Fairy Races

Elves

History

The
elves (one of the Elder Races) were the first (other than the hobs)
to leave earth; they led the way to the Otherworld. As the elves were
the eldest and most powerful of the fairies, they believed themselves
to deserve this privilege. The other fairies, however, especially the
sprites and the young race of goblins, resented this and defied the
elves’ beliefs of being foremost among the fairies in 100 P.D.
The elfin king, Darkleaf, led the elves in a quick, efficient
conquest of the other fairy races.

So
it was that all the fairy races except the gnomes, who did not take
sides in the war, came under subjection to the elfin king. The
goblins were mostly wiped out, and the few remaining were not worth
the trouble of bringing under actual subjection.

Social
System

Like
most of the other fairy races, the graceful, elegant elves are led by
a single king (or queen, or both). This king is served by several
vassal lords, who are served by slaves from other fairy races. These
slaves do all the work. The king and his vassals alike are also
served by small, elite, professional armies, and also knights, or
landless lords. Not all knights serve masters – many are
wanderers, or knights errant. Besides all these, there are the
commoner elves, who wander in bands through the forests.

Warfare

As
the elves are most respected by the gnomes of all fairy races, there
is much trade between the two races; also as a result, the elfin
armies are well supplied with arms and armor of gnomish metal. The
main portion of the armor is helmets, shields, and occasionally small
breastplates. The metal weapons consist of axes, swords, and
spearheads. Besides these metal weapons (made of light metals rather
than gold or iron), the elves also craft many of their own weapons:
longbows, spears, and sometimes knives, fashioned from splinters of
rock. Light elf soldiers will sometimes wear acorn-cap helmets and
bark breastplates.

In
battle, the knights ride birds such as male blue jays and cardinals.
The cavalry, soldiers who are not knights but are mounted, ride
either the females of fierce bird races like jays and cardinals or
smaller birds such as sparrows. At night, cavalry and knights alike
exchange their birds for bat mounts.

Strategies
are simple or nonexistent, and most battles consist of two armies
arranging facing each other and either all charging immediately, or
various divisions taking up strategic locations, attacking different
enemy divisions, etc. In a siege, elves often swarm around each level
to take it over, one at a time, starting at the bottom level and
working their way to the lord and lady’s keep.

Daily
Life

Clothing:
Among the elves are skilled fairies who make use of
silkworms to provide the main element of special material among
nobility (the king, queen, lords, and ladies): silk. All nobility
wear this material, made into beautiful shawls, dresses, and tunics,
as well as precious stones set in gold or silver and colorful bird
feathers. Other elves, or the king and lords going into battle, wear
tunics made of leaves, folded in half and belted at the middle by
leaf stems, with holes for their heads at the folds. Many variations
have been made on the leaf tunic, but the general concept remains.
Males have a large slot taken out from their shoulder blades to the
hem for the wings. Females’ tunics are like this as well, but
they make a fashion of having many crisscrossing strings going
between the two hems of the tunic in the slot.

Appearance:
Elf wings are like butterfly wings: large, soft, and often
with “eyes”. Because their wings are weaker, the elves
cannot fly as fast as other fairy races. They wear pouches made of
small folded leaves on their belts to hold their pixie dust. Elves,
like many fairy races, wear their hair, which is golden, sometimes
dark brown or if old, white or silver, long. Like all fairies, they
have pointed ears: theirs are the longest of all. Their skin is fair
and pale (usually white, but sometimes light blue or pale green in
the elder elves), and they have mysterious but beautiful eyes, narrow
and wide. The elves have long, slender features and, though taller
than pixies, sprites, and river-fairies, are shorter than other fairy
races.

Transportation:
Elf knights and cavalry are not the only ones to ride
birds – the king, queen, lords and ladies, and their retinues
ride bright birds like male cardinals, jays, and grosbeaks, on
journeys or hunts, and messengers ride sparrows or smaller birds, as
well as bats at night.

