Fairies

An Eyrean Fairy named Ailyth. She lived a life of earnest scheming and wanton tragedy. Her spawn went on to be Valmasian Royalty, for a time.

Fairies (Commonly known as Fae among their own kind and scholars) are noted as being one of the smallest intelligent races in Eternia. They measure roughly the size of a human hand, with often a stark degree of variation in their body mass. They also appear to have a natural grasp of the angelic tongue. Though, due to their isolated natures, they have been known to create unique languages only they could understand. Perhaps it is to keep the trees from spilling their secrets, or to unify under a single flag brought on by a dark master. Whatever the case, they are noted as being some of the oddest creatures you can meet. Both in appearance and mannerisms. Often, they have been found to exhibit the features of bugs in the environments they were born into. Their features can range from very human, to extremely bug-like.

The most often characteristic is they have some form of wings. The most common and historically praised variants are butterfly wings.

Their greatest strength and most damning property has to do with their bodies themselves. Fairy remains are prized by Alchemists across the globe for their extraordinary magical properties. This has lead to Fairies often avoiding human contact, appearing only for those they deem trustworthy. For a race that knows what is within your heart, personal connection is paramount. Fairies are found almost anywhere there are forests and wildlife, often leaving behind blooms of flowers as they are born into this world. Fairies are, by their nature, sacred beings. Exemplifying the aspect of exorcism, they are naturally caring and regretfully determined. Still, they are not immune to the darkness of the world. There are a corrupted kind that lurks in the darkness, their taint spreading and mangling nature around them into sadistic forests. Dark Fairies exist, but not by choice. Their existence is one of tragedy, with a powerful external corrupting force having stolen from them their light. These beings responsible for this are often intimate with occultism or aligned with chaos itself. The affects of the occultism needed to convert them is overpowering to their minds, and damning. For to be without their light is to part with their mother tree. While dark fairies can still sense Yggdrassil, they cannot interpret her desires. This often leads to unorthodox methods to please her, if they even want to anymore.

Lost Fairy Tale

In the time immemorial, when the world was but a sleeping gem, a great seed was planted. A tree like no other sprawled to life in the heart of a dead Realm. For where it was rooted and what was to become of its legacy, its name spoke of a promise bound from time. From its branches the world was held, with life spreading up from its roots and piercing past the highest peak. It was from this seed that Eternia blossomed, it was from this tree that all the dead returned to its roots. At first, the tree was alone. Always left to usher in the cycles, to hold the world up upon itself. It was lonely, for it had a heart. One that was slow to feel, but aching in its pain like no other. Yggdrassil, the Tree of life, was a giant tree surrounded by lush forests, but one without any to enjoy its garden save for the great dragon, who nested upon her top and took solace in her healing vines. He was her greatest company, though she was never quite alone. Her branches saw all of the world forming around her, but like someone staring through a window, she was but an observer to a life being lived. The great dragon, pained by the trees loneliness, attempted to comfort her. But though she was grateful for his company, she knew he could not always stay. The great dragon left soon, called away by his duties to the Spirit Realm. It was some time later that the first humans were to be born. Wondrous children of the maker, they had boundless potential within them. The capacity for great good. But also, for great tragedy. Soon, an event occurred that none prepared for. The first infant to die, the first stillborn youth, the first heir denied their birthright. Spirits were born from these great losses, ones that were too young to understand what path to walk. Ryujin, the greatest dragon of them all, looked on with pity. He ventured into the farthest depths of the spirit realm and helped to guide these lost spirits back into the light. Under his great wings he cushioned them, flying far into the central ring where Yggdrassil stared on in sadness. "These poor ones," the tree whispered. "Lost and alone... Unable to grow and accept..." A branch curled towards the great dragon. It reached out, gently placing a leaf upon the head of a young spirit. Its form changed, its body becoming a fraction of its natural size. Large enough to sit on flowers of wondrous colours, with wings that could help them to reach the highest fruit. The youth flew away then, drawn in by the scent of poppylus in bloom. Ryujin stared back at the great tree. The two then understood what was to be done. The great mother tree took wardship over the lost and helpless, offering them her inner-most sanctum to call their home. Protected and afforded the every chance to grow and learn from what her branches saw, the youths soon understood what was wrong with the world. Human capacity for great good could lead to starkly great evils. Magic that harms the fabric of the lifestream was injuring their mother, bringing her great pain and suffering as entire branches withered under the strain. Continents were destroyed, entire peoples were wiped out to genocide. The garden, for all of its waning beauty, was nothing like the world they saw. A promise was made that day by the Fae children. They would protect their mother from all of this suffering and help to guide nature back towards the healing light. Conceding to the youths kind words, the great tree offered them the chance to leave. To embark from her inner sanctum and touch the world of the living. But like all things, there was a cost for leaving the Spirit Realm. She promised them that when their time ends, she would guide them home. But she could not allow them to tell her secrets. Though she was sure they would relent, choosing instead to live out their days in peace, so many of them refused to allow their mother to bare this alone. Much of her wondrous children left the garden that day, each with a little shard of Yggdrasil inside of them. Mother and child both know they will never be alone again.

