House Fiona
Sidhe are creatures of extremes, and the nobles of House Fiona are no exception. Lady Fiona and the sidhe of her house stayed on Earth during the Interregnum so that they could continue to explore its pleasures. Some even say that the house's founder rejected the call of Arcadia because of the love of a mortal man. This would not be surprising in the least; Fiona thoroughly immerse themselves in Earthly pleasures.Fiona sidhe are overly fond of food, drink, drugs and sex, and are often called away from higher pursuits by appeals to their baser needs. Anything that gives them a rush is fine with them. When the chance to indulge presents itself, they descend into their Unseelie Legacies until their lusts are slaked.
These reckless nobles continually flirt with disaster. They love to taunt the status quo, even going so far to aid their enemies to bring about a little discord. Still, when called upon to fight, this passion takes a different focus; Fiona fae are fierce warriors who live for the fury of battle. Many are addicted to the tumult of the battlefield. The thought of dying in battle, and tempting fate by fighting recklessly, fuels this passion even more.
House Fiona claims to have hundreds of traditions and customs that are strictly obeyed, even though no two members of the house can seem to agree on what they are. Thus, each member lives by her own rules and her own code of honor. Theirs is also the most accommodating of all houses. Fiona rarely pull rank on commoner Kithain. For this reason, its members are beloved by commoners, and fiefs ruled by House Fiona are happy ones, if a bit on the wild side.
The blazon of House Fiona is gules, a lion passant reguardant argent. (A silver lion walking on a red field, looking back over its shoulder.)
Boon: Defiant to the last, Fiona sidhe are renowned for their great courage. Though they understand fear, it does not control them, even in the face of death. Any attempt, natural or magical, to generate fear in them automatically fails. Only threats to a lover's life can frighten a Fiona, and they often succeed very well.
Flaw: Sidhe of this house have an overpowering attraction to danger. Even if the object of their pleasure is somewhat safe, they can find a way to make it dangerous. This is especially true of their romantic trysts, which are usually epic and almost always tragic. Creatures of pure ethereal beauty, they tend to fall in love with outlaws, strangers, wanderers, mortals and other "unacceptable" types. Often such loves become true and complete passions that cannot be denied. Some of them overcome this Flaw, but only by becoming hateful toward all romance. The most tortured become obsessed with preventing it from occurring to anyone they know.
Exile: The love story of Lady Fiona and her mortal lover has been told, retold and changed a thousand times. Like many Arcadian tales, no two versions are the same, as no one can fully remember the details. In every version, Lady Fiona dies tragically, and the fae of her house descend from Arcadia to attend her wake. Each year on the same day, a sidhe troubadour speaks to her in dreams.
Another legend tells that the current High Lord of House Fiona was exiled from Arcadia by a jealous rival. Placing the honor of his house at stake, he challenged this rival to a duel. In losing, he sentenced the 13 members of his entourage to Earth. Nonetheless, many Fiona sidhe insist that they left Arcadia to show their fealty to Lord Rathsmere and their contempt for the High Lords of Arcadia.
Lord Rathsmere is renowned for his prowess as a swordsman, and his base of operations is the Freehold of the Questing Blade in southern France. There, he is training an elite entourage of sidhe for what he believes will be the battle to retake Arcadia. As part of this training, he tells numerous tales about forgotten creatures banished by Arcadia during the Resurgence. When presented with a sidhe who possesses exemplary skill at arms, he dreams a quest for the warrior concerning one of these legendary creatures.