Fairy Ruins of Skye
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Contents
Overview
Located in the northwestern part of the Isle of Skye is the ruined Fairy city of Camhanaich (/kavəˈniːx/, pronounced "cav-a-neech"). The city’s name is an old Gaelic word that translates to ‘early morning twilight’. The current Head of the Department of Magical Creatures, Flynt Cainer, suggested that the city’s name eluded to the types of Fairies that lived there, inferring that the Fairies of Camhanaich were some sort of Light Fairy. The city’s ruins were discovered in 1904 by a group of Magical Archaeologists working with the Ministry of Magicians. It is estimated that the city was inhabited from the 13th century and abandoned in the 16th. The site was said to be home to five different colonies of Fairies, living under one ruler, making the city one of great significance both for Archaeologists, but also Magizoologists as it is exceedingly rare to see more than one Fairy colony live in peace together.
Today, the city’s ruins are a popular tourist destination for magicals and Unmagicals alike. The city is known as the ‘Fairy Glen’ by Unmagicals and holds none of the same mythology or knowledge of the history. The site consists of a small valley (or Glen) the centre of which contains a large man-made Fairy Ring, left by Unmagicals wanting to summon Fairies. To the west of the city lies the ruined castle, Castle Ewen, overlooking the whole valley and beyond. There are several ruined houses, shops and sights all scattered around the Glen, alongside winding pathways that connect the city.
The city’s discovery was part of a two-month-long mission through the Highlands of Scotland in which several sites, both magical and not, were discovered by a group of Hogsworth graduates as part of a summer internship programme with the Ministry of Magicians. Camhanaich’s recovery was the final and by far the greatest finding of the expedition. The excavation took two weeks, and several hundred magical artefacts were retrieved and examined. These items ranged from stoneware and furniture to remnants of infrastructure like the Fairy Dust depot located in the east of the city. The group's findings were presented to both the Wizencouncil and the Department of Magical Creatures, where Camhanaich was labelled a protected site. Further teams were sent out to examine and research the city on a long-term project that lasted for two years.
History
In her book, Britain’s Fairies Through Buildings, author and Magical Archaeologist Marissa Wilton dives in depth into the mystery of Camhanaich. She explored the site alongside her own team of Magizoologists and Fairy Historians in order to reconstruct the city’s rich history.
In the 13th century, Camhanaich was formed by a group of Solstice Fairies who fled to Skye following an outbreak of Fairypox in England. They found the city’s glen, and soon enough, the first houses were being carved into the rocks and grassy banks of what would become Camhanaich. The colony began developing and before long, the Solstice Fairies were harnessing the natural powers of the sky, creating energy for the city to thrive. Wilton estimated that four more colonies joined the city within the first hundred years of Camhanaich’s existence. Each represented a different element, making Camhanaich the only five-talent blended colony to exist in history, with the exception of the Fairy Grove.
The talents of the five colonies were each specialised and adapted to suit the terrain and needs of the land they inhabited. There were the Solstice Fairies, who were Light Fairies that tended to the skies and from whom the ruler of Camhanaich was always chosen. The Fauna Fairies, who tended to the creatures, magical and not, lived on Skye; this included humans, of which there were few and far between at the time. The Glade Fairies cared for the moors and flora of Camhanaich, ensuring the flora on Skye was healthy and flourishing. The Lochan Fairies looked after the water and aquatic wildlife. This included the Fairy pools of the nearby Glenbrittle, which served as another rich energy source for the Fairies of Camhanaich. The final colony of Fairies were Beinn Fairies: Fairies of the mountains and earth. They took care of the land, along with being the builders for Camhanaich.
Together, the five colonies lived in harmony for centuries. The Solstice Fairies, being the founders of Camhanaich, were chosen as the city’s leaders and the Fairy Queen was voted from their colony at the dawn of each half-century. Tensions began to rise in the city during the early 1700s following the unification of Scotland, England and Wales and the formation of Great Britain. Members of several colonies wished to move the city closer to England. This hostility tripled as Unmagical explorers began settling on Skye and began to harm the land and the Isle’s magical properties. At the peak of the troubles, a group of Beinn Fairy rebels lit strategic fires throughout several key buildings all over the city. These buildings were all lit on the dawn of 23rd April, 1709, St. George's Day. The city was ruined. There were vast casualties from all five colonies and the culprits were found and expelled, but by that time, it was too late. Trust and camaraderie between the colonies burned alongside Camhanaich, and in spite of attempts to reconcile, the strain was never resolved and as such, the burned site of Camhanaich was soon abandoned and the five colonies dispersed. The Beinns and Fauna fled to England, settling in Cumbria. The Solstice and Lochan Fairies stayed on Skye, moving into Dunvegan Castle. Camhanaich’s Glade Fairies moved slightly further south and eventually settled in Hogsworth Castle, where the colony still thrives in the school’s Ruin Courtyard.
Impact on Gameplay
The remaining Camhanaich Glade Fairies can be found in the Hogsworth Ruin Courtyard, as a Level 3 mob.
Trivia
- There are multiple types of fairies on Potterworld. The Fairies of Camhanaich are found as mobs in the Ruin Courtyard. During the Spring 2022 event, players travelled to Fairy Grove, to find an additional type of elemental fairy and help them to prepare for the blossoming spring season. Finally, mischievous fae are found in the Deep Forest and more can be learnt about the fae in year seven quests.
