Shadows of Iceland Pitch

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ChapterThree-isolatedintheice

Chapter Three:

Isolated in the Ice

Chapter Three:Isolated in the Ice

Iceland is a land o extremes. From the vast glacial expanses o the interiortundra, to the pools o mineral water and hot springs rom the volcanic lakesand baths; rom the urban environs o Reykjavik, to the secluded armlands;rom the ertile shing waters surrounding the islands peninsula, to the deso-late stretches o rock, crag and shard; rom the seemingly everlasting darknesso winter, to the midnight sun in mid-summer. The islands inhabitants knowand recognize the limits, paradoxes and boundaries innate to their homeland.Living on this island is not easy, nor is it or everyone: Icelands population obarely 300,000 can attest to that act. Yet experiencing the radical fuctuationsinherent in the landscape breeds a certain type o culture, a certain o personand a certain type o monster. Iceland is not or everyone; but everyone livingin Iceland is a product o the land.

Darkness on the IslandThe World o Darkness does not belong to the monsters. Sure, monsters

roam the land in the most obscure recesses. In many ways they seem to own it,their political machinations and supernatural soirees continually orming theoundation o the human world. But, in the end, it is still the human world themortals are the ocus and driving orce throughout the lands, and they are theones who infuence the shape o society and culture throughout. Monsters comerom humans and are judged in relation to these humans, despite the monstersbest eorts to argue to the contrary.

With this in mind, Iceland contains a unique population o supernaturalcreatures within its shores. This is due to a number o actors. First, with such

a small population, most supernatural creatures cannot exist in large numberswithout drawing attention to themselves. This act particularly rankles somedenizens o the World o Darkness; despite their magnicent works and grandschemes, i too many humans know it will only lead to the monsters destruction.Second, the supernatural have their own unique orm o natural selection, anevolution that denies them access to certain geographical areas or the plaintruth that a given destination could kill them outright: a vampire cannot livein the barren desert, or example. Third, some places are just too damn weird oranybody but the incredibly odd. Iceland is one o those places; it has a strangeculture that is, i not outright supportive, at least more open to the notion othe others.

Unlike the deeply entrenched supernatural societies o North America andEurope, Icelands supernatural citizenry is composed o a reer, more independent

group. Or at least thats the impression they like to give. In reality, Icelandssupernatural population is dierent rom other Western societies because only aew types o monsters really want to live there, whether because o the climate,the land or the people.

VampiresTo put it bluntly, a vampire would not be ound (un)dead in Iceland, at

least not as a permanent resident. The main reason or this is simple: The chat-tels herd is much too shallow and spread out. While it may be possible to nda Kindred or two in Reykjavik, which harbors the vast majority o the islands

If you are ever lost inan Icelandic forest, juststand up.

- Magnus Magnusson

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DarknessontheIsland

population, you will not nd any vampire outside o thosecity limits. There is a more subtle reason or the lack othe Damned in Iceland: It is absolutely no un to Dansewith yoursel. A truly enterprising vampire may rejoice ata country completely beret o competing Kindred interestsand establish her powerbase in the outskirts o Reykjavik.But without others o her kind to interact with, she willlikely do as so many settlers to Iceland have done beore:

pack up and leave, damning the land as she goes.There are some tales and legends o a small coterie

o vampires living in the Settlement era o Iceland backaround the eleventh century, just ater the rise o Chris-tianity in the island. Born into slavery on a armstead oa local chietain, their vampire lineage is said to deriverom a demon that visited the arms outhouse. While agroup o them cleaned up ater a winter estival, the de-mon cursed the lot, claiming that the only way to rid theland o rival pagan orces was to spread his own brand oevil throughout the land. Thus, as the story goes, the rstvampires in Iceland were created. An obscure saga, theSaga o Hilmar Ptursson, details a brie encounter with

the Kindred, but any written record o vampire activitywas lost soon ater. Today, there is no trace o this lost clan,except an inverted stone cross at the edge o a glacier saidto mark the place o the armsteads outhouse.

