Kingdom of the Mists, properly known as Kingdom in the Mists, is the fae kingdom that covers Northern California, primarily the San Francisco Bay Area. It is currently ruled by Arden Windermere. It is quite large and includes a number of duchies and fiefdoms. Its territory overlaps with the Court of Dreaming Cats. It is within this kingdom that the bulk of October Daye's adventures have taken place.
Known Monarchs[]
- Denley Windermere alongside Nola Windermere (from the founding in the late 1700s)
- Gilad Windermere (until 1906)
- Queen of the Mists (from approx. 1906 to 2012)
- Arden Windermere (from 2012 to present time)
Court[]
Under the Queen of the Mists, Court was first held in a knowe at North Beach, which included a room that held memorials of all deceased pureblood subjects.[1] The Queen was not able to keep the knowe anchored, so it collapsed in on itself.
Next, she moved to an abandoned knowe in a cove about six miles down the coast from Fisherman's Wharf that was discovered by Toby.[1][2] The main entrance is through a cave that never quite empties with the tides. Those with weak magic are forced to wade in the the water to enter. Most visitors only ever enter the receiving room of the cove knowe. A large ballroom has ice-white marble floors and tall fluted columns that are decorated by the party theme.[3] The coat of arms are silver and green[4]
While under leadership of the Windermere family, the knowe is located in Muir Woods and can be entered by scaling a rocky path in the mountain, then entering through a door in a redwood tree. The knowe sealed itself after Gilad's death, but reopened with Arden's return. Upon reopening, it is initially filled with booby traps and covered with dust and grime, but it is cleaned up with the help of the Hobs Melly and Ormond.[5] The park will be covered with terrible weather and fog when the humans need to be kept away. Arden does not use the king's chambers, instead taking a smaller suite of rooms nearby. The grounds span throughout the redwood trees on the Summerlands side of the knowe, including rickety bridges hundreds of feet in the air and a scenic tower carved in one of the trees to keep elf-shot sleepers.[6] Under Arden, the coat of arms are silver and blue.[4]
History[]
The Kingdom in the Mists was established by Denley Windermere and his wife, Nola Windermere in the late 1700s or the early 1800s, after they fled Scotland with their son Gilad. The Mists were the first Land Kingdom in the area, although the Kingdom of Leucothea already existed. The Kingdom of Silences to the North and the Kingdom on the Golden Shore to the South joined them in 1811. After the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906, in which King Gilad was assassinated, the Kingdom was taken over by the unnamed Queen of the Mists who claimed to be his daughter and heir. The False Queen was deposed in 2012, then Gilad's true daughter, Arden Windermere finally took the throne.
Under Gilad's rule, changelings in the country were allowed to hold titles up to Baron, and they were included under Oberon's Law. Gilad also kept a good relationship with the neighboring Undersea Kingdom. After his death, the False Queen of the Mists did her best to do away with all of these.[5]
Patrick Lorden notes that the Mists have an uncommonly high ratio of Daoine Sidhe, who normally disperse themselves to take over as many titles and positions of power as possible per their Firstborn's orders.[7]
Duchies, Counties, and Fiefdoms[]
| Territory | Location | Ruler |
|---|---|---|
| Duchy of Shadowed Hills | Pleasant Hill, CA | Sylvester Torquill |
| Duchy of Dreamer's Glass | San Jose, CA | Treasa Riordan (missing)
Li Qin Zhou (acting Duchess) |
| Golden Gate Courts | San Francisco, CA | Consists of many independent holdings |
| Tarans of Berkeley Hills | Berkeley, CA | Independent |
| County of Goldengreen | San Francisco, CA | Evening Winterrose (former)
Dean Lorden (current) |
| County of Tamed Lightning | Fremont, CA | January O'Leary |
| Fiefdom of the Japanese Tea Gardens | San Francisco, CA | Lily (former) |
| Fiefdom of Home | San Francisco, CA | Devin (former) |
| Duchy of Wild Strawberries | Carrig |
Characters[]
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Queen of the Mists | deposed Queen, using the title incorrectly, also called the False Queen |
| Dugan Harrow | footman to the False Queen, removed from service and as a traitor |
| Gilad Windermere | Former King, Arden and Nolan's father |
| Arden Windermere | Rightful Queen in the Mists |
| Nolan Windermere | Prince in the Mists |
| Madden | Seneschal, Arden's best friend |
| Lowri | Captain of the Guard, acting seneschal |
| October Daye | Hero in the Mists |
| Dame Eloise Altair | noblewoman |
Independent Entities[]
The Court of Cats are independent of the Divided Courts but share their mortal soil.
- Court of Dreaming Cats: San Francisco
- Court of Golden Cats: Berkeley
Berkeley is considered an independent territory, as declared by Oberon. The city contains a secret courtyard near the university campus that belongs to Janet of Caughterha. UC Berkeley is also considered independent, allowing peaceful fae of any alliance to live and study there.[8]
Ahead are significant details from Be the Serpent (2022). Read at your own risk!
Firstborn and Three Creators of Faerie who live in the territory, should they choose to make themselves known, are only subject to the rules they wish to follow.
- Luidaeg: San Francisco
- Amandine: Summerlands side of Shadowed Hills
- Eira Rosynhwyr, after shedding her Evening Winterrose disguise: San Francisco
- Oberon: San Francisco, staying with the Luidaeg
- Titania: formerly Stacy Brown, now at large.
References[]
External References[]
- Muir Woods - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muir_Woods_National_Monument
- Muir Woods - National Parks Service: https://www.nps.gov/muwo/index.htm
- Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisherman%27s_Wharf,_San_Francisco
- Fisherman's Wharf: https://fishermanswharf.org/