The Dark Fae are some of the longest lived creatures in the Elder Races universe, with several kingdoms throughout the world. One of the most famous of the Dark Fae kingdoms is the Unseelie Court, based in an Other land with crossover passageways to Ireland. The Dark Fae Unseelie Court is often at odds with the Light Fae Seelie Court, which is also based in the same Other land off of Ireland. The two Fae’s famous battles are almost always why the Dark Fae and the Light Fae are discussed hand-in-hand.
Both races are Fae, which is to say they share certain characteristics in common—they are magical and long-lived, and they have long elegantly pointed ears and a certain similarity in bone structure.
But both the Dark and Light Fae have not only distinct geographical and political differences, they also have other strong differences as well. The Dark Fae are black-haired, with pale skin and gray eyes, and they often have a gift for metallurgy. The Light Fae are a blond, charismatic race, with either blue or green eyes, and they have an aversion to iron.
In the Continental United States, the Dark Fae’s demesne is based in the Other land Adriyel just outside of Chicago, while the Light Fae is based some distance away in Los Angeles.
The Adriyel Dark Fae is an old demesne, established well before European humankind came to the Chicago area. The demesne is ruled by a monarchy which has seen some intense upheaval over the last two-hundred years. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Rhian Lorelle, King of the Dark Fae, took a moderate view of the human settlers from Europe and embraced a theory of change. His brother, Urien Lorelle, was not so open-minded. Urien worked with several key members of Dark Fae nobility to stage a coup. Urien and his faction killed most of the Lorelle family, including King Rhian, his Queen Shaylee, and their twin sons, Rafe and Dwyer. Their daughter Niniane Lorelle escaped and vanished.
Closed borders, monopolized trade, and a community kept in segregation were the key characteristics of Urien’s two-hundred year reign. Without a robust free trade system, the Adriyel Dark Fae economy weakened while a select few in the nobility, Urien’s allies, took advantage of their elite status. Urien granted them special trade dispensations, and as a result they grew immensely wealthy.
In the meantime, Niniane Lorelle managed to reach the Wyr demesne in New York. She petitioned the Lord of the Wyr, Dragos Cuelebre, for asylum. Dragos had been allies with Rhian Lorelle, and he granted Niniane’s petition. Niniane changed her name to Thistle Periwinkle and made a place for herself in Wyr society. No one but Urien realized that she had survived the massacre. Over the next two centuries, relations between the Dark Fae and the Wyr remained strained, as Urien made several unsuccessful attempts on Niniane’s life, and Urien and Dragos engaged in a deadly cold war filled with political conflict, military tension, and economic competition.
The Adriyel Dark Fae face many challenges when the Elder Races series begins.