Insulting behavior
Fey act differently to humans, and they have a lot of formal traditions that players need to be aware of. There are many different ways to insult a memeber of the Fey community. So BEWARE!!
One of the greatest laws of the fey involves swearing oaths. If a fey gives their word or swears an oath, then they cannot break it and are bound by it. To break their word (to be foresworn) means that they will be out-cast. Even the rulers of each Court must obide by their oaths.
It is impolite to try and read someone's magic on a first introduction. It means that you do not believe they have the power to shield him/herself from even your casual/weakest magic.
It is an insult to ask for modesty in a non-sexual situation. To send someone away implied lack of trust or dislike, and only when their behaviour is inappropriate can they be asked to leave.
If another fey does not use your title after you have used theirs it is an insult. Likewise it is an insult to insist that a ruler of another court uses your title. Using someones title and then dropping it during a conversation is being deliberately rude.
Fey do not ask personal questions unless they are invited to do so. Then they make ask whatever they wish. It is considered impolite to do otherwise.
Using magic to persuade another Sidhe noble is an insult. To do so implies that you considered the other noble to be a lesser fey.
A monarch cannot order another monarch to do anything, it is one of the laws of the Fey.
To display anger in front of another fey implies that they are not important enough for you to hide your anger from them. It means that you consider the other person to be lesser than you and/or a lesser fey.
Sidhe call the smaller fey, especially demi-fey, the 'wee ones'. Lesser fey call the Sidhe the 'large ones'. Neither names are particularly polite.
The Sidhe are very private, and anyone who shares their most intimate secrets with the humans will be exiled or executed, depending on the court.
The elder fey do not thank each other, it is considered an insult. Only fey under 200 years old would thank someone.
Rulers of the Courts
The power of a Court comes from it's head, it's ruler. Each monarch shapes their court in their image and their powers. If the ruler begings to lose power or is sterile, then he/she is condeming their people if they do not step down as ruler. What is favored by the ruler is favored by the court, and this includes their favored colour. At both courts formal wear is worn for dinner, and if you wish to please the King/Queen, you wear their favored colour.
Houses
In each of the Sidhe Courts there are Houses. Each House has a Lord or Lady that rules the House, and protects its members. These Houses are made up of Sidhe Nobles only, and have political allegiances. While the King or Queen does rule the Court, it is the Houses that control the politics of each Court. Some are neutral, while others are not afraid to show their beliefs. They are free Lords and Ladies, and in the Unseelie Court have enough political clout to keep from being a member of the King's Guards.
Each House does not have a formal name. They are known by their magical abilities and/or their Lord/Lady. Example; The House ruled by Tom is known only as Tom's House. Some Houses are made up of Sidhe who have a shared power i.e. shapeshifting, but this is not always the case.
There are three ways of becoming the head of a House; inheritance, election or by challenging each member of the House to a duel. The House is either destroyed or they concede that that person is the better fighter, and give their allegiance to them.
Beauty & Compliments
The Seelie Court has very strict ideals of beauty, while the Unseelie Court views that there is beauty in everyone. The word ugly is not used in the Unseelie Court.
The Seelie Court is very prejudiced against the Unseelie Court. They believe themselves to be true beings of light, with no darkness and no evil. They consider the Unseelie Court to be monsters, impure, deceiving and deformed. If exiled from the Seelie Court, some consider the Unseelie Court to be a fate worse than exile from all of faerie. The Unseelie Court welcome all, while an Unseelie Sidhe will never be welcome in the Seelie Court. In truth; neither court is completely good or completely evil.
Prejudice
The prejudice between the Sidhe and the lesser fey is well known. The Sidhe considered themselves better than the goblins, demi-fey, brownies and any unpure Sidhe. A Sidhe healer will not waste their energy healing a lesser fey. Of all the men in fey, only Sidhe men are permitted to grow their hair down to their ankles.
It is insulting to ignore a fey who is trying to look attractive. Fey will always compliment each other about the way they look, through words and body language. To not do so implies that they are ugly.
Sex, Marriage, Pregnancy & Children
Children are a precious thing to the Sidhe, and are rarer than human children, especially amonst the Royals. Even fertile couples have to try quite a while to concieve, and sometimes never do. Anything, regardless of species, that can breed is worth keeping alive. The possibility of a child, or a fertile pair, can keep a Sidhe alive even if they have angered the King or Queen of their court.
For this reason Sidhe do not marry for love. Only fertile couples marry, regardless of their feelings for one another. Many couples have been trapped in marriage after one night of passion. A fey version of divorce can be granted, but only if both parties agree. For the lesser fey or lesser Sidhe, marriage is an oppertunity, a way of becoming apart of a Court. Their husband has to treat them like wife or not touch them at all. Marriage by force is not recognised by Sidhe. Adultery is considered a crime, and those in a marriage may not seek pleasure else where - even the King or Queen must obide by this rule.
All fey gain comfort from touch and sex between friends for comfort is not unusual. Casual sex, rough sex and Dominance & submission is frowned upon in the Seelie Court, but is very common in the Unseelie Court. Sex with humans is illegal if the human is under 18 years of age, and if the Sidhe does not protect the humans mind. Otherwise they become elf-struck, and obsessed with the feel of Sidhe flesh.
Duels & Fighting
Anyone can challenge another to a duel. Only the King or Queen can refuse to let a duel take place, usually to protect themselves or their childen. The Royals are too precious to risk being lost in a duel. It is also unwise to risk displeasing the ruler by challenging their child, because you never knew how they would react if you killed their child. The challenged fey gets to choose to method of fighting, whether it be magic, by a weapon or physical combat. See here for the full ritual details for a duel.
Using magic to best someone in a fight is considering cheating, less than chivalrous and makes the Sidhe look weak.
Weapons of Power
Many of the older Sidhe have weapons of power, magical items that have certain abilities. There are also relics and items of power amongst the Sidhe as well, that do the same thing.
Lying
Sidhe do not lie. They bend the truth, they avoid saying the truth or they use pretty words to cover the truth. They never outright lie, they just ommit the truth. To lie is to be foresworn and the punishment is banishment from faerie. Despite their nature, the Seelie Court and it's illusions are more likely to decieve than the Unseelie Court. The Unseelie Court is more truthful and honest, not trying to pretend to be something it is not.
Power
To be named 'Lord/Lady of' something meant that he/she has power over it i.e. Lord of the Dead has power over the dead. Many Sidhe who lost their power changed their names, no longer going by their name when they were gods or in full power.
Other bits & pieces
Sidhe do not keep track of time. They are so old that birthdays mean nothing to them and they only have a vague idea of their age, usually due to events in the past. They cannot remember their birth dates.
Blood is a precious fluid for the Fey and not to be wasted. It can be used to make alliances, especially in the Unseelie Court.
Sidhe do have a type of religion, despite being worshipped as gods once. They believe in the Goddess (the giver of life) and the Consort (everything that is male).
To be seen crying out due to pain is a weakness among the Sidhe.