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Hob Goblins
Edgedancers
Redcap Gangs

LIATH FAIREOIRÍ - the Grey watchers

A tall man among the crowd drew attention to himself by removing some sort of scarf from his lower face. She hadn't noticed him before this, even though he was obviously of noble bearing. It was as if he had just suddenly appeared. Or just came into focus, but there was nothing wrong with her eyesight. Where before the crowd had been a grey monotone collective, he stood out in vivid Technicolor. Then a second man filled her field of vision as he too removed a mask. Then a third. She was at a loss as to how she had passed them over before. She was the best look out in the business that's why the Sluagh hired her to watch their backs while they committed this assassination. All her concentration had been focused on watching out for other Fae, and they were obviously Sidhe. The enigma pulled at her panicked mind as they closed around her, the rain soaked crowds moved on oblivious.

You've likely seen them at court, blending into the shadows and watching the more raucous guests with steely eyes. Or perhaps you were one of the fortunate souls rescued by them when the

Gwydion funded Red Branch began arresting those who didn't toe the party line and annexing Fionna freeholds. Many of us owe our freedom, if not our lives, to the arrival of Sidhe in smokey armour at the 11th hour of some desperate siege. Formed in London by a consolidation of Scathatch Knights under the leadership of Dillon MacRoth the Liath Faireoirí are the honour guard and Agents to house Fionna. While it is known that they undertake a variety of secretive missions for their own house, Lord MacRoth has sworn to protect the agents of the Regent until the time a new Ard Righ sits upon the Throne of England. Until the Stone of Destiny chooses a new King to rule over the Fae the Liath Faireoirí follow Lady Evelynn.

The earliest signs that Dillon has any long term goals were revealed when he made a deal for the production of the Doineann Siúlóir (Storm Walker) treasures. These Masks allow the Liath Faireoirí to obfuscate themselves while remaining in plain sight. I personally witnessed the expression on the face of three Gwydion Scum when they decided to chase one of my Unseelie sources and myself in Islington. Their frightened quarry and I led them into a blind alley way, cutting ourselves off from all hope, only for the Liath Faireoirí to appear from the mists and dispatch them silently. Once the deed was done the Liath Faireoirí faded from view without ever muttering a single word. I was truly grateful the Liath Faireoirí are on our side.

During the first season of the Civil war the Liath Faireoirí fought beside the loyal Troll's of Snowdon and Tombstone, clashing with both the Red branch and Bedlams Pirates. Between skirmishes they gathered intelligence on the other denizens of the city and silently quelled threats to the regency. Charges of a Fionna 'secret police' levelled by the criminal element are rarely given any attention in polite circles and all such comments should be treated with the contempt they deserve.

The Liath Faireoirí may be reticent in their wish to hog the glory, but isn't that just what we ladies love about them? The strong and silent Knights of Sir Dillon's elite will forever haunt my secret dreams and cause my heart to flutter!

THE HOB GOBLINS
The word goblin derives from the Greek kobalos ("rogue"), the word Hob is an old English term meaning good, and thus Hobgoblin means a kindly or friendly rogue, a mischievous but benign spirit. In Changeling, Goblins are the Thallain cousins of the Nockers, so how you may ask can their be 'good' Thallain? If you consider the Unseelie to be universally evil then it is impossible, but that is not true. The Unseelie are not the evil to the Seelie good and thus even the Thallain and their doubly Unseelie natures are not necessarily Evil. While the Thallain certainly do not play well with others and the prejudice they receive from the Seelie court does not ender them towards that society they are still Changelings with the same abilities of thought and emotion. The Hob Goblins are Thallain, and they do lack a Seelie nature, but they belong to a society separated from their Thallain siblings and from the Changing world as a whole. Generations spent in the mines and Caves of the Nockers secret workshops have led to Hob Goblins who are far shorted than the usual Body shape, and while tall throwbacks do exist, the race is far more 'comical' looking than other Thallain.

The Hob Goblins are Thallain who disappeared from the world a time long before the Sundering, having been enslaved for millennia by Nockers as labour and test subjects. In hidden grottoes and veiled workshops the Nockers utilised the inherent Chaos of the Goblins destructive natures in their weapon smith projects. Mistreated by their masters the Goblins survived as a slave race, developing their own customs and institutions. Sustained by the Glamour of captive Dreamers and with occasional Ravaging forays, the Goblins were starved of the resources to break free of their masters and thus prevented from throwing off their shackles.

