that the Endless Winter is almost here, and that a strong hand needs to guide the helm to steer the fae through it. They actively work to bring in the Winter so they can seize power as soon as possible.
Most sidhe from House Balor belong to the Reformist party. They want power in both the mortal and supernatural world and seek to gather as much Glamour as possible to aid them in their takeover attempt before the Endless Winter. Some among them see no future for the fae at all and these follow the anarchists. They care for nothing but spreading chaos and fulfilling their current desires as completely as possible. Believing they are doomed anyway, they want to spread the wealth.
All members of House Balor are marked by some sort of deformity, a throwback to their Formorian blood. Such deformities are not always apparent, nor are all of them physical. They might alsso be mantal or emotional. Many changelings fo House Balor flirt with disaster by carrying and utilizing iron weapons as a way of thumbing their noses at the other sidhe. They do not suffer from Banality's Curse, the fraility of most sidhe. They are even more likely to fall into fits of depression, however. Unlike Balor's burning eye, their deformities give them no special powers.
Members of House Balor can often be found pretending to be from other houses (especially Eiluned or Dougal). They are highly skilled in both warfare and infiltration. Many bide their time, worming their way into the confidence if Seelie they percieve to be weak and ripe for takeover, acting as knights, confidants or courtiers. While some members of House Balor cooperate with the Shadow Court, the house has its own agenda, which it hopes to eventually implement. For now, they act in concert with Houses Ailil and Leanhaun, content to bask in the prestiege of bringing the Black Spiral Dancers and the modern Fomori into an alliance with the Unseelie.
While they are somewhat handicapped by their deformities, the Formoian blood of those of House Balor shields them from the worst effects of iron. Cold iron still causes members of House Balor some discomfort, but they take no penalty when preforming tasks while in contact with the metal, nor do they lose any temporary Glamour when struck by iron weapons without suffering any penalties. If slain by an iron weapon, however, their faerie souls are destroyed just like any other changeling's.
All members of House Balor have some sort of deformity (physical, mental or emotional) that cannot be rectified through prosthetics or psychological help. Changelings of House Balor can never rid themselves of their deformities.
Members of House Leanhaun are intimately tied to mortal inspiration, and are the most Glamour-hungry of all sidhe. Without Glamour, those of House Leanhaun begin to age rapidly. Cut off for a few months from Glamour, members of House Leanhaun can go from childling to grump almost overnight, suffering all the pain and loss such a change brings in its wake. Though other fae know that this house is so cursed, they are unaware of the cure for it - a forbidden form of Ravaging known as Rhapsody.
The aging effects can be reversed, and aging itself can be held at bay fir an unnaturally long period of time through Rhaposidy. This is engendered by particularly creative mortals in response to the Leanhaun's direct infusion of Glamour into them. The mortal who is thus inspired burns with enhanced creativity, pouring his whole life into his art, be it music, poetry, prose, painting, sculpture, dance or any other art form. The Leanhaun feed off the Glamour thus produced, often becoming the lovers of those they Rhapodize, while the mortals become utterly obsessed with their sidhe lovers. Such a direct channel to the Dreaming, and the creative and emotional outpouring it produces, is very dangerous for the mortals involved. While they fashion artistic masterpieces, they live all too briefly, burning out with one rapturous, incandescent flare.
Like their founder, the graceful, alluring and talented Lady Leanhaun, once bard to the High King of Hibernia, those of House Leanhaun are known for their cultured ways, beauty, grace and seductive natures. Most sidhe reciognise the house's ability to locate and cultivate the best human artists and Dreamers. They are seen as great patrons of the arts. Few Seelie are really aware of the Unseelie nature of this house; those that do know of it are puzzled by it as they have no idea of what the Leanhaun actually do to gain Glamour. Further, many members of the house are themselves noted artists. For this reason, those who are known to Seelie usually hold positions such as Masters of Revelry or Court Bard.
Most membres of House Leanhaun fear that the Seelie will discover their true natures. Their chief desire is to be free of the threat of persucution should the other houses find out the truth. They want complete and unrestricted access to the kind of Glamour they need, and feel justified in taking that which they need to survive. House Leanhaun believe their goals can best be brought about through a takeover from the squeemish Seelie and the empowerment of commoners. They advocate commoner equality, hoping to make allies who will protect them from teh outher noble houses. Most of them are members of the Reformists and the Modernists. There are a number of Ritualists among the Leanhaun, however, as they feel a great need for the Glamour which pageantry can provide.
Leanhaun sidhe age unnaturally as a result of an ancient curse cast upon their house. Those who do not engage in Rhaposdy at least once a month, age one year for every month they fail to do so.
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