Abilities

Fairies are capable of various magical feats, many of which are largely unknown to humans and purely conceptual to themselves. Though they usually all practice Holy Magic, some of them stray off into their own magical expertise - and are generally quite good at it. The average fairy is several times more magically proficient than an average human, and almost never deplete their natural mana source.

Known fairy abilities are:

• Magically potent. The magical power within a fairy is at such a high potency that a natural glow of mana exudes from their body, illuminating their flesh and causing them to sparkle. In excess of this power they tend to shed flakes of mana from their wings.
• Healing. With the mana that a fairy exudes, a fine dust falls amidst it, passively healing the fairy as well as anything it touches (For Occult Fae, they siphon the lifeforce around them passively). The dust can heal minor injuries within minutes after taking effect, closing small gashes and preventing bruising. Though a secondary, spiritual ability exists that few Fae would willingly bring up, as it comes at great cost to themselves to allow for the removal of even the most desperate of injuries.
• Blessing. Fae are able to grant a portion of their power, for a time. Magi who have been blessed can often call on greater might in their attacks and their connection with the natural flow of the world becomes enhanced.
• Empathy. Fairies are Empaths that can pick up on vague intentions as well as a person's state of mind. This effective range can extend up to a mile in radius, explaining the creatures general ability to hide within nature unseen, for they tend to know of a presence long before seeing it. Going further, depending on their experience, they can analyse the mana of others, noting the differences and are able to recognize an individuals signature. This makes them excellent trackers.
• Telepathy. Utilizing their sensory organ, Fairies are capable of sending concentrated thoughts out into the world. A directed thought can be heard by an individual human at will.

Cultures

• While fairies are traditionally nomadic, they have been known to form strong communities. Whether out of need, or simply because they enjoy each others company. They do not have the natural drive to form large societies, but rather take joy from small and intimate communes.
• For a fairy, their name is truth. Each Fairy names themselves when they come of age. This instinctual tradition has lead to a scarcity of lineages, and the lack of a need for a surname. Their naming structure is often Elvish in nature, though the consequence of naming yourself can lead to outliers.
• Names are truth, they hold the power of knowing. It is an intimate thing for a Fairy to trust a human with their true name. Do not yield it lightly.
• Fairies prefer to form structures out of natural, living materials. You will rarely find them existing in bare stone housing, the exception being a lack of viable plant life and materials present.
• They tend to exhibit mischievous traits. Prone to fibbing and harmless manipulation, they take no small pleasure from playing games with the objects of their attention. These games often become cruel if they are Corrupted.
• The passing of time is an anomaly for a fairy. Being so long lived their minds can often lose track of just how many years have truly passed. Time only seems to speed up as they get older. This makes it hard for them to form a lasting emotional attachment to people or new places.
• When a Fairy is sure their time is coming to an end they will often venture to the areas they were born from or hold a strong emotional connection to. They do this with the intent of dying there. It is an instinctual pull towards completing the cycle of life and death. From beginning, to its return in the end. It is why Fae bodies (Sometimes but not always Powder) can be found seemingly out in the open. Most pass on in peace, resolving themselves to join with the scenery in their beloved groves. Often becoming entangled in tiny vines that forever bind them in place with a view overlooking their home. Among their kind it is seen as a defilement of their last wishes to disturb the bodies. For a human to move a Fae Carcass requires physically snapping it from its inter-twined state. This act often causes the body to crumble into powder.
• It is very offensive to call them small. They are not small. You are just a giant.

