Nockers
Greetings, you smarmy, overpaid excuse for a piece of camel-vomit. Well, as long as you're here stinking up the place, 1 might as well show you the new piece I'm working on, but don't touch it! I don't want you to !@#$% it up. Okay, the match drops and lights against the sandpaper, which burns the fuse and lights the candle, which bums through the rope... huh? Oh, it's a toaster. Anyway, the candle bums through the rope.... — Theedle Silversqwak, nocker inventor
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History
For thousands of years, nockers have been either present at or inspired by great artistic and engineering feats. Nockers have walked in the shadow of the Great Pyramid, and helped to build the cathedrals of medieval Europe. There was a nocker present when the first electric lights were lit in Menlo Park, and there was a nocker watching as Sputnik launched towards the heavens.
In ancient Greece, the nockers were architects and builders, designing and building glorious columned temples and buildings. After the Shattering, nockers retreated into more introspective crafts, but occasionally the itch to build something grander became too great. Out of this came magnificent royal residences or new architectural styles. Many fae flocked to nocker weaponsmiths for their finely crafted blades, or became patrons of nocker craftspeople for beautiful works of fine art, jewelry or raiment.
When the Industrial Revolution arrived with the hiss and roar of the steam engine, the nockers despaired. They couldn't resist the siren song of chugging boilers and gears, but everything seemed to be made of iron. Some nockers could overcome their inherent loathing of the dread metal, but most could not. They began to convince mortals to experiment with new alloys and metal-building out of steel or aluminum. Nockers began to experiment fervently with smelting and mixing techniques, and came up with many new alloys that are in use today, freeing them to tinker to their hearts' delight.
Nockers took to mechanical engineering with the same verve they took to smithing thousands of years back. Soon nockers began to produce exquisite chimerical clocks, and in a large freehold near Halifax, a nocker machinist created a chimerical railroad.
As mundane humanity progressed more rapidly, changing their artistic views and technology, the nockers moved with them. In the '30s, nockers reached a new height as modernism blended the worlds of engineering and art. In the '50s, nockers took the space race to their bosoms. The new technology of science fiction began to filter into the discussions of the Dreamers and then into the consciousness of the nockers. It was at this time that a tentative alliance with the cabal of mages known as the Sons of Ether was formed. When the space missions of the '60s discovered the airless void of the final frontier, the relationship became strained due to differing opinions, and has largely deteriorated at this point.
It is said that nockers still hold the secret to chimera creation. It is well-known that with the aid of forge and tools, a nocker can create simple non-living chimera. This ability puts the nockers in a position of great esteem, as it is they, and they alone, who can fashion new pieces of the Dreaming for the rest of the Kithain. A team of 10 nockers, pooling their Glamour, sweat, tears and blood, forged the mighty blade Caliburn, which is wielded by the High King.
Background
Attitude
Nockers are drawn to the cutting edge of technological and artistic innovation. Although their dour natures and sharp tongues make it hard for them to be taught, once they learn the techniques of the newest craft, they quickly become known as eccentric geniuses in their fields, daring many brave souls to weather the scathing wit of a nocker simply to be able to witness their creations. Most do not last long under the barrage and leave the maestro alone again, perhaps hurting the sensitive soul that is a nocker's greatest secret, and which fuels their endeavors.
For nockers, people are a mystery. Unlike wood, stone or steel, people are mercurial and have such brittle feelings. Nockers claim they have no use for the wild shifts of emotion and clouded judgment that seem endemic to the rest of the fae, and would rather simply have a chisel and a block of wood, or a wrench and a stubborn nut. The truth is that nockers, for all their bluster, have souls as poetic as those of any other Kithain. One of their failings is that it seems the only way for nockers to express that fact is through their work.
Older and wiser fae can see that a nocker's masterpiece is a pure striving for a perfect thing; a striving marred by the eternal tragedy of the nocker character, for the nocker can never reach that perfection. Nocker sages disagree on why this is so. Some feel it is due to having been partly spawned by the dark side of creativity; others wonder if it is due to the fact that nockers cannot stop shaving those last few flecks of wood or crosswiring that last junction, which tends to push the object past the pinnacle of perfection. In any case, most nockers prefer to work on their chosen projects than take the time to be civil to those who would try to be their friends.
Having decided to eschew the common bonds of politeness, the nockers developed a complex ritual of insults and disparagements that constitute greetings and familiarity. Between nockers this is as natural as two businessmen shaking hands. It would not be so notable if not for the unfortunate tendency of nockers to take this habit out into the rest of the world with them. A nocker will greet an acquaintance with a simple "Good morning, horseface," and be honestly baffled why the person in question has taken offense. Nockers find themselves at the mercy of the Art of Sovereign an awful lot.
Most of these ridiculing comments are good-natured, but when a nocker is upset, given that they have a much wider vocabulary to choose from, it's not uncommon to hear a nocker cursing for minutes at a stretch. If more people understood the reasons behind the creative cursing of nockers, they would be welcomed into many more social circles then they are now.
Having been present at many major technological paradigm shifts, nockers have somewhat of a reputation among the spirits and Inanimae of the machine world. Knowing what a nocker is capable of doing to a recalcitrant machine with nothing more than a pencil and a socket wrench is enough to scare most machines into behaving. The fact that nockers like to use their Arts to frighten their machines and equipment with inventive, gear-chilling and usually quite graphic threats, does nothing to alleviate the situation. As a result, nocker machinery is the most reliable, safe and terrified equipment a person can own. Machinery can be scared so silly by a nocker, that simply growling at an engine block has been known to start it up.
