"Chaos and Order, Good and Evil are not enemies, only opposites. Life is about acknowledging that for the world to survive there needs to be a delicate balance between these two great forces. After all Good and Order would lose its potency if there was no Evil to fight or Chaos to tame."

The Autumn Court sprung out of the ancient wars between the Summer and Winter Court, when the world was black and white and people refused to see the fogs of grey that clouded the majority of the world. Its purpose was to ensure that neither Court ruled over the other but managed to maintain the delicate balance necessary for the world to survive the onslaught of wars these two Courts waged against one another. Over the centuries that purpose of maintaining order has expanded beyond the Courts of Summer and Winter to the whole of fae and mortal kind. Their purpose now is to preside judgement on the world and ensure the scales do not tip too drastically in one direction or the other to ensure there is no repeat of the great Breaking.

In contrast to what one might think of a Court responsible for the genocide of entire species of fae, the Autumn Court has an incredibly vibrant culture. Art is highly favoured within the court in all its forms and can be seen from its architecture right down to the way even lesser fae dress. Every year there is a great Artisanal Fete which encourages artists from across the courts to attend and compete in their craft against great talents from other Courts. There are prizes for best paintings, sculptures, woven rugs, performances and songs. The fete itself lasts for a whole month and during this time several laws are relaxed.

The Autumn Court is also one of the few Courts where humans can live freely and are protected by certain laws. This means they cannot be kept as a slave and must be paid a fair wage or kept only if given as part of a deal - as mortal children often are by their parents. Mortals have a right to pursue their own careers within the Autumn Court and some often raise themselves to high positions in the court. They can also have families and own property, though they must abide by the same laws as the fae if they choose to stay.

Whilst their laws are strict most people who reside within the Autumn Court believe fundamentally in the need for Balance. Many of them remember how close the fae realm came to Breaking either because they were there and survived or because of stories passed down by those that were. As such there is very little crime within the Court itself and is actually one of the safest to visit for all outsiders.

The Autumn Court is a Parlour Court meaning that the title of King or Queen is not based on blood but won through strength. Any fae is allowed to challenge the current ruler to single combat that will last to the death in the hopes of taking the title as leader of the Autumn Court.

"Now listen here my darling," said the mother to her daughter.
"There are certain lessons that every girl must learn,
When they come of age. Not every man
You meet
Will turn into a Prince.

There is a felon, a creature so foul,
Who seeks out the innocent, the sweet and the meek.
He will appear as beautiful as a summers dawn,
With all the mystic of the wolfs night song.
He will promise you the Earth, Heaven and Hell,
But what he truly wants, my dear, is your soul.

They call him the Erlking, the leader of the Hunt,
He is a King Among Kings, a sinner, a demon.
So ignore what he says,
Refuse what he offers,
His gifts taste sweet until they are bitter.
The fae world is nowt but a pretty mirage,
Have a care dear sweet child, for I hear the horn blow.
Soon he will ride,
And come to claim you as a bride."

The current ruler of the Autumn Court is Midir, the legendary Erlking. Dark, powerful, vicious and cruel, he has been the reining King of the Autumn Court for over six centuries now. His powers came to fruition at a young age for a Duanann and he was crowned as the King of Autumn still covered in his predecessor's blood.

The Right Hand of the Ruler is a role almost as important as the Ruler's. Able to manuver or work out of the spotlight they can perform tasks which the ruler might not be able to be seen taking a hand in. Officially, in the Autumn Court, they are also in charge of The Lists. These lists record the current state of the world and its leaning towards Good and Order or Bad and Chaos. It is also the Right Hands job to ferret out mortals and fae alike who bring great disruption to this balance or endanger it in anyway. It is these lists which inform the targets of the Wild Hunt itself. Currently this role is performed by Delun.

Titled members of the Wild Hunt distinguished from their peers, Hounds are the Erlking's elite. As such, they hold the highest regard among their parlour's hunters. Through their dedicated service, remarkable accomplishment, or valiant deeds, these esteemed members have earned virtue titles. Virtue titles for the Wild Hunt vary, but are always a warning. Menace, Penance, Wrath, Vitriol; they reflects their specific role in in the service of the Erlking's Sluagh, and Hounds strive to embody that virtue not just in the Hunt, but in their everyday lives.

The rest of the Wild Hunt hold a great honour place in the Autumn Court. Their main job is to met out the balance that the Ruler decrees necessary. Sometimes this will mean a small mission such as for a single figure disrupting the balance, other times their orders will be to bring about great acts of chaos or order to restore the worlds tentative balance. As such in myths and legends they have a varied reputation of being dark, ghost riders who slaughter whole towns or the ghosts of long forgotten heroes.

The Autumn Court is not just made up of those dedicated to the Hunt. Courtiers appear in abundance here as they do in any other palace - mortal or fae. The highest ranking of these are the High Lords. This status is often awarded based on power alone and so is almost completely made up by Duanann. It is the High Lords who maintain order in different areas of the vast Court with their own estates and affairs. High Lords can, and often are, also valued members of the Wild Hunt.

