The Blackmasks are mechanical automatons, capable of advanced thought, planning and combat. Little is known of their true origins or composition, but their appearances are that of British military officers circa World War II.
Appearances[]
Historic Sightings[]
According to Mitchell Hitchcock, the Blackmasks have appeared at points of great strife and War among the Lost. The last confirmed sightings (pre-2010) of them were during the London Blitz and the fall of the Second Empire of the Lost. Rumors spread they were seen fighting various Summer Courtiers during the Great War of '97, but these rumors have never been substantiated.
Modern Times[]
It appears that individuals that consume the Unpleasant Concoction are capable of noticing blackmask activity while others do not. Members of Trouble Ahead were first dosed with this substance, presumably by Baron Crayle on their first night in the Empire. At this time they kidnapped Matthew Bramsetter, a young mortal relative of Mrs. George who was attending an event at For Get, The Court of Spring's unofficial official home.
They reappeared to attack Gram Thew and Percy Harving who were interrogating The American Woman in the hedge-garden beneath The Monument. The American Woman apparently knew the Blackmasks would be coming to defend the monument basement and tried to stall Thew and Harving to allow the Blackmasks to kill them.
The Blackmasks next appeared at the Bacchanal, an event that usually marks the end of Spring and start of Summer. At this event they kidnapped a young Mundy waitress, later identified by Sir Beryl Whitehall as the younger sister of Princess Margret (though her name is still unknown).
Yet another sighting took place on the night of the handover from Summer to Autumn, verifying that the Blackmasks typically arrive at the start of each new season and take a mundane relative of some Imperial citizen, taking some relative of Dr. Glastig. The Blackmasks seem to have some degree of authority over The Membership Committee, who despite not knowing what they are, fear them immensely.
The authority of the Blackmasks seems not to be limited by the barriers of time or space as they next appeared in The Village, a bizzare location deep within The In-Between, a region of space seemingly distinct from The Hedge, The Dreamscape and Fae Arcadia. Here they seemed to punish the village for a violation of The Charter of the Land, despite this violation (King George was killed by The Invisible Dragon) being in their "defense" (he was killed for mentioning the Blackmasks very existence).
Abilities[]
Blackmasks have significantly heightened strength, stamina and dexterity when compared to baseline humanity and even the most physically powerful changelings. They have been observed leaping to heights of at least 7 feet and have taken blows that would have severely maimed lesser beings. Blackmasks also have black reverse-parachutes hidden in their coats that seem to allow them to fly short distances- rather then slowing a decent, it enables them to go directly upwards.
The Blackmasks also seem to have some power akin to teleportation as they can appear, by the dozens, in most areas where they are summoned very quickly. This may be related to The Blackmasks "black zeppelin" that can appear and disappear in the sky and is seems to be invisible to mundane humanity.