The Faye

It is difficult to say what exactly the faye are. The loose definition used by the populace includes just about any unnatural creature imaginable: monsters of legend, dire beasts, giants, faerie folk. None of these has been seen in hundreds of years by an Eyrian. In the absence of everyday encounters with such magical beings, superstition has grown strong. Because of this, anything not recognizably human or anything which wields magic from something other than a divine source (see the section on Magic), is assumed to be linked to "the faye". 

In truth, the "Faye" mostly refers to the faerie folk who inhabit the places between the material world and the Otherworld. Areas of mystery, ancient ritual, and physical boundaries, are all weak points in the real world where the Other seeps through. Here the real and the magical mingle. It is also where the Faye are born into existence or gain access to the material world. Their essence therefore is tied in a unique way to the Womb of Time (the earth) and the shaping forces of magic (the Other).

From a DnD perspective, the Otherworld lies in the Outer Planes. The material world was wrought by magic from these planes. The outer planes are places of pure magic, pure heroism (and converesely pure evil). When events transpire in the material world which are "beyond the norm", they are said to be linked to these Outer planes. This creates a link between the Other and the Real - the Material and the Outer. A "Seam" where the magical forces of creation has bleed through to create a special event/place which is beyond the pale. 

Very frequently these seams manifest themselves as rivers, mountain ranges, caves, lakes, forests and in some cases, man-made boundaries: the erecting of a stone, the clearing of a road, even the creation of a field of battle. At these points, the connection between the real and the other is at its most tenuous.  

At these places of mingled "real" and "other" live the Faerie Folk, or Faye. As such they manifest features of both worlds. A Faye's power is tied to the features of the earth in some fashion. A Dryad, to a unique tree; a Nixie, a secluded pond; in all cases, a boundary among the landscape. A boundary which feeds their magical nature from the Other. Faye aren't simple "tree huggers" in their care for nature, they are stewards of the very essence of the earth and what it symbolizes in the world beyond. 

So what specifically are the "Faye"? A specific definition would include creatures that draw their power from or are in some way closely tied to the Otherworld and the material realm they inhabit. (Monster Manual examples: fey, outsiders, some magical beasts.) Even direct inhabitants of the Otherworld could be referred to properly as faye. However, labeling giants, giant beasts, abberations of nature, magical constructs, or undead, as "faye" (like the average Eyrian is apt to do) is incorrect.