Racial notes

• They are, by their nature, tethered to the spirit realm. Their bodies are held together by their magic, but also by the Lifestream. Even when corrupted, Yggdrasil refuses to yield her blessing. She is their great mother, they all instinctively know this.
• On their person is an organ that allows for their extra-sensory abilities, often in the shape of antennae. It acts as a resonance filter, allowing them to identify and experience the state of things around them. From human emotions, to the purity of the landscape.
• An excess of the sparkling dust they shed is known as the alchemy ingredient, fairy powder. The dust has traces of Yggdrassil within them, making for a powerful reagent in great enough numbers. Although in most cases, it can be unreliable, as the mana is quick to dissipate once leaving the wings, making harvesting difficult outside of specific situations.
• Fairies are highly susceptible to corrupting influences by virtue of being so sensitive to them. It is a double sided blade for them. It allows the creatures to intimately understand a problem and, thusly, solve it, but can also lead to a near irreversible polar shift. Enough depravity from malicious sources can effectively turn the exorcism-aligned creatures into occultists, severally damaging their psyche.
• Dark fairies often consider holy fairies with an air of disdain. The corrupting process exemplifies their worst qualities. Their hatred might be out of jealously, or a hostile desire to be wanted, or they simply view holy fairies as inferior. The two sides do not traditionally get along and are prone to conflict over it. This is because that while a Dark fairy may not intentionally desire to spread corruption, they often harbour the mentality of controlling nature, whether that be by forcing its preservation through violence or manipulating it to suit the creatures own needs. It is a stark contrast towards a natural fairy, where while it yearns to protect nature, it understands that there are limits to what it can do. A normal fairy tends to not get involved in human affairs, and would shun the use of their gifts to dictate the natural state of the world. A fairy traditionally seeks to allow nature to stay its course, interjecting only when the balance becomes unstable. However, as empaths, they cannot help but show bias occasionally.
• They age about two times slower than humans. So, when a Fairy is 40 years old, they are basically 18 in human years. A hundred year old fairy is still seen as something of an adolescent to older ones. The aging process seems to generally halt after 40 years old.
• Fairies are long-lived, not immortal. They may reach up to three hundred and fifty years old, with growing weakness as they near the end point. Once their bodies have weakened and they can no longer sustain their bursting power, they calcify. Dying in peace.
• For the most part Fae are produced from the Spirit Realm itself. Their essence takes form in nature, one can even imagine them appearing from a newly opened flower pod. But on rare occasions they can and do come from the unity of a pair of elder Fae who create an egg by coalescing their combined mana into a gem-like egg. It acts as a vacant doorway for a newly formed fairy to come through and be born. It can take years for it to hatch and Fae are known to store their eggs in secure places during the wait. The offspring often takes on a shared amalgamation of their parents.
• Just because normal fairies are holy-aligned does not mean they must focus on it. As long as they buy their holy/occult openers they can choose to pursue any element they like.
• The wilderness is where they are most at peace. They enjoy their solitude and can only make room for those who bring them joy. Cities are prone to cause them distress, as they are forced to experience everything an apathetic race feels and does. Dark fairies might take pleasure in knowing others are suffering more than them. Holy Fairies probably will not.
• One can consider Fairies to be the helping hands of the lifestream. When they sense corruption they may gather en mass in order to snuff it out. Though kind creatures, they are known to be determined in their removal of unwanted essence.
• The mana Fairy bodies are made up of are highly receptive to corrupting influences. Thus, a healthy fairy tends to shed their skin every few decades in a cleaning moult.

Alchemy: Fairy Powder

Fairy Powder as an ingredient of Alchemy tends to rarely come from the death of a Fairy. In too few a number out in the wilds and generally excellent in evading roaming predators, harvesters have found other ways of exploiting the species over the millennia. Many have taken to foraging for the moulted skin left behind by Fae during their lifecycles. Though found in limited quantities, this ingredient remains a potent reagent for Alchemists to take advantage of and tends to be what you will find in the wild. In the case where a fairy can be captured, however, their bodies can be crushed for quite a few times what you would find from shedding. They are worth numerous bundles of commercial Fairy Powder.