Duchy of the Icebound Heart

Icebound Duke, Icebound Duchess

Changeling The Lost Sourcebook pp. 297-299
Wyrd	●●
Court	Winter
Preqs	Persuasion ●● Subterfuge ●● Winter Mantle ●●
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The heart is a fragile thing. The Dukes and Duchesses of the Icebound Heart recognize this fact, having themselves been once-vulnerable, and they have sworn to never again be helpless in such a way. No longer will they be the puppets, instead becoming the puppet-masters.

Most of the changelings in the Duchy are potent manipulators, playing emotions like a master harpist. It gets them whatever they want, whenever they want it. Need a new car? Date the salesman, or better still, the guy who owns the dealership. Want to feel treasured for a night? Call an old lover, have a tryst under the promise of renewing that old fire and then kick him out the door. The Dukes and Duchesses even attempt to ply the heartstrings of other changelings, most of whom should know better (the Duchy does not operate in secret, after all).

At the end of the day, the changelings of this order recognize that they have given themselves over to a callous double standard.

Mien

The Icebound Dukes and Duchesses dress to impress. Each member of the order has an angle to play, and exterior appearance helps to reinforce that angle. One Duchess plays the “troubled waif” role, appearing in the dress of a humble, oft-abused urchin girl. A Duke might alternately play up the role of the sensitive loner (clothes off the racks at the Salvation Army, white iPod headphones dangling from the ears) or powerbroker playboy (sharp-angled suits, polished shoes, engraved money clip). The changeling’s outward exterior always helps to reinforce whatever persona that character uses to get her way.

The fae’s mien changes, too. The normal trappings of the Winter Court are present, only moreso: breath of frost, icy skin, hoary eyes. Another change to one’s mien is the addition of frozen tears that cling to the character’s face. These tears are more symbolic than realistic, looking like frozen teardrops fastened to the cold skin of the character’s cheek. As one’s Wyrd increases, so do the number of tears. A Duke or Duchess with an abnormally high Wyrd score begins to have trouble at her task, because those tears seem to give off a palpable aura of sorrow. Those around them begin to feel overwhelmed by it ― which, as it turns out, makes it difficult for them to ply their trade in broken hearts.

Hearthooks (Privilege)

Heartbreak is a powerful thing. It can be fickle, too ― a heart might be broken after a particularly potent one night stand in a neon-lit highway hotel, or might not be broken after a years-long marriage disintegrates. The Icebound Dukes and Duchesses strive to bring heartbreak to others, because it gives them power.

The changelings of this order gain +3 Social dice over those whose hearts the changelings have truly broken. Only those who have been decimated by the relationship are weakened in such a way. While it seems odd that one would gain a benefit after the heartbreak, that’s part of the privilege. It cores the heart, removes some intangible strength from the person and the changeling benefits by taking that strength unto herself. Its uses are many. She can call upon the heartbroken to perform simple tasks (“Get me a drink, will you?”) or to use in elaborate schemes to make another jealous (and thus secure yet another broken heart). Make no mistake, it’s cruel. While some changelings maintain a vast stable of old lovers, many simply discard them after a few uses. Discarded lovers don’t always handle it so well. Some give in to massive sorrow, eventually killing themselves. Others fail to have productive relationships, resorting to stalking or other sorts of deviancy. The most ironic is when those abandoned playthings become just as the changelings who destroyed their hearts: callous, vindictive, abusive. The bonus remains until the victim loves again, as intensely as he once loved the Duke of the Icebound Heart.

Joining

What the fae of the Duchy do is con artistry. Everything is a confidence game, with the fulcrum of every con being the emotions of another. Those who usually end up joining the ranks of the Duchy are often those who seem able to recognize the con and turn it around upon the Duke or Duchess who’s running it. Particularly gifted changelings might even be able to orchestrate the game from the get-go, playing the victim while truly controlling the outcome. It’s not often that this works; the Lost of the Duchy have been at this game for a long time, and can often recognize the smell of deceit hanging in the air. That being said, they’re also notoriously vain, which can lead one to be more than a little shortsighted. Those who remain unwilling to believe that they could ever again be victims soon end up as victims.

Regardless, that’s the key to impressing the ranks of the Duchy. One must show that one’s heart is sufficiently encased in an unbreakable carapace of ice. Turning the trick back around on the emotional tormentors is a virtuoso move.

A future Duke or Duchess must belong to the Winter Court. Worth mentioning is that the Icebound Dukes and Duchesses don’t maintain a very positive relationship with the fae of the Spring Court. The Icebound changelings have, in a way, pilfered the Spring Court’s attack on “desire” and are doing it in their own selfish way. A rivalry exists between the Court and the order.