ACCORD: THE DARKENING FEY
A Gloaming Fantasy Setting for Synergy Engine
The modern cities of humanity are islands in a sea of ancient twilight.
The Veil separates our world—The Fields We Know—from the Ancient Earth, where the Fey still rule. But the Veil is thin. Growing thinner. And things are scratching at the glass.
This is not a world of fireballs and heroic quests. This is a world of secrets, contracts, and the terrifying beauty of the deep woods.
TWO SIDES OF THE VEIL
The Darkening Fey draws inspiration from two masters of the strange:
Arthur Machen’s Vision: The Ancient Earth is horror incarnate. What lurks beyond the Veil is wrong—ancient, alien, driving mortals to madness. The Fey are not beautiful. They are terrible.
Lord Dunsany’s Vision: The Ancient Earth is achingly beautiful. What lurks beyond the Veil is wondrous—dreamlike, elegant, heartbreaking in its splendor. The Fey are not evil. They are too perfect for this world.
Both visions share one truth: When the two worlds collide, someone pays the price.
WHAT IS THE VEIL?
The Veil is whatever keeps us from seeing the Ancient Earth.
Is it protection? Does it shield us from truths that would shatter our minds?
Is it blindness? Have we lost the imagination necessary to perceive what was always there?
Is it something else entirely?
You decide.
SUGGESTED READING:
- The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen
- The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany
SETTING NOTES:
For Machen-style Horror:
- Rename “Ancient Earth” to “The Terror Behind the Veil”
- Urban settings: Victorian London, fog-choked cities, gaslight and grime
- The natural world is deceptive—beauty concealing corruption
For Dunsany-style Wonder:
- Keep “Ancient Earth” or use “The Timeless Lands”
- Natural settings: ancient forests, twilight meadows, places untouched by time
- The modern world is the corruption—grey and forgetting
Or blend both. The Fey are beautiful and terrible. Wonder and horror. That’s the heart of gloaming fantasy.
ACCORD: THE DARKENING FEY
A Gloaming Fantasy Setting for Synergy Engine
THE FOUR SUITS:
♦ DIAMONDS = WAKING
Logic, Science, Cold Iron, and Sanity. The power to deny the supernatural.
The Vibe: The gaslight streetlamp holding back the dark. The iron horseshoe above the door. The binding legal contract.
Represents: Human reason, skepticism, technology, civilization, resistance to enchantment. The rational mind that refuses to see.
“I am awake. I am rational. The Fey have no power over me.”
♥ HEARTS = DREAMING
Emotion, Desire, Connection, and The Seduction of the Fey.
The Vibe: The haunting melody of a flute. The impossible beauty of an Elf-Queen. The madness of a crowd.
Represents: Enchantment, imagination, art, beauty, social power, vitality. The heart that yearns for wonder.
“I have seen the beauty beyond the Veil. I cannot unsee it.”
♠ SPADES = TWILIGHT
Entropy, The Veil, Fate, and The Unknown. The magic that leaks through the cracks.
The Vibe: Shadows moving against the wind. The feeling of being watched. Prophecies and curses.
Represents: The liminal, the in-between, stealth, traversing worlds, sensing magic, altering fate. The threshold between realms.
“I walk between worlds. I belong to neither.”
♣ CLUBS = BECOMING
Instinct, Regression, Transformation, and The Ancient Flesh. How much Fey is in you.
The Vibe: The Great God Pan. Horns, hooves, and claws. The rage that exists beneath a civilized suit. Eyes that reflect moonlight like an animal’s.
Represents: Physical transformation, primal nature, violence, animal communion, losing humanity, gaining Fey essence. The body remembering what it was before civilization.
“I am Becoming something else. I feel it in my bones.”
SYNERGY MATRIX:
| ♦ Waking | ♥ Dreaming | ♠ Twilight | ♣ Becoming | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ♦ Waking | — | Skeptic | Investigator | Hunter |
| ♥ Dreaming | Skeptic | — | Seer | Changeling |
| ♠ Twilight | Investigator | Seer | — | Walker Between |
| ♣ Becoming | Hunter | Changeling | Walker Between | — |
SYNERGIES:
SKEPTIC (♦ Waking + ♥ Dreaming)
- “I have seen wonders. I refuse to believe them.”
- Rational mind + enchanted heart = the struggle between denial and desire
INVESTIGATOR (♦ Waking + ♠ Twilight)
- “I catalog the impossible with scientific precision.”
- Logic + liminal knowledge = studying the Veil methodically
HUNTER (♦ Waking + ♣ Becoming)
- “I use their nature against them. Cold iron and ancient instinct.”
- Human reason + Fey transformation = hunting what you’re becoming
SEER (♥ Dreaming + ♠ Twilight)
- “I dream true. The Veil shows me what will be.”
- Imagination + the liminal = prophecy, visions, seeing beyond
CHANGELING (♥ Dreaming + ♣ Becoming)
- “I am beautiful and terrible. I am no longer entirely human.”
- Enchanted heart + physical transformation = the seductive Fey-touched
WALKER BETWEEN (♠ Twilight + ♣ Becoming)
- “I cross the Veil at will. It has changed me forever.”
- Liminal mastery + transformation = those who traverse both worlds freely