Eternal Days, Eternal NightsAnother explanation or the dearth o Kindred ac-

tivity is the geography o Iceland. There are essentiallytwo seasons in Iceland: summer and winter. (Although anative Icelander might describe the seasons as cold andcolder.) Vampires absolutely do not travel to Icelandduring the summertime: It is practically suicide to live

where the sun is out nearly twenty hours a day, whichis the case during the height o summer in Iceland. But,while summer brings eternal sunshine to the islandsshores, winter brings a vampires natural habitat: eternalnight. Where humans might travel to the Caribbeanislands or some other tropical paradise in the middle owinter, vampires take their vacations in Reykjavik andthe rest o Iceland around the time o the Winter Solstice,when the nights are at their longest. These are not longvisits; the Kindred oten leave the country ater a week ortwo, the long nights generally wearing them out rom theextended activity. For vampires, a trip to Iceland is likeCarnival, except with cold weather, snow and sparselypopulated cities. No matter the streets o Reykjavikhold more than enough human chattel or a vampire tobe able to drink his ill, especially during the Saturdaydrinking marathons that Reykjavik is known or.

WerewolvesThe Tribes o the Moon are not unknown through-

out the glacial plains o Iceland. The weather is notdetrimental to their nature, nor is the population densitya drawback or them. In act, the Tribes can be partial toIcelands vastness and bleakness, especially in the centraland eastern parts where rugged armsteads and ishingvillagers are more the norm than in the peninsula aroundReykjavik. The Uratha are not particularly discouragedby the cold, either.

No, there are dierent reasons or werewolves toavoid Iceland: bad spirits. The island is ull o nastyspirits, and its not entirely clear why. Some say its arelection o the violence inherent in the early settlers.Others theorize that, much like the various Diasporas inthe physical world over the centuries, the Spirit Realmsurrounding Iceland have been a generous host to all thedisaected spirits, both good and bad, rom the warringbands in the Otherworld. Like the United States was orimmigrants during the nineteenth and twentieth centu-ries, so too was Iceland or the emigrating spirits. Oneinal postulate is that this land has always been hometo a high density o spiritual beings, especially in themillennia beore Icelands settlement; thus, humanitywas only able to colonize the island during a particularlyweak time or the spirits.

Regardless o how the spirits got here, the actremains that Iceland has a remarkably high proportiono spirits and spirit-dwellers within both the physicaland Shadow realms. Most o Icelands human popula-tion actively believes in the spirit realm, despite the

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cultures relative unavorable position towards orga-nized religion. Christianity, and its subsequent beliein the preternatural, might have a tentative hold onthe populace o Iceland, but belie in spirits and ghostsis beyond rampant.

As a result, only the most ambitious (and generally,younger) Uratha tribes venture into the wilds o Icelandor any extended period o time. Some Tribes o the Moonhave hunting grounds in the Reykjavik area (particularlythe Storm Lords), but the rest o the island is viewed asmore o a dangerous wilderness than a easible stretch

or keeping ones domain. For young werewolves, thisspells adventure. For those who survive in these lands,it means a place to never visit again.

The Shadow Realm o Iceland and its relation to theTribes o the Moon is explained in more detail in Chapter4: The Land o Ice and Snow.

MagesFor mages, Iceland is either a lost paradise or the

Abyss itsel. The island can be a blessing in snowy dis-guise to orders and cabals wishing to test their Art in thepervasive wonders o the land. But it can also be a harsh

environment or the Awakened, as reality is already inan odd state o fux in this island, and magical Paradoxesare more common (and more nearious) than anywhereelse in the physical world.

Mage scholars have or years been studying Icelandor the sake o learning the secrets o its mystical energies.Alas, or centuries, these scholars have remained bafed.They know that magical power persists throughout theland in ways unheard o throughout the known world, butany eort to control or understand that power is mostlylost to them or, worse, muddled even urther.

