(Note: you will always be restricted from learning many magics in the game.)
Not every changeling joins one of the Courts. Reasons
vary, but most of them have some connection to the fact
that each Court has its own specific method of avoiding
recapture by the Fae and a special connection to a specific
emotion. Not all changelings can associate themselves
with a modus operandi the way they perceive the Courts
as demanding. Or maybe they don’t feel a real tie to any of
the four emotions supported by the Courts. Sometimes the
worst conflicts come when a refugee fits in with one Court’s
methods but another’s ruling emotion — individuals who
can’t reconcile the two may bounce from one Court to the
other a couple times before ending up Courtless.
Some changelings who eschew the Courts do so not
because they wouldn’t fit, but because something about the
Courts is distasteful to them. Maybe the concept is too near
a Faerie Court for a new refugee to contemplate (though she
may join a Court after several years). A changeling might
be politically or philosophically opposed to governing bodies
in general. He simply does not get along with people
telling him what to do and how to do it, or social groups
have always meant trouble for him. Maybe the Courts look
too disingenuous or too internecine.
Normally, one out of every six or seven changelings
refuses to join any Court. In regions where the Courts are
strong and recruit often, or where the Others are more aggressive,
Courtless are far less frequent. Regions with weak
Courts, or Courts that are very corrupt or fractured, have a
higher incidence of Courtless fae. Particularly charismatic
leaders on either side also skew the numbers, either toward
the Courts (as is more likely) or toward independence, when
that’s what the leader believes. Even with good reasons to
avoid the Courts, the promise of a support structure and the
power from a Court’s pact convinces many.
The Courtless are not, in general, a political faction.
They’re defined by a desire to remain free of the Great
Courts, but that doesn’t imply an organized goal of promoting
the interests of changelings outside the Courts. But in
some areas, the Courtless rally. They may be a group of individually
motivated Lost held together by a single charismatic
leader who insists on giving them a voice in the freehold.
They may conduct themselves as a union, openly recruiting
other changelings to a life free of Court meddling. The
effectiveness of these gatherings varies widely, but in some
places a Courtless leader holds political influence and ability
as great as any Court noble. Even if a Courtless leader cannot
sit upon a season’s throne, he can hold power behind it.
Not every changeling joins one of the Courts. Reasons
vary, but most of them have some connection to the fact
that each Court has its own specific method of avoiding
recapture by the Fae and a special connection to a specific
emotion. Not all changelings can associate themselves
with a modus operandi the way they perceive the Courts
as demanding. Or maybe they don’t feel a real tie to any of
the four emotions supported by the Courts. Sometimes the
worst conflicts come when a refugee fits in with one Court’s
methods but another’s ruling emotion — individuals who
can’t reconcile the two may bounce from one Court to the
other a couple times before ending up Courtless.
Some changelings who eschew the Courts do so not
because they wouldn’t fit, but because something about the
Courts is distasteful to them. Maybe the concept is too near
a Faerie Court for a new refugee to contemplate (though she
may join a Court after several years). A changeling might
be politically or philosophically opposed to governing bodies
in general. He simply does not get along with people
telling him what to do and how to do it, or social groups
have always meant trouble for him. Maybe the Courts look
too disingenuous or too internecine.
Normally, one out of every six or seven changelings
refuses to join any Court. In regions where the Courts are
strong and recruit often, or where the Others are more aggressive,
Courtless are far less frequent. Regions with weak
Courts, or Courts that are very corrupt or fractured, have a
higher incidence of Courtless fae. Particularly charismatic
leaders on either side also skew the numbers, either toward
the Courts (as is more likely) or toward independence, when
that’s what the leader believes. Even with good reasons to
avoid the Courts, the promise of a support structure and the
power from a Court’s pact convinces many.
The Courtless are not, in general, a political faction.
They’re defined by a desire to remain free of the Great
Courts, but that doesn’t imply an organized goal of promoting
the interests of changelings outside the Courts. But in
some areas, the Courtless rally. They may be a group of individually
motivated Lost held together by a single charismatic
leader who insists on giving them a voice in the freehold.
They may conduct themselves as a union, openly recruiting
other changelings to a life free of Court meddling. The
effectiveness of these gatherings varies widely, but in some
places a Courtless leader holds political influence and ability
as great as any Court noble. Even if a Courtless leader cannot
sit upon a season’s throne, he can hold power behind it.
