Kinain (CTD)

A Kinain is a mortal that possesses faerie blood, but is not a full Changeling.

Overview

Kinain are the mortal cousins of the faerie, possessed of some amount of Faerie Blood that makes them different from other mortals but not full changelings. Even more so than changelings, kinain stand between the worlds of Banality and the Dreaming. Some kinain are marked with unusual traits by their faerie blood. Many also have strange abilities known as fae gifts, some of which can be controlled and others that are wild and unpredictable. Some go through life completely unaware of their fae natures, and others are taken by the Kithain into motleys and freeholds through enchantment, making them a valuable part of the changeling community.

History of the Kinain

The Mythic Age & Sundering

In the Mythic Age, faeries and humans mingled freely with many of the other creatures of legend... werewolves, mages, and fantastic beasts of all kinds. Many fae took mortal paramours or even wedded mortals for love, and from these couplings came the first kinain, folk of both human and Faerie Blood, mortals with Glamour flowing in their veins. Most of these first kinain became great heroes: warriors, wizards, sages, and poets.

Many of the great figures of legend were born kinain. The Irish warrior Cuchulain was was born of a sidhe and a mortal woman, while the wizard Merlin has been claimed to be the offspring of a mortal woman and a spirit that Christian scribes claimed was the Devil or an incubus, but which the fae believe was a sidhe or satyr. Their fae heritage gave these people abilities beyond those of other mortals. Sometimes their fae kin aided and advised them.

When the time of the Sundering came, a gulf grew between the fae and mortals. In many lands, those with Faerie Blood came to be looked upon as tainted rather than blessed, and the fae were mistrusted and feared. Humanity began to shut the Dreaming from their hearts, and couplings between fae and mortal became fewer. The fruits of such unions were either spirited away by their fae parents from the jealousy of humanity, or left with their human families and raised ignorant of their heritage.

The Shattering & Interregnum

The Shattering signaled the end of contact between Arcadia and Earth, as the gates between realms slammed shut in the face of Banality. Commoner fae took refuge in human bodies (and human lifespans) to conceal themselves from the icy scourge of disbelief and the hostile world in the throes of plague, war, and witch hysteria. Without the support of Arcadia, the Kithain's struggle to survive those years was desperate indeed.

As a result, the exile of the Kithain from Arcadia caused the number of kinain born into the world to increase for the first time since the beginning of the Sundering. The Glamour canceled within Kithain mortal seemings was passed on to their children and their children's children. Although few of those born to Kithain and mortal parents were themselves Kithain, many evinced signs of their fae heritage in gifts of imagination, Glamour, and magic.

The Kithain believe that many of the great artists and wonderworker who brought humanity out of the Dark Ages were kinain or human dreamers inspired by fae muses, who sought to fan the fires of Glamour from the embers preserved in kinain souls. The darkness gave way to light eventually, but the age of wonder and myth that the faerie folk had once known seemed forever lost.

Faerie Blood spread through families and clans who were friends of the fae. Sometimes the blood would not make itself known for several generations, the suddenly appear in a child who was clearly faerie-touched. Humans made pacts and honored long traditions of trust with the fae, but the clans and families to do so became fewer as time went on. Always, the Kithain were forced to withdraw tp protect themselves from the ravages of humanity's growing Banality.

As areas grew more cosmopolitan and cities sprang up like weeds, the rural folk became the only ones to honor their ties to the fae. The people of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands, the Rom, farmers, and those who lived with the land recalled the charms and traditions to seek the goodwill of the faeries, and honored them still. The rest of humanity forgot the embodiments of their dreams in their quest for Science, Enlightenment, and Progress.

The Kithain's ties with their mortal kin helped to sustain them through these times, and intermarriages resulted in several clans and families with some degree of Faerie Blood in them. Many wandering bands of changelings included kinain, who were some of the only mortals who could understand the strange nature of their fae cousins and help them to survive in the mortal world.

The Resurgence & Accordance War

The Resurgence and Accordance War put kinain in an awkward position. For the most part, kinain who still held ties with their commoner faerie kin sided against the nobility and they were often great allies. Few kinain sided with the nobility, who preferred not to involve those they viewed as little better than humans. When commoners won their rights from the nobility, they also won them for some of their mortal kinfolk, or so they thought.

