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Fey Aging

Songs of the Sidhe by David Ross

Fey Aging
Anthony van Dyck – Studies of a Man’s Head

Although fey are not often immortal in the usual sense, they are easily mistaken for being ageless by humen. Most fey age very slowly, even compared to dwarves. The average lifespan of a fey is several millennia, although nymphs and other mid-level fey may survive for more than ten and the weakest may not survive one. All age very gracefully, only suffering true senescence in their final century or so. They can generally sense the end coming, and  do not fear it.

Some of the greater fey, such as daoine sidhe and some archfey, never truly grow old. Although they must still eat, drink, sleep, and breathe, they rarely die except by violence or their own choice. Despite their potential to persist for countless eons, these beings rarely live more than twice as long as their aging fellows before being reincarnated.

Often, fey with aristocratic position (regardless of agelessness) will embrace a kind of retirement for a few centuries or millennia before dying.

Like elves, fey can accept death simply by force of will (‘deep slumber’ and ‘great change’ are two favored terms for this choice). The vast majority make the great change within the first dozen millennia or so of life. Reasons vary, but most often include a desire for fresh perspective, to escape their accumulated enemies or bad memories, to explore what death has to offer, to get the deepest possible rest for their fatigue, or to relieve the weight of ennui.

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