Compounding these studies are the persistent ru-mors and legends that pop up every ew centuries romrogue scholars claiming that Iceland is one part o theormer island o Atlantis. In the ourth century B.C., theGreek explorer Pytheas irst mentioned a land beyondthe British Isles that had eternal sunshine in the sum-mer months (some claiming this to be a metaphor orAtlantis). This area, known as Ultima Thule, has beeno interest to all sorts o occult worshippers and mysticalresearchers throughout human history. The Guardians othe Veil were particularly invested in the island during

World War II, oten clashing with German spies search-ing or Atlantis as a part o the ongoing Nazi interestin occult matters. Legends o a mighty battle betweena cabal o Banishers and an elite cabal o Guardiansare still whispered about in mage society (although theGuardians will dismiss these stories without hesitationonce asked). Still, the search continues or Icelandsconnection to the Atlantean tradition. Despite the hopeo discovering the glorious birthplace o the Awakened,Iceland remains a land mostly devoid o all but the mostobsessed mages.

More inormation on the Atlantean connection to Ice-land can be ound in Chapter 4: Land o Ice and Snow.

The RestWhat about the other denizens o the World o

Darkness? Surely a land with as much myth, legend andmystery as Iceland contains a sizeable portion o super-natural citizens. And it does, albeit in its own peculiar way.Since the island is not particularly avorable or vampires,werewolves and mages, other supernatural creatures havemade their mark on Icelands landscape, namely the Lostand the Created.

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thelandofdreamers

The Land of Dreamers:Changelings in Iceland

Every Mind,

a Dream Found TwiceChangelings in the modern era have taken a particu-larly strong liking to the reehold o Iceland. While othersupernatural creatures are relatively rare, due in part to theirtendency to prey upon humans to some degree, changelingshave a much dierent role in Icelandic society. The Lostare not exactly ree to unmask themselves to humans in theinterest o ull disclosure; humans are still mortals withoutaccess to the Wyld, ater all. Instead, the odd customs andmannerisms that make changelings stand out rom mortalsociety are tolerated more in Iceland than elsewhere inthe world.

There are a variety o reasons or Icelanders relatively

open-mindedness in regards to changelings. A surprisingmajority o Icelanders hold a rm belie in the supernatural,particularly in their cultural mythology o ghosts and aeries.Ghosts are explained in Chapter 4; aeries, on the otherhand, are a little more nuanced in terms o their culturaldenition (see below). Also, the Losts continuum betweenbeauty and madness is in ull eect through the whole oIceland. An island ull o beautiul geographic xtures suchas glacial peaks, volcanic rocks, geothermal springs andglorious landscapes is balanced by the equally maddeningharsh climates, everlasting darkness, desolate stretches andoverall gloom. A city like Reykjavik, surrounded as it is onthree sides by water, gets its name rom the steam rising in

the distant waters (its name translating loosely into Bay oSmoke), an image that perectly encapsulates the splendoro its surroundings with its exasperating real-world interpre-tation. The citizens o Iceland are inundated rom withinand without by the sheer spectacle o their surroundingsand the disturbing obstacles to their inner sanity; in everytranquil scene rests an undercurrent o madness ready totear everything apart.

Finally, Icelands inhabitants are better suited orchangeling society because o their trust and belie indreams. In some ways, Iceland is a dreamscape trapped inthe real world, a picturesque island where the physical worldis subject to the whims and abstractions o its inhabitants.

