Editing Archfey (section)

==World Axis Archfey==
[[File:The Prince of Frost.png|thumb|right|300px|The Prince of Frost is the unofficial ruler of the Winter Fey faction of the Court of Stars.]]
When 4th edition came out, one of its design statements, declared as early as "Worlds and Monsters", was this: Make the Fey Interesting. Thus, the [[Feywild]] came to be, and the Archfey were given a complete makeover.

First appearing in the 4e version of the [[Manual of the Planes]], the archfey are described as the godlike rulers of the Feywild, beings that originated from its innate magic and ascended to rule over it, strengthening the fey's nature as being as much powerful extraplanar beings as [[angel]]s, [[fiend]]s or [[elemental]]s. The Archfey themselves are an eclectic array of beings, ranging from elemental-like spirits of natural phenomena to ascended [[eladrin]] to elder fey beasts to extraordinarily powerful individuals of the various fey races. This eclectic group meets at random intervals to form the ''Court of Stars'', which is sort of like the United Nations of the Feywild. They further organize themselves into various factions based on certain shared themes.

The ''Summer Fey'' represents the largest and most powerful faction within the Court of Stars, namely as its leader, '''Tiandra, the Summer Queen''', is without question one of the mightiest of all archfey. She also happens to look with the most favor upon mortal races, which is a good thing.

The ''Green Fey'' faction covers those fey most associated with the wilderness. Its current leader is '''Oran, the Green Lord''', Tiandra's tempestuous on-again, off-again lover.

The ''Winter Fey'' are from the icy lands to the north of the Feywild, and have a reputation as one of the more sinister and dangerous factions to mortals. Its unofficial leader is the '''Prince of Frost''', once the son of Tiandra and known as the Spring Prince until the fey maiden he loved broke his heart by choosing a mortal man over himself.

The ''Sea Lords'' are those fey who are tied to the waters of the [[Feywild]], such as [[merfolk]] and [[nixie]]s. Their current leaders, the youngest of the faction leaders within the Court of Stars, are former-eladrin twins called Elias, who takes charge of the shallow waters, and his sister Siobhan, who takes charge of the deep waters. This faction is also referred to as the Court of Coral in Heroes of the Feywild.

The ''Gloaming Fey'' are more abstract in nature than the Green Fey or the Sea Lords, and are associated with things such as dreams, darkness, stars, twilight, dusk and other nocturnal phenomena. The most loosely organized of the factions, they are also the most secretive. Archfey associated with this faction include the Maiden of the Moon, who does endless battle against [[nightmare]]s, [[werewolf|werewolves]] and [[therianthrope]]s; the Prince of Hearts, a meddler who seeks to manipulate the loves of mortals for his own amusements, and the dread prophet known only as the Witch of Fates.

The ''Unseelie Court'' is only mentioned in passing in the sourcebook "Heroes of the Feywild". It is described as less a faction and more a general term for fey creatures associated with evil, maliciousness or corruption.

Articles appearing in [[Dragon Magazine]] & [[Dungeon Magazine]] that covered various named archfey were called [[Court of Stars]] in honor of this.

Dragon #374 covers ''The [[Prince of Frost]]'', mightiest of the Winter Fey, extensively detailing his origins and even providing details on how to use him as a patron for a fey pact [[Warlock]], complete with [[Paragon Path]] in the Long Night Scion.

Dragon #376 mentions the names of several archfey associated with the island of Sarifal in the 4e [[Forgotten Realms]], but only their names: Relkath of the Infinite Branches, Lurue the Unicorn Queen, Verenestra the Oak Princess, Sarula Iliene the Nixie Queen, and Aurilandür the Frost Sprite Queen. It also mentions [[Deep Sashelas]], a member of the [[Seldarine]] associated with [[merfolk]] and aquatic elves in the [[Great Wheel]].

