Dancer is one of the sub-types of the Fairest seeming. Whether entertainer, courtesan, artist or murderer, the Dancers are happiest when moving to the sound of their inner rhythms. As creatures of particular agility and grace for whom motion is itself beauty and art, theirs is the blessing of the Fae Grace.
Overview[]
One aspect of beauty is grace. Dancers embody this aspect in ways that many Fairest emulate, but few can reach. Lightfooted, elegant and swift, a Dancer is the very archetype of the faerie as something more graceful than a human can hope to be. Though Dancers’ durances were no more pleasant or fondly remembered than those of any other Lost, Dancers are unable to fully resent the gifts of agility and poise they received in Arcadia.
The process of attaining these gifts may have been tortuous and best forgotten, but the grace lingers with them every minute of every day. Therefore, a Dancer is often among the camp of Lost that tries to see the best of what they’ve become, making the most of their blessings even if they regret having to go to Arcadia to receive them. Of course, for those not as beautiful and elegant as a Dancer, it’s a hard line to swallow.
The most distinguishing feature of a Dancer is her agility. Every physical motion is imbued with added grace, no matter how small. This is a quality that cannot be entirely disguised by the Mask — Dancers stand out in a crowd, if anyone is watching. Even the way they neatly place their feet when walking is an indication of their instinctive agility and precision. Beyond that shared preternatural grace, though, Dancers vary widely in appearance. Some are pale and faintly luminescent, almost ethereal; others have pale skin marked with whorls of color.
Durance[]
Many Dancers were literally taken to dance. They spent endless nights in glass ballrooms, waltzing with the Fae until the Dancers’ feet bled. They capered on stages, tied to invisible strings. They were placed on red-hot bronze so that their Keepers could watch their cavorting. Sometimes Dancers were taken to act as partners, sometimes just to be display objects.
Other Dancers were given the blessing of great agility for other purposes, perhaps salacious. A human taken as a sexual slave may not have been sufficiently… limber to entertain a Keeper without some modifications. The castle of a Keeper might have been built of narrow swords laid across deep chasms, where the servants were required to learn exquisite balance simply to keep their lives. Whatever the reason a Dancer was taken, his preternatural grace may have been the result of arduous effort, odd elixirs, or bizarre surgeries.
Folklore[]
Dancing is a common element in faerie folklore. Traditional fairy-tale elements may make interesting components when recast in the shadowed language of the Gentry — red shoes, rings of white mushrooms, secret dancing halls deep under the earth. Many faeries are described as dancing rather than walking when seen, and a Dancer may have had to become what she is simply to keep up.
Frailties[]
May only wear cloth shoes, cannot wear gold jewelry, enraptured by harpsichord music, may not eat beef or mutton, must laugh when hears laughter, must keep a feather on her person at all times
References[]
- CTL: Changeling: The Lost Rulebook, p. 114
- CTL: Winter Masques, p. 81
