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Founded in the ancient belief that nomads can read the wind as if it were an open hook and use unexplainable means to find their way, the eshu's uncanny sense of direction continues to baffle other changeling races. An eshu will always arrive at her destination eventually, even though the route may not be the safest or most direct. She may not even know where she is heading. Her destiny guides her. Each eshu believes that if she follows her heart, it will lead her down the correct path.

Her destiny will take her to the right people at the right times, cause her to find or lose items at the right moment, or put her where she is supposed to be when relevant meetings or incidents are occurring. Because of this, the eshu is much more likely to stumble into an inobvious clue that will guide her toward fulfilling her role in life.

This ability is not restricted to locational, physical desti- nations. It has a much more metaphysical bent to it. Some would call it intuition; others would call it magic. Whereas most others have learned to ignore or fight the path which has been set for them, the eshu let go and follow it with incredible trust.

Talecraft

The passing of knowledge among Africans has long been an oral tradition. Stories handed down from father to son taught lessons of morality, culture and skills, as well as merely entertain- ing. Ancient African legends speak of the Eithu visiting villages in the guise of old men and telling grand tales beside the ceremonial fires. The Eithu were said to use their stories to charm whole tribes while the tribe's enemies sneaked up on them.

The legend went two ways, however. It was believed that good tales worked against the Eithu as well. The means to capturing the wealth of an Eithu lay in weaving a tale so intriguing that the faerie would feel obligated to pay the storyteller. Many tribespeople would share tales around die fire in the hope that when they awoke, a gift from the Eithu would await them next to their mats.

Over the ages, the eshu have become master storytellers, and they have never outgrown their adoration of it. They use stories in the same way the peoples of Africa did: to keep in touch, to educate

and to entertain. Even more importantly, though, they use their storytelling as a means to fight back the Banality that would overtake the world. Their love of stories, both as tellers and as listeners, has remained their greatest talent and their greatest Achilles' heel.

Frailties

Recklessness

The eshu have so much faith in their own destiny that when an opportunity arises, they rarely pass it by, even if the odds seem outrageously against them. Other changeling races would see this as recklessness; the eshu merely see it as another act in the play. To an outsider, the eshu's view of destiny and their philosophy of freedom may seem to conflict. To an eshu, it makes perfect sense. The destiny that guides their lives can be denied. If it is, then the eshu believe they will be doomed. The path dictated by destiny will never be an entirely safe path. The eshu know and accept this. They view challenges as they would any other path that destiny has set before them, and feel that to avoid one out of simple fear or cowardice steers them from their true path and damns them to a life of directionless wandering.

Courts

Originally nearly all the eshu followed the precepts of the Seelie fae. The majority still do. A disturbing trend has begun, however, in which some eshu have twisted the mean- ing of Uhuru into a more selfish concept.

Seelie

Two tenets separate the Seelie and the Unseelie eshu. Foremost, the Seelie revere love and honor. The two greatest gifts that an eshu can give are his love and his word. He gives neither lightly, for each is a bond which diminishes somewhat his freedom. Despite the eshu's reputation for being scam artists, the Seelie eshu would never use outright lies or false love as tools for their ruses. They believe that to do so diminishes the value of the real thing. Of course, exaggeration is not really lying, and even Seelie eshu have few qualms about stating only part of the truth if it suits their purposes. Secondly, Seelie eshu will rarely enslave another. To them, this constitutes the worst crime imaginable. They will often go out of their way to avoid doing so, even if it delays the successful outcome of their quest.

Unseelie

There exists a fine line between the Seelie and Unseelie eshu. Although both embrace the principle of freedom, the Unseelie do so at the expense of others. They cling to a darker, less noble aspect of the concept of freedom, autonomy without responsibility. They choose to ignore the effects their choices have on others, bogged firmly in the belief that whatever is right for them, even if it harms another, cannot be wrong.

Outlook

everything else. They see with their quick minds that no one may ever or should ever own another. They also share with us an appreciation of adventure and knowledge.

Unseelie Eshu: Soft, furry toys! Yes! Satyrs give a

whole new meaning to the phrase "party animal." As a distraction, their value is immeasurable. Otherwise...

Sidhe

Seelie Eshu: How can a race or an individual prosper

and grow when they live in the past, isolated from all the wonders of the world? A pitiful lot, the sidhe stagnate within their own glass fortresses. They will never under- stand us.

Unseelie Eshu: The sidhe, both Seelie and Unseelie,

never look forward for true freedom. They always look behind. And what do they see there? Their own butts! They're looking up their own butts for the solutions to their problems. Not very productive.

Sluagh

Seelie Eshu: Like moles, the sluagh feel the vibrations

of the world above them and they hear whispered secrets, but they remain blind to the meaning of it all. They live their lives through others, never experiencing, never ad- venturing. They may as well be as dead as they look.

Unseelie Eshu: A valuable source of information, it

takes all an eshu's skills to befriend one of these odd creatures. It's a challenge that should never be passed up, whether heartfelt or not. They make great tools.