Everyone else. From Brownies to Leprechauns, merfolk and more, those with niche or limited gifts are often seen as Lesser Fae by those governing them. They make up the largest portion of the Autumn Court and are its main citizens.

• King Midir - The Erlking, leader of the Autumn Court
• Prince Lorcán - Ruler over the sub-nation Endora
• Princess Maeve of the Ilcinki - Human turned Fae, Lorcán's mate
• Olyssa - Beast Keeper
• Raphael - Inquisitor and Spymaster
• Delun - Right hand man, trusted advisor to the King and Keeper of the Lists
• Fraeya - Changeling, Delun's assistant
• Vaer Nhimel - High Lord Shuck and leader of the Slaugh
• Samara Khalid - The Huntress, Black Shuck, member of the Slaugh
• Jago Rhys - The Erlkings Spear, Black Shuck, member of the Slaugh (asshole)
• Baenon - Black Shuck, member of the Slaugh
• Astrid Bielke - cwn annwn, member of the Slaugh
• Ophelia Eärtári - Courtier
• Ceinwyn - Royal Gardener
• Sidereal Penumbra - General of the Autumn Court’s armies
• Lorelei - Foot soldier, Sidereal’s mate.
• Veithir - The Scourge, Puca, member of the Slaugh

As with all Courts there are many different factions that exist within it with their own beliefs on how things should be run or changes that need to be made. The biggest current factions are headed by Midir himself and the Loyalists and his son, Lòrcan, who believes that the cruel way in which his father rules and treats his people needs to change. Those who align to Midir's ideology tend to congregate in Lagain or other large cities, whereas those who align with Lòrcan and his beliefs have sought refuge in Endora.

Straddling the line between order and chaos, the Autumn Court and its Sluagh pride themselves as a force of balance in the world. Their actions are sometimes calculated, sometimes random. Some of the Wild Hunts pursue specific targets while others run rampant and create havoc. There is a meticulous balance to it allys, and the Erlking and his Sluagh fashion themselves as its keepers. Good always comes hand-in-hand with bad, and luck is a flip of the coin.

While chaos is part of their core ideology, Autumn takes its practices of order very seriously. This Court is most involved in historical documentation and record preservation. Not just warriors angling for status in the Wild Hunt gravitate to the Erlking's corner. Artists, archivists, historians, and bibliophiles have also made a resolute home in Autumn's reclusive halls.

As the two largest Courts, Summer and Winter are prone to conflict. Autumn and its king serve as a natural ground and a point of unity between them -- and every other Court. While Autumn is made up of parlors, joint fealty is practiced. Individuals may join the Erlking's Sluagh and still hold titles in another Court. As the Erlking must always defer to the Queens, it is general practice that one must also abide by the Queen they serve. There is some leeway with this, however, and the Sluagh enjoy a rare position in the gray spaces between political forces. Seelie or unseelie, wild or domestic, solar or lunar, half- or full-blooded -- all fae are welcome in the Autumn Court.

As the season of decay and the keepers of the Wild Hunt, the Autumn Court embraces death. Everything has its place and time, from the largest mountain to the smallest pixie. So why fear the inevitable? While the fae believe in many places one might go after death, it is the ultimate equalizer.

In the beginning there were only two courts.

Fae were split according to Good and Bad, Unseelie and Seelie, those who favoured Chaos and those Order. Summer was a harsh place where mortals were nothing more than animals to be brought to heel and used for their own needs, whilst harsher still Winter when they turned their attentions to making the rivers of the world run with blood. The two were, naturally, the worst of enemies. Their wars went on for the spans of centuries with mounds of corpses produced on both sides. But the dead were not the worst of it. The fae realm could not take the amount of magic that was expelled during these wars and each one edged it closer to total destruction.

Out of the ashes of fear this caused came the Autumn Court.

Summer and Winter finally agreed to meet to settle their past differences and for their mediator the rulers chose a mutual old friend who had refused to take part in any of the battles where he would have to raise a hand against those forced into the endless cycle of violence. With his help, the two came to an agreement of peace. People flocked not to the rulers but the man who had brought an end to the fighting. People from both courts swore to help him uphold the peace and the laws he had outlined that might help retain balance in the world and prevent further disaster from happening. In the following centuries the Wild Hunt as it became known travelled across the world as an army with no fealty but to Balance itself. It hunted down mortal and fae alike that was a threat. But as the Wild Hunt grew and members had families the normadic army settled and put down roots, becoming what it is today.

As the seen Mediator of the Courts, Autumn must tread lightly with other Courts and ensure a neutral relationship. Of course, the reality of this is that it doesn't hold. Below is the current status of their relationships with other Courts.

The Summer Court: Uneasy
The Winter Court: Neutral
The Spring Court: Good
The Dawn Court: Good