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Places
Please send in extra details to the snailmaster, if you have them. Places are listed in alphabetical order.
Amberyl's Freehold
A small poorly known freehold in O'Connor with generally a single occupant. It's balefire is used as a forge by it's Nocker ruler and its presence was once kept a closely guarded secret.
Black Mountain - Misha's Lair
Deep beneath the tower lies a large abandoned complex that it is rumoured was created by the Black Magicians of Banality. The complex is a layered death trap which leads down through a deep pit into a huge cavern which was once home to Misha the Aztec Moon Dragon. It is rumoured that Misha's Hoard is still somewhere deep within.
(The) Borogrove Swamp & Ancient Sumerian Temple
Occupying most of the Jerrabombra Wetlands, the swamp is slowly absorbing the flooded cemetary and surrounds the Old Man's Temple. The Temple is a large pyramid with a single large room inside which is connected to the rooftop plintz by a small stairwell. The Temple is now blackened by fire.
Caer Taghairm
Caer Taghairm, which was under the rulership of the Troll Count Beaufort and his ancestors before him since its creation, was a place that inspired poets to poetry and singers to song by its very beauty. It was a fairytale castle with shining spires, set within an expanse of magnificent gardens, surrounded by the cool blue waters of the Lake Burleigh Griffen. Bards and singers and all the creative folk were always given pride of place in that Court. Silence was rare in this place and generally not the blessing that many would consider it when it did arrive, for it only. Gentle croonings of birds joined the voices of the Fae in celebration of life and many a tall tale was told in the Castle's centre Courtyard or Great Hall.
On Count Beaufort's death, the freehold was claimed by the Sidhe Count Sariel, who ruled it in the same style and form as Count Beaufort. In 1999, when the Banality Wave hit Canberra and all Changelings laid low, the Freehold was forgotten by all those who had dwelled in it.
Then early in 2003, along came a Sidhe Countess of dubious reputation: Madeleine Darcy ni Fiona. She was amongst the group who rediscovered the lost Freehold and she wasted no time in claiming it as her own. Under her strict rulership the Freehold reformed itself in the manner of a Victorian School building. This was a strange time for the Freehold, as Glamour took the form which many would associate with Banality, and the Changelings of Canberra were uneasy.
Only a few short months after Countess Madeleine claimed Caer Taghairm as her own, Count Sariel, newly awoken, was rescued from the Banality of the Holt Mental Asylum, wherein he had dwelled for the last 3 years. On regaining his strength, coupled with some magical mischief, Count Sariel and Countess Madeleine found themselves alone in the freehold while Unseelie. As Canberra's Changelings were magically changed back to their Seelie sides and returned to the Court, they saw evidence of a great battle, the Countess Undone and the Seelie Count Sariel greatly repentant.
And so the Freehold is again under the rule of Count Sariel Rhys ap Fiona and again it stands as a great castle in a lush garden. But nothing is ever what it was. Count Sariel has named himself only Regent-Count, ruling only until a better candidate presents themselves. And while the castle is tall and fair and the gardens deep and green, there remains about the place a sense of uncertainty, of a deep hurt as yet unhealed. The brightness of the place is helped somewhat by the appearance of a large number of brightly coloured, singing birds in the gardens and pictures and figurines of birds throughout the castle. It is likely that this has been the influence of the Count's Squire Joshua upon the Freehold.
In the mundane world this great Freehold stands on Aspen Island. It is reached by concentrating on the Glamour of the bridge as one crosses to the island from the lakes shore.
Caitlin's Bookshop
Owned by the Rat Pooka Caitlin, Trods link the book store to all of the Freeholds, people are not allowed to use the bookstore as a thouroughfare unless they buy a book and READ it.
Charlie’s Pub
Charlie's pub was a quaint little hotel located out near Tidbinbilla. The place was the site of a large conflict set in train by Mary the Dauntain's accomplice. It was sealed off as a police crime site and is no longer used by Canberra's fae. Since then it has been sold and is now a small restaurant that might as well be called Mundane Meals.
Dr Duhamel's Clinic
Within a business block in Braddon, formerly a place for the torture of childlings, the geasing of Dr Duhamel means that he is no longer threat for the moment.
"En Trance"
Opened in August of 2003, 'En Trance' is a nightclub designed specifically to be a meeting place
for the Fae of Canberra. Run by Raziel, the club is a haven from the 'properness' often associated with
the Court of Caer Taghairm, and contains several secret back rooms that can be accessed only by
those of Changling descent.
The club is also open to the general public however, and this needs to be kept in mind by
those Fae who decide to visit. Raziel can be found at the club each night, and is often joined
by Bluetear on the door and Gloriana behind the bar.
Enverona Freehold
The fair freehold of Enverona lies in the southern lands of Canberra. In times past it was filled with shady forest glens, burbling brooks and a cosy little village at it's centre. In the mundane world, a gleaming sandstone arch close to the border of NSW (Queanbeyan) and the ACT form the doorway and the dreams of those that built the arch shaped the freehold's nature. Peace calm and joy could always be found here, nevermore than when its rulers, usually of the Ghille Dhu kith, were present.
