Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: contemplative
  • Music: Taylor Swift, "Long Live."

What do you want to know?

With Late Eclipses approaching fast, I am naturally spending a lot of time thinking about Toby's world, and blogging about Toby's world, since I want everyone to be as excited as I am. So here is your invitation:

Ask me a question.

This has no connection to the current ARC giveaway, which asks you to ask simple, FAQ-style questions that don't require extensive spoilers or flowcharts. What this is connected to is, well, the big questions. Like when I posted about the rules governing fae marriage. The ones that require serious thought, and a genuine desire to know.

How does fae marriage work? Where did the Changeling's Choice begin? What happened to the Roane? Questions too big, and too complicated, to answer in the FAQ. Now, because I apparently wasn't clear enough the first time, I WILL NOT GIVE SPOILERS. Please don't ask me where someone is, or whether someone else is coming back, or whether you're ever going to see Gillian again (a question which has started to make me clench my teeth). Ask me about laws and rules and universe, about etiquette and speciation and trends in fashion.

The five best questions will get full blog posts about them, explaining whatever facet or facets of Faerie they touch on. I get to determine "best," although you're all welcome to weigh in or ask secondary questions.
Tags: common questions, continuity checking, requesting things, toby daye
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  • 70 comments

cupcakery

February 3 2011, 18:57:35 UTC 6 years ago

Are there still faerie courts in Europe, and when did they start having knowes and such in the 'new world,' or were they always there?

sheistheweather

February 3 2011, 18:58:37 UTC 6 years ago

Does magic have a taste? We know it has a smell. Does it sound like anything? Look like anything? Feel like anything?

How did the Court of Cats begin? Do they have a widespread hierarchy or does it stay regional?

What is faerie ointment made from?

Why does Cold Iron hurt fae?

Where are the native spirits?

What is Toby's human heritage? (Irish? German? Other?)

Does a changeling with only 1/4 fae blood have to make a Choice? Does their blood really even affect them?

Why does the sun undermine fae magic?

seanan_mcguire

February 3 2011, 19:03:51 UTC 6 years ago

Okay, to address one that I've addressed multiple times, but am really not comfortable addressing in a longer format:

"Where are the native spirits?"

There are none for the purposes of this series. The only supernatural beings in Toby's world are the fae, and Native American spirits are not fae. Very few folkloric traditions can be tugged into a "fae" definition without being incredibly untrue to the source material. Maybe they exist, and maybe they don't, but if they do, they choose to have nothing to do with Faerie, because Faerie is full of crazy people.

Pretty much all of these are FAQ-style questions.

sheistheweather

6 years ago

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sheistheweather

6 years ago

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cbpotts

February 3 2011, 19:12:06 UTC 6 years ago

One wonders who keeps all the stories of the fae; have they historians or sociologists or a league appointed to keep track of a vaguely accurate record of everything important. It can't possibly be all word-of-mouth; there are too many people and it's too complex. So which of the Fae keep track of the rest of it?

seanan_mcguire

February 12 2011, 03:13:18 UTC 6 years ago

Your answer is here!

cbpotts

6 years ago

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hsifyppah

February 3 2011, 19:13:17 UTC 6 years ago

Are there diseases specific to the fae? Like, moonbeam-deficiency in childhood means your wings will grow in crooked and your magic will have an overtone of burnt toast? Or necrotizing pixie-mites who make your illusions have polka-dot gaps in them? Oberon: actually away because he's in quarantine. Okay maybe not. I bet there are some seriously fucked up fae mental health syndromes, though. You could totally publish a fae DSM as a companion volume. Axis IV: Disorders of Being Transformed In To Inanimate Objects. Axis II: Organic Disorders of Yer Mom Is an Evil Enchantress.

ladymondegreen

February 5 2011, 08:36:48 UTC 6 years ago

<3

beccastareyes

February 3 2011, 19:14:25 UTC 6 years ago

I think some of my questions from the first kind of got into that realm.

How often do different 'races' of faerie intermarry? Clearly they do, but it's not often enough* that they've merged into a continuum of traits. Can most fae trace back their ancestry to one 'race' until the origins of different types of faerie, or is it more that everyone has at least one 'odd' ancestor.

Is there a line between the humanoid fae and the non-humanoid ones (like the rose goblins), or is there a continuum from 'pointy-eared ethereal humans' to 'rosebush cat'? Also, more on how the groups interact would be interesting.

Selkies are distinct because they are skinshifters, (IIRC), which makes them pretty magically weak and Toby in deep shit for losing a selkie skin in book 2. Are there any other types you have waiting in the wings, or were most animal-influenced fae more like the Cait Sidhe and Kitsune?

* Or else there haven't been that many fae generations between the Firstborn and now

biguglymandoll

February 3 2011, 19:19:46 UTC 6 years ago

First, while I'm not certain I could ever be as excited as you, I'm certainly as excited as I can be without medical attention that MORE TOBY is arriving soon at bookstores near me!

