The Changelings of Great Britain in the 16th Century

In the mists of 16th-century Britain, the Changelings Fae souls reborn into mortal forms navigate a world of Tudor courts, Highland clans, and ancient ley lines still pulsing with Glamour. As the Shattering continues to weaken the boundaries between dream and nightmare, the Dreaming in the Isles remains fiercely alive, anchored to places of power and protected by traditions as old as the Tuatha Dé Danann.

 

Leadership and the Elders of Stonehenge

At the heart of Changeling society in Britain lies a circle of ancient power centered near Stonehenge, the sacred site whose very stones hum with Glamour. Within a 50-mile radius of the Henge, the High Courts of the Seelie and Unseelie maintain their uneasy balance, each honoring ancient compacts and vying for influence. Here, the Seelie Houses upholding chivalry, tradition, and the Dreaming’s noble ideals share the land with the cunning, often darker Unseelie Houses, who champion change, passion, and the raw truths of Faerie.

 

The ruling elders convene regularly in shadowed glades, forgotten barrows, and hidden hollows beneath Salisbury Plain. These gatherings are presided over by High Nobles and Sidhe of ancient lineage, their mortal seeming often that of court magicians, monks, and herbalists who whisper behind the thrones of kings and bishops alike. Leadership rotates through ancient rituals tied to the solstices, ensuring that neither the Seelie nor Unseelie Courts ever hold dominance for too long.

 

These Elders are not only Sidhe but also include potent members of other Kiths like Redcaps, Sluagh, Boggans, and Nockers who hold their own power and secrets. Among them are whispered names such as Lady Morwenna of House Gwydion, an ageless Seelie Sidhe; and Tostig the Hollow, a grotesquely brilliant Unseelie Redcap whose throne is carved from barrow stones.

 

The Fae Courts of Scotland: Edinburgh’s Royal Masquerade

North of Hadrian’s Wall, the city of Edinburgh thrums with Changeling intrigue. The ancient capital, perched between volcanic crags and windswept lochs, is a stronghold for both mortal and fae royalty. Within its castle halls and shadowy wynds walk the Fae-blooded elite, some hiding in plain sight.

 

Notably, Mary of Guise, the Queen Regent of Scotland, is a Nocker, her mortal guise hiding a sharp-tongued mechanical genius whose clockwork spies and hidden workshops run beneath Holyrood. Though Seelie-aligned, she maintains discreet relations with Unseelie artisans and sidesteps the bitter court politics of the Dreaming with cold precision.

 

Her late husband, King James V, was secretly a Redcap—a terrifying contradiction, blending courtly charisma with brutal practicality. Whispers among the changelings claim his strength helped repel dark threats from the Highlands, and his bloodline is watched closely by both Courts. Moreover, James V was kinfolk to the Shadow Lords, his mortal line blessed (or cursed) by the Garou, creating a volatile but potent legacy in his daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots.

 

Ireland and the Fae of Newgrange

Across the sea, in the verdant hills of Ireland, Changeling society is older, rawer, and more deeply intertwined with the land. The center of fae power lies in Newgrange, the ancient tomb-temple whose spiral-carved stones whisper with the dreams of the Tuatha and the still-sleeping Fomorians. Glamour flows freely here, and the Changelings of Éire remain closer to their mythic roots.

 

Their High Warden is Hugh O’Neill, the Earl of Tyrone, a towering Dougal Troll whose strength and wisdom anchor the Kithain of Ireland. Though known to mortals as a shrewd noble, among the fae he is revered as the Iron Oak as unyielding, strategic, and steeped in the old pacts between changeling and land. Hugh holds court in the twilight spaces beneath Newgrange, where he mediates between the various Kiths, including the wild Pooka of the west, the Boggan farmers of Munster, and the Sidhe exiles who returned from Arcadia in the century prior.

 

Under his rule, Ireland remains independent from the politics of Stonehenge and Edinburgh, though emissaries travel the ley lines often, and alliances are always in flux. The threat of Banality grows, but the Changelings of Ireland hold firm to their traditions, wrapped in stories, blood, and the fierce love of their green and misty homeland.