Main characters of each stratification is identified and characteristics of the strata have been broken down by novels and short fiction.

Mercy Thompson Series #9: Fire Touched

• Emerald Court³¹²
• you learned caution very quickly in that court, or you died³¹²

Mercyverse Short Fiction: Silver

• high-court fae were notoriously fickle⁰⁹
• Tuatha Dé Danann, the high-court lords¹⁴

Mercyverse Short Fiction: Fairy Gifts

• there is no high court any longer; there are only the Gray Lords, who rule all of the fae⁹⁰
• a person didn't survive long in the high court if they weren't smart<sup>90</sup. * high-court fae always did love the silly humans⁹²
• a high-court trick; getting into your head; unpleasant⁹⁴

Chat Archives

• tend to hate humans and weak fae Chat 2007-08-25
• are notoriously easily offended Chat 2008-05-02

Mercy Thompson Series #1: Moon Called

• the Gray Lords are the powerful mages who rule the fae¹⁴
• the great and terrible

Mercy Thompson Series #2: Blood Bound

• weren't above killing one fae to ensure the good behavior of others

Mercy Thompson Series #3: Iron Kissed

• powerful ruthless beings who ruled the fae in secret
• have forbidden hunting humans⁰⁸
• in an effort to blend in the Gray Lords killed most of the beast lords¹⁰
• they are driven to preserve their species; their methods had a strong tendency to be more expedient than fair⁴⁷
• Nameless Ones⁸⁸
• couldn't tell an outsider of the existence of the Gray Lords

Mercy Thompson Series #5: Silver Borne

• have forbidden the keeping of thralls²⁹⁴

Mercy Thompson Series #7: Frost Burned

• the Gray Lords would have had the world believing that the fae were all like Tinker Bell²⁹⁵
• they are amassing fae artifacts like dragons amassing gold¹⁸⁰

Mercy Thompson Series #11: Storm Cursed

• secretary of state, the vice president, the Senate majority leader, and a few other key people are meeting with a triumvirate of Gray Lords¹²³
• trying to put together an agreement that will define the relationship of the fae with the human government of the United States that won't lead to genocide¹²³
• none of the fae who filled out the reservation registration forms were Gray Lords¹⁹⁷
• were clear on not allowing any fae help in the pack fight with the black witches²⁷⁵

Mercy Thompson Series #11: Storm Cursed

• as close to an apology as a Gray Lord was comfortable giving; a matter of tone rather than words¹⁶⁹

Alpha & Omega Series #5: Burn Bright

• only the Gray Lords working great magic together could confuse technology until it wouldn't work anymore⁶²

Mercy Thompson Series #1: Moon Called

• having so many lesser fae around has attracted more of the greater fae

Mercy Thompson Series #12: Smoke Bitten

• Unordered List Item

Mercyverse Short Fiction: Silver

• Unordered List Item

Mercy Thompson Series #1: Moon Called

• the weak and attractive
• forced out of hiding by the Gray Lords
• many of the lesser fae talked about how old they were; most of them shared a life span similar to humankind

Mercy Thompson Series #3: Iron Kissed

• if a lesser fae possessed something too powerful, the Gray Lords would confiscate it²¹⁵

Mercy Thompson Series #11: Storm Cursed

• they die in the moment a lie, knowingly spoken, leaves their lips¹⁷

Mercy Thompson Series #12: Smoke Bitten

• the weaker the fae, the more rules they have²⁸³

Mercyverse Short Fiction: Silver

• lesser fae mostly stayed to the shadows and kept out of the way of things with big, sharp teeth¹⁴

Mercy Thompson Series #3: Iron Kissed

• a fae to take up with a human is encouraged; half-breeds are better than no children at all²¹⁵

Mercy Thompson Series #5: Silver Borne

• half-blood is not human enough to be saved by the guesting laws of the Elphame³⁰⁵

Mercy Thompson Series #7: sup> [[Alpha & Omega Series #3: Fair Game

• half-blood fae face many challenges; for the most part they are not accepted by the other fae¹²⁵
• too many of them exhibit odd properties - birth defects are very high¹²⁵
• a high percentage of the halflings were abandoned by their fae parent altogether, which left them to discover who and what they were on their own - to sometimes disastrous results¹²⁶
• a large number of the children turned out to be entirely human¹²⁶
• four out of ten halfling children survive to adulthood; they are a favorite prey of other fae if they are not protected¹²⁷
• they smell like fae¹⁴⁷

From Frost Burned: