The Sidhe are the kith born of the dreams of kings and queens - both noble and otherwise. Regal, beautiful and graceful, they are power and coldness personified. They are tied intimately to the Dreaming and are new to the Changeling Way; most of the Sidhe on Earth are either exiles or escapees from Arcadia, unable to return home. As a result, they feel the cold sting of Banality far more harshly than commoner kithain, but they still command both the Seelie and Unseelie courts and are determined to survive the coming of Winter.
The year 1969 marked an event as momentous as the moon landing or the raging war in Vietnam: the return of the sidhe. The lords and ladies of the sidhe are unlike any others in the World of Darkness: untimely ripped from the bosom of the Dreaming and cast newborn into the cold, white light of what humanity calls "reality." They are a people of neither world.
Torn from the Dreaming where they once ruled, the sidhe passed through the Mists of Memory and do not remember their immortal past. Their myths and stories (both racial and personal) are tantalizingly, painfully beyond their grasp.
The dark and hostile world the sidhe find themselves thrust into is unlike any they dared dream of in the days of antiquity. The world has changed since they were last part of it, walking among the superstitious throngs of humanity as gods; from the simplicity of the farmer in his fields to a noisy horror show of supersonic transports, digital highways and nerve gas.
The newly returned sidhe walk a razor's edge between the worlds of past and present, fancy and reality, with nothing to depend on but themselves. A less worthy people may have crumbled in the face of such overwhelming adversity, but in the 25 odd years since their return the sidhe have not only survived, but have triumphed. Shipwrecked on a strange and alien shore, the sidhe drew upon their inner strengths, battling commoner and commoner noble alike to regain their place of leadership amongst the Kithain. What is remarkable is the degree to which, in 25 short years, they have succeeded. The earthbound fae, long resentful of the imperious nobility, nevertheless in large measure now concede them their historical place in Kithain society.
During their long absence many myths and superstitions grew among the commoners. Most Kithain have longed viewed the sidhe with superstitious awe and fear. The time since their initial return has done little to change this opinion in the minds of many changelings, who (consciously or subconsciously) view the sidhe to be their superiors. Beautiful yet terrible, the sidhe walk the streets among the teeming throngs of humanity, and the look in their eyes is one of proprietary disdain. Something about even the lowest among them gives pause to even the most radical commoner anti-monarchist. At the same time, something unsullied and innocent about them touches even the most cynical human.
Many commoners whisper that the nobility protects itself from the reality of the world by living in palaces of spun sugar in the Dreaming. They laugh, knowing that the first strong rain will wash the intruders away. Perhaps this is true. Although the sidhe have fought many great battles with the other Kithain to regain their lost power, their mettle has yet to be tested by the other great powers of the world. Yet the time of this great testing quickly approaches. The great cataclysm that the vampires call Gehenna and the werewolves call Apocalypse gathers like a great storm. The Kithain call this time Winter, and the newly arrived nobility may soon find themselves battling forces beyond any they dared imagine.
There are, of course, no true methods to discern whether a changeling is Seelie or Unseelie, except by their actions. Some fear that there are really far more Unseelie fae in positions of power (even kings and queens) than is evident. (It is rumored that both Queen Aeron of Pacifica and King Meilge of the Kingdom of Willows lean heavily toward their Unseelie natures.) It must be conceded that the Shadow Court may have the same concerns about Seelie spies in their midst. Since the Seelie nobility experienced great resistance and resentment when they returned from Arcadia, it is assumed that the Unseelie sidhe may have many of the same problems in reacclimating themselves to earth. House Ailil is the only Unseelie house that the sidhe know has returned, but there are always rumors of more. It is also rumored that the Unseelie nobility remembers far more about the exodus from Arcadia than they let on. Any Unseelie noble will, of course, laugh at this assertion.
The same year as Queen Andalura's death, King Sean of the Kingdom of Pacifica was murdered by commoner revolutionaries of the Radical People's Front (an ally of the Ranters). Sean was succeeded to the throne by his niece, Queen Aeron. Aeron ascended the throne at age 16. She directly led a raid that avenged her uncle's death, which reportedly resulted in the death of all of his assassins. Few, if any, suspect Queen Aeron of complicity in Sean's death, though her recent decadence and flirtations with her Unseelie nature are creating grist for some ugly rumors.
