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===Morrigan=== | ===Morrigan=== | ||
Before | Before Arcadia, Morrigan was an Elf queen of Pelithos, ruling from c. NIR 1120 through the long approach of the Dark Age. Her realm prospered even as others faltered, and she was admired for her charm, decisiveness, and mastery of courtly politics. Beneath that prosperity lay a brutal order. Morrigan governed through fear disguised as devotion, cultivating dependence by granting favor lavishly and withdrawing it without warning. As the Endless Moon’s influence spread and corruption took root across Pelithos, she did not resist it. She learned to weaponize it: severing alliances, isolating bloodlines, and ensuring that no rival could ever gather support without her consent. For decades, this made her untouchable. But as the Dark Age deepened, her methods bred enemies as skilled as she was. A coalition of rival houses moved against her in a rare moment of unity. Though she survived, Morrigan was defeated politically, stripped of legitimacy, and forced into exile. For the first time, she lost control of the narrative of her life. | ||
After the War of Erasure | When the Midnight Road opened c. NIR 1350, Morrigan seized it not as a refugee, but as a second coronation. She joined the mass migration to Arcadia in disgrace, presenting herself as a fallen queen wronged by a dying world, carrying with her retainers, secrets, and carefully chosen captives. In Arcadia she became Sidhe, and her exile hardened into obsession. She insinuated herself into Strange society by offering guidance, passage, and protection to displaced Fey, only to fracture those bonds once they formed, recreating the conditions of dependence she had mastered in Pelithos. After the War of Erasure, her attention turned to mortals drawn along the Midnight Road. She began stealing children, transforming them through unknown magics into Fetchlings. These lives, severed before they could fully cohere, both embodied and empowered the truth she had learned through exile: meaning could be interrupted, and thereby claimed. By c. NIR 1500, this fixation culminated in ascension. Morrigan claimed the Bleak vacancy of Relation, becoming the Never Queen, ruler of the Half Court, and the living doctrine of futures broken before they can be fulfilled. | ||
===Finvarra=== | ===Finvarra=== | ||
Revision as of 22:17, 29 December 2025
Main > Compendia > Creatures > Strange Gods > Fey Gods > The Never Queen and The Promised King
Overview
The Never Queen and The Promised King are the co-rulers of The Court of Half Tomorrows, one of the Concordant Courts of Arcadia. Together, they explore a Bleak inflection of the Strange Essences of Relation and Time, seeking meaning through interruption, severance, and oaths unfulfilled. Their rulership is mutual rather than shared; neither philosophy can act without the other’s shadow. Their fabled relationship is that of star-crossed lovers.
Never Queen Overview
Morrigan (Feytongue \ʌ\ for great queen), the Never Queen, is the Fey God of the Fetchlings and was the ruler of The Half Court prior to The Concordance. Her original Court explored the Strange Essence of Relation, seeking meaning through interruption and severance, and was obsessed with breaking bonds, unfinished connections, and stolen continuity.
Among mortals, Morrígan is widely known in distorted folklore as a child-stealer, oath-breaker, or herald of loss. Most accurate knowledge comes from Strange explorers and from the Fetchlings themselves, whose testimonies are often dismissed due to their fragmented identities.
Promised King Overview
Finvarra (Feytongue \ˈfɪnvɑrɑ\ for pale top), the Promised King, is the Fey God of the Changelings and was the ruler of The Court of Tomorrow prior to The Concordance. His original Court explored the Strange Essence of Time, seeking meaning through obligation, and was obsessed with oaths and vows.
Among mortals, Finvarra appears in heroic epics and cautionary tales alike, often as a distant patron who sets great tasks but never grants resolution. Lore about him is preserved primarily through bards, failed champions, and ruined adventuring orders. He is the inspiration for the adage "beware knights in shining armor".
History
Origin and Ascension
Morrigan
Before Arcadia, Morrigan was an Elf queen of Pelithos, ruling from c. NIR 1120 through the long approach of the Dark Age. Her realm prospered even as others faltered, and she was admired for her charm, decisiveness, and mastery of courtly politics. Beneath that prosperity lay a brutal order. Morrigan governed through fear disguised as devotion, cultivating dependence by granting favor lavishly and withdrawing it without warning. As the Endless Moon’s influence spread and corruption took root across Pelithos, she did not resist it. She learned to weaponize it: severing alliances, isolating bloodlines, and ensuring that no rival could ever gather support without her consent. For decades, this made her untouchable. But as the Dark Age deepened, her methods bred enemies as skilled as she was. A coalition of rival houses moved against her in a rare moment of unity. Though she survived, Morrigan was defeated politically, stripped of legitimacy, and forced into exile. For the first time, she lost control of the narrative of her life.