Part o this perception might come rom the completedeorestation o the island. Without the orests to break upthe scenery, the crevices and crags o volcanic mountainsand glacial plains can seem warped to ordinary observers.But the emphasis on dreams or the Icelandic people mightcome rom something else, something they share ully withchangelings: isolation. With a culture so readily removedrom Western society or so long (as shown in the ewvariances between the medieval Icelandic language andthe modern one), dreams and the sharing o them were away or Icelandic society to remain connected to the each

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In other words, Iceland is the mortal equivalent oa reehold: a collective o lonely souls removed rom theouter society, desperately clinging together to avoid theravages o madness inherent in their condition. Just likea motley looks ater the dreams o the individual Lost, sodoes the citizens o Iceland use their dreams to protectthemselves. Beore an extended and dangerous ishingtrip, an Icelandic isherman will consult his dreams o

the night beore to determine the events to unold inthe near uture. A armers wie in a armstead near thenorthern coast will determine how best to plant her cropsbased on the auspices determined in her dreams or thepast month. Children in Reykjavik spend their ree timehuddled in groups to discuss the wild creatures encoun-tered in recent nightmares, determining the course oaction in deeating them in the coming nights.

Faeries By Another NameSo what does an Icelander mean when she talks

about aeries? Are they the pixied sprites o mischie and

wonder that haunt the pastoral lands o rural beauty? Dothey mean aerie in the same manner as changelingsunderstand the term? Are they reerring to the True Fae?Is Iceland connected to Arcadia?

The simple answer to all these questions is: Yes,yes, yes and yes. The original understanding o aeries,or the Western world, comes in part rom the Norsemythology that was the basis or much o Icelandictradition. Along with elves and dwarves, the aerieswere beings to aid the gods, known as the Aesir. WhenChristianity came to the island, so did the establishedbelie in the aeries. But it never died out completely;instead, a great olk tradition o aeries and elves per-

sisted to modern times.The longer answer, especially in regards to the latterquestions, is a little more nuanced. While the aeries isNorse legend in some ways resemble the Fae o Arcadia,the similarities are only skin-deep: beauty, magic, nature,etc. While some o the True Fae might be winged sprites(albeit incredibly warped and twisted ones), the commonIcelander will make no distinction between the two: Tothem, a aerie is either good or bad.

other. I part o culture is the examination o who you areand the direction you are heading, this isolation allowedIcelanders to dene their lives not with other societies andtheir respective cultural fows, but with each other and thethings they imagined.

The Lost Colony of Leif EriksonAter Lei s ather, Erik the Red, pulled o thegreatest cartographical marketing scheme inthe history o humanity (Greenland isnt nearlyas green as its name implies), Lei decided toollow his athers example and set out or evenmore undiscovered territory. Also like his ather,he struck out across the ocean with a smallband o tribesmen and ounded a colony on anentirely new land. Somewhere in North Americaaround A.D. 1000, Lei Erikson ounded the frstEuropean settlement on that continent. Fromthat point, however, the story gets strange.

Shortly ater the settlement, the Vikings werethrust out o the land, the native peoples de-scribed as a horrifc and unnatural group by theIcelanders attacked the colony and stole away

individual Vikings. Despite the natural beautyo the land and the weird ruits available to thecolonists, they let the area in a hurry, returningto Greenland and Iceland and warning others othe dangerous mysteries o that odd continent.Their colony was never discovered again.

What did the Vikings name this strange newland? Vinland, the land o vines. Some kith haveread into this saga as a warning against the ubiq-uitous dangers o the Fae and the lengths theygo to in order to catch their prey. Others viewLei Erikson as a legacy o the Lost, proo o oneo the earlier origins o changelings and o the

long tradition o kith in Iceland.

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faeriesbyanothername

Thorns without VinesWhat about the Icelandic understanding o Arcadia? IsIceland in some way connected to the land o the Gentry?Where is the Hedge in a land without a orest?

Obviously, the average Icelandic citizen would have nounderstanding o Arcadia or the Hedge (unless they wereensorcelled or, worse, enslaved). The aeries that theyrecognize are the ones roaming ree on the land, us-ing magic and altering reality in ways not known to thephysical world and existing in the beautiul landscapes othe wilds. They would have no concept o the True Fae,their twisted world or the plight o the changelings. AnIcelander would also have no idea about the Hedge, either.

