~Realms, Fae, and Apocalypse’s, Oh My!~
This is basically a follow up to this previous note post, as I’ve had time to think things over and want to explain some stuff to answer some questions. And yes this does mean I’m discussing The Purge of Decay, no it’s not set in stone I’m just discussing the general concept. Now go grab your snack of choice because this is going to be a long one.
(**The following lore is very conceptual, not fully thought out, and everything is subject to change**)
(6/3/26 Edit Note: Whenever I say “Fae” or mention “The Fae Realm” I’m referring to the “Creatures” and “critters” and their part of the realm specifically, this was before I started calling them Flower Fae and thought of other lore, I’ll explain all of this in part 2 but I wanted to mention it briefly in case it were to cause confusion)
The Purge of Decay as a storyline/POV is the history of The Infector and the Infection’s Origin and follows Rose and Poppy, but within the story The Purge of Decay is a historical event and a traumatic near-extinction level experience the Creatures/Fae went through barely over 1,000 years prior to STEP I.
For a brief background, Rose is a little over 6,000 years old by the start of the STEPs, and was somewhere within their 5,000s during The Purge of Decay, Poppy’s age is unknown to me but they’re not much younger than Rose. Rose was held in high regard due to their innate magical prowess while Poppy drifted through life relatively unnoticed but not ignored, Poppy simply didn’t draw anyone’s attention, anyone but two Fae, that is. Poppy and Rose were exceptionally close, as Poppy had an interest in the betterment of the environment and life as it is and Rose admired that about them. It’s a tale as old as time, character with too much empathy is driven to do bad things for the betterment of other things, this story is no different. Poppy would begin to loose hope, and that’s when they would catch the attention of a specific Fae, who I’ve just been calling “the Stag” because I don’t have a name for them. Poppy would slowly be manipulated by the Stag, and over time would have these ideas and thoughts introduced to them, leading them to misuse their magic.
This is where I explain: what magic does Poppy have?
Creature magic is something I don’t have fully thought out, but there’s some things I have certain, and that is while all Creature’s have Nature based magic (that being plants, flowers, etc) there’s different types of magic that falls under this umbrella, one of which being Decomposers.
It’s simply based off of what some fungi do, something that is healthy for a balanced ecosystem but can be detrimental if the balance doesn’t exist. Creatures who have this type of magic have always existed to balance the magic that increases the growth of ecosystems, however the events of The Purge of Decay turned this magic into somewhat of a taboo. You see, there is a downside to this form of magic, something the Stag exposed, and that is what Creature’s began to call “The Rotting of the Self.” It is a phenomenon where Creatures with this magic will begin to loose themselves if they use it too often, (they essentially slowly become “Infected”) their magic will slowly decompose their own life force, their mind will decay, and they will become nothing but a monster controlled only by the instinct to “Rot” and “Decay.” While Creature’s with this form of magic is meant to be able to decompose matter like how another Creature might grow a plant, they can also use their magic on other non-magical plant based Fae (such as “Critters”). Side note: The concept of this magic and the Infection overall is based on mycology, root rot, and invasive species.
The Stag took advantage of Poppy’s natural ability to Decompose and Poppy became the first Decomposer to experience “The Rotting of the Self,” supposedly this occurred due to the misuse of the magic, as Poppy began using it to essentially mutate “Critters” after being convinced that if everything was the same there would be no more problems of clashing elements.
 |
| Concept art of a Critter before and after Infection/mutation |
Now, what does the Stag get from all of this? Well… I don’t have that fully thought out yet, but what I do know is that the Stag doesn’t have magical use of their own which is why they needed Poppy, and that they’re obsessed with experimenting and stretching the limits of Fae life and magic. The Stag also upholds the same ideology they misguided Poppy into believing: that if everything is the same there will be no clashing elements, however they lack the empathy Poppy had and doesn’t truly want everything to be equal, because *they* want to be at the top (typical evil hypocritical ruler type of villain). Funny thing is that Sadie Foxglove instantly clocks this thinking the Infector has, and also clocks that the Infector has two different goals in mind (aka Poppy and the Stag’s goals clashing), but we’re not talking about Sadie.