Habitat:
The king, queen, lords, and ladies dwell in trees (for the
elves all live in forests) – often they will select those that
are apart from other trees, so that their fortresses are less
accessible. There are simple platforms built on different levels
around the trees, with a completely walled-in platform in the
uppermost branches for the lord and lady of the tree-castle.

Arts:
Wandering musicians, or minstrels, are respected and
always received well at tree-castles. Nobility and many others are
also trained in musical skills. Elfin music is traditionally
enchanting, soft, mysterious, and usually sad. Musicians play harps,
fipple flutes, and occasionally mandolins copied from the pixies.

Elves
are skilled at crafting silk clothing and wear beautiful arrangements
of jewelry, silk, and bird feathers.

Magic:
The elves have the ability to take on any different shapes.

Pixies

History

The
pixies (descended from elves and sprites) were second only to the
elves in their speedy departure from earth. They had a close intimacy
with the elves, and many actually left with the elves. During the
revolution of 100 P.D., the pixies were divided – though many
fought with the elves, some revolted, though these did not join the
sprites and goblins.

Social
System

Pixies
are a peaceful, merry people, and this is why, in part, they have
never accomplished anything very important historically. They are
somewhat loosely subject to a single king, queen, or both (like most
fairy races). This monarch has many advisors with him/her at his/her
tree-castle, as well as many pixie servants who do the work for
him/her and a small band of knights. There are also knights errant
who ride in search of adventure. Besides the monarch and his/her
household and the knights errant, there are many commoner pixies who
wander in bands, usually, through the forests.

Warfare

Though
not as warlike as other fairy races, the pixies will fight valiantly
to defend themselves. Although only the king, his advisors, and most
knights have arms and armor of gnomish metal (swords and shields),
the pixies are skilled at crafting acorn-cap helmets and bark
breastplates and shields. They fight mostly with bows and arrows, but
also carry spears and, occasionally, knives fashioned from shards of
rock or hardwood.

Although
the pixies do not have a cavalry force, the king, his advisors, and
knights ride fierce, male birds such as blue jays and cardinals into
battle, exchanging them for bats at nighttime.

Battles
consist of skirmishes among the trees. The fact that they use mostly
bows effects their method of fighting much. Since the only fortress
among pixies is the king’s tree-castle, there are no sieges.

Daily
Life

Clothing:
The pixies, like some other fairy races, wear tunics made
of folded leaves with holes at the folds for their heads. These are
belted at the middle by leaf stems, from which hang leaf pouches
holding pixie dust. Queens, and also but not as frequently kings and
their advisors, wear elfin silk and flowers: a long flower with the
stem slipped through a wooden circlet, the head of a flower as a hat,
etc.

Appearance:
Pixies are not as beautiful as elves, but have a roundness
and softness of features, honest homeliness, comeliness, and
prettiness that is exemplified by their twinkling eyes, rosy cheeks,
happy smiles, and shoulder-length hair, which is either brown,
straw-colored, or red. They are the shortest fairies along with
sprites.

Pixies’
wings are like those of a dragonfly, being long, gauzy, and
transparent. Like elves, they have a rectangular portion from
shoulder blades to hems of their tunics taken away for their wings,
and the females have leaf stems crisscrossed across their lower backs
between the two hems.

Transportation:
Besides the birds flown into battle, the king, his
advisors, the queen, and knights ride any brightly-colored male birds
when traveling or hunting. Messengers ride sparrows or other smaller
birds.

Habitat:
The king and queen live, along with their servants and
knights, in a tree, preferably separated from other trees in case of
siege, with wooden platforms along the trunk and a walled and roofed
platform at the top: the king and queen’s keep. Pixies, like
some other fairy races, all live in forests.

Arts:
Minstrels, or wandering musicians, are popular and always
welcomed into the king’s tree-castle and foresters’
bands. They are skilled with fipple flutes, small hand drums, and
mandolins. Pixyish music is merry, lively, and complicatedly fast.

