‘Jolly’
Mare
5’2”
Green
Lavender
Pale
The Nightmare King
Themself
Appearance
Jolly is and always will be a creature of variable, as to be expected from a creature of fae. And Mares, as their name suggests, are the object of nightmares when not under the guise of a glamour. It is perhaps in the best interests of all that the little Mare possesses no interest in keeping to her true form. Sparks of self-consciousness have led Jolly to seldom show their face, even under the guise of glamour. When they do, however, they often maintain a form of a pale girl sporting hair of mint and eyes of lavender.
While in costume, the majority of Jolly's person is hidden by bandages and bright garments. Each step she takes is followed by a chorus of bells, as one would expect from a Jester's costume, though perhaps not to such an extreme. A particularly keen eye might see the outline of wings, mostly transparent, sprouting from the Jester’s back. Further inspection would reveal a slight tear in one of the wings, barely there but just enough to deem actual flight a much more strenuous feat.
Skills and Abilities
Changing Face: As to be expected from the majority of fair folk, Jolly maintains a glamor for nearly every occasion. It’s the perfect means to blend in with the mortal folk, though far from infallible. Those of the perceptive sort might find the illusion a bit too perfect, or a little rough in some edges, just enough to tip them off that the face they see is not what’s truly there.
Bound by Belief: So long as someone believes in fae, they maintain their power. It’s an odd thing, to draw power from those you’d otherwise seldom consider more than entertainment, but the mortals are an essential part of life. Without their belief, Nerium is nothing.
Nightmare Fuel: A loyal servant of the Nightmare King, Nerium’s main abilities lie in turning dreams to nightmares. With that comes some skill in determining what one fears most. Between this and her true form, Nerium truly is the product of nightmares.
Names have power: To give out ones full name to a fae is to give them some sort of power over you. It’s a thing that works both ways, with those knowing Nerium by her true name holding power over her. It’s part of why she’s known by the mortal folk as merely ‘Jolly’, though by no means the only reason.
Clipped Wings: Punished for an incident involving the Unseelie Queen, Nerium is incapable of taking flight, not entirely at least. She’s capable of almost gliding through the air, covering long distances in seemingly tiny jumps and reducing fall speed to that of next to nothing of importance, seemingly weightless, but she cannot carry herself completely.
Iron Deficiency: Like all fae, Nerium harbors an allergy of sorts to iron. She cannot touch the substance, nor enter areas whose thresholds have been laced with it. Touching iron would result in excruciating and slow to heal burns, as well as putting a damper on Nerium’s overall power.
Personality
If we shadows have offended…
To the public eye, Jolly maintains a jovial, almost happy-go-lucky disposition. She’s excitable, though with an attention span that leaves some to be desired. Still rather young for a fae, her outward disposition reflects as such. Approachable, yet fickle. An untrained eye might mistake her for Seelie with all her friendly mannerisms.
Make no mistake, however, this entity is far from Seelie. She’d watch a human walk over a cliff with the same expectant look she’d give one when they promised a joke (One must find out if the mortals bounce when they fall). And, as to be expected of any Unseelie, her temper is nothing to sneeze at. While possibly easier to satisfy than some of her counterparts, the Lords of the Court especially, to inflict her wrath has yet to end well for anyone, mortal or otherwise.
Biography & Lore
I could’ve been anything.
So I became an angel.
So I became an angel.
One of the few subraces of fae that would know mortality in its pure, unadulterated form, Nerium or rather the mortal that would be later known as Nerium, wouldn’t know life outside the womb before they met their end. A stillborn. The mortal’s parents, so torn by grief over the child they’d never know, could not bring themselves to look at their child’s corpse, or even learn the gender. It just remained a mystery, swaddled in a tattered blanket, buried in an oversized coffin.
But with that death also came birth. An entity awoke in but a sliver of the moon’s light, cold and overcome with the urge to return home. And their way they found indeed, calling out to those whom the creature would only know as ‘mother’ and ‘father’, expecting to be greeted with open arms. What the entity encounter there were not open arms, but screams of terror and pleas that such a spirit would haunt the two no longer. They didn’t understand, and how could they? This was no monster bent on doing them harm, just a child in need of their parent.
And then came the iron, lining the doors and windows of the little home.
Alone, barred from any semblance of a home, the little Mare wandered about until they were taken in by the Nightmare King himself, one of the Lords of the Unseelie. In the centuries that followed, Nerium, as they’d call her, would grow to assume the rank of Jester, serving as both entertainment and agent of the Court. To survive and thrive at Court was no easy feat, as Nerium would learn. A bad joke, an ill-timed delivery, a single misstep could lead to a world of pain. One particular instance would land the Mare in poor graces with the Unseelie Queen herself and forever mark the young fae, stripping her of the ability to fly freely.
Her time was not spent exclusively at Court, however. A being whose power is dependent on others’ belief, it’s only right that she do her part in ensuring that belief remains. In her case, she does so using her part through the dreams of both children and adults, perching on their chests and turning dreams to nightmares. Furthermore, she’s allowed to roam freely in the mortal realm, at least until the Court calls upon her once more. Many a time, she’s served as a mole of sorts for the fair folk, keeping her Lords in the know of the mortal ways. It’s not a horrible existence. Lonely, maybe, but the mortals are such fun.
References
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