now to start posting sections of "The Shining Host" to clarify for people a bit what fae are all about
Long ago, faeries adopted mortal bodies and fused with mortal souls to avoid the fist of Banality. To this day, normal mortals still only see the mundane appearance of a changeling. Faeries and other enchanted beings, however, see a changeling for what he/she really is -- a troll is a bluish tower of muscle, a sluagh is pale and thin, and a sidhe possesses breathtaking beauty. Indeed, in many cases the mortal shell often faintly resembles the fae spirit within -- trolls' mortal seemings are usually tall and stocky, boggans' are short and plump, and eshu's are dark and handsome, although it is not uncommon to find a changeling whose mortal body hides a very different fae soul. Regardless of what the mortal shell resembles, however, the character's fae form is the character's "true" self, and he must act in accordance with both the chimerical and mundane world. For example, a troll must stoop when entering doorways that are too low for his faerie height, even if his mortal body fits through just fine. To do otherwise is to deny one's fae self, even if only for an instant, and is an invitation to Banality.
A changeling's mortal age and appearance is called his seeming. While some rare fae souls reflect a different age than their mortal bodies do, most fae selves eho the mortal frames that hide them. Kithain society divides the seemings into three groups: childlings, wilders, and grumps. Childlings are any fae up to the beginning of adolescence, and they are viewed as innocents and protected by their fellow Kithain. Wilders, the teens and young adults of changeling society, earn their name with their passions and lust for adventure. They form the dynamic majority of changeling society. Grumps, those rare changelings who hold onto their fae selves after the age of 25 or so, are revered for their wisdom and experience, and often advise their brasher young counterparts. As a changeling's mortal body ages, so too does his/her faerie self, progressing from childling to wilder to grump until dying to be reborn again.
While other fae will react with the character's fae self, mortals and other unenchanted folk will react based on the appearance of the mortal seeming. A childling may be a duke of the surrounding principality, but is unlikely to intimidate a mortal police officer, much less a vampire, without the assistance of some fae magic.