Now we get into the true events of The Purge of Decay.
Remember how I said that it was a traumatic, near-extinction level event? Yeah, that’s because this was when the Stag and Poppy would link and fuse and become The Infector who would then begin the original Infection, yeah that’s right, what you guys know as “The Infection” is actually the second attempt. However just because it was ended doesn’t mean it didn’t cause irreversible damage. As I said before, the Stag is obsessed with experimenting and stretching the limits of Fae life and magic, and The Infector is no different as they’re more of the Stag than Poppy (Poppy was too far gone by that point, but it’s debatable whether they still have some control over their body). The Infector spread the Infection which naturally did immense harm to a majority of the Fae within the Fae Realm, and on top of that narrowed in on the Creature’s specifically, not only because they had personal ties to the Creature’s, but because the Creature’s are incapable of being Infected (unless self inflicted) and are easily the biggest threat. The Infector tormented the Creature’s, anyone they came across would be taken to be experimented on as the Infector became tunnel visioned on figuring out how to Infect them, many lost their lives to the Infector’s experiments and those who made it out alive came back with bodily harm: missing limbs, body parts, etc. Not only that, but The Infector especially hunted down all the Creature’s above or close to the age of 5,000, as they were the biggest threats.
 |
| Messy sketch of The Infector and Rose |
To give some context, Once 5,000 years old, a Creature will develop the ability to manipulate the elements (aside from plants), this includes controlling air, water, and fire, and by doing so, the weather and overall environment. However it is heavily looked down upon to manipulate the weather unless absolutely necessary and agreed upon by the Monarch, as it can heavily impact the environment’s wellbeing if misused. As you will probably have caught onto by now, the best ways to get rid of the Infection is by utilizing fire and large amounts of water (and air, while not really much help for humans, was utilized by Elder Rose later on, alongside water, to cast the winter storm that froze the Infection, halting the process).
The Infector targeted Creature’s above or close to the age of 5,000, causing the Creature’s to lose a large majority of their elders, including their Monarch, causing the current heir to ascend to the throne immaturely (but I’ll get to that later). Rose was one of the few surviving Creature’s around that age, and alongside the other survivors created a plan to get rid of the Infector and the creature’s of Decay (Infected) along with them. I’m still working out the details, but they succeed and banished the Infector outside the Fae realm, sending them into a deep slumber (I know, typical), but not without being warned: the Infector claimed that a Creature would one day follow in their footsteps, and that they would aid to their awakening and inevitable return.
After being collectively traumatized, killed and experimented on, and having lost most of their elders and their Monarch, the Creatures instantly became hostile towards any Decomposers. Use of that magic was banned, and those who had too strong of a connection to it was banished outside of the Fae Realm in fear that they would be the one to follow in the Infector’s footsteps. Those who were banished, and those who banished themselves alongside loved ones, would start to build their own home in the forest of the human realm, which is where The River Town is located. Elder Rose is one such Creature who banished themself, not only in solidarity of the Decomposers, but because they were already making plans to fully be rid of the Infector for good. They are the only one who truly believed and heeded The Infector’s warning and immediately began to prepare for it head-on, rather than attempt to avoid it by hiding away and banishing those who might cause it.
