Thelanis, also called the Faerie Court, is the plane where stories are made real. It's environments are similar to those you might find on Eberron or in Lamannia, a vast expanse of untamed wilderness, beautiful flora and crystal clear waters. It is a land plucked straight from a fairy tale, both metaphorically and literally.
Every culture on Eberron has faerie tales, and many of them have the same stories. The exact details might change, but the essence of the story is the same. In Breland, they tell stories about a sleeping prince, cursed to remain asleep until he is saved by a woodcutter's daughter. In the Mror Holds they tell of Doladrun's son, cursed by the Lady Narathun to sleep until he is saved by Toldorath. Even the Dhakaani had a story in this mould, of the duur'kala Hezhaal who studied dark magic and cursed the emperor's son to eternal sleep, until he was saved by a simple goblin. These stories seem to follow patterns, and these patterns are represented in Thelanis.
Whether the stories existed on Eberron first, or originated in Thelanis, is unknown. Broken down to their core, this is what the fey are in Thelanis, stories given form. Whether the fey or the story came first is irrelevant, they are what we look for in the world, the way that we almost wish things were. A dryad isn't a spirit of nature, it's the kind of magic that we expect, and deep down wish, to see in the natural world. Similarly, redcaps don't occur naturally, and they don't reproduce like any living creature. They don't need to, it's irrelevant to what they are; stories of bloodshed and violence given physical form by the magic of the plane of stories.
Thelanis, like Lamannia, is one of the easiest planes to travel to. All you need to do is walk into a faerie ring, or follow strange music into the deep woods. Many people enter the plane of stories without realising it, and it can be a dangerous place if you aren't prepared or don't understand it's rules.
Thelanis doesn't operate on the same laws of reality that Eberron does. In the plane of stories, storybook logic reigns supreme, and no two places are the same. Each layer of the plane is driven by a story, and anything can be overridden for the sake of that story. This sounds chaotic, but unlike Xoriat, these changes are entirely consistent within a given layer. If a layer steals the heat from flames and makes them burn cold, then flames will always burn cold in that layer.
The other, arguably most important thing for travellers to be aware of is that in Thelanis, words have power. You should be very careful about making any formal agreements or promises when in Thelanis, or find yourself magically compelled to keep it. The more powerful the fey you made the promise to, the more dire the consequences for breaking it. This rule applies to the fey and other inhabitants of Thelanis as well, but they've had a lot longer to get used to it than most mortals, and are exceedingly careful.
Time is inconsistent in Thelanis, but it always moves forward and is consistent within a given layer. On some layers, a day in Thelanis might be a week on the material plane, and on others decades in Thelanis could be mere moments on the material plane. Peculiarly, time catches up to creatures when they leave Thelanis, as if they had been on the material plane the entire time. This could mean aging rapidly to make up for the time away, or in some cases it could actually mean getting younger!
Most of the creatures in Thelanis are fey, and can be considered the "supporting cast". They aren't really creatures as we would understand them on the material plane, they exist entirely because the story requires them to exist. They have no real depth, no desires beyond what the story requires them to want. These supporting cast members rarely even have names, why would they if they are only a background character in somebody else's story?
Unlike other planes, the spirits of Thelanis have the potential to evolve into something different. Fey that leave their story via outside influence or drift into manifest zones become mortal, no longer bound by their stories, they are able to leave their layer and even leave Thelanis, they are fully able to live their own lives, but when they die they are gone for good. There are also natural born mortal fey, who are capable of reproduction and have their own cultures and societies.
The Feyspires of the Moonlit Vale are chiefly populated by eladrin and gnomes. Each spire is ruled by archfey, and shaped by a story that dictates their theming and the general personalities of the fey who dwell within them. These mortal fey are not as closely bound to their stories as the supporting cast, they are mortal and that brings with it a degree of freedom. They make their own choices, they fall in love and have children, and eventually they die. Those that leave Thelanis become more mortal the longer they are away from the magic of the plane, and are more impacted by the passage of time. This is why the modern elves are so different to the fantastical eladrin; their fey spark has faded.
When Thelanis is coterminous with Eberron, travel to and from the plane becomes much easier, and faerie rings and mounds will appear where previously there were none. The fey will even lure mortals into the planar portals, though usually to engage in mischief rather than to cause harm. The Feyspires also used to travel to Eberron when Thelanis was coterminous, but something went wrong on the Day of Mourning, which stranded the Feyspires on Eberron.
Known Manifest Zones
- Arcanix in Aundair
- The Twilight Demesne in the Eldeen Reaches (ECS)
- Ruins of Pelmarane in the Demon Wastes (Dragon 353)
- The Shimmerwood in Zilargo
- Tomb of the Forgotten Kings in the Mror Holds
- Summervine in Aundair