There are some gateways into the Hedge, however, thatare more commonly known by mortals. Icelanders knowthese places as being particularly inculcated with aeriemagic, and thus, i encountered, may lead the Icelanderto a particularly odd place (known to Icelanders simplyas Fairyland.)

Some common gateways (keys) to the Hedge are:

Egilsstadir:The ancient armstead reerenced in the Hra-nkel Saga. The gateway known here is a patch o encing usedto demarcate the sheep pasture.

Heimay:An island o the southwestern coast. The in-habitants o this island had to be evacuated in the 1970sdue to recent volcanic activity, and it took weeks o con-stant prevention and surveillance to thwart its eorts oengulfng the nearby town. The gateway is located in the

volcanic shel on the island on a strip o white and bluerock amidst the black surroundings. The story goes thati you close your eyes, cover the strip o rock with yourshadow and all to the ground, you can fnd yoursel ina strange land with lots o trees, a wonder completelydierent rom the barren landscape o Heimay.

Sirkus:A dingy bar in Reykjavik, it is said that one othe stalls in womens bathroom can lead a person directlyaway rom the bars grime. I you know the proper knock,that is.

Dimmuborgir:A collection o lava towers in thenortheastern section o the country. When the sun is

just right in the sky, a small white hole opens up in theground, just about wide enough or a person to stepinto. O course, this only exists in the presence o ca-cophonous birds.

Brennevin: Known as the black death, this is theonly spirit brewed in Iceland. While it is claimed thatthe drink is made rom ermented potato pulp andcaraway seeds, any connoisseur o the beverage willswear its made o ruits unknown to this world.

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I can tell

you this much:The only thingweirder thanthose fends inFaerie is thisworld out here,the world wecame back to.The entire timewe were in service tothe Others, we pinedor home; not just pinedor it, but agonized about it,

coveting our ormer homes, ourormer lives like they were trinketshanded out by the Jolasveinar. Weacted like spoiled children on Christmas morn-ing, unhappy that those bastard elves flled our shoes withsilver when we needed gold.

Have you seen the gits we have now? The beauty, themajesty bestowed upon us. Where the uck is beauty herein this dingy mudtrap, huh? Where the hell is the magic andsplendor o Arcadia? I tell you, Faerie wasnt the place wheremonsters dwelled. This world contains the true monsters, thetrue humans, dirty apes they are, who are ignorant o whatreal beauty is. We are beautiul. Time to pull the blanket out

beneath them and show them where the beauty truly resides.The True Fae are evil. Changelings hate them or

what they are and what they did to the Lost: Kidnappedthem, destroyed their lives, took them rom their home,stole their very essence and lled them with thatstu.O course, this is all predicated on the belie that home iswhere the kith want to be and belong. Sure, its a struggleto t into the human world again, to piece together yourormer lie and make nice with the hand youre dealt. Andtheres always the nagging threat o the Gentry aroundevery corner, and the humans who you hide rom becausetheyll kill you i they nd out exactly what you are. Notto mention the complete lack o aesthetics among the

uninspired masses o the world.So why do we want to be back home again?Every changeling ghts their way rom Faerie to their

ormer home, escaping the True Fae in the hopes o regain-ing the lives stolen rom them. It is as much an obsession orthem as it is or the Gentry to keep them in Arcadia. Fulll-ing this mania can go a number o ways once the changelingreturns home (or at least as close to home as theyll get).Some kith embrace their return to the world with openarms, experiencing the wonders o the mortal realm as muchas possible. Some opt to remain hidden rom everything,

content to

live their liein solitude,

removed romthe humans and

the Gentry (butnot their ellow

Lost). Still otherswish to change the

world and make it abetter place.

