When we first came here
We were cold and we were clear
With no colors on our skin
We were light and paper-thin
And when we first came here
We were cold and we were clear
With no colors on our skin
Till you let the spectrum in
Say my name
And every color illuminates
We are shining
And we will never be afraid again
-Florence + the Machine, “Spectrum”
Introduction:
Changeling: The Dreaming is about adventure, romanticism, discovery, dreams, and imagination. It is also about a cynical world that crushes down all good things for the sake of soulless, uniform banality. It’s a game about those concepts colliding.
Setting: Welcome to Caer Angeles!
Los Angeles is part of the Kingdom of Pacifica.
In the days of the Accordance War, Los Angeles Commoners resisted the invading Nobles for several months and continued to wage a silent guerrilla war against their occupiers until the end of the conflict.
In the wake of the Evanescence, Los Angeles has become one of the last bastions of strength left in the Concordian Dreaming. While freeholds across North America disappear and the tide of banality grows higher and colder each year, Los Angeles remains one of the last true strongholds of the Dreaming – a literal La-La Land. This means refugees are flooding into the city looking for assistance and protection from banality. Even the most abundant resources are spread thin.
The largest and strongest freehold of the Changelings was Caer Angeles. The home of Queen Aeron of House Fiona, its ostentatious beauty was justified by it also being used as a residence for the High King should he visit Pacifica. Queen Aeron of House Fiona ruled from her seat in Caer Angeles, although as of late, she has retreated to San Francisco together with her lover, the Satyr Hamal. Although Aeron is, herself, a member of the Seelie Court, her halls are open to all fae, whether Seelie, Unseelie, commoner, noble, Kithain, or Gallain. Recent events led to the fall, and ultimate destruction, of Caer Angeles freehold in an insidious attack by Thallain, supposedly lead by a sleeping Fomorian in the Ocean.
The city of Los Angeles is divided into several territories, though the chain of fealty is a bit complicated, in the end, all fealty is owed, ultimately, to Count Hawthorne ap Ailill and, through him, the Crown. Since his claiming of the County, the chasm by Caer Xenuhemach has run dry, and a blister on the Dreaming has been found on Santa Catalina Island.
In addition to the Kithain and Kinain, the sprawl of Greater Los Angeles is also home to Nunnehi (mostly those hailing from their Pacific and Western tribes) who claim territory in the mountains near Malibu as well as the Green Path Trod running into the City and the Umbra beyond. The Hsien (who are mostly active in Chinatown, Koreatown, and Little Tokyo), the odd Inanimae (mostly out in Angeles National Forest), and the even odder Denizen (Little India seems to be especially a hotspot, though Angeles National Forest is also rumoured to be the preferred domain of a few). Thallain (NPCs ONLY) roam the edges of the Autumn and the Dream due to a weakening of the Silver Path in Greater Caer Angeles.