While the banished Creature’s stood with the Decomposers (or was one themselves), there was still the trauma and warning haunting them, causing fear and unease, especially when the Infector was somewhere in that very place. Decomposers refused to use their magic, and instead focused on their other abilities, attempting to suppress their natural gift. This is when one specific Creature would be born, a baby Creature who showed immediate signs of an intense innate ability to Decompose, to the degree that it scared even the Decomposers themselves, and they collectively agreed to toss out the baby (hypocritical, I know). As you might guess, this baby was Knell. (Here’s a fun fact: A knell is a solemn tolling of a bell which announces a death or disaster, which was one of those perfect accidents because I fully thought I named him Knoll, you know, like a mound. Also his true Creature name is Periwinkle and I find that hilarious) Elder Rose was infuriated by this, and from then on refused to associate themself with the community, outcasting themself alongside the baby and making a safe home for it, raising them until they were old enough to take care of themself (I honestly can’t fully remember why, but Rose had a specific reason for not wanting Knell to see them as a parental figure). Knell would unfortunately be the one to “walk in the Infector’s footsteps” and awaken them, but how that happens isn’t exactly thought out yet, but the Infector always had an interest in Knell until Sadie piqued their interest more.
Once awoken, the Infector was instantly intrigued by this new “realm” they seemed to have found themself in, and was especially excited to learn that Creatures and “Critters” were also there alongside them, meaning they immediately began to Infect. However the Creatures were mostly able to keep hidden, and the intrigue of the Humans capability to become Infected was keeping the Infector distracted, especially once they were introduced to the concept of Half Creatures once meeting Sadie Foxglove. Let’s just say the Infector’s gears began turning in their head, and they were captivated by the idea that Half Creatures could be their way to Infect Creatures. And thus their new experiment began.
The Infector, with the help of Gabriel Flintlock (who also aided in the Infector’s awakening, I might add), found three test subjects: a half Infected boy called Spider Lily, an Infected girl named Millie Mayfield, and a young Half Creature named Colette. And add to those subjects a Crow Creature (this is something I will discuss later). The experiment was this: force linking and fusing (like how Poppy and the Stag linked and fused) a Half Creature with an Infected Human (Colette and Millie) and a Half Infected with a Creature (Spider and the crow) to see whether this would create a way to Infect Creatures. The consensus was undecided and unable to be followed up, but that’s how SilverBell and SpiderLily became a thing, something the Creatures (excluding Knell and Elder Rose) were horrified by.
 |
| The Infector’s experiments: SilverBell and SpiderLily + Knell showing signs of Decay |
This wasn’t the end of the Infector’s attempt to utilize the relationship between humans and Creature’s to their advantage, as they would form a link with Sadie Foxglove after needing a new life source (the whole reason they relied so much on the Infected to spread the Infection was because they were still being affected by Poppy’s “Rotting of the Self” and would fully lose consciousness after a few more uses of their magic, something they discovered after Infecting Gabriel Flintlock at the end of STEP II), something that would lead to their demise.
Creatures/Fae pre-Legacy
I want to discuss the Fae Realm Monarchy for a moment, as well as how it was affected by The Purge of Decay, as it is pretty important for B.A. Legacy.
In order to become the Creature Monarch a Creature must first reach the age of 2,000, which is considered the age of maturity for Creatures. Creature Monarchy follows a bloodline, a lineage of Creature’s whose blood is that of a tree, golden sap. A Creature with that Golden Heritage can only rule for 6,000 years before stepping down and letting their heir take their place, this gives their heir time to pass the age of 2,000 before their parent passes the throne to them. Before being killed by the Infector, the previous Monarch had only ruled for roughly 2,000 years, their heir (the current Monarch) being barely over 600 (which, I know, is a lot, especially compared to Creature’s like Foxglove and Knell, but based on the span of their lifetime that’s incredibly young). The Golden Heritage was hunted down alongside the elders, but the current Monarch’s Heir wasn’t as much of a target due to their young age, the Infector planned to kill the Heir once all the elders were out of the way, but thankfully that never came to pass. However this did leave the Heir to ascend to the throne immaturely, with an elder ruling alongside them to “guide” them until they reach “maturity.”
This elder is still ruling alongside the Monarch, as it will still be roughly 300 years (give or take) before the current Monarch reaches the age of 2,000.
