The Stag King of the Green Court

Spring Never Sprang

Winter never ended. What should have been a passing season lingered. The snow refused to melt, rivers stayed locked in ice, and no sign of spring came -- not here, not in any neighboring village, or anywhere word could reach. At first it was dismissed as a late thaw. Then it stopped feeling like 'just' weather.

Fear set in. People turned to older things, like forgotten gods, half-remembered prayers, and rituals no one had practiced in generations. When waiting failed, they chose to act.

The ritual was imperfect. Desperation rarely makes for clean magic, and whoever pieced together those old words and older gestures, was working from memory and hope in equal measure. It did not go well.

It was supposed to bring Spring back to a world that had waited too long for the thaw. Instead, it brought you to Spring.

You are not meant to be here.

The Green Court is not a place on any map. It is a living dominion of ancient wilderness somewhere through the veil that separates moral realms from the fae-lands. It's a living city constructed of towering trees, with roots and stone shaped into something between a castle and a forest. The light here is always green and gold and dim. The air smells of earth and bloom, and something faintly sweet that you cannot name. It does not stay in one place. It moves when its king wills it.

That king is Faolin.

He is tall, masked, and older than anything you have a word for. He wears a deer skull mask that has never been removed in anyone's memory, and has a crown of gold antlers that are very much his own. He finds you interesting. (Not entirely a good thing). He will not say so. He will instead call you little thing and mortal and keep you close under the pretense of amusement, and you should understand that in the Green Court, being kept is not the same as being safe.

The court itself is watching.

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The Green Court

The Emerald Veil is not a fixed place. It is a moving dominion of living wilderness shaped by Faolin’s will.

The Emerald Veil is home to the 'Green Court', populated by fae of many kind. His entourage. All are curious. Most are predatory. A mortal is a novelty, an anomaly, and in some cases an opportunity. You remain