Have you ever wanted to know more about the world of my novels, from the array of species that inhabit it, to depictions of elements from various stories shown in a different perspective? Then this collection is the tale for you...
This book consist...
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For most new parents, their child is the most important thing in the world- a person they would give up their own lives just to protect. However, in a world where dark and dangerous things hide in places that humans rarely see, newborn children are easy prey for the malicious entities of the Otherworld. Even in the modern age, these creatures still lurk in the shadows. To protect their children from such an unfortunate fate, new parents are strongly urged to read this guide to educate themselves about these beings, and learn the methods to fend them off successfully...or understand how to deal with the consequences if they do not.
In the world of Faerie, things are never as they appear, and in this topic, fairy Changelings are no exception. Changelings are creatures from the Otherworld that take on the appearance of a certain person, particularly a child. While the original human is abducted by the fairies, the Changeling, or killcrop, will take its place. There are a myriad of reasons that fairies will steal a human child and replace it with a Changeling. Oftentimes, the child is taken to be a slave or servant to the fairies, while in other cases, it is done simply out of malice, jealousy, or a fairy prank. In rarer and darker instances, the human child is eaten by the fairies, particularly those of the Unseelie Court. Elven and pixie Changelings are the most common, leading many to believe that pixies and elves are usually the guilty party.
There are several methods to prevent a child from being stolen and replaced by a Changeling. An obvious method is to keep a constant watch over the child, but some other ways are to put a piece of iron where the child sleeps, such as a pair of iron shears or an iron key. Surrounding the child's bed with rowan, garlic, or salt also works. Despite the fact that there are many methods to keep Changelings away, few are used today. For unknown reasons, male children are often stolen, especially those with blonde or red hair, or those that are not baptized by the church. As such, female Changelings are incredibly rare.
Changelings themselves have distinct characteristics that set them apart from human children. They may have a tail, a hunched back, a pale, withered appearance, heterochromatic eyes, sharp, fang-like teeth, or bony hands with long, jet-black fingernails. Initially, they may appear exactly like the human that was stolen, but as the Changeling grows, more and more of its fairy features begin to show. Changelings also emanate an aura of misfortune and will bring bad luck to their human families, whether they intend it or not.
Another common aspect of Changelings is their endless, wendigo-like hunger. They possess monstrous appetites and can consume enormous quantities of food, but no matter how much they eat, they will never be satisfied, and they will always crave more, in a state of perpetual starvation. The only thing that can quell a Changeling's appetite for a decent period of time is the soul of a human or a fairy. However, this results in an addiction that gradually allows the Changeling to develop a taste for blood, which is extremely dangerous, as they will eat humans and even other fairies if their hunger commands so. Allowing the Changeling child to reach this state is not recommended.
Because of the difficulties of aligning a human body to a Faerie passage of time, Changelings are very unstable, both physically and mentally. The Fae folk laugh and cry at inappropriate times and sometimes say or do unexpected and strange things. They possess troubled minds due to their confusion of having a split life- one of a human, and one of a fairy. Changelings may become deranged and violent as well. This is further aggravated by the contempt, hatred, and abuse the killcrops often receive at the hands of their human family.
Old superstitions suggest that one can force the fairies to return their stolen family member by lashing the Changeling with a whip, burning it with a hot poker, torturing it with iron, or bathing it in a solution of digitalis, or foxglove. However, this superstition is just that- a superstition. The Fae have no cares for a Changeling, as it was meant to be a replacement for a human. No amount of pain inflicted upon a Changeling will make the fairies give back the original human child. Because of this abuse, very few Changelings make it to adulthood. If your child has been replaced by a Changeling, there is nothing you can do.
When the Changeling reaches its adult form, a number of things can happen. It may devour its human parents and live its own life, or it may begin to wither and die for unexplained reasons. Sometimes, the Changeling will mysteriously disappear, most likely to return to the Otherworld. However, not all Changelings are violent, bloodthirsty monsters. In exceptional cases, a killcrop will grow up with a mortal family, and its odd characteristics will diminish to the point where even the fairy forgets that it is not human, and thus goes on to live a normal human life, perhaps even getting married and bearing children. Whatever the case, it is highly recommended for parents to keep a very close eye on the Changeling child, and do their best to raise it as a normal human as much as possible to prevent such gruesome outcomes.
Author's Note: Changelings appear in several of my novels, but the species' first appearance was in Fairy Song, where a male Changeling served as the main antagonist. I've been fascinated by the idea of Changelings for years now, and in a world like those of my novels where such creatures exist, a guide might be necessary to educate new parents of such a danger and employ the discussed methods to protect their child. This and the next piece are examples of "in-world media," as in, a form of written media that would be used by the people of my novels to understand various threats presented by some of the other non-human races, many of which have malice in mind.
