Other

Other is a blanket term given to any supernatural being in the setting of the story. They fall into different categories depending on what they are, however. They can be at least as intelligent as humans (although not all are), and the line between human and Other is sometimes blurry.

Commonalities

Although Others do fall into various types and classifications, they rarely conform to them exactly, and such systems are frequently misleading.<ref>“Faerie?” I guessed, eyes straight forward.
“Once upon a time, they would have fallen under that label. I think they’ve dallied in the very courts that have exiled them now, as a matter of fact. They even have some of the same tricks. But classifying Others is a dangerous thing. Better to call them what they are.” - excerpt from Bonds 1.5 </ref><ref>“Tell me, can you identify the Other we just saw?”
“Name it? No. Stick a label on it? I could maybe say it’s a Faerie, but that’s only a guess.”
“It’s an accurate guess.”
“My grandmother didn’t like putting labels on Others, or so she wrote. She wrote it was dangerous to do it, because they could lie or blur the lines, and making assumptions could get you killed.”
“Very true. In this case, I think it’s a safe assumption." - excerpt from Damages 2.5 </ref> Over the centuries, most Others have generally been killed or enslaved; leaving the survivors generally cunning,<ref>All of the most foolish and brutish Others have been captured, slain, consumed, driven off, or tricked away. Recognize all Others for what they are, and know that they, by a process of elimination two thousand and six hundred years in the making, are cunning by nature, they are slave to those who are, or they were made to be cunning to better serve in their duties. Wit is the greatest defense and the sharpest weapon, on battlefields such as these. - Essentials Chapter 1, quoted in Bonds 1.4</ref><ref>It was big, strong, and somewhere midway between human and animal. The

books had said that the more brutish Others hadn’t survived the years 

without being enslaved or killed, but it could be argued that this one wasn’t exactly alive. Or free. - excerpt from Collateral 4.11</ref> subtle, or powerful.<ref>“There aren’t many trolls nowadays,” he said. “They don’t hide themselves well.”
“Most have been hunted or bound already. The ones who have remained are either exceptionally strong, or they are very strong and very cunning. Hildr is more the latter.” - excerpt from Interlude 3 </ref><ref>“I was taught about Others as a whole, once,” Matthew said.  “That Others were once much more

than they are now.  But the brutish and stupid were outwitted.  The 

weak conquered.  It’s the canny who survive.  Even goblins have figured that out.” - excerpt from Back Away 5.d</ref>

Most Others have no need to eat or sleep, at least in the conventional sense.<ref>Comment by Wildbow on "What do most Others do all day?"</ref> Generally all but the newest Others are bound by the Seal of Solomon,<ref name=":3" /> meaning they cannot lie without severely weaking themselves.

They are generally (although not always) hostile toward humans, but fortunately limited in their ability to harm innocents.<ref name=":1">Finding a familiar, among a sea of cunning and conniving Others who wanted to murder me? - excerpt from Damages 2.6</ref><ref name=":3">“I did. The trick is to realize your strengths. We’re newcomers. The Solomon whatsit doesn’t apply. We have access to anyone we want to go after, innocent or otherwise, see?”
“It’s a little more complicated than that.”
“Far more,” he said. “Far, far more. Usual protections might not apply, but the universe will protect innocents in a roundabout way.
“Something like that,” I said.
[...]
Innocents have some protections, the universe will contrive to shield them, but if you can leave a lasting mark, that’s worth a fair bit.”- excerpt from Mala Fide 10.2 </ref> They tend to be deceptive.<ref>Essentials, chapter one, the introduction, on Others. Laying down the ground rules, the most basic stuff we needed to know. Others were liars. - excerpt from Bonds 1.4</ref>

Others are generally found in the same places as Practitioners.<ref name=":02">I’ve wondered for a long time why the monsters gather in the same places the practitioners do. The obvious answer is that the practitioners follow where the monsters are, drawing on the power the monsters can give them. But I don’t think that’s it. The monsters should want to avoid the practitioners, who are the best equipped to bind them.
The second answer is that monsters are practitioners. We know about some cases. See Mara in the files for Jacob’s Bell. It’s a common theory with Faerie, and obviously the likes of vampires and werewolves, which are much rarer and more monstrous than conventional media would have us believe. Again, it’s an answer, but it doesn’t feel like ~the~ answer.
This is a thought I’m putting together as I put pen to paper, something I’ve thought about in the shower, but what if the monsters are following practitioners because there’s some fallout we’re not fully aware of? What if we’re gouging reality? I sit in on the council meetings, because I don’t trust Eva to go alone, and I won’t stop her from seeing what she views as ‘the drama’. I watch Sandra and Johannes interact, and I see them practicing. A part of me wonders, are each of those displays generating some attention? Are some or all of the monsters detecting magic in the air like sharks in the water detecting magical signals or sniff out blood?
They become a little less human over time. They make compromises, and they might unwittingly be inviting the monsters into Jacob’s Bell. - excerpt from Gathered Pages 10</ref> Most Others have some interaction with humans, human civilization, and take on some human traits, or else they find it difficult to interact with humanity.<ref>“Not make any more deals?”
“Some went that route.  They detach from humanity, finding their own refuges.  But humanity shapes the world, and everything is soon associated with humanity.  These Others now find the world unfamiliar and hostile, they are ill-equipped to catch up or keep up, and they fall

