Can the Fae Queens kill?

[Wordmaker]

There's something I want to clear up before my new campaign starts, not that I'll be throwing my players against Mab and Titania anytime soon, but I just want it settled in my head to I know what's what.

Can Mab or Titania kill a human?

I remember reading somewhere that they couldn't kill any mortal, even their own Knights, and that's one of the reasons they need their Knights to begin with, so they can have people killed when they need. Am I correct?

I haven't yet read Cold Days, and I know it's heavy on the fae, so please don't reveal anything about it. If it reveals new information or outright contradicts something stated in an earlier book, just say so.

[Cadd]

I can't give a definitive answer, but I think the restriction is that they can't kill anyone without an active relationship to the courts. It might instead be that it requires a prior relationship (like a deal of some sort) directly with the queen, but I'm not sure.

[InFerrumVeritas]

IIRC they cannot.  Not unless that mortal is indebted to them in some way.

[Wordmaker]

Are there specifics on what kind of debt would allow a Queen to kill a mortal? Would it have to be as precisely-worded as "if you do not repay this debt, your life is forfeit"?

Does this also apply to their Knights? It's really nagging at me that they can't kill their Knights, so if they wanted to replace the current one, they would have to arrange for someone else to do it.

[bobjob]

I'm re-reading all of the novels right now and I just got finished with Summer Knight. There is so much I have apparently forgotten since the last time I read the books.

The way I understand it, as long as a debt Fairy link to you, they can harm you. They don't make this a common practice unless you do not fulfill your end of the bargain (the Leanansidhe could have killed Harry but chose not to, instead biding her time until she could take Harry and Mab forced Harry to stab himself in the hand... she could have done worse, but she needed him). The Knights purpose is to deal with those the Queens cannot move against, namely those with no ties to the courts. As Mortals they have the ability to do so, even though they are tied to the courts and have Mantles bestowed on them by the Queens. Cold Days expands on this as to what the true purpose of the Fae Courts are, but I won't spoil that for you.

Edit: To my understanding they can very well kill the Knights to get the mantles back. Mab chose to torture Lloyd Slate for betraying her until she found a suitable replacement.

[Taran]

Remember that if you kill a Knight, the power goes to the next suitable "vessel".  This was another reason why she didn't kill Slate.  She wanted Harry as a Knight and needed him to be there when Slate died.

[Wordmaker]

Okay, cool. Thanks guys. I wanted to be clear since we have a Changeling in the group, which means the fae are going to be involved at some point, and I want to avoid misunderstandings in play.

[bobjob]

Remember that if you kill a Knight, the power goes to the next suitable "vessel".  This was another reason why she didn't kill Slate.  She wanted Harry as a Knight and needed him to be there when Slate died.

Yeah, that's why I still hold out that Harry is going to be the Winter King at some point.

[Cadd]

Remember that if you kill a Knight, the power goes to the next suitable "vessel".  This was another reason why she didn't kill Slate.  She wanted Harry as a Knight and needed him to be there when Slate died.

No.... That's the Mantle of a Queen, specifically, it's only said about the Queen Who Will Be/Lady.

In SK the Mothers inform Harry that when a knight dies, the power flows back to the nearest Queen.
In CD we again hear that the mantle of the Lady jumps to nearest appropriate vessel, but we are also told that the mantle of Queen (Who Is) instead flows to the Lady (presumably dominoeing the Lady mantle to nearest vessel, as if she had died)

So, my interpretation of the flow of Mantles:
Knight goes to nearest Queen, for redistribution.
Lady goes to the nearest vessel, no conscious choice involved (as we see in both SK and CD).
Queen goes to Lady, ousting the Lady mantle.
Mother goes to Queen, again dominoeing the mantles.

Bolded is supported directly in text, rest is assumption/extrapolation.

[Taran]

Yeah, you're probably right about that.  It's been a long time since I read the novels.

[Mr. Death]

I think it's specifically the queens, though, who are restricted in who they can or can't kill. There doesn't seem to be anything stopping the Redcap from killing travelers who aren't associated with the Fae, or trolls from eating children.

I seem to recall someone, maybe Jim, saying that it's a rule for the queens, and a guideline for their subjects. Remember, it's the fact that the Chlorofiend couldn't hurt Murphy that Harry latches onto as an indicator that a Queen was controlling it.

[Wordmaker]

I'd forgotten that!

It's hard to figure out who can and can't be killed by a Queen. I have no idea why I was so sure the Queens weren't permitted to kill their Knights.

[cold_breaker]

Also note: This isn't an actual inability. It's an agreement the queens made. Like any agreement a fae makes though, they have to keep to it strictly. It becomes part of their nature.

As a second note: this is why the mantle of knight was created: it's their one loophole, since they technically only have limited control over the mortals who bear the mantles. But yes, they can kill the knights, since they're being a mortal is a grey area thanks to the power of the mantle.

[Mrmdubois]

It's not really a grey area, the Knight is indebted to the Queens for his power, conditions for them being allowed to kill him met.  Plus it's their power, so they have every right to move it from one vessel to another as they please, unfortunately for the former vessel that means dying.

Easiest way to remember Wordmaker is to ask, "Does this person owe a debt to the fae?" If yes they can be offed.