Fey Reproduction

Songs of the Sidhe by David Ross

There are a variety of means of reproduction among fey, including sexual reproduction, budding, spontaneous genesis, and transfiguring other creatures.

Sexual Reproduction: Many fey reproduce just as mammals do; most fey known to humans fall into this group. In addition to giving live birth to live offspring, however, some lay eggs (as do Fenghuangs) or sow seeds (as do twigjacks).

When two fey of different races (such as a dryad and a satyr) mate, there is generally a roughly even chance that the child will be of either race. Only rarely does a fey-fey pairing produce a true crossbreed. Though the race of the child may seem random, it is possible that the Sowers are able to determine what sort of race the child is by choosing which soul to give it.

Budding: A few fey reproduce asexually, growing their offspring as parts of their bodies until they are ready to be broken off as new creatures. Redcaps are the most wellknown fey of this variety.

Spontaneous Genesis: Some fey spawn from nature instead of or in addition to conventional reproduction. For example, moras grow from dead brain matter and oras spawn from the dreams of Mortal Coil natives. Such spawned fey appear more often in places near powerful material ley lines.

Transfiguration: Others (such as some half-fey and huldras) are created by transforming non-fey creatures into fey. Rarely, one fey will become another kind of fey. The resultant creature normally has the memories and most or all of the personality of the original, but in some cases, the resultant being is essentially new. The original appearance is always largely retained, but altered to fall within the norms of the new race.

The practice of transforming mortals is controversial among those ultra-conservative fey who consider the previous form to be opposed to the natural order or who consider fey to be a special, inborn status. Many Seelie look down on such fey because they are of ‘lesser’ origin, but still accept them as better than non-fey.

Changelings: The fey are widely known for stealing things from mortals, and children are no exception. Many times, a slow or sickly child has been said to be a changeling, a fairy left behind when the real child was taken. Usually, these claims are nothing more than excuses for parents to neglect or abuse their all-too-humen children. But sometimes, it is the truth. The fey are creatures of potential and magic, and sometimes they feel that the best way to make use of mortals with great potential is to raise the mortals as fey, away from the Fleeting Realm. A taken child can become a fey, sometimes gaining the half-fey template and sometimes becoming fey of a specific race. Other stolen ones remain more or less typical members of their original race.

This is the primary form of procreation for huldra and a few other fey groups. Unseelie courtiers use mortals to supplement all steps of procreation, so as to keep their numbers up without moving away from the raw destruction that gives them strength.