by the wayside.”  - excerpt from Back Away 5.d

</ref> Others tend to have less connections than humans, meaning that they often can't hold as much property without losing connection to some of it.<ref>It was tricky, sometimes.  She could only carry so much.  Miss had told her what she needed to know, before leaving.  That being Lost made it hard to hold onto things.  Many Others, with a big exception for those that were specifically about having stuff, had a hard time holding onto things.  They had less connections, or connections meant for other things.
She probably wouldn’t hold onto the butter knife, or holding onto the

knife would mean losing something she didn’t really care about or pay 

attention to, like her own personal dog tag.
Miss had had to use tricks to keep her stuff.  If she didn’t come back, then maybe Snowdrop would take over the same position.  Then she’d

have to learn and use those same tricks, like juggling and lending 

things.  Miss had made deals with Others who didn’t come into Kennet, giving them things with power, then taking them back when needed, or calling in favors, to keep people busy. - excerpt from Leaving a Mark 4.x </ref> They struggle to participate in human society; it's easier for them to slip through it's cracks, and far fewer Others reach the highest levels of human society than one might think given their advantages.<ref>“I think if you looked to the upper echelons of the social ladder, at

celebrities, at the moguls, at prime ministers and other leaders… you 

wouldn’t find many Others.  Or practitioners for that matter, though there are more of them than Others.  You’d think you would.  After all, Others have power that humans don’t, don’t they?”
“Yeah,” Verona said, her eyes wider.
“That isn’t our world.  It doesn’t embrace us.  It’s… not quite karma, but it’s not a clear way forward, either,” he said.
“The cogs of bureaucracy turn slower when they push the paperwork or finances of someone like Matthew or me through,” Edith said.  “People won’t even realize they’re doing it, but they’ll leave us behind, or miss our names.  The higher we climb, the less room there is for something or someone with an oddly shaped configuration like Matthew or myself.”
“Or us?” Avery asked.
“You have a lot more control over your place in the big picture,” Matthew said.  “Practitioners can keep their ordinary lives distinct from their practitioner lives, and fit their ordinary lives into some place in the big picture.  Or they can find themselves in positions and configurations like mine or Edith’s.” - excerpt from Out on a Limb 3.5 </ref>

Origins

Several general theories of the origin of the first Others have been put forth.

• Others originated as Practitioners who lost their humanity over time.<ref name=":0" />
• Others originate from, and are powered by, the side-effects of Practitioner magic.<ref name=":0" />
• Others and Practitioners both originate from, and ultimately serve, demons.<ref>“My understanding of things is simple,

Alister. Every Other is, if you trace things back far enough, the fault

of demons.  Every practitioner is the fault of Others, or, for
a rare few, the fault of demons.  All of these things, in their way, 

guide all of existence slowly toward its end. The unlucky few who get in too deep fall into their clutches.”
[...]
“Virtually all practices, Alister. Call it a diabolist’s bias, but I would posit that the only difference between Laird and I is the level of self-delusion.”
“For the record,” Laird said, “I don’t agree.” - excerpt from Interlude 12 </ref>

• All Others are based in belief, like glamour is.<ref>“Remember that we can do this.  That’s the basis behind the plan.  The demons are essentially Faerie.  Everything is Faerie.”
  

[...]
“I’m not crazy,” I said.  “We challenge them the same way we challenge glamour.  This is about belief.  It’s about breaking from the conventions that shackle us.  Humans and practitioners have a massive amount of power, and this

is why the lawyers are doing what they’re doing.  Rose and I caught on,
but we didn’t buy into their deal and jump on board with them.  

Johannes caught on, and Faysal and the lawyers both went after him to take advantage of it.  Humans are architects of change, and this threatens them to the point that they have to respond.  They’re worried, and what we need to do is make those worries justified.” - excerpt from Judgement 16.8 </ref>

Some Others appear to predate humanity, such as Angels and Primevals, but many of these have picked up some traits and ideas from humans over time.

References

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