When the Midnight Road opened c. NIR 1350, Morrigan seized it not as a refugee, but as a second coronation. She joined the mass migration to Arcadia in disgrace, presenting herself as a fallen queen wronged by a dying world, carrying with her retainers, secrets, and carefully chosen captives. In Arcadia she became Sidhe, and her exile hardened into obsession. She insinuated herself into Strange society by offering guidance, passage, and protection to displaced Fey, only to fracture those bonds once they formed, recreating the conditions of dependence she had mastered in Pelithos. After the War of Erasure, her attention turned to mortals drawn along the Midnight Road. She began stealing children, transforming them through unknown magics into Fetchlings. These lives, severed before they could fully cohere, both embodied and empowered the truth she had learned through exile: meaning could be interrupted, and thereby claimed. By c. NIR 1500, this fixation culminated in ascension. Morrigan claimed the Bleak vacancy of Relation, becoming the Never Queen, ruler of the Half Court, and the living doctrine of futures broken before they can be fulfilled.
Finvarra
Finvarra was once an Elf of Pelithos, c. NIR 900, obsessed with a heroic destiny he believed he had. However, when that destiny was thwarted during The Fall, Finvarra went slightly mad. He claimed his quest never ended and that his oath would be fulfilled as he migrated to Arcadia. There he discovered that promises held power even when they could not be kept.
After the War of Erasure created the Bright and Bleak inflections, Finvarra ascended to the Bleak throne of Time when he uttered his first vow of destiny upon his very essence. His followers, the Changelings were similarly minded Fey. They were some of the most active in the mortal world, being sent out into The Integrum on quests, real or imagined, in the guise of mortals.
The Concordance
Morrígan and Finvarra were not original collaborators in the Concordance, but were forced into fusion by its metaphysical side effects. When Bright Courts merged through philosophical union, the inverse law compelled Bleak Courts into complementary fusion. Thus, The Half Court and The Court of Tomorrow collapsed into a single Concordant Court: The Court of Half Tomorrows.
Following fusion, Morrígan and Finvarra retained distinct identities but lost unilateral control. They cooperate by necessity, and their philosophies and obsessions have converged over time.
Description
Queen Morrigan appears as an idealized Elven monarch, with only subtle hints of her Sidhe nature: her eyes are slightly too large and too far apart, he ears are slightly too long. She has radiant grey eyes, silvered hair, and wears a gossamer gown that looks like the night sky full of stars. She wears an elegant, but slightly sinister looking silver crown.
King Finvarra also appears as a stoic Elven monarch, with a distant smile and unsettlingly calm eyes. Small stag horns emerge from his hair, which glows softly with a silvery light. He wears silvered armor covered in shifting Fey runes.
The two rulers share a singular surreal form, The Moebius Monarch. In this form, they appear as two individuals sharing a body, eternally spiraling into and away from each other, shifting into each other. One half is black clad with a silver crown and weeps silver tears, always in a posture of being half-seated. The other half is white clad with a gold crown and looks up with hope, always in a posture of being half-standing. Their twin crowns twist into a moebius. Their robes twist into spiral of light and dark fabrics.
Personality
Queen Morrigan is an unsettling mixture of imperious and kind. She condescends so effortlessly, it doesn't seem to come from a place of malice - as though anyone in her presence couldn't help but be a disappointment.
King Finvarra is distant and aloof king. He seems to be constantly coming awake as if out of a daydream. He never speaks, but wears a friendly smile, even when committing horrible acts.
Strange Philosophy
Purpose is the birth of meaning, fulfillment is its death.
Morrigan and Finvarra teach that meaning is found in the journey, not the destination. That is why they seek to draw out the tension of unrealized potential as long as possible. They teach that:
- Conclusions collapse possibility, destroying entire worlds.
- Completion removes hope, the inspiration for everything.
- To arrive is admit that some part of you is dead.
Probably the most sinister practice of their Court is their reputation for abducting Mortal children, stealing them away to Arcadia, and replacing them with Fey creatures. This ties into their belief that power lies in subverting potential.
Orisons
Most Half Tomorrow Orisons are Changelings and Fetchlings who already worship Morrigan and Finvarra. Sometimes Mortals are given an Orison Pact by these monarchs, usually as a result of an exceptional offering: such as an oath of endless endeavor: they are attracted to people like artists unable to finish their masterpieces, parents who want preserve children forever, scholars obsessed with theories and fear testing them.
- Elena, the Promised (c. 1740): An Alseid queen that wisely ruled a prosperous region of Pelithos for many decades, but never crowned an heir. Her kingdom collapsed the day after her death.
- Caerwyn the Bard (c. 1820): A Human musician that toured Acrolon, whose music was famous for never ending. He joked that he would never die so long as his music never ended. Legends say his final performance is still ongoing somewhere in Arcadia.