It was the Ruling Elder who pushed for Decomposers to be banished, and while the current Monarch has more say now than they used to, they still live in fear of the Infector and despise anything and anyone that might reflect the Infector’s behavior.
Before the events of The Infection (B.A. Infection), Faeries weren’t very well known in the human realm, Creature’s presence were only ever noticed by those who lived in or near the forest, and Critters were the only Fae to ever be seen in towns, they weren’t even considered “Fae.” “Creature” and “Critter” are human given names to separate the magical creatures that lived in the woods based on how human or animal they appeared. The River Town was filled with a majority of people who knew of the Fae’s existence, they would hear the soft chiming of bells in the forest, tiny “Critters” scampering around their town causing mischief, and magical flowers were spread all around the forest in places you wouldn’t expect. The people of the River Town learned to live alongside the Fae, finding neutral ground of not bothering each other while sharing the same forest, however outside of the forest, especially in the city, they were considered nothing but a fairytale for children and weren’t believed to exist. But despite this, rumored sightings still spread and those who were intrigued went searching for answers. Self proclaimed “Creature Hunters” began to appear in The River Town, some were brash enough to ask the townsfolk outright what they knew about the “Creatures,” while others disguised their ill intent as simple curiosity and a desire to learn about the magical beings of the forest out of respect or intrigue. The townspeople would become increasingly aware of the intentions behind these people’s actions, and became uneasy around any outsiders who showed interest in the “Creatures,” and things only got worse when the self proclaimed “Creature Hunters” began setting up traps, not only souring the humans neutral relationship with the Fae, but also causing damage to the forest life as animals would get caught in traps meant for “Critters” and townspeople’s livelihood that depended on the forest was being affected as more hunters began hunting in the forest. Successfully capturing “Critters” and bringing them back to the city brought more attention to the matter, and the people of the River Town was able to get their mayor to convince the city government to tone down on the sudden spike in hunting in their forest, and while it wasn’t made illegal, it was from then on heavily looked down upon to “harm the hunting industry by hunting for imaginary fairytales.” However there was no going back at that point, as despite the social scrutiny, people inside or outside the City became aware of “Creatures” existence and began engaging with this new money making opportunity. Creature Hunting not only become an official thing, but a secret thing, as Creature Hunters started hunting down Fae for their unnatural and sometimes magical properties, selling them within secret markets or operations either alive for study or use, or killing them and selling the parts. This was the beginning of the Fae’s mistrust and hatred towards humans, and it would only grow from then on.
Brooklet Avenue: The Legacy of Nature’s Revival. Creature’s are being hunted down by humans and the Infection is running rampant, however after the events of Nature’s Revival, Creature’s are seen as the source of the Infection and fighting against the Infection and hunting Creatures is seen as one and the same. The only plus is that while the Infection is here to stay, The Infector is dead and never coming back, meaning the Monarch’s main fear and reason to not get involved with “the human realm” is dealt with. With humans targeting Creatures, hunting them down, experimenting on them, and getting more and more involved with the Faerie’s livelihood, humans attracting the attention of the Fae Realm was inevitable, and the behavior humans were showing looked a bit too close to that of the Infector for the Monarch’s liking.
Discussion to be continued…
I wasn’t able to work on this for a while but was still brainstorming this topic in the meantime, so now I have other thoughts and lore that makes my previous thoughts and brainstorming I had yet to type out outdated. Basically, continuing this post to fit my new ideas would make getting this out take too long and frankly feel kind of strange, but because it’s still unfinished I’m just gonna do a part two with my revamped brainstorming and lore ideas :) (The Emily Wilde trilogy which I’m currently reading is partially to blame haha, I had a feeling it would help with my Fae lore which is why I was planning on getting this all typed out before I started reading the books but ah well that just means we’re skipping over the “screw these stupid animal creature things that are too important to the plot to cut!” and going straight to “I’ve thought of a fix” lol)
-Stitch 🌱