The ounder o theDusk Court, Norksdot-tir, wanted none o these

things. Emerging romthe Hedge ater years in servitude,

she looked around and saw only theuninspired mundanity and crass bourgeois

elements surrounding her. As she wandered the land,searching or remnants o her lost lie, one emotion

overwhelmed her more than anything: conusion. Wasthis really the place she had hoped or? Where was thebeauty, the splendor and the richness that she envisioned?Sure, Arcadia was no picnic, and Norksdottir had no in-clination to return or good. But the place she escaped towas, well, boring.

Disappointed, she turned around, hoping to return to

Arcadia through the Hedge, but stopped. Staring at herthrough the gateway was her captor, Jumbler, grinningand rubbing his crooked walking stick. Beore he steppedthrough the gateway, Norksdottir mustered her Wyld,enacting a latent clause. The land around her was litteredwith images o changelings just like her. Jumbler stopped,conounded, and grabbed at the nearest being. No luck;his arms went straight through Norksdottirs image. Hegrabbed again, with the same result. Conused, he turnedand walked away, closing the gateway behind him. Nork-dottir had escaped her captor again.

In the world, the only inspiration that Norksdottiround was in the emerging nighttime allure o her surround-

ings; the glaciers o Iceland was the only thing that movedher and made her remember the reason or her return. Atersome time alone on the glaciers, Dusk visited Norksdot-tir. At this point she was incredibly lonely and wished toorm a Court o likeminded kith. Dusk was unrelenting inhis challenge to this, but as he was also incredibly lonely,he stayed and conversed with Norksdottir. She was a verycunning orator, and he was impressed with her speeches.By dawn, he was reluctant to leave, wishing to hear more oNorksdottirs stories. The changeling had other ideas, andinstead convinced Dusk that he was actually his brother

Dusk Court(the Staggering Doe, the inDigo Court, Courtof ConfuSion)

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theduskcourt

Dawn. Dusk acquiesced, knowing that it was Dusks turnto share the sky. Norksdottir took this opportunity to startthe Dusk Court, known throughout Iceland as the Courto Conusion.

Bewilderment and puzzlement is the basis o the DuskCourt, using their obuscation ott the dark to beuddle andconuse the True Fae as they encroach upon kith society.While the Courts o the rest o the world might resort to

taking up arms or outright hiding rom the Gentry, theIndigo Court would rather use their skills to return theavor to the True Fae; contort their reality, twist theirmind, shatter what they know. In other words, just aschangelings re-entered the world in conusion, so mightthe True Fae.

O course, the root o all this conusion comes romthe basic disillusionment that the Staggering Does eeltowards the world they once knew. They know that theycannot return to Arcadia, but in some way they preer theworld o the Gentry to that o their own. At least truebeauty existed there, they argue, as opposed to the dirtand grime ound everywhere else. Why should the Fae

have all the good stu?

CourtiersThe other Courts view the members o the Dusk Court

aswell, weird, i not outright blasphemous. To say theleast, they do not trust them, thinking that their alia-tion with Arcadia makes them all spies or the Gentry.This cannot be urther rom the truth. The Indigo Courthates the Gentry just as much as any other Court, i notmore: Ater all, it was the Gentry that cursed them withthe sweet tastes o heaven while torturing them in the sameinstant. I this world wasnt the saer place, the Dusk Courtsimply wouldnt be here. Alas, despite their preerences,

they are stuck in this miserable dump and must make doas best they can.

While other Courts shy away rom the Hedge or viewit as a necessary evil to combat the Gentry, the Dusk Courtviews the Hedge as their primary territory. Especially orthe changelings based in Iceland, the Hedge is an areawhere they may still taste the beauty they ound in Arca-dia without actually endangering their lives in the land othe True Fae. Indigo courtiers spend inordinate amountso time in the Hedge and are more likely to have a hovelthan any other Court. For them, the return to the real world(especially Iceland) is a necessity to keep rom going madaltogether, a purgatory o sorts to lay low when the Hedges

thorns start to creep too closely.O course, staving o madness is common or change-

lings. But the Dusk Court has an especially dicult struggle:Some o them are already mad, or at least theyre toeingthe precipice. Perhaps this is the reason or their naturaljadedness, as only a lunatic or a ool would preer the wickedglades o Arcadia. But perhaps the Dusk Court just attractsthe odd, the strange and the weird. Some changelings arejust born ools.