Magic:
The pixies have the ability to make themselves invisible to
humans.

River-Fairies

History

The
river-fairies (descended from elves and sprites), because they were
somewhat scarce on earth and hardly noticeable to the humans, did not
all leave earth. But most of the nobility and a good number of
commoners did leave, eventually. Though the river-fairies did not
openly war in the revolution of 100 P.D., they too resented the
elves’ superiority and killed any elves coming near their
rivers and lakes. Still they are the among the most suspicious of
fairy races and usually kill trespassers.

Social
System

Ruled
ultimately by an emperor or empress, who lives traditionally in a
city in the southern portion of Theas Lake, the river-fairies are
spread out in semi-independent city-states ruled individually by
governors. The emperor and governors are served by professional
armies commanded by generals, and also citizens, who do the work but
are still free.

Warfare

The
main bulk of river-fairy weaponry is made up of fishbone: knives,
arrowheads, spearheads, and even shields, made of portions of fish
skulls. For armor, besides bone shields, river-fairies wear
breastplates and sometimes back plates made of fish scales.

Generals
ride into battle accompanied by their charioteers – the
charioteers and generals stand on small, loose lily pads pulled along
by fish just below the surface of the water. Besides the charioteers
there are ordinary soldiers, who are transported on lily pads rowed
through the water and fly into battle. Scouts ride waterfowl.

Since
there are no fortresses, there are no sieges. Battles consist of
floating armies clashing together in the middle of the river. Because
the lily pads used in battle are propelled by poles or fish, the
current of the river does not have as much effect on the battle as
might be expected.

Daily
Life

Clothing:
River-fairies wear a variety of clothing; the wealthy wear
elfin silks, the poor wear leaf tunics obtained from the forests,
folded in half with a hole for the head and belted at the middle with
leaf stems, from which hang leaf pouches holding pixie dust, with an
empty space for the wings – some governors and generals even
wear robes of fish scales. A persisting fashion among river-fairy
females is to wear spider webs wrapped around themselves, over their
garments.

Appearance:
The river-fairies have pale, white skin, with pointed ears
almost as long as elves’, slanted, suspicious, but beautiful
eyes, and long hair that is either pale green or light blue, among
young river-fairies, or silver, among older river-fairies. They are
just a bit shorter than elves and their features are very sharp.

River-fairies’
wings are filmy and transparent like dragonflies’, almost as
long as sprites’.

Transportation:
The chariot-pads used by soldiers, charioteers, generals,
and governors are also used for the transportation of messengers or
governors and generals. Any large number of river-fairies traveling
will ride on a boat-pad.

Habitat:
River-fairies live along the length of the Glas River and
in the Theas Lake in floating cities of lily pads, their roots still
attached to the bed of the river. Each of the larger lily pads is a
house, with four reed stilts holding up a leaf roof on top of which
is often a decorative lily. The largest pads are used for governors,
generals, etc. and are heavily guarded. The personage will sit in a
throne made of various materials such as fishbone, reeds, and
sometimes pebbles. Very wealthy generals and governors and the
emperor ride on boats with roofs like houses when abroad, but rowed
and free from their roots.

Arts:
Though not as skilled musically as other fairy races, the
river-fairies are skilled singers, accompanied by small hand drums
and occasionally fipple flutes or mandolins, copied from the pixies.
Their music is eerie, cold, and somewhat wild.

River-fairy
clothing is a work of art as much as elfin clothing is, and their
floating cities are very beautiful.

Magic:
River-fairies have the ability to turn into frogs.

Gnomes

History

Because
they lived underground, the gnomes (one of the Elder Races) had
little reason to leave earth, for they were never minded by humans –
indeed, those humans who believed they existed favored the gnomes,
because the gnomes were kind enough to help miners by showing them to
gold and gems underground. Nonetheless, as deposits of precious
metals and stones grew less in the deeper undergrounds and humans
mined more, some gnomes did leave to the Otherworld along with the
elves and pixies.