The latest of these foul masters was the Sorcerer Fear Diorchie and he treated them worse than dogs. This bad treatment had a curious effect on the Nockers and their doubly Unseelie nature. Unlike the Thallain free to torment the waking world, the captive Goblins softened in their darkness. While still truly Unseelie, they banded together and weathered the worse tortures in their dreaming prison. The Bedlam that overtakes all Changelings that remain within the Dreaming became an epidemic of solidarity and a belief in their invulnerability. The Hob Goblins convinced themselves that they were noble and pure captives of the evil Fear Diorchie and that death in the service to this tyrant would be rewarded with a rebirth in the waking world where they would be returned to their positions of nobility. Thus they sought the dangerous tasks and tests of Fear Diorchie insane machines of war. The more fearless they became, the harder to kill they were. Each Goblin found himself able to survive worse and worse results of his or her own inventions and their workshops spewed forth the most destructive weapons and toys imaginable. This frenzied inventiveness made Fear Diorchie a sought after weapon smith and he became a famous Nocker on the back of his slaves work.

The Death of Fear Diorchie at the hands of the Regency Oathcircle led to a change in the lives of some of these goblins. The gang that were kept in the waking world by Diorchie were set free by the Oathcircle and sought to reclaim their heritage. The years of separation from other Thallain had altered them and although they remained Unseelie, they had a different nature to their cousins. In essence they used Unseelie thinking to achieve what many might view as Seelie goals. Following the Seelie code with a defiantly Unseelie mindset was doomed to failure but they believed, in their deep Bedlam, that they were the heroes of some lost civilization and strove to upkeep this history.

Their leader, the diminutive Hob, joined the Regency oath circle and led his troops now naming themselves as the Goblin Engineer Corps on the ill-fated expedition to rescue Lady Kelemon. Recognising something worthy in the Insane Goblins, the Troll Sir Uthden undertook the obligation of training them in the Knightly ways. When Sir Uthden and the Regent led the expedition into the Dreaming to rescue the Gwydion Noble lady Kelemon, the Goblins Engineer Corps volunteered to man the Nocker Airship and to act as the Oathcircles retinue. While the majority of the Hob Goblins remained at the Freehold, these Brave souls maintained the large dirigible long enough to breach the White City prison of the Fomorian white court deep within the Forest of Lies.

Unfortunately while Hob remained loyal, the Sorceress easily swayed several of his followers to their true natures and once within the Dreaming they began to work on a secret project. Guided by the Sorceress they converted a lightning Gun from the Airships armoury so that its Chimerical blast was specifically attuned to the Oathcircle. In the confrontation with the Sorceress they revealed both their duplicity and the fearsome device, killing the Prince Regent and Sir Uthden, the Troll to whom they had all become so bonded.

The few Goblins who remained true to Hob and the Fionna worked bravely and diligently to ensure the surviving Oathcircle and the Lady Kelemon escaped the Fomorian Sorceress' trap, uniting Behind the Untitled Sidhe Crom and when he died, behind the remaining Satyr Johnny Lunchbox and the Nocker Arthur Frohicky, the two surviving members of the Regency Oathcircle.

Back in the Waking world the Hob Goblins were set up in a workshop in the bowels of the Tower gateway freehold and have been instrumental in the Fionna's dominance of the war. Their weaponry and armour has given the Regency the edge in several battles and made the freehold a sturdy garrison. Studied by scholars or the Dreaming, the Hob Goblins are neither Nockers nor A typical Thallain and many wiser souls have put forward alternative names and requests to have them recognised as a new Kith entirely. Perhaps the War and the constant state of readiness suits the Hob Goblins and I for one would love to see how they adjust to peacetime once the Gwydion menace has been crushed.

(Since the loss of Hob himself, who was corrupted by the malign forces of the Midnight Circus, the Hob Goblins are led by the Grump Professor Flange Brackett and his assistant. They continue to create arms for the Fionna cause but these items have grown increasingly complicated as the Hob Goblins adapt to the Technologies of the Modern waking world).

THE NINTH WAVE
(see also Mephistopheles)
The Seelie have the Red branch, the most noble and highly skilled warriors who claim descent from the heroes of the ancients such as Cu Chulainn. The Unseelie are no less devoted to their cause and they have their own elite Knights called the Ninth wave. These Unseelie knights claim descent from the Fomorian troops who rebelled against Balor himself by siding with their forsworn commander Mephistoleas. The bloodbath that followed that event left almost none of the original ninth wave alive as they sold their lives dearly to protect Lady Fionna from their former masters on the field of gates. The currant warriors to claim this title may be members of the original band reincarnated or they may just take the name in adoration, but they are once again growing in number and they may soon rival their Seelie counterparts in the waking world.
The Unseelie ninth wave are loyal to the Shadow court and the Unseelie court as a whole but those who know of the return of their founder as the House Balor Knight errant Mephistopheles are eager and ready to unite behind his banner should he call for it. As yet, the forsworn son of Balor and Lady Fionna has made no move to unite his loyal devotees in any way.

THE BEGGARS BANQUETTE
A union of buskers, beggars and street performers led by the Satyr Crodh Mara and the Eshu Euston. The Beggars banquette are the most streetwise and clued up group among the Children of the dreaming, mixing their perceptive and communicative skills into a city wide network.

THE SNOWDON UNDERGROUND [THE ap ANNIS TROLLS]
When the Tylwyth Teg (Welsh fairies) fought for their independence against the returning Ellylion (Sidhe), they were led by the Trolls of the Annis line under the banner of Dewi the red Dragon. Caradawc of the Strong Arms was their Jarl, husband to Gwyllion the daughter of Black Annis herself and the ap Annis trolls ruled the frozen freehold of Snowdonia. When their land was threatened, Elen magically built highways across the country so that her soldiers could gather and defend it, giving them an edge over the Ellylion of House Gwydion and the freehold managed to remain free. At the end of the accordance war Caradawc died and his throne passed to his son, named after the very mountain they called home. In peace time the freehold became a place of learning and apprenticeship for young Knights, receiving the young sons and daughters of many houses that wished to learn the traits of Nobility from the Trolls. This state of affairs lasted for two decades and the Trolls knew peace and prosperity, until the arrival of the first Hybrid.
The ap Annis of Snowdonia gave several hybrids sanctuary and paid for their hospitality with their lives when the assassins of the Crimson Elite butchered everyone at the Freehold. Only a handful of the ap Annis survived, mainly because the Crimson elite thought them dead, and when the smoke cleared it became clear that these few no longer had a safe haven in Wales. They gathered what they could and fled to their allies in London.
Since joining the forces of House Fionna, Snowdon and his nephew Tarquin have worked to uncover the true identities of the Crimson elite so that they might take their just revenge. This goal has been carried out in secret, along with the search for other hybrid children who might need protection. Those Trolls loyal to the ap Annis and House Fionna are being trained not only to protect the Regency, but also for the day when the Snowdon underground can openly declare itself an enemy of the Crimson Elite and protectors of the Hybrids. For now they are too small to break the terrible secret of the Hybrids existence and have not gained enough intelligence on their enemies, but that will change.
Click HERE for an explanation of the Hybrid's

THE CRIMSON ELITE
A unit of Red Branch knights who have been accused of several heinous acts by the Commoners. Whilst they go about with their faces covered and few survive their murderous acts, the secret of their mission is well known. The Crimson elite were formed by the Sidhe for the sole purpose of hunting down and killing any hybrid Changelings. Merely knowing of the existence of these poor unfortunate creatures is enough to mark one for death and it is for this reason that their enemies seek to spread knowledge of the Elite and their mission.
How far have the Red Branch fallen that they can support such acts of villainy? Well that is evident in other aspects of the Civil War, in which the most noble of the Fae have taken arms against their brothers by joining with House Gwydion's cause. And what chance is there that their crimes against the dreaming will ever be tried? I leave you to answer that one for thyself.

THE UNFORGIVEN
(Suggested by ideas stolen from Neil Gaimen in Neverwhere and Sandman)
Also known as the Black friars, the Unforgiven worship Despair and Misery. They are Dauntain apostates who seek to drown the joy and Delight of the Dreaming in the cold light of truth. (more soon)

THE EDGEDANCERS
(Suggested by a concept in the Shadow court)
'I made this' - Macha of the Fianna

