It is well known that certain fairies — Corrigans among them — dearly love human beings. Sometimes, this is a beneficent thing. Brownies, who stay hidden and perform tasks and household chores for humans (but cannot stand to be thanked for them. Never assume human mores are fae mores) come to mind.

But others have a deeper love of humanity — which can paradoxically be a sinister thing. Well, sinister from the point of view of a human being. The fairies in question think this is a high honor to accord, after all. And of course, certain fairies look upon human beings the way certain humans look upon dolphins or dogs. Intelligent, in their own way, able to communicate with one another, possessing of feelings, but still ultimately not really important except for sentimental reasons.

Corrigans, in particular, have been known to steal away human babies. You have to remember, the Corrigan is a seer — able to decipher the relationships a given human is bound up in, and also able to sense potential. They can get a clear image of the handsome man a pretty baby boy will one day become, or the beautiful and wise woman a baby girl will become. And the Corrigan might decide to take that child for their own, to raise it among the fairies instead of human beings. Of course, that would be easily noticed, but a special kind of fairy called a Changeling might be left in the child’s place. Changelings are clever tricksters, and are more than willing to put on the face of humanity for a given mortal lifetime, if the prospect amuses them or the Corrigan pays well enough.

One question that sometimes gets raised is the mortal mark of death. After all, a babe spirited away to be raised as either concubine or servant (or prized pet) will no doubt be often exposed to the fair folk in their true forms. As it works out, however, babies can gaze upon fairies in their true forms without being marked for death. Some rather literally minded scholars assume that whatever agency of the universe marks a mortal for death requires the human’s brain to be developed sufficiently in certain ways before it can take effect. More poetic souls believe that the innocence of a child allows them the fullest understanding of wonder, and the mark of death can thereby be avoided.

There is no hard and fast rule of how old a human child must be before they become susceptible. Some stories claim that children nearly ten years of age could look upon fairies safely. Others tell tales of children under four being marked. It might be dependent on cognitive development, or it may simply be that no one knows the truth of it. Even the most callous of fairies have no interest in performing scientific studies, after all.

Of course, a babe raised by the fairies on behalf of a Corrigan or other fae lord or lady is subtly changed over time, so that by the time they are of an age to be marked for death, it’s hard to say just how much humanity still clings to them. The stories make it clear that the longer a given babe is kept by the fairies, the less likely it will ever be found or returned. In part, this is because the child will eventually have more in common with his or her captors than with his or her birth parents.

Shakespeare’s play of Fairykind, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, depicts Titania as a Corrigan. She and her husband, Oberon, in fact are feuding because they both desire the same mortal babe. It’s noteworthy that Nick Bottom does not himself become marked with death despite cavorting with several fairies (including the Fairy Queen). There are two theories behind that — the first is that since he had an ass’s head for the cavorting, and asses cannot be marked for death, the universe gave Nick Bottom a bye. The second is that Nick Bottom — never the smartest of creatures — might simply still be a baby in the ways that count.

When questioned, fairy sages typically snort and say “the thing was written by a human. Who would expect it to be right.” But they’re notably mum about specific answers to the questions.

Mortals who have been raised by the fairies have been known to return to the world, albeit much changed and never quite… right. Depending on their situation, these unfortunates might be heralded as geniuses in art or science or literature, or might be condemned to insane asylums or facilities to help the mentally handicapped. Humanity can be quite cold to those whose eyes see the world differently.