There is a strange affliction in some cities… Adolescent boys, right around the age of puberty, suddenly and without warning simply run away. No explanation, no rhyme nor reason. One night they just leave their house and are never seen again. Rich children and poor children alike seem equally, and randomly, afflicted. Only a few do it every year, but it happens with such regularity that it’s impossible not to notice.

What people do not realize is that the children are no longer their children… Haven’t really been their children ever, really. They are a race of fae called the Twice-Born, for each of them must be born again from a mortal child.

The boys run off into the surrounding wilderness, climbing into trees or hiding in caves, and there they begin to cocoon themselves. In a week’s time, they will emerge, completely different and insect-like in appearance. Inscrutable compound eyes, chitinous emerald skin and opalescent, dragonfly-like wings are their new trappings.

Those who know of them believe that all Twice-Born are male, as they all come from male children. They are, however, incorrect, for there are a very few number of queens amongst their number. These do not go through a metamorphosis like the boys; they appear to be the same race throughout their lives. However, they do know from an early age what they are and what they must do. The boys, on the other hand, know nothing until one day an irresistible urge spirits them away forever.

The Twice-Born queens infiltrate the unsuspecting society perfectly. They are masters of deception and no one would ever have any reason to believe that the little girl who grew up across the street from them was anything besides a cute little girl. The queens immediately take a liking to children, becoming babysitters, nannies, story-tellers and midwives.

They use their position to change the children, however. The Twice-Born queens have a magical ability to plant a metaphorical seed inside an infant, which will cause it to become a Twice-Born when it grows up. They use this ability sparingly, though, so as to avoid detection or suspicion. Almost always they do it to male children; they create new queens only when they near the end of their life, or otherwise feel that they may not be around much longer.

What the male Twice-Born do after emerging from the cocoons is anyone’s guess. Most immediately seek out a way to the faerie world, to live the rest of their life among their own kind. A few, however, stick around. The mortal child’s conscience was never fully displaced, and so these Twice-Born are in the unusual mindset of having two minds, each utterly alien and distinct from the other and yet also dependent on the other in a sort of symbiotic relationship.

Encounters with the Twice-Born

You could make a great encounter from any point of the Twice-Born’s life cycle. The players could discover a queen performing some bizarre ritual on an infant. They could catch a hysterical young boy running as far and as fast as he could. They might even catch him in the act of weaving the cocoon, sure to be a disturbing sight, find a cocoon, or perhaps see a Twice-Born emerging from one. Above all, you should make sure the encounter is bizarre and perhaps even slightly sinister.