Since
the gnomes were so different from other fairy races, they never had
much interaction with them except to trade. Thus, they did not take
sides or even fight in the revolution of 100 P.D. and were always at
peace with the elves, pixies, and most other fairy races.

Social
System

The
kind, cheerful, industrious gnomes are ruled by various kings, each
with several advisors and a queen. Each king rules a different
section of the undergrounds and is served by a few servants besides
the rest of the gnomes, who are always being recruited to the kings’
armies or mining and working.

Warfare

Kings
gather commoner gnomes into armies. As the gnomes are smiths as well
as being miners and masons, all their arms and armor are metal: axes,
short, broad swords, short spears, daggers, breastplates, scale
armor, helmets, and shields. Their weapons are very well-made and
heavily decorated with precious stones and metals.

As
gnomish cities consist of several huge caverns with many pathways
leading between, they ride no mounts in battle, and battles consist
of surrounding caverns and making ambushes in various pathways.
Armies charge each other head-on in caverns and mines or skirmish in
pathways and tunnels.

Daily
Life

Clothing:
As there are no materials for making cloths underground,
the gnomes wear imported leather, fleece, and occasionally silk. They
make these materials into simple tunics: knee-length for the male
gnomes and ankle-length for the females.

Appearance:
The male gnomes have long, narrow beards and bushy
eyebrows. Their faces are wrinkly, ugly, and ruddy. All gnomes,
though short by human standards and very stocky, are the tallest
fairies besides wood-gnomes and leprechauns. The females wear their
hair (which, regardless of gender, is yellow, red, or sometimes brown
or black) in long braids. They are as stocky as their husbands, buxom
and rosy-cheeked, but not ugly like the males.

Habitat:
The gnomes live underground. Each city consists of several
cavernous halls attached by pathways, with several pathways leading
to the mines.

Arts:
Skilled heavily in masonry, metal-forging, and mining, the
gnomes are a very artistic race. They also are moderately skilled
musicians, with their drums, deep voices, and imported mandolins.
Gnomish music is merry and fast, like pixyish music.

Magic:
Gnomes have the ability to work many kinds of magic into the
weapons they forge: they can make flaming weapons, weapons that
always return to their owners’ hands, weapons that cut through
anything, weapons that never break, or weapons that shrink at a
command.

Leprechauns

History

The
leprechauns (descended from gnomes and sprites) had perhaps the most
reasons to leave; humans everywhere attempted to capture them for
their gold, which they were intensely greedy for and obtained by
whatever means necessary. Much of their gold was Danish gold which
they gathered for themselves. Thus, many of the leprechauns left at
the same time as but not with the elves, pixies, and gnomes. Caring
for nothing but gold, they had nothing to do with the revolution of
100 P.D. except when they had a chance to get gold.

Social
System

Clans
of the greedy, selfish, thieving leprechauns are led by chieftains,
who use their status to get as much gold as possible. Clans often
fight one another for gold. The leprechauns can be called up as
warriors anytime, but otherwise they must do some work in order to
eat.

Warfare

Leprechaun
warriors wear no armor except round leather shields. They fight with
bows and arrows and whatever weapons they can steal from other
fairies.

In
battle, leprechauns use ambushes and false retreats to confuse their
enemies.

Daily
Life

Clothing:
Leprechauns wear tunics and tartan kilts woven of fleece,
along with sheepskin belts and quivers. They also wear fleece
bonnets.

Appearance:
Tallest of the fairy races, male leprechauns have short
round torsos but long legs and arms with large feet and hands and
long toes and fingers. They have somewhat ugly faces and messy brown
or red hair. The females are similar except that their limbs are not
as long, being rather short and chubby, and they are not quite as
ugly as the males.

Transportation:
On journeys, leprechauns ride ponies.

Habitat:
The leprechauns live in the mountains, moors, and
highlands. