Faeries & Steel

Iron burns the Faerie Folk because it is taken from the Earth and worked within a forge. Power stolen from the world. A power to shape and to build strong, to dominate. Steel is far worse for the folk.

Touching it is not like a mortal who comes against a substance they are allergic to. It is not an allergy.It is like acid and fire and poison all at once. The pain is agonizing, burning, wretched. And the wounds never stop hurting, not even after healing. The scars almost never fade away entirely, but continue on as a distant burning pain, a torture that leaves the Faerie weak and angry for all time. We cannot die, but we can suffer such terrible fates that sometimes we wish we could.

But this metal will only harm it if we touch it with our bare skin. To hold a wooden handle would be safe. Perilous to wield a weapon so harmful to us, but whether in a sheath of leather or wood or even stone...as long as we touch not the metal blade...our skin remains unmarked by the horror of iron (Source).