The Edgedancers are an alliance of supernatural youths who have banded together in defiance of their betters. They spurn the laws and ways of their individual societies in favour of their own Sub culture. Viewing the hidden world with the eyes of teenagers, the Edgedancers have accepted that nothing can be done to hold back the winter or the apocalypse and they have very few goals beyond partying until the end comes. Perhaps this attitude can be seen as a mirror of the Goth counter culture, but behind the posing and make up they have a deeper reason for being morose. The denizens of the supernatural world do not have the luxury of self delusion that the mortals are swathed in. They see what creatures truly haunt the world when they look into the mirror and this has engendered a feeling of hopelessness in them.
While other cities have a small portion of like minded individuals, it took the leadership of the charismatic Sidhe, Count Darkain, to unite them. The Unseelie brother of the Earl Auberge gave a resounding speech after the cessation of the accordance war about how none of the battles of the Tuatha held any merit for the current generation of Wilders born to certain death. He tore the Seelie and the Unseelie down as outdated and pointless and declared that henceforth the only allegiance he would honour would be for his friends, independent of race, creed, court or species. When he stormed from the great hall several young Changelings, including Pandora, Atari, Siobhan and Calypso, followed him and ever since then he has been attracting converts. It doesn't seem to matter to the Edgedancers that Darkain has not remained true to his word and has once again entered the theatre of politics. Perhaps his claims that he supports the Fionna only to preserve the freedom of his clique holds more water with them than it does with the other nobles.
From their territory in Camden, the Edgedancers are entwined with the Dreamers of the market and the nightclub scene. The glamour reaped from such cutting edge artists as the body piercer's and retro clothes stores keeps the Fae contingent strong and safe from Banality, and thus Darkain manages to remain a popular lord. The Edgedancers are guardians of the Highgate, which has yet to show any signs of being active. Working alongside the Seven Sisters motley in many regards the northern Estates remained apolitical, at least in the years before the civil war tore London apart.
Along with the Changeling's who follow Darkain, several Gallain have also been swayed by the morose siren call of the Edgedancers. Among these are the Shadow lord werewolf Imogen and her Fianna lover Macha (Pictured above), Granddaughter of King Considine, several Velvet children and too many love struck mortals to list. While not a member, the Mage Panic and his harem are often to be seen in the company of the Edgedancers, giving them an allegiance with the awakened to boot. It is perhaps this cross section of dissaffected supernaturals that gives Count darkain his true power. By taking a position apparently outside of the Courts, the Edgedancers actually carry a great deal of power in Changeling, and in fact in Gallain, society.

THE BLACK HOWLING
Hinted to be approx 6 - 10 strong, and led by Grendaal, the Black Howling are an old and historic gang of Redcaps from East Anglia, small in number and secretive in their ways. They are experts in terror tactics, mixing the smash and grab strategy of the Pirates and the swarming attacks of the Brigands into nightmare raids against cowed villages. As the Night fell, the gang began circling their victims, howling and screaming themselves into a frenzy. They used cantrips to frighten the villages, Will-o-the-wisps, legerdemain and discord. With larger settlements, the outlaying buildings may be set alight to force the victims into the centre, livestock are slaughtered noisily, church bells smashed. By the time the gang actually strike, their intended victims are so thoroughly demoralised that the mere sight of a redcaps red eyes at the window can cause them to faint or run in panic. The battles are won before the first blow is struck.
This psychological warfare and brutalisation is contrasted by the society of the gang when alone. The Black howling have views not unlike the Spartans or the Vikings, holding personal bravery and strength as the true mark of a Redcap. Childlings passing into their Wilder seeming are expected to prove themselves in single combat against a terrible foe. Whether the foe is a lone Garou, one of the Fell or a Chimerical monster, his gang gives the redcap no help and anything other than the death of the target is considered failure. Thus alone perhaps explains the small size of the gang.

THE CANNIBAL DOONES
The Cannibal Doones number 7 Redcaps and several Kinain, all of the Doone family and led by Karn Ach Doone. While Karn Ach Doone himself is Unseelie, the majority of his gang is Seelie. This strange arrangement came about because the two eldest members of the family were rescued and raised by House Fionna when Bedlam's Rawhead and Bloody Bones ransacked their hideaway in the Southwest. The only two survivours were Childlings and were raised by the Seelie court and those they raised afterwards followed their Seelie ways. When their current leader underwent his Chrysalis, his memories of past lives was so strong that his Unseelie nature won through. Now his Highwayman nature serves House Fionna and he finds they are balanced by his Seelie followers. Whether he sees the light and changes court or can lead them back to the darkness is yet to be decided.

