"London Calling"

Once Upon A City...

Wherein I put forward ideas for London the Dreaming. A setting for Changeling, somewhat far removed from Concordia, the default/defacto setting in the corebook. 

The noble houses of the Sidhe remain, but the High King in far off Tara Nur is a world away. London is largely under the sway of the Duchess of Sorrows. She rules from the nightmare tower known as Castle Darkhearth, strangely protected from the banality of the square mile where it is located. There, in her mortal guise as Fay Morgaine, she runs a powerful hedge fund known as Mordred Investments. She is never without her loyal troll bodyguards, Mr Fe, Mr Fi, Mr Fo, and, of course, Mr Fum. They are a renegade family of extremely efficient and quite sadistic thugs. Even the London Bridge freehold wants little to do with them. Efray is nominally loyal to House Balor, but serves darker forces, long ago bent by the dark kin of the Thallain and bought into the Black Court as their champion against the Excalibur Compact.

There are many, across the benighted freeholds of London, that oppose her. Few speak out as often as the rebel's known as the Fleet Footed Few. A group more properly known as the Excalibur Compact. They were created hundreds of years ago to preserve the integrity of Albion following the death of the mortal king, and chosen of the Dreaming, Arthur Pendragon. They alone are the chosen of the Lady of the Lake, or so they claim. Only the Dreaming knows for sure as there are none alive that have clear memory. One who might has long lost his mind to Bedlam with dreams that provoke nightmares, but also provide insight to those gifted readers. That vital voice has grown ever more distant of late. The Few believe he is a prisoner of the Duchess, but most really think that, if Merlin ever existed, he is far into the Dreaming. Whether that is better than being the Duchess' plaything is uncertain.

There are few dragons left in Albion now. Most did not survive the Shattering. Others returned to the Chimerical world. One remained, tempered by Banality only to be 'rescued' by the Duchess, becoming her favourite pet. Its name is Nicor. The Duchess would love for it to produce eggs, but her sorcery thus far has failed. It is rumoured that a Dragon's egg has arrived in the city recently, either carried by furtive fae traders, or inadvertently by unsuspecting mortals. such a prize would appeal to greedy men because dragon's eggs manifest as jewels; large golden eggs. Stare into one too long and one's true nature is reflected in the gleaming gold. Or perhaps one's fate.

When the Shattering occurred, before the plague took hold in Britain, the Coraniaid made contact with the Duchess, offering their services. A dark kin known to spread pestilence.