Where and how did it originate? How is dream/Earth/Arcadia connected to the Hedge? Why does hedge spinning work? Can a person "dream-spin" an item? Why does the Hedge want to kill us so badly? Is it sentient? Is it one being or many? Can it be influenced significantly by changelings on a scale similar to Arcadia? How do Hollows work in relation to the Hedge? Why does it tear at human's "souls" so strongly? Why does it avoid hedge-spun items? How do Hedge gates/doors form, and can they be created or destroyed? What if the hedge works through the Gentry and changelings, spreading to the mortal world through us to invade what it can't touch directly?
Nick says no one knows for sure. He said it was between Arcadia and the Earth. Hedge-spinning seems to be the application of Glamour to a small piece of the Hedge, a basic manipulation of the Hedge that can be "tamed" or domesticated and made into a tool. The Hedge supposedly wants to kill indiscriminately, but powerful changelings and gentry can convince it that it's not worth its time to hurt them. The Bridgemasons created a door/bridge from Kel to the human world (stopped temporarily through maelstrom). Katie and Ted say it's more dangerous and wild than nature but not necessarily evil. ex. Smouse. Seems more like a parasitic ecology to me, based around the food/economy of human emotion and glamour. Ted said "dream-spinning" can't be done like hedgespinning, although Birdie showed how to cobblethought an item. But I want permanent items made from dreams, not hedge. Principle should still apply if dreamstuff and hedge can interact (which they can) (Not common knowledge).
Side note for Hedge Theory: The Hedge tends to avoid hedgespun and equally all other beings except humans (it's extra vicious). Still attacks changelings and Gentry, but we're less defenseless to it, so maybe it DOES attack us less or is least inherently less toxic to us. Humans left alone in the hedge become Briarwolves or similar creatures. The Hedge demonstrates the ability to change humans into something else that can feed on glamour. More support for a parasitic ecology based around glamour. Detroit forms glamour crystals. Katie confirmed (in Olmstead's presence) that Human can become changelings can become Gentry (when she said I came up with it on my own, and based on body lang. + tone). So the Hedge is a glamour-based ecology. Are gentry apex predator and base provider of glamour? How else does glamour filter into the Hedge? Human Dreams? Possible evidence b/c briarwolves exist that humans occasionally wander in on their own and are changed by the Hedge (confirmed by Olmstead/Ted). But glamour carnivores require steady influx of food, so there must be regular glamour from somewhere. Doors to human world, dreams, changelings, gentry when using power, dead zones, maelstrom, hobgoblin markets? Gentry kidnap humans to turn into changelings and they are subjugated, some escape and return to human world, more changelings lead to more hedgespun in the human world, and more Hedge shenanigans in dreams. If changeleings/gentry are any percent made of Hedge, like a fetch likely is, thene are living embodiments of the Hedge returning to the human world. We may be unwilling scouts/colonizers of the human world for the Hedge (able to exist in either dimension, and slowly terraforming Earth). Ted also said that my parasitic Hedge Theory is as good as any other, but can't be proved or disproved. And destroying the Hedge could sever us from Arcadia or bring it dimensionally "closer" to the human world, which is BAD. So it's not testable, but no reason to encourage the Hedge into being in the human world in the first place. Update: The senior members of motley are twice-returned, which allowed them more sway with contracts.
Why is Clause 1 of Dream an ability that only works in the Hedge and is ABOUT the Hedge (rather than Dreams)?
Further support for Unified Hedge Theory with Dream, the Hedge, and the Mortal realm as differing dimensions (metaphor is two walls and a ceiling that connect at a corner and share one full side with each other).
From Abtanis: Pathfinder works in the Hedge rather than human dreams because they share similar qualities. Pathfinder might be usable in human dreams, but only produce hazy results because dreams are fleeting. Recurring dreams might produce more definitive results. Also mentioned that if it works clearly you may no longer be in a dream, reinforcing the idea that Dream and Hedge are closely linked by metaphysical barriers, easily missed and easily crossed.
Update: After returning from The Temple of the Forgotten, I noticed something was different about the world. Or about my perception of it. And probably something about me as well. Can't put my finger on it, but something has definitely changed. For example, I cobblethoughted Father Stephen Cairn from the temple and it lasted longer than it should have. Was it because he was trying to come through the cobblethought, or something else? I'm also probably twice-returned as well now, and who knows what that means. Apparently, the boy/raven knew that term. I don't think that's good.
Seems she's my Faerie Wyrdmother in as much a sense as that makes sense. She claims to have helped me back in my Durance. Helped me escape and find my way from the Flotilla and into the Hedge.