THE CRIMSON TIDE
Without doubt the largest single gang outside of Bedlams raiders are the Redcaps of the Crimson Tide. Under a waking world flag on convenience, 17 able-bodied seamen and women patrol the Irish sea aboard their Chimerically enhanced cruise liner. The Crimson Tide have always been enemies of Bedlams thugs, and many violent clashes between the two are remembered by Bards. While these pirates preyed on the same ships as Bedlam, they avoided his shore raiding exploits and thus had several friendly ports in which to hide. It was this support from the land that allowed them to survive battles against the much larger force of the Bloody Bones.
House Fionna utilised the rivalry between the two Pirate gangs when they sent Redhand the Redcap to parley with them. Redhand was once a member of the Tide and had remained on cordial terms with her ex gang. The Crimson tide agreed to patrol the Thames estuary and to give house Fionna ships safe passage in return for a guaranteed chance to face bedlam alone when the final battle was fought. The grey watch and Fionna armies had to agree to stay clear of the Thames in order to elicit the support of these redcaps.

THE CHILL WIND
The Chill wind marines are allied to the Spring heeled jax. A small gang that led the Fionna flotilla in the Accordance war and have been active along the east coast ever since, the Chill Wind call Southend home. Led by Condatis, a gnarled Redcap grump and veteran of the Accordance war, the younger generation of the Chill Wind have often traded piracy with fishing for Sea monsters and diving for salvage, risking their lives against the sea and the elements rather than against other fae.

THE UNCONQUERED HEART
Alator the warrior leads 9 others of the Unconquered Heart from the Estates north of London. These redcaps remained independent throughout every conflict. Even before the resurgence they refused to make allegiances with anyone. Even with the predation of the Gwydion alliance cutting into their territories the most they are willing to concede is a non-aggression treaty and free passage with the Grey watch and other agents of the Fionna. The warband do however ensure that the Gwydion forces are hemmed in and cannot flee battles to the north.

THE RAVENSTORM
Babdella leads a band of 5 monster slayers known as the Ravenstorm. They are Loyal to Yrtalin and the Ravenscourt, adopting the roll of Black Knights and honour guard for the Unseelie. During the accordance war the Ravenstorm Gang piloted an old garbage scowl full of Fionna and Eiluned knights up the Thames to reinforce the beleaguered troops on the bank and turned the tide of the war.

THE RAWHEAD AND BLOODY BONES
We're down here,
Held here
Dragged here
And drowned here by
Rawhead and Bloodybones
-Rawhead and Bloodybones
-Siouxsie and the Banshees
The Pirate army known as the Rawhead and bloody bones originally numbered around 21 but they have since absorbed several smaller gangs and now struggle to remain coherent as the largest Redcap Gang in the history of the Land of the Young. Billy Bedlam, their infamous captain, dominates them with harsh rule and demanding expectations, but the booty his force can acquire attract many ice hearted Redcaps to his banner.
For years the Rawhead and Bloody Bones haunted the west coast of England and the Irish sea as pirates and shore raiders. Battles with sea going Scathatch and other redcaps kept the gang busy but the War in London has galvanised them into a foe worthy of respect. Alongside the Red branch, Bedlams thugs provide House Gwydion with an army far larger than the Fionna forces on land and at sea, but it is on the Thames that the redcaps truly shine. The river has always been the key to London and since the arrival of these pirates; Fionna has watched its control of this artery slipping away.
Since before the earliest records, the Bloody bones have been the enemy of House Scathatch. Billy Bedlam founded them as a brigand gang in Scotland during his first incarnation and they slaughtered the entire Mac Roth Family bar one in a raid. That survivor, Sir Dillon MacRoth ap Scathatch, has been hunting Bedlam and his thugs ever since. Across the British isles and across several lifetimes the two have hunted each other and slain hundreds of each others forces in this unyielding hatred.

THE SPRING HEELED JAX
The Spring healed jax are a 9 man strong mercenary group led by Brixton Steeljaw. They are a small and fiercely independent group with a strong paramilitary background. Unlike other redcaps they have been known to work alongside other kith, even trolls, so long as they are paid well. Along with the Jubilee guard Trolls, the Spring heeled Jax held off Hose Gwydion knights in the decisive battle of Chislehurst caves. Along with the rest of the White city Freehold, the Spring heeled Jax loyalty to the Fionna is a treaty of convenience while the Gwydion occupy the Estate that was once the home to the Motley.

PROJECT KHAOS