In the aftermath of the Accordance wAr, Kithain society became a labyrinth of feudal loyalty and intrigue. In such a society, kinain were at a distinct disadvantage. Those who has the protection of fae mentors were able to secure places for themselves as servants and vassals, whole other kinain were exploited and treated as little better than slaves. No kinain attained noble status, although there were some nobles who were sympathetic to mortal and kinain causes.

Today

Today, most of the kinain in the world are ignorant of their heritage. They may have an occasional flash of insight or a hint of the True Dreaming, but most are too mired in Banality to notice any longer. Some kinain become dreamers, following the drives of their Faerie Blood, but not even all of them learn the truth about who and what they are.

Of the Blood

To be kinain, a person needs some degree of Faerie Blood. Any trace of the blood, no matter how small, is enough to qualify. But like most things of Glamour and the Dreaming, the fae heritage is a tricky and sometimes capricious thing. It can skip generations, or only appear in certain members of a family; an investigation of someone's family tree can turn up signs of Faerie Blood in the line, usually in the form of eccentric relatives and "black sheep."

Where Kinain Come From

Kinain are usually born of a changeling and a mortal or two changelings. About 15-20% of those white one changeling parent are changelings themselves, while about 40-50% of the children of two changelings are changelings are changelings as well. The rest are kinain. It is also possible for the Faerie Blood to skip a generation or two so that the parents who are fully mortal (but still faerie kin) can have a kinain or (more rarely) changeling child. While there are probably more kinain in the world than changelings, kinain are also more likely to slip between the cracks and be overlooked, so the exact number of people with Faerie Blood is unknown.

Mortal parents are often unprepared for a child in touch with the Glamour and end up forcing Banality on them ("Why don't you grow up and act your age?") to deal with it. Changeling communities sometimes kidnap kinain children in order to prevent their fae heritage from being extinguished entirely beneath the smothering blanket of Banality.

Changelings that have kinain children often raise them in changeling society, although kinain who live too long among the fae risk becoming Dream-struck. To prevent this, some changeling parents foster their kinain and mortal chidden with mortal parents, sometimes taking away a fae child in exchange and arranging occasional visits to freeholds and the world of the Dreaming that will not endanger their children's sanity. Children seem to be far more resilient and resistant to the dangers of becoming Dream-struck or driven mad by the experience of the Dreaming, most likely because their minds have not yet become set in the rigid patterns imposed by Banality.

This pattern of fosterage was common in the old days when changelings would take a faerie chid from mortal parents and leave a mortal child of their community in its place. Some of the abandoned fledges, both kinain and mortal, discover their heritage only after years of searching or strange chance encounters. The truth drives some of them to become Dauntain and consider their fae lineage evil, while others want to rejoin the community that first abandoned them.

Age

Some Kinain are marked with unusual traits by their Faerie Blood that depend on their heritage (a descendant of a satyr is hairy and social, while a descendant of a Boggan is short and usually works with his hands). Many also have strange abilities also known as Fae Gifts, some of which can be controlled and others that are wild and unpredictable. Some go through life completely unaware of their fae natures, and others are taken by the Kithain into motleys and freeholds through enchantment, making them a valuable part of the Changeling community. Their fae-like nature allows  them to regenerate a small amount of Glamour, something that some Changelings exploit by ravaging them.

Kinain are usually born of a Changeling and a mortal or two Changelings. About 15-20% of those with one Changeling parent are Changelings themselves, while about 40-50% of the children of two Changeling parents are Changelings as well. The rest are Kinain. It is also possible for Faerie Blood to skip a generation or two so that parents who are fully mortal (but still faerie kin) can have a Kinain or (more rarely) Changeling child. From changelings, Kinain differ in so far that they lack a mien and only possess a mortal half (although they too, possess a Seelie and an Unseelie Legacy). One advantage of this is that Kinain are immune to the pains of Cold Iron or Bedlam, but instead always carry the danger of becoming Dream-struck.

Note, that the Anniversary C20 complately rewrote the system behind the Kinain, so the information above may be outdated.

References

1. CTD. The Enchanted.