Update: She seems to be my 'Special Friend' in that we are Wyrd-linked somehow. Maybe comes with being twice-returned and catching the eye of a concept?
The Metamorphic Dream appears to be the primordial version of Dream herself, formed from a time when waking and dreaming were nearly indistinguishable from one another. This place reflects that time when she was much closer to the mortal world. Now, it's enough like the waking world that Dream can't see there anymore, even if she knows where it is. It's a remnant of what once was, not what is.
According to Dream, the Metamorphic Dreamchanges mortal material in a superficially similar way to the Hedge. However, while the Hedge changes everything about an object, the Metamorphic Dream leaves what a thing is intact, but changes everything else.
Dream cautioned Solomon that he should not mistake himself for something powerful in that plce, and to make use of Her contracts and of Separation. Although she remembers the rules of the place when she was young, the rules have likely changed, much as they do in the Hedge.
What if I'm a Gentry who forgot what they were? How do I live with the constant terror? Is everything around me real? If I kill the Gondoliera, will I still have access to my changeling nature, my contracts, and access to the Wyrd?
Maybe probably. And now I have new ones. Maybe. They may be allies/friends. Probably not a Gentry who forgot, and even if I was, all that matters is I choose not to be. I CAN kill the Gondoliera and retain my contracts. Also Olmstead said I was probably not a gentry, and asked about contracts: Lizard's Tail, Separation, Rising Dawn, Falling Dusk, Pestilence.
What is the Sea of Knowledge? How did I go from weak in the Wyrd to "strong" in the Wyrd so quickly, and why is it unusual?
Probably can't save them unless they escape first to the Hedge or the human world. Otherwise would have to go to Arcadia expecting to die. Still don't know what the Sea of Knowledge is, but probably another place in Arcadia, possibly connected to the realm of dream/Collective Subconscious. Shadow is probably with my fetch or my Keeper. Still don't know HOW I doubled+ my Wyrd. Maybe it's me? Maybe it's Maybelline.
Update: The Boy and the Raven told me that only the Gondoliera uses the Dream River/Sea of Knowledge, and so it seems like that is her territory. The river itself tends to eat away at personality and selfhood, so contacting it would likely require the absorption/memory of many many more people's lives before even considering. The boats had been springing leaks when I escaped and she was distracted, so perhaps finding a way to distract her would be one way. But then I would need to get the Flotilla to a nearby hedge door.
Need safe entry/protection from selfhood-loss, a metaphysical vessel, an entrance, knowledge of her location, a big distraction, and a fast exit.
How does one become a player of the game while retaining their humanity and sanity? What makes the Song of Six-Pence an "ish" player in the game (contracts? recognition by the Wyrd? low clarity? protection of or pawns of another gentry)?
If you join and become powerful enough, but if you win you become a gentry, if you lose you die or worse. Birdie was once a player in the game and somehow got out. The Song of /6p may all be an "ish" player or it might be the Coxswain+Pauper+Merchant Lord in Kel. We also don't want the Freehold to become players, just be happy being a "terrain hazard." Abtanis is a returned gentry in the game who the motley convinced to have a cease-fire with the freehold before he was aloud to become a gentry by eating a Dead Zone in the Freehold. (Not common knowledge)
Update: Katie wants to go to Miami to find an ex-player of The Game and ask Them about the win and loss conditions and maybe how we can work it to our advantage. And maybe info on the other palyers (Climber, Windward, Whispers).
Update: We know how to end the game. Someone tangentially related to the game goes to the hedge, calls upon the Game Pledge, and makes a blood sacrifice. Not necessarily their own, but certainly to the death. Or we get Them all to agree to end it.
Why do the gentry want it (beyond "power")? How can changelings use it to power what they want? Is it even safe for changelings to touch or use? What other symbols exist that can be used to channel the Dead Zone to other purposes? Can those symbols be used in other magical pursuits?
Still don't know, but seems powerful, allowed Abtanis to go back to being a full gentry. We probably can't use it effectively without dangerous experimentation. Symbols are unimportant, just the Puppeteer's way of channeling energy in his evil plot to do something to the Freehold (Not common knowledge). It seems to have been attacking or guarding Kel after we left, and again, it's super dangerous.