For my question, I wonder about the intersection between the mundane and Faerie worlds. Humans must occasionally stumble on the knowes - what happens to them? What about fully human "magick" and humans who study the occult far enough to discover that the Fae really exist, or authors like Ambrose Bierce or, well, Seanan McGuire, who get too close to the truth? Do the Fae issue the Faerie equivalent of a cease-and-desist order?

faithfulcynic

February 3 2011, 19:36:08 UTC 6 years ago

Can you break down Court hierarchy for us and talk a little about title inheritance? I know that the King of Cats has to be won but is that the same with other courts? Would a changeling ever have a shot at ruling a court? Could Sylvester ever rule them all? Does relationship to the Big Three play a part? Thanks :)

seanan_mcguire

February 11 2011, 01:32:26 UTC 6 years ago

Your answer!

ladymurmur

February 3 2011, 19:43:23 UTC 6 years ago

I asked this as my FAQ question, but it occurs to me that, even though it is something that has occurred in the past, if we haven't been told about it yet, it just might count as a "spoiler" for future storytelling. Unless it has already been stated and I've just missed it. Repeatedly. Feel free to bop me on the nose with a rolled up newspaper if I should stop asking. :-)

I'm still DYING to know what one does to get knighted in the faerie courts, and specifically, how did Toby accomplish this?

Also, is being a 'hero' just a personal quality that both Toby and her liege share, or is it a specific role of some sort within the world of the fae?

seanan_mcguire

February 3 2011, 19:54:32 UTC 6 years ago

That's a whole prequel. Like, literally. It's called Strangers in the Court, and I very much hope I get to write it someday.

ladymurmur

6 years ago

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ladymurmur

6 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

6 years ago

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ashbet

1 year ago

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nimitzbrood

February 3 2011, 20:07:46 UTC 6 years ago

Is there a common underlying power to the magic in your universe?

Obviously there's fae magic but how much else is out there? Is it all commonly connected somewhere?

Also is there something out there more powerful that fae magic?

seanan_mcguire

February 8 2011, 20:17:51 UTC 6 years ago

Fae magic is the only magic in this universe.

sumeria

February 3 2011, 20:18:17 UTC 6 years ago

I have two questions, both actually originating from the same passages in An Artifical Night. (And either or both of these may be more appropriate as FAQ-type questions, I just don't have a good way to know how involved the answers would be.)

The first is, how relevant really is the existence of "royal" members of the Cait Sidhe, if they determine the ruler by combat? I had assumed there was no real royal family until Tybalt made such a big deal of Raj being the only younger royal there was and Toby seemed to assume that Raj would one day replace Tybalt. Or is it just that only royals can fight for the right to rule? (also, the assumption that Tybalt will be replaced seems odd to me, just in that if he's immortal, he should theoretically grow stronger, not weaken with age)

The second question is about the use of the word "pureblood". In Rosemary and Rue, I got the impression that that just referred to people with entirely fae, and no human ancestry. But some of the useages in An Artifical Night made me think it was also (or possibly, rather) used to delineate purity of species, ie, Raj's heritage is entirely Cait Sidhe with no other kind of fae involved. So I guess I was just wondering if you could say more about how that term is used, and how inheritance of "species" of fae worked in the case of cross-species pairings?

tereshkova2001

February 3 2011, 22:05:48 UTC 6 years ago

Tybalt might die in battle or some other fight; the fae do it all the time.

sumeria

6 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

6 years ago

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hoppytoad79

February 3 2011, 20:32:55 UTC 6 years ago

3) Who are the Firstborn and what's their role/place in Faerie?

seanan_mcguire

February 8 2011, 19:49:24 UTC 6 years ago

They are the children of Oberon, Maeve, and Titania. They are the parents of the current races of Faerie.

They are fabulous monsters, and they will hurt you.

phantom_wolfboy

February 3 2011, 21:48:39 UTC 6 years ago

Just finished An Artificial Night a little while ago, and what I've been wondering is about Blind Michael: I've never heard of the name before, and I'm wondering if you made him up, or is he the leader of the Hunt in some folkloric tradition I'm not aware of (there are a lot of those)?

shiyiya

February 3 2011, 22:23:22 UTC 6 years ago

I have a similar wonder: I've never seen the Babylon Wood and the Wild Hunt connected before. Was that invented, or is there precedent with which I am unfamiliar?

seanan_mcguire

6 years ago

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shiyiya

6 years ago

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mrs_norris_mous

6 years ago

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shiyiya

6 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

6 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

6 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

6 years ago

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phantom_wolfboy

6 years ago

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hanabishirecca

February 3 2011, 21:53:57 UTC 6 years ago

How would one become the Prince of Ice and Knives? (Outside of winning John W. Campbell award when it is hosted in Finland).

Toby's universe has a complex system of feifdoms and courts that have been seen to be caught in a supernatural version of real world politics. Sovereignty seems to be shaky in many cases such as demonstrated in A Local Habitation. I don't necessarily want an entire political history lesson, but I'm fascinated with the division of territory. I'd love to know what it takes to be appointed your own title and piece of land, to what lies at the very top of the feudalistic rankings. Really, anything on this would make me happy.

seanan_mcguire

February 11 2011, 01:32:52 UTC 6 years ago

Your answer is here!

drakos_inferno

February 3 2011, 23:21:59 UTC 6 years ago

I'll echo a few other people -- can we get a who's in charge flow chart of some sort?