Trolls

Seelie Eshu: Worthy adversaries and travel compan-

ions, these warriors deserve our admiration. It is a shame that they have yet to master the true meaning of freedom. They continually bind themselves to others in oaths that tie them down for their entire lives.

Unseelie Eshu: Trolls can be suckered even more easily

than boggans. Their sense of honor and their dedication to their friends and family make them easy targets for a con. Play on their flowing sentimentality, and soon they're wrapped around your finger.

Boggans

Seelie Eshu: Every tribe needs hard workers to do the jobs for

which we eshu don't have time. Their honesty makes them trustworthy, and their stories seem all the more interesting because they are true. Good listeners.

Unseelie Eshu: These little do-gooders make the per-

fect targets. Their compassion is their downfall. Easy to manipulate and con, they'll give in at the first sign of a tear.

Nockers

Seelie Eshu: These poor sots remain so tied to their hobbies

that they may as well be enslaved. Perhaps this explains their nasty dispositions. How could they possibly be happy?

Unseelie Eshu: They're good to have around when

your car breaks down, but other than that, they're useless. It's no fun to try a scam on them; they're so crotchety they never trust anyone. You've lost before you've even begun.

Pooka

Seelie Eshu: These fae have proven to be entertaining

companions, but they take a figurative piss wherever they please, even at the most inopportune moments. They have no concept of the meaning of dignity.

Unseelie Eshu: The pooka resemble little yappy dogs that

should be kicked regularly and with feeling. Enough said.

Redcaps

Seelie Eshu: Their violence has no mind and no heart

behind it. They act indiscriminately without thought to consequence. These changelings have renounced their free- dom of choice in favor of a reactionary, knee-jerk lifestyle.

Unseelie Eshu: Although somewhat ineffectual in their

methods, redcaps certainly have the right attitude. They live for the moment. They are free, albeit somewhat uncivilized in their technique. Now if only they could formulate goals, they would make worthy adversaries.

Satyrs

Seelie Eshu: Satyrs understand the meaning of Uhuru.

They love freely, with no enslaving bonds, as they do

Unseelie eshu care nothing for love or honor. Their sense of independence carries a wild, unrestrained streak that makes them untrustworthy and highly unpredictable. They base their decisions on whims, living a feral lifestyle of frenzied fanaticism. They preach freedom of choice, freedom of movement and freedom of the mind. Yet, their definition

of freedom is based in anarchy and self-indulgence. Do unto others before they do unto you.

Unseelie eshu have propagated their race's reputation for thieving and scamming. Unfortunately it is nearly impossible to tell the Unseelie from the Seelie before it is too late. For this reason, much of changeling society regards all eshu with distrust.

Greetings, you smarmy, overpaid excuse for a piece of camel-vomit. Well, as long as you're here stinking up the place, 1 might as well show you the new piece I'm working on, but don't touch it! I don't want you to !@#$% it up. Okay, the match drops and lights against the sandpaper, which burns the fuse and lights the candle, which bums through the rope... huh? Oh, it's a toaster. Anyway, the candle bums through the rope....

— Theedle Silversqwak, nocker inventor

Nockers are born half from the incandescent joy of creation and half from the dark depths of frustration. They personify the wonder of beginning a new work of art, and the angst and desperation that comes over someone when a creative endeavor reaches an insurmountable obstacle. They are the result of those inner demons that torment crafters to make certain every detail is correct in their work. Unfortu- nately they could not avoid being tainted by the disappointment inherent when the final piece would not fit into place or when the eyes didn't look exactly right.

The dreams of these artists, builders and craftspeople brought forth a hardy race of Kithain, rough and ready to tackle the world and shape it to their needs. Living within these fae were the dreams of construction, creation and innovation.

History

For thousands of years, nockers have been either present at or inspired by great artistic and engineering feats. Nockers have walked in the shadow of the Great Pyramid, and helped to build the cathedrals of medieval Europe. There was a nocker present when the first electric lights were lit in Menlo Park, and there was a nocker watching as Sputnik launched towards the heavens.

In ancient Greece, the nockers were architects and builders, designing and building glorious columned temples and buildings. After the Shattering, nockers retreated into more introspective crafts, but occasionally the itch to build something grander became too great. Out of this came mag- nificent royal residences or new architectural styles. Many fae flocked to nocker weaponsmiths for their finely crafted blades, or became patrons of nocker craftspeople for beautiful works of fine art, jewelry or raiment.

When the Industrial Revolution arrived with the hiss and roar of the steam engine, the nockers despaired. They couldn't resist the siren song of chugging boilers and gears, but everything seemed to be made of iron. Some nockers could overcome their inherent loathing of the dread metal, but most could not. They began to convince mortals to experiment with new alloys and metal-building out of steel or aluminum. Nockers began to experiment fervently with smelting and mixing techniques, and came up with many new alloys that are in use today, freeing them to tinker to their hearts' delight.