What does it mean to curry favor with one or all of them? How does the Lighthouse lure changelings? What are the "bad" towers, and why are they bad? What does the encroaching waves on the cliff side mean? Why did opening a door with the Bridge masons cause Kel to become the location of the Game (again?)? How do lost memories work in Kel - do they act in accordance with their original nature or are they changed? Can memories in Kel be stored safely somehow? How did I learn to use guns more effectively when I touched Beth's carbine? How did Angharad and the other Kel changelings create a wall that stabilized memories?
Entities native (?) to Kel, that may be memories, or gentry, or hedge creations? Might also be "ish" players in the Great Game? Also I'm on good terms with at least the Pauper.
??? ??? ???
How are they destroyed? Can they be absorbed? Do they work for the Gentry? Can they be controlled?
Created by Gentry somehow, probably with powerful contracts and magic and something from the stolen human, maybe even needs their permission (like how they can't force someone to be a changeling). Killed like anything else, but I get the sense they have knowledge/strengths/weaknesses related to their changeling. Seem self-aware and able to make deals, even if they can be assholes. Control = Enslavement = Gentry, so no... And yet... I have a right to direct the path of my fetch, because I remember who I was before and he stole it, if unwillingly. I can't go back, but I won't let him ruin that life, or hurt my family.
Update: Probably a 6th or higher clause of a contract. Hypothetical guesses: Artifice, Lizard's Tail, Spring. Spring is unlikely as Evening Whispers tried to trade for court contracts, meaning the gentry don't generally know them, meaning they don't use it to make fetches. So artifice or Lizard's tail, or possibly communion (elements) if it's a specific element like 'human'.
Are they alive like humans and changelings/do they have true sentience and intelligence, desires, and goals of their own? Can I trust mine to keep its word? How are they magically connected to their changeling?
??? But apparently some can be reasoned with while most are inherently hostile to changelings. Most seem to have an instinctual and sensory disgust or fear of changelings.
What happens if you consume the heart of your own Fetch? Would it make you more whole?
Eating the hearts/energy of gentry and knights seems to give Prymja more aspects or power. Maybe this would help, or maybe it would give your Keeper a sneaky backdoor into your consciousness.
Apparently work like mundane contracts, but enforced by the concept of Fate (?) or the many original concepts of the universe. Each carries risk of extreme failure or success, and has a cost in glamour and/or mental will as well as loophole catches to save glamour.
Are they natural to the Wyrd or manufactured by an intelligence?
Seems to originate more from the concepts themselves, but can't be proven at this point. Was between gentry and concepts (through the Wyrd? Maybe the Wyrd is the "ink" on the contract?)
Can a human create contracts at all if given access to glamour or the Wyrd? Why do catches exist in every contract?
Speculation: The Wyrd doesn't like certainty and wants things to always be relative or changeable.
Yes. Birdie created Song. Not sure about catches. Birdie also had the attention from Song in part b/c she's twice-returned.
Also, Separation offered me the option to create a new contract once I was twice-returned in exchange for lifelong servitude.
How can one "game" a pledge to their advantage, without resorting to trickery?
Pledges are minor contracts between humanoid entities/changelings that can be beneficial or "bad" deals, so don't get swindled. Threatening someone into a pledge seems like one option other than lying, but that gets into morality. Not sure how they are agreed exactly? And yay! I have three pledges and they're amazing and super dangerous if I end up with sanctions.
How is it connected to Gentry, the Hedge, the Human/Mortal World? Does more connection in the Wyrd make someone more like a Gentry, or are there other aspects of "being a Gentry"? Is the Wyrd just energy with a purpose (if so, what ultimate purpose)?
Need more info, seems to be the origin of "Fate." Maybe the original unifying force of the universe? Gentry made contracts with aspects like Fire or Beauty, etc. and when they make changelings we benefit from their connection.
If we benefit from connection to the Wyrd when changed, does the change represent a metaphysical connection as though we were offspring of the Gentry? Is access to the Wyrd only available if it believes you are "offspring" of a previous deal-maker, or work under a similar principle of bloodlines/inheritors?
??? Iron works on us to a lesser degree as thought we were part of a fae lineage.
How does connection to Arcadia impact strength of Wyrd?
Senior motley is "twice-returned" and able to bend the rules of pledges with contracts they have an affinity for (ex. Den and Katie, O&P Prymja, Separation Birdie). Katie could grow hedgefruit with little effort at lower Wyrd than me, which is apparently difficult. Exposure to Arcadia may increase connection to Wyrd, or may be process of escaping that increases it. Could also be another unknown variable. Special friend contracts vary for changelings and seem idiosyncratic, suggesting it is an internal change for the changeling rather than a universal one. Does opening up Arcadia project intent on its own? No conscious pledges were made originally.