Members o the Dusk Court are pernicious olk: otenarrogant, certainly jaded, perplexing in the utmost. They

are not secretive by nature, but ew seem to understandtheir motives. This is not a surprise: Oten, the Indigocourtiers dont understand their intentions, either. Theirconusion not only inects others, but it invades their en-tire worldview. Thus, they are perect distractions in anysort o confict. The opinion o a Dusk Court member canshed irrational insight into a dispute, or it can completelyredraw the boundaries o the argument. Thus, these kith

are not great leaders or negotiators, but they do indulge inthose practices as much as possible. The chaos they incuris the only beautiul thing they encounter outside o thesupernatural realms, and they make sure to create suchhavoc when they can.

Most changelings preer to join the Dusk Court atera long dalliance with the other kith Courts. Whether theyare tired o the constant politicking among the seasonalCourts (as well as any other ones around the world), theygrow bored o human society altogether or their Clarityhas reached dangerously low levels, the various kith thatcomprise the Dusk Court are there to experience thewonder and joy o the supernatural world, escaping rom

it and its daily struggles in order to achieve that which istruly beautiul. Very ew kith actually join resh rom theHedge; those that do are generally the ones that give theimpression that this Court consists entirely o lunatics andreaks (although the queen o the Iceland reehold, QueenMadda Morphos, ts this description perectly).

RitualsThe Dusk Court does not preer the normal structures

o kith society. They have a leadership ramework, but theline between ruler and subject is blurry at best. The averageStaggering Doe might know who their Queen is and whatthe basic tenets o their Court are, but soon the changeling

to turn away, bored and distracted. Needless to say, theDusk Court does not have a wide array o organized ritualsestablished within their connes.

There is one ritual that the Dusk Court is known or,however: the Solstice Scrum. Not so much a ritual as itis a calling, an urging or every member o the Court tocelebrate the one day out o the year when the darkness the only truly beautiul thing in this realm is around thelongest. Members o the kith Courts rom around the worldare welcome to attend, although only nave changelings ornon-Dusk Court denizens ever attend more than once ortwice. For the Staggering Does, however, this is the evento the year.

Gathering at dusk on the glacial plains at the outskirtso Grimsstadir Icelands town without citizens theattendees o the Solstice Scrum dress in their most gar-ish outts, usually a hodge-podge o dresses, suits, masks,shoes and accessories rom the other balls and masqueradesthroughout the year. Once the suns rays are completelyremoved rom the sky, the revelry begins.

Even by Lost standards, the Solstice Scrum is beyondodd, bordering on the violent. Some have described theScrum as little more than an awkward rave or a Victorian-era ball without signicance, or the Running o the Bulls

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with more ass-gouging. Generally, all these descriptionst the event, at least in some way. However, the Scrumtends to change dramatically with each year, thus resistingeasy classication.

Some details can be gleaned about the Scrum. Forone, this ritual is a dance in some shape or orm. A band okith with homemade instruments, many o electronic andWyrd-inused design, plays through the extended night,

never reaching a melody or a consistent rhythm. Revelersdance, albeit in pockets and not in step with one another.Very rarely does the entire gathering move together; instead,the fow is that o a synchronized swim team perorming aroutine with only one third o their members. And muchlike most synchronized swim meets, ghts break out sporadi-cally throughout the crowd.