Dragon #420 covers ''The [[Carrion King]]'', patron lord of the [[Myconid]]s of the [[Feywild|Fey]][[Underdark|dark]]. A strange thing even by fey standards, the Carrion King's mind is many-splintered, scattered in different individual personalities and memory traits across his many bodies, which all flow through the Feydark. However, he is one of the most friendly of all archfey, and welcomes adventurers with open arms - unless they try to destroy him.

Dragon #420 also covers ''[[Thrumbolg]], First Lord of Mag Tureah'', who is the mightiest and maddest of the dread [[fomorian]]s, prophesied by [[Baba Yaga]] herself to be immortal until struck down by one of his sons - a prophecy that can only be fulfilled with the lost relic-blade known as Fragarach. Controlling Mag Tureah and its endless array of portals, Thrumbolg is one of the few fomorians that the archfey are forced to treat with on equal terms.

Dragon #422 covers ''[[Hyrsam]], Prince of Satyrs'', a wandering minstrel with a dark secret and mad dreams of anarchy. The son of Oran of the Green Court, he yearns to destroy civilization within the Feywild and revert it to primal wilderness.

Dragon #428 covers ''[[Cerunnos]], the Horned Lord'', an outcast [[firbolg]] adoptive son of Oran, cursed by the Prince of Frost and the Summer Queen both, so that now has nothing left but the leading of the [[Wild Hunt]].

Dungeon #185 covers ''[[Selephra]], the Bramble Queen'', a fallen Green Court fey who may have once been a [[dryad]] or a proto-[[hag]], but who is now a monstrous thing that yearns to make mortals suffer. She is also briefly mentioned in Dungeon #195's "Bestiary: Flowers in the Darkness", where it is said that she cultivates vampire roses.

Dungeon #196 covers ''[[Baba Yaga]], Mother of All Witches'', one of the most powerful [[hag]]s in the whole of the Feywild.

Dungeon #205 covers ''[[Tuxil]], The Trinket Lord'', a mad gnome with the ability to assume the shape of a fox who has become lord of a strange place where all lost things end up.

In addition to the above, a number of other archfey are mentioned in passing. "Manual of the Planes" refers to Scamander, the Cat Lord and the Monkey King. "Dragon Magazine" and "Dungeon Magazine" mention several more.

Dragon #386 mentions The Rose King, an archfey who claimed to be the son of [[Corellon]] and who got killed leading a crusade against the [[Drow]]; his legacy, ironically, survives in the form of his half-drow daughter and the drow-fighting organization dedicated to him and Corellon that remains.

Dragon #393 features The Lady of the White Well, a cursed bastard daughter of [[Sehanine]] who is condemned to never leave the proximity of the pool where she was conceived until she gives her heart to a worthy lover, so she empowers [[hexblade]]s who agree to quest and prove worthy of becoming her husband.

Dungeon #162 features the adventure "Winter of the Witch", where the party must battle a Winter Court archfey named Koliada, reputed to be the daughter or sister or lover (or more than one of those) of the Prince of Frost himself.

In Dungeon #166's "Throne of the Stone-Skinned King", the party must impress an airy archfey known as the Skyshaper to complete their quest.

In Dungeon #178, mention is made in "Backdrop: Chessenta" of Sebakar, a malevolent archfey of the [[Forgotten Realms]] concerned with crocodiles who was born of a union between the Mulhorandi god Set and a bestial archfey called Mornach.

Dungeon #178's article "Explore Taer Lian Doresh" presents a mad, malevolent archfey of [[Eberron]] called Shan Lian Doresh, Lord of the Fading Dream.

Dungeon #190 has the adventure "Force of Nature", in which the party must stop a mind-controlled archfey in the form of a bull elk so huge it can crush castles under its hooves.

Finally, Dungeon #217 has the adventure "A Rhyme Gone Wrong", where the party must defeat the machinations of a malevolent, dream-haunting archfey called Felsa, the Slumbering Queen, a would-be conqueror who escaped punishment by placing herself in an enchanted slumber.