The Displaced

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Displaced interact with the world in a very disorienting way.

Overview

The Displaced (Commonspeak), also Dishligh (Feyspeak \ˈdiħli\ for off the path), are a Fey species native to Arcadia. They were once the sole species of The Nigh Court, ruled by His Imminence, a Court devoted to Strange Meaning through proximity, thresholds, and nearness without arrival.

Since the dissolution of their Court during the War of Erasure, the Displaced exist without a unifying society or ruling Fey God. They are now rare, solitary figures within Arcadia, often encountered at boundaries, entrances, crossroads, and places where something is almost, but not quite, present.

History

Shattered Age

The Displaced came into existence in the late Shattered Age, circa NIR 820, with the founding of the Nigh Court. This Court concerned itself with liminality, the meaning of waiting, and the significance of being near rather than within. Its philosophy held that Strange Meaning arose in the space just before transition.

The Displaced were shaped to embody this state permanently, never fully aligned with any single position, moment, or condition.

War of Erasure

During The War of Erasure, circa NIR 1250, the Nigh Court was dissolved through philosophical annihilation. His Imminence was stripped of authority, and the Court’s societal structure collapsed entirely.

Unlike many Court-bound species, the Displaced did not vanish with their god. A small number of individuals persisted, sustained not by divine reinforcement, but by intense personal adherence to the philosophy that had shaped them.

Dawn Age

In the current era, the Displaced survive only as individuals. They do not gather, reproduce culturally, or attempt to restore their Court. Their presence is fragmentary, echoing the incomplete nature of their Strange Meaning.

Cosmology

The Nigh Court asserted that Strange Meaning is found in proximity rather than obtainment. To be near the idea, some thing, place, moment, or threshold, was considered more significant than arrival itself.

From this belief emerged the Displaced, beings whose existence is perpetually offset. They are not misaligned due to error or injury, but because perfect alignment would negate their purpose.

That some Displaced continue to exist after the loss of their Fey God is considered unusual among the Fey. Scholars of Arcadia often cite them as evidence that Strange Meaning, once sufficiently internalized, can persist without divine reinforcement, though at great personal cost.

Society

The Displaced no longer possess a Court society. There are no shared rituals, hierarchies, or communal spaces that unite them.

Instead, individual Displaced occupy roles within larger Arcadian society, often as:

• Wardens of thresholds and boundaries.
• Guides through unstable or liminal regions.
• Specialists sought out by other Courts for tasks involving transition, misplacement, or concealment.

Some Displaced depart Arcadia entirely, entering the Integrum or other Strange Realms where their condition is advantageous. These departures are rarely permanent, but few return unchanged.

Ecology

The Displaced initially resemble Fairfolk in form, but prolonged observation reveals their defining trait: they are not where they appear to be. Visual, auditory, and other sensory indicators consistently originate one to two meters away from their true location.

This displacement allows them to interact with objects at a distance that appears impossible, such as opening doors or manipulating tools from across a room. Their movements often feel delayed or misregistered, unsettling even to other Fey.

In addition, the Displaced can deliberately blur their presence, becoming poorly resolved, as though viewed through an incorrect lens. During this state, their outlines soften, their features lose clarity, and observers struggle to fix their exact position in space.

They favor liminal environments, doorways, corridors, borders, and places defined by passage rather than dwelling. When such spaces are absent, the Displaced appear increasingly uncomfortable, as though the world itself is misaligned.