Update: I'm probably twice-returned now. Be on the look-out for weirdness and Wyrdness. I've definitely gotten stronger, as I now have a frailty.
How does it interact with humans? Why do changelings need human emotions to power their magic/contracts? What else might power contracts? If everyone became a changeling, how would contracts be fueled?
Humans give off glamour naturally, like body heat. Katie doesn't think regularly drawing it from the same people is damaging, but can't guarantee it either. Also you can absorb glamour from dreams, or store it in glamour banks (minor tokens). Changelings apparently can't use changeling emotions or non-humans' emotions for magic, so humans are the sole convenient resource, except the maelstrom. But why the maelstrom? Also, fulfilling the catch removes necessity of glamour, meaning that magic does not require glamour in a mechanical sense, unless the catch mystically aligns some unknowns that indirectly generate the glamour.
Glamour or catches fulfill contracts. Contracts assume the concepts 'want' the glamour/willpower/catches, so they are valuable to the concepts in some way. Why? Human emotion can be produced awake or asleep, must be collected by changelings, gentry, or hedge creatures, tokens, or the hedge. Do we siphon the glamour or refine it into a usable resource? Is it usable by the contracts without us as an intermediary?
What does it mean to be someone okay with killing a non-human creature with human-like eyes? What about refusing to kill it but stand by knowing others will? What does it mean to befriend, subjugate, or treat with a hedgebeast (such as the briarwolf)? Was there a good choice that could have been made to spare the Briarwolf?
No. Its eyes may have seemed human, but in the end it thought with the cruelty of the Hedge. It couldn't rise above its instincts. To free it would be to guarantee the painful deaths of others. Unwilling to change, it left enslavement or death, and I am not my keeper.
Is it wiser to be on my own with a target on my back or in the shadow of the Song of Six-Pence's insanity? Which is safer? Which will lead me to greater understanding and control over my life?
It seems like the Song of Six-Pence is more tolerant of my questions than most changelings, and more powerful. Katie seems to like me, Birdie seems to think I'm interesting (not necessarily good), and Prymja appears patient and tolerant, if not friendly. Beats being killed by the Freehold for being too curious. Allying with them guarantees some kind of protection, and I'm starting to get the sense that I'll have a target on my back no matter where I place my banner. Their sanctuary is also safer than the Nicks', and I like Big Nick.
Are there any secrets to maintaining "clarity" other than upholding certain tenets? Can clarity be stored, improved, or stolen (and should it)?
Still unknown. ??? Although clarity CAN be restored through great effort, as the motley showed when we reforged their motley pledge. Also, meditation helps prevent clarity loss and refocus the mind (OoG +1 vs. next degeneration check within the next day).
What's the big deal with magic anyway? Sure, keep hidden so Winter can feel protected, but sometimes protecting people means giving them a small dose of the unknown, the incomprehensible. Good for creating wonderment, or creating the kind of fear that arms a nation. I can play the part for Eddie, for now, but eventually he and many others might need to know what they're up against. The Irish seem to be doing alright, and they know at least some of the signs. Running from fear only leads you to getting run down like prey, and We are not Prey. Better to sharpen yourself on that fear and see it coming. Also, after what I've seen, we need any advantage we can get, material or magical, bought or stolen, money or knowledge. Sometimes you get to pull the trigger, and sometimes the Wyrd pulls it for you. Sometimes you can save them, and sometimes you don't get that chance. But We live in the material world, so let's make it a world of hurt for Them. Make Them fear Us.
So murdering changelings is inherently fine. I'm not saying it's good, just that we don't owe it to each other not to kill each other if we become enemies. And the only changelings I know who should be enemies are loyalists. They should die. Quickly. I suppose I understand that Avalanch's motley are horrible for murdering other changelings for fun, because that's just sick. But it doesn't make them inherently evil either. Once the Wyrd gets inside of you, your perspective tends to change, and maybe they needed a harsh dose of reality to put them back into perspective. Because it sounds like they've got a death-sentence should they ever step out of line again. Which is good. It's just too bad they had to do something so sick before they could get help. On the other hand, there is NO excuse to kill a human on purpose. We're not better than them, but we have more power and knowledge about the secret world. They don't need their innocence protected, but someone should make sure no changeling or hedge creature goes on a killing spree. After all, these people are living the real life. They anchor us, and we should honor that connection.
Why is it so effective against the fae? How can we mass-produce it in a way that still hurts them? If it's effective because of gentry breaking faith with the concept of iron, how can we get gentry to break faith with other concepts? (preferably ones easier to manipulate). How do we get Gentry to be weak to more things?