The Ghille Dhu resided in a tall house at the edge of the village - tall, not in the grand ways of palaces or towers built by other rulers, but tall as the trees out of which it was formed. A winding stairway was formed out of the very bark of the four great trees that intertwined to make this enchanted dwelling. The stairway led up, down and within to each of the rooms that lay upon one another from the roots of the trees to their crowns. The broad silver branches formed balconies aplenty and what better roof could a tree house have but a cool green canopy of leaves.
In the village itself stood a village green, with a circle of stones at its centre. In this circle burnt the Balefire, bright and cheerful, warming the village and surrounds with its merry crackling. Sturdy stone benches were scattered around it, perfectly spaced for the village's inhabitants to gather and talk or tell tales. The dwellings surrounding the green were small cottages, each with brightly painted door and a charming thatched roof. Window boxes filled with flowers adorned many of them and even more flowers trailed beside the pathways that lead to the village square. Tall trees were scattered amongst the cottages, providing cool shade and endless climbing adventures for the childlings.
Ever-changing pathways led from the village to the surrounding forest, winding through quiet glens, past sparkling waterfalls and through shady clearings. While the sense of distance from the village was never much, no noise from it intruded upon the thoughts of wanderers once they had left the grassy green that surrounded the village. The forest was filled with the songs of rarely seen birds and chimera, who flashed and flittered in the branches of the trees.
When the last Ghille Dhu ruler, Elsbeth, stepped aside to join with the Count of Caer Taghairm, the first Sidhe ruler took her place. This was the childling Baroness Rhiannon Mordwyn ni Fiona, who ruled for only a matter of weeks before she vanished from Fae society. The search for her was greatly delayed as the Banality Wave covered Canberra, and the Freehold was forgotten.
Eventually the Freehold was again discovered and then came a dark time in which it changed ownership quickly in a period of several months and was guarded by a fierce chimera - a Sphynx that killed at least one of Canberra's Fae who sought entry.
Finally though, the Sphynx was killed and the Freehold jointly claimed by two bold Sidhe Knights; Sir Tristan and Sir Raziel - both of whom had a strong fascination for all things Arthurian. So now the Freehold is somewhat changed. The Tree remains at its centre, surrounded by the village and forest, but now the entirety is located at the middle of a great misty lake, which begins just inside the door to the Freehold. The whole place has taken on a sense of age and mystery. This sense has remained in recent times, despite the change in half of the rulership of the freehold from Sir Raziel to Sir Tristan's lovely wife the Fox Pooka Lady Trina.
Fluffy's Castle
This was built on the peak of Mount Taylor, this castle is designed for kittens and booby trapped so that only they can get in safely. Kittens can get childlings in and out safely, but the corridors are not big enough for adults.
Great Aunt Mima’s Pub
Great-aunt Mima's pub is out at Murrumbateman. Less cosy and more often frequented by mortals. This place was to be the new haven for Changelings in Canberra, but with the lowering of banality in Canberra the Fae have been able to re-enter the city proper.
Imaginet Offices
A well lit and pleasant building in Bruce Technology Park, where Fae and humans work together on the Imaginet online game.
Tavi's Dojo
A tiny freehold in Evatt with a tragic history and a series of equally tragic owners, including Claudon hearthbright, Boggan turned Dauntain. It served as a training centre for Fae briefly before being destroyed by an unknown assailant after Taavi disappeared.
(The) Rose Cottage
Drusilla's ancestral home and current residence of some of the now broken Griffin's Wing Oathcircle. The small freehold within the Rose Arbor is the last haven for Canberra's fae, but danger lies in their enemies' knowledge of its location. Rose cottage has been burnt to ashes and the gardens totally destoyed. Reconstrucion of the cottage has begun.
One Tree Court Freehold / Khantabahl
The freehold of 'One-tree Court', which lies to the north of Canberra, in the province of Gungahlin, was very much shaped by the one who ruled it for the last 30 years: the Bat Pooka Baron Silas. It was a place of fantasy and passion and underground dreaming. It lies beneath a hill that has a single great tree towering at its peak. The tree's roots reach throughout the hill and deep into the earth within. A stone door stands in the hillside, as gateway to the caverns beneath. To the casual and mundane observer, the doorway seems much like any other boulder you would find in a field in this area, but to those that can see, it is indeed a door, which stands within a stone lintel, marked with ancient runes. Those who would ignore this door and would search the hill further would find its twin and then its triplet, spaced at intervals around the hill. None of them are easily found, even by those who know what they are looking for.
For those who know the secret to opening the door (and had an acquaintance with the ephemeral string), a stone passageway unfolded behind it. The passageway was dimly lit by a luminescent fungus, which crowded its walls and ceiling, giving everything an otherworldly appearance. Sconces for torches line the passageway, but they were little used by its former inhabitants. The corridor led into a deep and twisted Maze. Some say this maze is a small part of the True Maze, a place set aside in place and time from all others. It forms the greatest protection for this Freehold that it could ever have, because those entering without knowing the way would surely never find their way out.
