Mercy Thompson Series #1: Moon Called
Time of Hiding
the Gray Lords, the powerful mages who rule the fae, began to be concerned about advances in science—particularly forensic science. They foresaw that the Time of Hiding was coming to an end. They decided to do damage control, and see to it that the human’s realization of the world’s magic was as gentle as possible

• About thirty years ago, the Gray Lords, they foresaw that the Time of Hiding was coming to an end; They awaited the proper opportunity.
• At first it looked as though the Gray Lord's strategy would pay off for all of the preternaturals, fae or not
• But even in the beginning there was trouble
• fae who were attacked couldn't defend themselves for fear of the Gray Lords; whatever humans did to them, the Gray Lords would do worse
• wave of violence started small and ended with the creation of fae reservations
• old world preternatural creatures; they'd come over for the same reasons most humans did; to gain wealth, power or land, and to escape persecution
• fae came to escape the cold iron of the Industrial Revolution, which followed them anyway

Mercy Thompson Series #2: Blood Bound

• chose to keep as much of darker aspects as carefully hidden as they could
• for more than two decades the fae had managed to present themselves as weak, kindly, and gentle
• “on a killing edge'
• fae are holding to survival by their fingertips; dying faster than they are reproducing, even counting half-bloods
• it started the first time a human forged a cold-iron blade, but bullet lead kills them just a quickly as steel ever did
• powerful fae beings exist who would scare the human population into launching a genocidal wave that would wipe every fae off the earth if they knew of them
• driven out of their homelands by Christians and their cold-iron swords

Mercy Thompson Series #1: Moon Called

• About thirty years ago, the Gray Lords, the powerful mages who rule the fae, began to be concerned about advances in science—particularly forensic science. They foresaw that the Time of Hiding was coming to an end. They decided to do damage control, and see to it that the human’s realization of the world’s magic was as gentle as possible. They awaited the proper opportunity
• lesser fae took the brunt of the reveal and the greater fae and Gray Lords stayed hidden
• most humans only know about the fae - and there are still a lot of people who think the fae are just a hoax perpetrated by the government or on the government
• fae who are still in hiding meant that the Gray Lords hadn't noticed them yet, or that they are of the terrible or the powerful sort
• since the fae came out, the scientists are paying closer attention to abnormalities they used to attribute to lab equipment failure or specimen contamination

Mercy Thompson Series #2: Blood Bound

• the violence shortly after the fae had revealed themselves, most of the fae who were not still hidden, had voluntarily relocated to one of several fae reservations, where they could live in safety

Mercy Thompson Series #3: Iron Kissed

• most fae cannot tell a lie
• they are very, very good at making you think they are saying one thing, when they mean another, but they cannot lie
• they can do the damnedest thing with the truth, but they cannot lie
• a conversation with someone who can't lie is the questions they don't answer

Mercy Thompson Series #11: Storm Cursed

• goblins are a part of that ancient bargain¹⁸
• if the powers that be hear us lie, a terrible and mortal fate comes to us, as to all fae¹⁸
• those greater in power may fight off their fate for a time, but for the lesser fae, like goblins, we die the moment a lie, knowingly spoken, leaves our lips¹⁸

• laws are clear on how to deal with mortals who stray Underhill and see more than they ought

Mercy Thompson Series #5: Silver Borne
Structure of a Bargain
Bargain is Requested
Bargain is Struck
Bargain is Accepted
Bargain is Done

• it is humans who betray their bargains
• accepted and sealed the bargain in blood
• can be a contest; usually musical; a true bargain
• different bargains; stories of footraces, swimming contests, eating contests
• fairy bargains that left you ruing the day you made them
• cannot break the heart of the bargain; it must be something that is possible, however unlikely - for the challenger to accomplish

Mercy Thompson Series #2: Blood Bound

• if claimed as a guest, the fae couldn't do anything bad to you without challenging the host

Mercy Thompson Series #3: Iron Kissed

• anyone who is offended by a guest must go through the host first

Mercy Thompson Series #5: Silver Borne

• half-blood is not human enough to be saved by the guesting laws of the Elphame

Mercy Thompson Series #3: Iron Kissed

• fae do their own internal policing
• Gray Lords own several law firms on the East Coast
• fae who are suspected of crimes tend not to survive to need lawyers
• imprisoning a fae is…impractical
• it's damned difficult; holding a person is hard enough; holding a fae for any time at all, if he doesn't want to be held, is near impossible
• a life sentence is highly impractical when fae can live for hundreds of years
• if you imprison fae, for whatever reason, you'd better be dead when he gets out or you'll wish you were
• human justice just isn't equipped to deal with the fae, so they take care of it
• a fae who commits a serious crime - like murder - is simply executed on the spot

Mercy Thompson Series #2: Blood Bound

• sharp astringent scent

Mercy Thompson Series #3: Iron Kissed

• if you use a fairy gift more than you have permission for, there are consequences
• elf-salve

Fae Glamour