Umbral Domains: Changeling Chimera-Autum Interaction
Chimera in Autumn[edit]
As one might expect in Changeling: The Dreaming a lot of attention is given to the interactions between Changelings and inhabitants of the Autumn World, and between Changelings and creatures of The Dreaming. However not much is coverage is given regarding how chimera, creatures entirely of The Dreaming, interact with things in the Autumn World. The text below provides clarification and a bit of extrapolation on how chimeral creatures who happen to find themselves the Autumn World are able to interact with their surroundings.
While unseen by mortals there are some chimeral creatures and other things which exist in the Autumn World. Changelings, having both chimeral and Autumn World stubstance, can see and interact with both chimeral and mundane things, however while chimeral creatures can see both worlds they can only interact with the chimeral world. Unlike Changelings (but like most Adhene) chimeral creatures have no Autumn World substance and exist in a "phantom form" state not interacting much with the mundane world around them.
However, because of the power of human belief and emotional impression, many permenant structures in the Autumn World are reflected as chimeral structures. This means that, though insubstantial to mundane things, chimeral creatures usually can't just pass through walls with impunity since there's normally a chimeral wall in most locations where the autumn wall is situated. Chimera might be able to break down a chimeral wall if they're strong enough and THEN pass through the coinciding autumn wall unhindered though.
Occasionally even autumn world tools and other small chimeral objects that are left in one place long enough develop a chimeral duplicate. However these chimeral doubles are not anchored to their autumn world counterparts the way that changelings are. Picking up a chimeral double of a chainsaw or cutting down a chimeral sapling to use as a walking stick leaves the autumn version behind.
This incongruity between what they can see and what they can affect is generally disorienting to purely chimeral creatures and in extreme cases (such as getting run through by an autumn car or trying to pass through an autumn wall) can accrue banality. The only things chimera can affect in the autumn world routinely are those with an "anchored" dual nature. This is limited to changelings and treasures. Interacting with changelings generally has no inherent banality risks as long as ONLY changeling's meim is affected, however if both the meim and seeming are affected in the presence of humans then banality might be accrued by the chimera. So a chimeral swordsman stabbing a changeling to death in the middle of a crouded mall would not draw banality, however a chimeral giant picking up a changeling and throwing them in the presence of a solitary mortal bicyclist would cause banality.
By their very nature though treasures on the other hand always cause banality when physically manipulated by chimera in the presence of unenchanted mortals. There's generally little way to alter the chimeral aspect of a Treasure without altering it's Autumn form as well.
--Peter K. 20:20, 26 April 2006 (PDT)