Without pulling direct quotes, it appears that there are multiple courts. But there are duchies (like Shadowed Hills) and a whole self-sustaining political universe just inside Golden Gate park which you remarked at one point stands alone politically. But then there is the Queen of the Mists of southern California which Sylvester answers to. There also appears to be a high king based on references in the last book. Can you talk a bit about governance and how it all works?

seanan_mcguire

February 11 2011, 01:33:07 UTC 6 years ago

Your answer is here!

seawench

February 3 2011, 23:22:22 UTC 6 years ago

My question from the FAQ post might be better off here, although I'd still like to be considered for the ARC giveaway...

A section, I guess, more than a single question:

What are the rules for fostering fae children like Quentin? How long do they have to stay? Do the fae familes get anything in return? If children are so precious, why would parents give them up for extended periods? Do fae families ever foster changelings, or do they only foster purebloods? Are fae parents more likely to foster children with another fae race, or within their own? Those are the details that immediately come to mind

seanan_mcguire

February 9 2011, 22:38:25 UTC 6 years ago

Here's your answer!

vincentursus

February 4 2011, 10:18:58 UTC 6 years ago

Do the fae pay attention to mortal nations?

I mean the age of the US is a drop in the bucket for a Pureblood timescale, but many European nations have been around for sometime.

seanan_mcguire

February 10 2011, 04:56:59 UTC 6 years ago

They do! Just not always as quickly as the mortal nations might like.

jeffreycwells

February 4 2011, 11:31:57 UTC 6 years ago

Are there any Pacific seals amongst the selkies, or are they all old-country Atlantic seals? And what about sea lions?

seanan_mcguire

February 4 2011, 18:46:20 UTC 6 years ago

Connor is actually a Pacific harbor seal!

jeffreycwells

6 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

6 years ago

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herewiss13

6 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

6 years ago

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jenjen4280

February 4 2011, 21:33:10 UTC 6 years ago

How was the New World divided into knowes among the Fae--was there some order to it or did whomever just seize land?

And a follow-up question: are there knowes on the East Coast or is too urban?

seanan_mcguire

February 14 2011, 20:15:46 UTC 6 years ago

There are East Coast knowes, although not in New Jersey, due to, you know, bog iron.

Most of the initial division was pure land-grab, followed by a bunch of wars, and eventually settling into the current map.

kyburg

February 7 2011, 20:16:30 UTC 6 years ago

Nobody has asked about Palm Springs yet. May I? (Why everyone hates on my part of the state, I tellya....)

seanan_mcguire

February 7 2011, 20:22:31 UTC 6 years ago

Uh.

What about it?

kyburg

6 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

6 years ago

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kyburg

6 years ago

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ellie101

February 7 2011, 23:52:23 UTC 6 years ago

Let me preface this by saying, I hope this doesn't fall under "spoiler" territory because I'm really interested in this. :)

Okay, here goes:

Amandine apparently went off the deep end in a big way, now she's only seen frolicking about the forest in ripped up clothes and such. The Fae are immortal and they seem to be fine with letting Amandine continue along as she is: granted Amandine might be ultra-powerful or something and THAT'S why everyone lets her be. But it certainly got me thinking.

Is there some kind of Sanitarium/Nut House for the fae that lose a few marbles? Does the Queen keep them locked in a dungeon somewhere? Or do the Fae, taking a nod to the Hippie adage of "live and let live" just let the crazies roam?

And building off of this burning question, if your crazy fae is a land/title owner is it then passed down, or since they're still around does it just stay theirs forever?

Crap. One more question, entirely separate from this one. :P

Who in faery keeps track of the things like who has been knighted, how territories are divided, or who has become successors to territories? There has to be some kind of database/library/group mind that keeps record of these pertinent things, right? Because once you're immortal I bet it's super tedious trying to remember things that far back. There must be a system.

Anyways.

I'm soooooooooooo excited to read these and see the responses once you've chosen the questions you want to expand on! Thanks so much for doing this--I can't wait! :D

ellie101

February 7 2011, 23:55:06 UTC 6 years ago

Whoops, I just saw that someone already asked my second question. :P

seanan_mcguire

6 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

6 years ago

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the_dark_fyre

February 8 2011, 23:03:58 UTC 6 years ago

What poses as currency among the fae? I mean, it sounds like a complicated mass of favours and "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" but is there anything more concrete than that, since it seems horrendously out of place that someone high ranking might 'owe' someone of lower stature purely based on the person of lower stature performing a duty. Or are things just kind of done for those above you in the hope that one day you'll do enough that one day you can gain a title, rank or some other sort of stature?

... And if that's how it works what happens to the ones who get passed up? Can you take status by force if you try hard enough?

seanan_mcguire

February 16 2011, 21:36:30 UTC 6 years ago

Favors; gold; jewels; land; promises of rare things, such as handicrafts or high-quality goods.