Shortenings

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A pair of Shortenings doing what they do best.

Overview

Shortenings (Commonspeak), also Milseoiri {{}}, are a Fey species native to Arcadia. They are one of the two constituent species of The Greater Sugar Court. Their Fey God is The Cake Queen. Shortenings embody Strange Meaning through hospitality, shared pleasure, and the belief that joy is greatest when it is distributed.

To outsiders, Shortenings appear to live charmed lives, surrounded by laughter and comfort. Among the Fey, they are considered exemplars of peaceful prosperity, though this reputation conceals a quieter, more troubling truth.

History

Dark Age

Shortenings came into existence in the early Dark Age, circa NIR 1390, with the formation of The Greater Court. This Court pursued Strange Meaning through relation, asserting that fulfillment arises through shared experience rather than solitude or dominance.

Later in the Dark Age, circa NIR 1750, The Greater Court was fused with The Sugar Court through the Concordance, forming The Greater Sugar Court. The Milseoiri and the Milini (Gnomes) bonded immediately. Where Gnomes delighted in making, Shortenings delighted in sharing. The fusion was the most seamless of The Concordance.

Dawn Age

In the current era, Shortenings are ubiquitous within the Greater Sugar Court’s domains, forming its social heart and public face.

Cosmology

The Greater Sugar Court holds that Strange Meaning arises from shared joy. Pleasure hoarded is sterile; pleasure given becomes fertile.

Shortenings embody this doctrine by orienting their lives around generosity, welcome, and emotional nourishment. Unlike Pixies, who give until they vanish, Shortenings give in ways that bind others into cycles of mutual comfort.

Their danger lies not in deprivation, but in sufficiency.

Society

Outside the disturbing unity of The Court of Genuflection, the Greater Sugar Court is widely considered the most prosperous and peaceful Fey society. Shortenings are its hosts, mediators, and caretakers.

They:

• Organize feasts, festivals, and communal rituals.
• Resolve conflicts through shared meals and celebration.
• Ensure no one within their reach goes without comfort.

The unsettling truth is subtle. Shortenings are deeply uncomfortable with dissatisfaction. When joy fails to take root, they do not escalate, they normalize. Over time, those who remain among them too long find their ambitions soften, their grievances blur, and their dissatisfaction gently dissolved into contentment.

The Court does not forbid departure, but few feel the need to leave.

Ecology

Shortenings resemble short, plump elves with soft, dumpling-like skin and rosy cheeks. Their hair is curly to the point of defying grooming, and their smiles are disarmingly contagious.

They favor warm, abundant environments: kitchens, gardens, inns, and gathering halls, places thick with scent, sound, and shared presence.

When a creature in their company eats, drinks, or rests, they benefit as if they spent several times as long resting. They can also share burdens with those nearby, lending their strength to aid another through the hardship, or lending their hardship to others.