13th Age in Csachticz − Detailed Icons, No.5: The Erlking

The Erlking is the king of the Faeries. Although humans have been encroaching his lands for centuries, and although True Faith has cancelled any trace of Heathenry, the magic of the Erlking is still powerful, and it will remain so as long as the stars shine and men dream.

USUAL LOCATION

The Erlking lives in an ancient and immutable fortified palace in the heart of Elfland called the Dark Tower. Elfland is a magical land with a shifting boundary that co-exists with the least civilised places of Europe. In the Fair Kingdom, for instance, Elfland is said to be accessible via the densest thickets of Transylvania, when the Moon is high and the stars shimmer. This magical land however, is growing smaller and smaller as the monotheistic faiths progress. This phenomenon is called the Ebbing of Elfland.

COMMON KNOWLEDGE

The Erlking is one of the most ambiguous Icons of 13C. He rules over Fairies, who are not the nice miniature damsels from fairy tales: they kidnap babies, and they indulge in rape and murder, amongst themselves and whenever they meet mortals. But the Erlking is also the suzerain of the Green Knight (known as Hızır in the Empire of the Crescent Moon) whom he has sent on various missions to save mortals from great dangers. The Green Man and the Green Hunter are other well-known (and yet mysterious) vassals of the Erlking.

ADVENTURERS & THE ICON

The Erlking will occasionally hire adventurers when his agents are busy, or when he thinks the mission he has in mind is below his supernatural vassals.

ALLIES

Frau Perchta is a close ally of the Erlking.

ENEMIES

The Emperor, the Superintendent, and the Sultan, who epitomise the various facets of the monotheistic faith, and who are directly responsible for the Ebbing of Elfland, are the archenemies of the Erkling.

There has been a longstanding rivalry between the Alchemist and the Erlking, as the former champions rational, learnèd magic and the latter the use of spontaneous, natural dwimmercraft.

HISTORY

The Erlking has ruled Elfland for as long as mortals remember.

THE TRUE DANGER

All rational or pious mortals, whether subjects of the Emperor or of the Sultan, know that the Erlking is no friend of humankind and must be opposed. Yet who knows what darker forces of nature he is holding at bay with the help of his vassals—forces that may be an even greater danger to humanity than the Faeries.