Nockers are creative frenzy personified and sharpened to a fine point. When they decide to do something, come what may, they will achieve their goals. This single-minded determination can sometimes slip into a full-blown obsession, coloring everything the nocker does. However, the same devotion to an ideal or person makes a nocker who promised to help one of the most loyal and truly devoted friends possible. The only drawback to a nocker's friendship are the nicknames.
There are nockers who enjoy the social whirl of the courts and oathcircles. They attack the social dynamic with the fervor their brethren use on machinery. They are often extremely perceptive, and although their tongues are scathing, the criticism is usually right on the mark. These few are highly prized advisors to some nobles, but others whisper that a nocker knocking on the door of the nobility may be a dangerous thing. The boggans are well-known opponents of the nockers in court, and the boggans' ability to manipulate social strings has thus far left most nockers without a voice.
Appearance
Organization
Nockers tend to live alone in the midst of others. Many lords have a nocker on call to create chimerical weapons and armor, and perform other such tasks. Such nockers are usually given a room or shop in a secluded part of a freehold, where they may tinker and create (or explode) their contraptions to their heart's content. Nockers are also found in small basement labs or weekend machine or wood shops.
Many nockers live nomadic existences, alone in the company of others, taking jobs as roadies for a band, or working in the boiler rooms of ships. Other professions include architects, engineers or handymen. It is here where they come into conflict with boggans, who see the home as their purview.
The Dreamers nockers prefer to associate with include those who can see the Glamour and beauty in science and engineering, as well as those who love fine, detailed work and making sure that every aspect of something is correct before finishing it. Computer programmers, architects, carpenters, blacksmiths and engineers of any stripe are all good choices by a nocker's criterion.
Nockers live seldom together, but the results are usually spectacular, like the infamous Goblin Town in New York (detailed in Freeholds and Hidden Glens.) Another large freehold of nockers lives in California, near Silicon Valley, where they work on the Glamourous possibilities of the microprocessor. A recent contract for the largest chip manufacturer in the U.S. resulted in embarrassment for both the nockers and the company when the chip would occasionally forget how to do arithmetic.
When nockers do congregate and live together, their dwellings are usually filled with clutter both chimerical and real. These range from the '50s weird science contraptions (combination prune-pitter and yogurt-squirter) to the subtly beautiful (a carved wooden figure of someone's true love). All manner of devices are worked into the constructions, from the automated door-openers to the adjust-o-matic breakfastmakers. The dwelling itself needs constant upgrade and repair; of course a nocker wouldn't have it any other way.
Every established nocker craftsman has a trademark. The trademark is a symbol that can be scaled up or down but usually is no more than a l/16th inch square. Trademarks can denote house, title or oathcircle, but more often are simply personal symbols of the nocker's pride in her work. The cataloging of trademarks began around C.E. 800 as a way of stemming the tide of inferior (to the nockers) boggan and eshu crafts and items. In time, trademarks became the symbol of a nocker's reputation. A nocker feels that if something substandard was designed with her trademark, it is a stain on her personal honor. More than one duel has been fought due to a trademark dispute. Trademarks and their owners are the purview of the master council.
The "master council" is made up of six nockers, three Seelie, three Unseelie. They are the final arbiters and recorders of all trademarks. For many years, a nocker had to travel to the council to present her work to gain her trademark. Now the aspiring craftsperson simply must send a photo or blueprints with a design for a trademark. If there is no conflict with an existing trademark, it is entered. A group of nockers, most often a family or oathcircle, may share a trademark if they so wish. If a nocker presents someone with a piece lacking a trademark, it is certain to be substandard in some way.
An interesting note is that it is possible for other Kithain to gain a nocker trademark. The process is much more rigorous and slanted quite unfairly, but there have been those who succeeded. Without exception, they rose to be some of the greatest craftspeople of their generation.
- Social Dynamics
Nockers began their existence as the goblins of the Unseelie, and those of the Unseelie today still call themselves such. As the Unseelie lords in the past would pour most of their resources into war, and as the goblins tired of making nothing but weapons, many began to see a brighter way of life with the Seelie Court. They were welcomed, being master craftspeople, but a tinge of that dark past remained in their brusque manners and sharp tongues. Soon after the mass defections, the kith started to become known as nockers, due to their habit of rapping on objects to test their worthiness.
Seelie Nockers
[[Seelie] nockers tend to dress in workclothes and a toolbelt with funky gadgets while tinkering, and choose leathers and a peaked cap for court. Nockers are fierce about their independence, and will sometimes go the extra distance just to be different. Seelie nockers build things with round organic lines and creative or constructive uses. They feel that they complement their Unseelie brethren and enjoy working in unison with them.
Unseelie Nockers
Unseelie nockers tend to go for the worn leather smock and heavy tools for their crafting. For court, when they bother to show, they generally wear a ratty T-shirt and jeans pockmarked with burns from the sparks shooting from the forge. They are proud they never went over to the Seelie Court and crow about it constantly. Unseelie nockers build things with studs, sharp edges, weapon capabilities and nifty ways of blowing things up. Unseelie nockers don't particularly mind their Seelie counterparts, but do feel a vague sense of disdain about the fact that so many defected across the lines. The Unseelie will work with their Seelie brethren, provided there's something in it for them.
Culture
- Beliefs
Referrenced
- Changeling Players Guide pg. 69