Another common aspect o the Solstice Scrum is theingestion o tordilum, a rare goblin ruit usually harvestedonly or this event. There are no medicinal or other ben-ets o this ruit, and its taste is downright disgusting. Butto the Dusk Court members, this ruit is a delicacy and isdevoured with gusto. Described as an acquired taste, the

favor o the tordilum is akin to hakari (shark ermented

in ammonia), an Icelandic delicacy. O course, it isnt thefavor that attracts kith to this ruit. I a changeling eatsenough tordilum, she is likely to see beauty in everything,codespeak among changelings or the psychotropic eectso tordilum. This goblin ruit eclipses the eects o Ecstasy,combining the sensory overload o that drug with theWyrd-inspired visions o perect splendor. Its a trip beyondthe scope o mortal ken, but this practice is only indulged

during the Scrum. Kith coming down rom this high havea tendency towards violent outbursts o aection, which intheir preternaturally conused perspectives is no dierentrom disaected bursts o violence.

HeraldryThe Dusk Court has an altogether dierent set o aes-

thetics than the other Courts. Their members do not meanto show o, but they just cant help their inner nature. Thecourtly colors arewell, anything, really. The members othe Dusk Court very rarely wear matching colors or evenanalogous ones, and they oer sneers o contempt or anykith that does not get their ashion statements. Symbolscommonly associated with the Indigo Court are a our colorrectangle, a three-legged deer, a sideways question mark andtwo guns pointing their barrels at each other.

MantleThe Dusk Court does

not have a Mantle. Asa relatively new Court,its ounder was denied

the original mantle byDusk, who either gave the

Mantle to somebody else as a

mistake or simply reused to digniythe Court with one. By all accounts,the representatives o the Dusk Court

have been working diligently to accruesome aspect o the Wyrd in order to

grant their Court with some specialpowers. O course, a gathering o theDusk Court very rarely accomplishesanything in the irst place, andthus the process has been long inthe making. While their leadersattempt to ashion a Mantle orthe Court, the rest eel like it is

a waste o time; they dont wantone anyway.

ConfusionThe Dusk Court, more

than any other Court, excelat one thing: the spread otheir associated emotion

wherever they go. Forthem, conusion is

not just a simple

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theduskcourt

emotive eeling, but a way o lie. Chaos and conoundmentare two o the best ingredients or revelry, and the DuskCourt members embody this spirit wholeheartedly. Whileother Courts tend to shy away rom their primary emotion(such as the Winter Court, who hides rom the sorrow theyengender), the Dusk Court bandies about beuddlement indoses large enough to ll the whole o Iceland.

Bringing conusion to others and enjoying the ben-

ets thereo is a matter o pride or the Staggering Does.Their very essence is that o puzzlement and turbulence; ithey must eel it, so must others. To some degree, the DuskCourt doles out their emotion with a patina o malice andan underlying layer o rustration. While the emotion itselis rather mild and harmless, the Indigo Courts enjoyment oit is a little disconcerting. Nobody ever got hurt out o beingconused, but too much o it can demoralize a person.

The elderly are a particularly avored target or thisCourt, especially ones nearing the initial stages o Al-zheimers. It is not uncommon or these changelings tovolunteer at retirement communities and assisted-livinghomes in order to eed upon the scattered thoughts o

those aficted with that disorder. Many kith combinetheir visits, which oten consists o infuencing othersvia oneiromancy with stories o childhood that never oc-curred, shaping the already mufed dreams into pasticheso alsehoods and whimsy, and drawing upon the ensuingchaos o the waking conused. Otentimes, the retirementcommunities have another avorite target o the DuskCourt: recently graduated college students volunteering

their time and good services while they nd themselves.The post-adolescent malaise is especially nourishing orthe Court o Conusion.

StereotypesSpring Court: Its cute that they hold on to the dream,

even though they dont pursue it.Summer Court: Assholes.Autumn Court: They work with powerul stu. I like

that. I only they didnt try too hard.Winter Court: Finally! Someone who sees this place as

it is: drab, depressing and bad. But cmon, get over yourseland at least try.

Shadows of Iceland Pitch

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