Excerpted from The Introductions, Chapter Four: Fey and Other Between Creatures

This Book, being in the general classification of grimoire, would be incomplete without a section on the Between. However, given their close and necessary relationship to the Screen (Ch. 2), it is difficult to form a strict and useful taxonomy containing most Between while also describing them with any degree of clarity. Given this, the careful scholar must decide for himself or herself how close to the phylogenetic stalk to cut and separate the branches.

As a particularly careful scholar, I make the case to cut as closely as possible. As I have said before at the beginning of other chapters, with any investigation, do not merely consult one work. Instead seek out other sources of knowledge. An incomplete list of other Books I have found particularly enlightening but with other opinions include:

Settling the Score

An Investigation into the Children of the Screen

Gods, Men, Other

Farmer Tolstovsky’s Bit O’ Learnin’

The Great Sieve: A Fine and Useful System

Below, I have created a chart organizing common thinking beings known to interact with this world.

Figure 4.1, Biaxial Classification of Thinking Beings, as Organized into the Six Clades

* Some would group these in the Mortal category given that they have porous souls, were invariably born mortal, and only attain their status upon death. We would hardly consider the souls of mortals in the Beyond imortal beings, would we? The difference is that the Ascended have the ability to influence our world without interference.

** Quaeram are also sometimes classified as immortal, though they do in fact die. However, they are literally impossible to destroy unless they believe the conditions they were created to bring about have been satisfied. Doing so immediately causes them to cease to exist, which is what they wish for.

This list should not be regarded as comprehensive--instead this is merely a primer. However, the kinds of beings listed therein should give a hint as to what kind of creature one is dealing with. The Six Clades are the most general and useful classification system, though not the most recent.

Let us now delve into the axis of mortality. Obviously, immortal beings may not be killed. As such, they must be bargained with, trapped, tricked, impeded, placed in an artificial state of consciousness, or extracted from our plane of existence. There is no way to cause an immortal creature to become mortal. Really, truly no way. Many of us have whittled our years down searching for a way to steal theirs. It is neither within their power or ours. Do not bother with this.

Or do. Perhaps you will be the first to find the answer. You won’t, of course, but there are groups of suicidal immortals who have dedicated themselves to this and seek help from mortals regularly. You’ll find there’s no secret cabal suppressing information. No one goes mysteriously missing for trying to find the answer. Most immortals are so secure in their position they feel no fear at all.

There is also the fact that immortals can neither lie nor break oaths. They can mislead, persuade others to lie, refuse to answer questions, deliberately misinterpret imprecise language, or do anything of that sort. Causing an immortal to break an oath will not kill them--for the sole reason that they cannot enter into an oath they will not keep. ANY ATTEMPT TO LEVERAGE THIS FACT WILL COST YOU.

Merwyl the Kind and a rather friendly immortal being named Agi attempted to work together to find a cure for mortality by going through and having Agi attempt to give the oath “The [number]-[st/th/nd] letter of the best cure for mortality begins with the letter [letter], and so I give my oath to write down this letter in the correct position so as to form a truthful, complete, and accurate best cure for mortality” while running through the alphabet and iterating the number until a complete answer had been found. Any time she could actually make the oath, she wrote it down. Merwyl wrote an account of the process as it was happening. It worked flawlessly. For a time, there was a real and true cure for mortality written in English on this blue rock.

Merwyl the Kind was found dead, having drowned in his own blood, lying on a bed of his own lengthened and woven pain nerves. Agi is currently screaming, as she likely will for eternity, in her resting place in the Hall. There is terror in her eyes, and nothing more. The cure is presumed lost, for it has not been found.

Others have tried similar machinations, thinking perhaps The Writer was only angry at the audacious attempt to cure mortality. Each met less horrific fates, but none were spared, and in all instances the knowledge was lost.

The Writer clearly does not approve of such gambits.

For more information on the limitations placed on knowledge, see chapter eleven, section three.

Now we shall turn to the axis of Origin. This[...]