(Welcome to the Q&A, please see the author comments at the bottom for a few important things.)

1. What's the deal with fae? Why are wild fae so aggressive, and how do they become familiars?

Wild fae eat humans. As a whole they aren’t aggressive hunters, but they’re strong and fast and otherworldly. From the POV of your average human fae seem quite mean! While some are more violent, it really varies from individual to individual just like it does with other species. A wild fae becomes a familiar by taking part in a Rise with a human.

Image: A waist-up view of someone with a coyote aspect hiking in the woods. To the right, a speech bubble leading off screen reads “somebody help me!” They’re looking in the direction of the voice, visibly shaken. End description.

Remember: Never go hiking by yourself!

2. Regarding aspects, do people also have the senses of the respective animals that make up their aspects? (I'm assuming yes.)

People still have human (or fae) senses for the most part. One’s aspect can influence this to a degree; for example, the construction of Phoebe’s ears and her ability to swivel them gives her keener hearing, but it’s still within human range. Kirk, on the other hand, has to wear specialized glasses due to his aspect’s eyes even though his vision isn’t nearly as bad as an actual buried-eye caecilian’s. Another example would be that people with bird aspects can’t see ultraviolet. And for fae, they all have a keen sense of smell and hearing so I don’t think Yuli’s fox aspect adds much.

Image: A two-panel comic. The first panel shows Phoebe swiveling her ear towards someone calling her name. The second panel shows her standing next to Kirk, who is kneeled on the floor dejectedly. He tells her, “I can’t find my glasses.” End description.

3. How do people get their aspects?

People are born with their aspects, and I like to imagine there’s a genetic component- that someone may inherit an aspect from the same taxonomic family as a parent or grandparent. But it’s also possible for someone’s aspect to be completely random and different from their relatives. This keeps certain types of aspects from “going extinct.” I don’t have a specific set of rules for how they’re passed down. I like applying biology to aspects, but it’s a part of the series that’s more rooted in fantasy/magic (as seen with the question about senses) so the genetics don’t work like they would in the real world.

Image: A Morevna family tree, made up of three rows of headshots. The top row shows Ivan’s father with text reading “Mountain caracara (Falconidae)” and his mother with text reading “Eurasian jay (Corvidae).” The second row shows Ivan with text reading “Peregrine falcon (Falconidae)” and his wife, Armani, with text reading “Flame-breasted fruit dove (Columbidae).” The third row shows their children, Asmeret and Julia. Under Asmeret the text reads “Common raven (Corvidae); aspect probably inherited from grandmother” and under Julia it reads “Pallas' fish eagle (Accipitridae); aspect probably random.” End description.



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11.29.2023
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Hi all, first I want to draw attention to the boycott to support Palestine. Boycotting the listed companies and calling your representatives (for US readers) are ways that you can help the Palestinian people during this awful time.

In Katabasis news I now have a Bluesky which you can bookmark or follow if you've jumped ship from that other site. Work on chapter IV has been going well! The chapter went through 4-5 drafts (if you count "draft0" in my documents) and is now in the hands of my editor/proofreader. No release date yet but hang tight, we're getting there.