Darklings

Turn back, turn back, young maiden fair,

Linger not in this murderous lair.

My darling, this is only a dream,

Hush my sweet, no need to scream.

There are things a person must do and things that a person must not. This story begins with a hill, somewhere not far away. They say that the Invisible Throng congregate there, four times a year.

The rules are simple. From sunrise to sunset on that night, the people must not speak of the Throng, and from sunset to sunrise of that night – they must not leave their homes.

Consider the young man of courage and curiosity, who would rather see the faeries for himself. He tells his sweetheart, the sweetest girl in fifty miles, that he wishes to see the faeries that morning. She recoils in horror and says that he must not speak of it.

It’s too late; for she has spoken of them too. She weeps and says that she will not go with him. She retires that night and prays most fervently for her love.

The young man of courage and curiosity hides at sunset on the mound, in a tree. He sees them, as they swoop from the sky in hundreds, and without warning they descend upon the tree and sweep the young man of courage and curiosity away – taking the tree with them. One hour before dawn, the sweetest girl in fifty miles hears the voice of her sweetheart at her window, begging to be let in. She goes to the door and steps outside to embrace him – and she too is gone.

One day, the young man, still of great courage but no longer of great curiosity will escape. Upon his return to the empty home of the sweetest girl in fifty miles – he realizes something.

His sweetheart never will return. She’s theirs forever.

Darklings know consequences keenly. Many were stolen as a consequence of doing exactly what they were told not to. Theirs is a lesson in Pride and Avarice. They were shown humility and punishment for having goals and having a need to slake their thirsts. They now deal with weighty decisions.

They cling obsessively to the solace of the night. They love the quiet as a consequence of having lived in a world where whispers and deadly promises echoed to their ears.

Darklings found it difficult to escape the lands of the Fae because their way back was hidden. To escape they had to live and thrive in the shadow along with all who crawled there. They were forced to use their curiosity that got them there in the first place – to overcome the fear of making another mistake. They – dealt with their fears.

Beasts | Courtless | Elementals | Fairest | Ogres | Wizened