Changeling population was sparse prior to the 1950's, which created a loose knit, lightly structured Freehold. The courts changed hands with the seasons, generally falling to one of four potent changelings in the domain, which claimed the crown year after year for their season. Occasionally some upstart popular would claim the crown, only to be struck from the mantle the following year. In this manner the city was ruled pretty much until the mid 50's by the same four individuals. This all changed as the decade came to a close and the population of Houston started to grow.

As the mortal population grew, so did the changeling population. New faces arrived often, following their families, newly escaping, or wandering down into Houston escaping some painful past somewhere else. There was a significant growth in the changeling population between 1961-1969, as NASA formed and space exploration took off. The many powerful emotions in the space city were an instant draw to the glamour hungry fae, and in that growth the political scene shifted dramatically. With many of the old powerful changelings dying off or wandering into madness, the new arrivals spurred on an ever shifting court structure. The four courts, once relatively equal in size, shifted up and down in membership constantly, breeding tremendous intrigue and politicking. While powerful Lost may hold the crown for a few years in a row, it was ultimately a position up for grabs from year to year.

The population boom stopped abruptly in the mid-80's, as oil prices plummeted, so to did the Houston economy. As families moved on, businesses closed, and poverty took hold, the changeling numbers dwindled once more. Some scheming fae took the opportunity to seize power, subjugate rivals, and secure their hold on the courts. Once more changeling society fell to a state of few in power and the rest serving those few or being shut from the comfort and safety of Lost society. Although the population grew once more with the economy, the small group of power-mongers lost little ground in the next two decades. And it might still be that way if not for a sudden tragedy which struck in the summer of 2005.

The Wild Hunt Comes

In the summer of 2005 several occurrences in the region, as well as the meddling of an opportunistic Banished Fae, brought tragedy to the Lost society in Houston. In late August, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the gulf coast, devastating the city of New Orleans, and leading to the overnight growth of the population of Houston by over 150,000 people. In that giant number were many changelings as well. Suddenly a huge influx of changeling refugees, with differing culture, slipping Clarity, and nowhere to go, fell upon the city and sought to make a place for themselves. Skirmishes over territories, power structures, leadership, and anything else that could be argued over were frequent, and chaos was rampant.

As a side effect to this, the clashing wyrds and constant strife brought sudden shifts to the landscape of the Hedge. These sudden, often powerful, changes began drawing a great deal of attention. First in the form of Hobgoblins and Hedge creatures, and soon after by the Gentry themselves. All of this may have settled down and been easily worked out if nature had allowed, but nature (or something else perhaps) had different ideas in mind. Less than a month after Katrina, Rita struck the gulf. The fear instilled by Katrina caused a mass exodus of over 1.5 million Houstonians. The streets were literally empty as millions of Houstonians sat trapped on highways trying to escape a storm that never came.

As the mortal population, and a fair number of changelings, fled the city, tragedy struck for those remaining behind. Seeing great opportunity in the disaster, one of the Banished called out within the Hedge and summoned the Gentry in a great hunt. Terrible Fae lords and ladies erupted from the hedge, bringing death and, even worse, recapture to nearly all remaining changelings in the city. When morning fell the following day, only a handful of changelings remained in the city, and those that returned were horrified to find friends, family, lovers, and rivals alike gone forever. The act brought such fear, such chaos, that many changelings slipped closer to madness, some lost to it forever. The changelings of Houston refer to it as the Night of the Shattering, as countless lives, and countless minds, were shattered before the sun crossed the horizon again.

Two Years of Rebuilding

It took months to regain a semblance of control in Lost society. The small number remaining attempted to rebuild, to salvage what they could of the safe places left in the Hedge, to pick up the pieces of their lives, and to find some semblance of normalcy amongst their fellow fae. It has been slow going, and it was only last year, in the summer of 2006, that the courts once more took the mantle of ruler-ship. To date, the courts have elected the most deserving amongst them to hold the crown; those that bravely stood against the Gentry and survived, those that provided shelter and safety to their fellows in the chaos, and those that have worked the hardest to set things right again and rebuild a one time safety. The changelings of Houston are wounded, suffering from yet another tragic loss in their already tragic lives; and yet, they are hopeful, filled with a will to see their Freehold strive and grow and become strong. Some even whisper the desire to see vengeance on the Gentry for the deed, a whisper that has spurned more than a few to hunt the Hedge and strike in any way they can. But for most, they just want to see stability again, to feel safe once more, and to not look with terror to the sky at every storm, or watch the trods quivering in fear that They will return to finish the job, and succeed this time.