Beyond the maze, deep within the hillside there exists an enormous cavern that seemed larger than the hill itself. The walls were covered in the twisting roots of the One Tree, which formed stairways, corridors and balconies, as well as frames for the myriad of openings scattered across the walls at all levels. Curtains of root hairs formed doorways across most. Each of these openings led into a residence, some large and some small.
At the centre of this great cavern the earth was split open to reveal a pool of chimerical lava, which bubbles away merrily and lends its heat to the entire Freehold. Within this pool burns the Balefire, intense and ardent. It's flickering light casts a fickle glow across the cavern, sparking off millions of specks of quartz within its stone ceiling, creating a mock image of the night sky.
The strongest glow is cast upon the largest of the residences, a tower of roots and rocks that hangs like a stalactite from the roof of the cavern directly above the lava pool. A sturdy spiral staircase winds up from the cavern's floor to the lowest of the balconies. In this great dwelling for over 30 years lived the Baron Silas, a Bat Pooka of great renown and leader of the Unseelie Court in Canberra - such as it was. His court was not generally well regarded by the other Kith in Canberra, and it was never a powerful one, other than it's one night of glory at the full of the moon. The effect that kept the city in a Seelie state for most of the month left little room for an Unseelie rise to power.
Still, Baron Silas insisted that he and all that lived within his Freehold were Unseelie. He continually insisted that he did have to pay fealty to Count Beaufort, because he was Unseelie and the Count was Seelie. While this did create some confusion and led to some very interesting arguments between Silas and Beaufort, most chose to interpret his Pooka lies as the explanation that best satisfied them, and generally there was little overt dissention between the One Tree Court and the other courts of Canberra. Again this was ended when the Banality Wave struck and the Fae of Canberra 'Forgot'.
In the early part of 2003, the Freehold was rediscovered and claimed by the Unseelie Redcap Knight Redjack (who was somehow immune to the powers that kept everyone else Seelie); his Seelie Squire Bulldog Pooka Burt and the strange Kinain man Bob Smith. Then in May 2003, after the Dreaming very unexpectedly raised the rank of Burt to Baron following the Barony quests, Count Sariel charged Baron Burt to claim One Tree Court as his own.
Redjack's Freehold
A small commoner's mews once located within an apartment in Belconnen, destroyed when the apartment block was burnt down.
(The) Sewers of the Great Alligator King
A dark place in northern Canberra "trapped" with strange and often ineffective traps, the numerous homeless people living in its entrance caves serve a mysterious alligator king.
Spinifex’s (Orion's) Glade
A sometimes haven for the Baroness Rhiannon before her undoing. Most of Canberra's fae know only that this glade is somewhere near Queanbeyan. With the re-emergence of Orion in recent months, the glade has become healthier and more lush.
The Anchorage
A harbourside restaurant at Batehaven used for contacting the Selkies.
The Backshed of Banality
Now burnt to ashes, this is just a burnt out section of a backyard which causes banality to any Fae unfortunate enough to enter it. The site of the Undoing of Baroness Rhiannon and the destruction of Bertrams magical axe.
The Cave of Memories
Reputed to be the location of the sacred tree and only accessable by a Trod which is about halfway between Enverona and Orian's Glade. This Trod cannot normally be opened and is rumoured to be the base of the Neversword society.
The Danis Globe
A large globe under Lake Burley Griffen which previously housed the Eversword, sucks unwary travellers into a strange pocket dimension.
The Lab
A chimerical science laboratory created by The Doctor, utterly destroyed by a force of changlings, blowing a hole in Scrivener Dam. However, all items created by The Doctor worked better the more they were damaged, The Lab is probably in full working order.
The New Drilling Ground
This is connected to the Tower and thence to Caer Taghairm, properly pegged out, with a small campfire off to one side, the Drilling Ground is not visible from the shore. Medicinal Herbs grow on the island, these may be used for bunks for Heatherbalm.
The Ninny-Jar Warehouse
Home to chimerical ninny-jars (chimerical animated Ninja suits) used apparently to smuggle Fizz-whizz and other chimerical goodies through Canberra.
The Old Graveyard
The mundane graveyard flooded by Lake Burley Griffon has a long history, used as a burial site by the Troll nobles in the 19th Century, a Trod exists from the shore to the graveyard (controlled by the Dauntain Bertram) while the Old Man's Temple rises from the Swamp bordering it.
The Tower
On the small island near Aspen Island, the tower is connected to both the New Drilling Ground and Caer Taghairm by chimerical bridges. The tower is not fortified and normally only used for romantic assignations.
The Underworld
Abandoned tunnels near Campbell High School where teenagers lurk, occasionally pretending to be vampires. In the past, chimerical vampires have also been present.