Explanation varies. Common story is the old fae broke a deal with the concept of Iron and it cursed them to be vulnerable to it. (Includes its "bloodline" of changelings). Making Gentry break faith with more concepts will also make changelings more vulnerable. Morality is debatable. For now, Iron and strong magic is the status quo. But maybe Dead Zones?
Field Note: Some Hedgebeasts not created by the gentry (ex. Ridged Pentaeaters) are not weak/baned by iron. The Hedge still seems to react to it somewhat, however, but may or may not be significant.
What if we infused Eddie with more glamour or memories while in Kel? What if they weren't his memories?
Maybe turned into a changeling or Hedgebeast?
Irrelevant. Hedge would ignore him less but still want him dead.
What if changelings could be given human souls like Eddie had, but protected as a changeling or gentry?
Unsure what we'd gain. More freedom from Fate? Would probably require contracts with the Wyrd.
What if I could learn from others' experiences in Kel by touching their memories?
Might be like learning in dreams.
How would that change my connection to the Dream world, and others' ability to get in or out?
??? Maybe?
What if Gentry are just changelings who have "gone too far," as changelings are humans who have changed?
Katie explained it matters more that I choose not to be one now, regardless of my past. If Changelings inevitably turn into gentry or die, then Gentry are parasites perpetuating only with humanity as a host.
Update: See hedge theory. Also Olmstead says I check out.
What if you hedge-spun or dream-spun or [insert dimension]-spun a sentient being and infused it with the Maelstrom or a flavor of glamour of your choosing? (Also, F!@# the Hedge)
That would explain the Sea of Knowledge/Memory. Hedge-spinning or any kind of crafting of a being sounds a lot like making a Fetch. Apparently only Gentry make fetches. Prymja said common knowledge is making a fetch defines you as Gentry, but not guaranteed. Reminder: F!@# the Hedge.
Complicated? Maybe from non-iron ferrous metals like nickel? Hedgespun gun + nickel-coated iron bullets? Hedgespin a railgun based on magnetic principals and place iron bullet in "floating" chamber.
May work with a large enough railgun body and hedgespinning the concept of magnets. Smaller size increases proximity to iron, which gets in the way of hedgespun effectiveness.
Is it part of the Hedge or part of Dream? (I felt like my dream contracts could almost work there). Can we go back through the door from Port Bowen to collect easy glamour? Can we use the Maelstrom to get us anywhere in the Hedge? Even without knowing exactly where we want to go (just what kind of place we want to go)? Is the Maelstrom OF the Hedge or just CONNECTED to it?
The Builders explained it's not a normal part of the Hedge. Referenced "The Hedgeways." It's a one-way ticket, not a pinned-down location. Hedgeways there aren't stable and don't last. Someone described it as a "Dream of the Hedge." So it may be the between of the Hedge and Dream, like how the Hedge is the between of Arcadia and Earth.
Why do they need balance to be safe(r) from the Gentry? Can one changeling make their own entitlement/freehold/organization/court? Are changeling organizations more powerful if you exclude others or if you have a larger group?
A motley is like your adopted family. An entitlement is like your Job. A Court is like a social circle. A Freehold is like your city or community. Seems like more power comes with more members and a stronger connection to either the Wyrd or the Freehold.
Entitlements also appear to be a status symbol in the eyes of Knights, demi-fae, and Gentry. It is expected as a minimum level of power.
I know about The Legacy of the Black Apple (Olmstead), The College of Worms (Diviner in our house - Saber), the Scarecrow Ministry (Autumn creepers), The Tolltaker Bounty Hunter guys (Summer? or courtless. Take contracts and usually have good reason), The Ancient Ones (Changelings with delusions of godhood, Birdie), Katie's Knight Champion...(Sees herself as a Knight "of the Freehold" to justify her fae nature without going full fae- gives her a touchstone and something to protect), The Order of the Tongue (currently Prymja, eat anything?), The Office of the Vizierial Council (Ted, totes baller wise AF workaholics for the freehold), the Bridgemasons (hedgespinners extraordinaire), Duchy of Truth and Loss (Fetch haters and killers, polar opposite of Katie), Couriers of the ___ Way (Fairest mail couriers), Echoes (Memory peeps who never forget. Not sure their purpose?),Praetoriani of the Trifold Vault (ugly by design to shut off tokens - they have Birdie's closet), The Barony of the ____ (run the tunnels, what else?).