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 sentient, sapient, and even sophont.

Commonalities

Over the centuries, most Others have generally been killed or enslaved; leaving the survivors generally cunning, subtle, or powerful.<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><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>“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> 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> Others are generally found in the same places as Practitioners.<ref name=":0">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> 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> They are generally (although not always) hostile toward humans, but fortunately limited in their ability to harm innocents.<ref name=":1" /><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> 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." - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/02/01/damages-2-5/ excerpt] from [[Damages 2.5]] </ref> Generally all but the newest Others are bound by the Seal of Solomon.

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 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>

List of Various Types

References