Nockers took to mechanical engineering with the same verve they took to smithing thousands of years back. Soon nockers began to produce exquisite chimerical clocks, and in a large freehold near Halifax, a nocker machinist created a chimerical railroad.

As mundane humanity progressed more rapidly, chang- ing their artistic views and technology, the nockers moved with them. In the '30s, nockers reached a new height as modernism blended the worlds of engineering and art. In the '50s, nockers took the space race to their bosoms. The new technology of science fiction began to filter into the discus- sions of the Dreamers and then into the consciousness of the nockers. It was at this time that a tentative alliance with the cabal of mages known as the Sons of Ether was formed. When the space missions of the '60s discovered the airless void of the final frontier, the relationship became strained due to differ- ing opinions, and has largely deteriorated at this point.

It is said that nockers still hold the secret to chimera creation. It is well-known that with the aid of forge and tools, a nocker can create simple non-living chimera. This ability puts the nockers in a position of great esteem, as it is they, and

they alone, who can fashion new pieces of the Dreaming for the rest of the Kithain. A team of 10 nockers, pooling their Glamour, sweat, tears and blood, forged the mighty blade Caliburn, which is wielded by the High King.

Attitudes

Nockers are drawn to the cutting edge of technological and artistic innova- tion. Although their dour natures and sharp tongues make it hard for them to be taught, once they learn the techniques of the newest craft, they quickly hecome known as eccentric geniuses in their fields, daring many brave souls to weather the scathing wit of a nocker simply to be able to witness their creations. Most do not last long under the bar- rage and leave the maestro alone again, perhaps hurting the sensi- tive soul that is a nocker's greatest secret, and which fuels their en- deavors.

For nockers, people are a mys- tery. Unlike wood, stone or steel, people are mercurial and have such brittle feelings. Nockers claim they have no use for the wild shifts of emotion and clouded judgment that seem endemic to the rest of the fae, and would rather simply have a chisel and a block of wood, or a wrench and a stub- born nut. The truth is that nockers, for all their bluster, have souls as poetic as those of any other Kithain. One of their failings is that it seems the only way for nockers to express that fact is through their work.

Older and wiser fae can see that a nocker's master- piece is a pure striving for a perfect thing; a striving marred by the eternal tragedy of the nocker character, for the nocker can never reach that per-

fection. Nocker sages disagree on why t h i s is so. Some feel it is due to having been partly spawned by the dark side of creativity; others wonder if it is due to the fact that nockers cannot stop shaving those last few flecks of wood or

crosswiring that last junction, which tends to push the object past the pinnacle of perfection. In any case, most nockers prefer to work on their chosen projects than take the time to be civil to those who would try to be their friends.

Having decided to eschew the common bonds of polite- ness, the nockers developed a complex ritual of insults and disparagements that constitute greetings and familiarity. Between nockers this is as natu- ral as two businessmen shaking hands. It would not be so notable if not for the unfortunate tendency of nockers to take this habit out into the rest of the world with them. A nocker will greet an acquaintance with a simple "Good morning, horseface," and be honestly baffled why the person in question has taken offense. Nockers find themselves at the mercy of the Art of Sover- eign an awful lot.

Most of these ridiculing comments are good-natured, but when a nocker is upset, given that they have a much wider vocabulary to choose from, it's not uncommon to hear a nocker cursing for minutes at a stretch. If more people un- derstood the reasons behind the creative cursing of nockers, they would be wel- comed into many more social circles then they are now.

Having been present at many major technological paradigm shifts, nockers have somewhat of a repu- tation among the spirits and Inanimae of the ma- chine world. Knowing what a nocker is capable of doing to a recalcitrant machine with nothing more than a pencil and a socket wrench is enough to scare most machines into behaving. The fact that nockers like to use their Arts to frighten their machines and equip- ment with inventive, gear-chilling and usually quite graphic threats, does nothing to alleviate the situation. As a result, nocker machinery is the most reliable, safe and terrified equipment a person can own. Machinery

can be scared so silly by a nocker, that simply growling at an engine block has been known to start it up.

Nockers are creative frenzy personified and sharpened to a fine point. When they decide to do something, come what may, they will achieve their goals. This single-minded deter- mination can sometimes slip into a full-blown obsession, coloring everything the nocker does. However, the same devotion to an ideal or person makes a nocker who promised to help one of the most loyal and truly devoted friends possible. The only drawback to a nocker's friendship are the nicknames.

There are nockers who enjoy the social whirl of the courts and oathcircles. They attack the social dynamic with the fervor their brethren use on machinery. They are often extremely perceptive, and although their tongues are scath- ing, the criticism is usually right on the mark. These few are highly prized advisors to some nobles, but others whisper that a nocker knocking on the door of the nobility may be a dangerous thing. The boggans are well-known opponents of the nockers in court, and the boggans' ability to manipulate social strings has thus far left most nockers without a voice.