Contemporary Earth

contemporary earth
This guide has been designed to give a better understanding of what life is like for fairies on Earth, to help in creating histories for Earth-born characters.

Population and distribution
Compared to the number of humans, there is only a very small number of fairies on Earth: approximately four million across the globe. Fairies generally congregate together, often in the capital city of their home country or in remote areas.

Mostly, fairies live amongst humans in secret. There are a handful of all-fairy settlements in the world, but all have a population of less than a thousand and all are located in harsh, difficult locations which makes them unattractive to prospective residents. Fairies live in almost every country where humans do, although some countries have a larger population than others. The country with the largest population of fairies is the United States of America, and China has an unusually small population of fairies considering its size. The countries where the original fairies make their homes are especially popular to ordinary fairies, and there is a high concentration of fairies in Cairo, Egypt, since the Council of Originals has strong links there.

In terms of geographical preferences, fairies vary as much as humans do.

Fairies and humans
Fairies live for the most part in complete secret, although very rarely they may tell a human that they're a fairy if they're very close to that human. Fairy and human friendships do blossom, although long-term romantic relationships between fairies and humans are very rare, and offspring between them rarer still. It is exceptionally difficult for a fairy to conceive a child with a human and, on the exceptional occasion when it happens, the child is nearly always a stillborn or dies shortly after birth. Very little information is documented about the offspring of a fairy and a human since so few have ever survived, and there is no record of any fairy/human hybrid living to adulthood.

Most fairies live amongst humans and so, live as humans do. They'll go to human schools, get jobs in human workplaces and make human friends. Ambitious fairies tend to be very successful at their jobs because of the aid of their magic, and fairies are often found in high government positions. There is an international law against using magic to win elections, however, and the council police this very closely. Ambition is not a common trait in fairies, though, and most are content to lead quiet lives. By and large, fairies are a peaceful race.

Religion and culture
Because they are so closely interlinked with humans, fairies usually adopt the cultural norms of wherever they happen to be living. Religion, on the other hand, is another matter.

Some fairies are atheists; some are agnostic; and some follow human religions such as Judaism or Islam. Paganism is common amongst fairies who follow non-fairy religions. However, the vast majority of fairies (just under three-quarters) are Aurans: they believe that Aura is the sole god who created the universe, and the other originals are simply powerful beings who came after.

If your fairy is not an Auran, the cult or religion they follow is usually dependent upon the country they live in. Nearly all British fairies are Aurans, and the majority of Americans are also Aurans.

Mallos has the second largest cult, which is focused in Spain but extends across all Spanish-speaking countries - so if your character speaks Spanish as a first language, they're likely to be a follower of Mallos. Many other Mediterranean countries also follow Mallos.
Tsi's global cult is on the rise, but at the moment it is focused in Asian countries. As well as his home country of China, he is fairly popular across most of Asia. Non-Auran Asian fairies are likely to follow him.
Gwythr's cult rose dramatically after he became Chairman, but has been on the decline since his power was taken from him. It is focused in Italy but does have global links which are particularly strong in Europe.
Lorraine's cult is reasonably sized and is focused in Russia. It also extends to eastern Europe but does not extend much beyond this.
Zed has a fairly small cult, but it is reasonably wide-spread and extends across the whole of South America. It's mainly focused in Brazil. Mallos is equally popular in the Spanish-speaking South America.
Allianah's cult is very small and focused almost solely on tribes and villages in the Sudan.
Khasekhemwy's cult is very small and is spread between Egypt and Palestine. It extends a little bit across some other eastern countries, such as Israel, but only amongst a very small number of people.
A handful of people (probably less than a hundred) worship Charlton in remote regions of the United States of America.
Rhaegar has a small cult focused in the region of Scandinavia, which extends a little bit across northern Europe and into the Newfoundland region of Canada.
A very, very small number of fairies in Germany still worship Kahl, a deceased original fairy. This cult did extend across northern Europe but can now only be found in the region of Germany which was originally Prussia.

As well as monotheistic cults dedicated to individual deities, there are a few other religions to consider.

Polytheistic religions (which are many and varied) worship all of the deities in their own rights. Some of these believe the originals were joint creators of the world, but most name Aura as the creator deity. These exist globally.
The cult of Manekht is one notable polytheistic religion which worships the deities equally, but places particular focus on Poppy as the goddess of Chaos and Destruction. This is an extreme group which extends globally. (See Religion & Culture page for more information).
The Fairy Trinity Church is a mild Christian organisation composed entirely of fairies. They are tolerant of the original fairies but view them as powerful beings, not as deities. Followers are focused in the United States of America.
The United Church of Fairykind is an extreme Christian organisation composed entirely of fairies. It is focused in the United States of America but has a few links to western (predominantly English-speaking) countries. They view the original fairies as blasphemous and intolerable.

For more information on fairy religions, see the religion page. This is just to give you an idea of what religion your fairy might follow based on their geographical origin.

Remember that while your fairy may follow a certain religion, it is very unlikely that they will have actually seen that deity in their lifetime. Most of the originals only circulate in the higher classes, so ordinary low-to-middle income fairies have almost no chance of approaching them directly. Every fairy can contact any original by sending messages to their secretary/staff team, however, but they are reliant on that staff to pass on their message to the deity in question.

Significant groups
All fairies across the globe are aware of the original fairies and the Council of Originals, even if they couldn't recognise them or if they don't worship them. Most are also aware of the other fairy institutions, since fairies usually try and keep tabs on their community.

Fairies wanting to work in fairy-related jobs can try to get work in one of the following groups.

As a priest or religious member of any fairy religion. Obviously your fairy has to belong to that religion to work for them.
The Alliance is a military and espionage unit controlled by Allianah which only takes the most elite warriors and spies. Sometimes it adopts children and adolescents who show exceptional promise, but for the most part fairies have to have worked for human military or intelligence organisations before they can hope to get into the Alliance. Alliance members are sworn to obey the council and their main task is to travel around the world, collecting information, upholding fairy secrecy and keeping the peace.
The Divine Scribes are archivists, messengers, historians and administrators who work for Khasekhemwy. They have to pass a number of intelligence and aptitude tests before being allowed to become a Divine Scribe, and all must fluent in the ancient language. Most can speak a wide variety of languages. Although primarily responsible for recording and sending information, they also act as the PR team for the council.
Private secretaries for the individual original fairies. Nearly all of these are recruited from within the Divine Scribes, and this is one of the highest positions a fairy can attain. Some originals employ only one fairy, but some can employ a team.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informally called 'the divine triad', is the ambassadorial and diplomatic centre of the council. It has three branches, each controlled by a separate deity: the International branch, headed by Mallos; the Interspecies branch, headed by Lorraine; and the Intergalactic branch, headed by Zed. Job descriptions vary according to which branch you belong to, but nearly all workers are diplomats.

Rich or influential fairies can also become members of divine courts: the entourage of the original fairies. All of the originals have an entourage of some description, but most idle courtiers can be found with Lorraine and Mallos, who are the most tolerant and accommodating of such people.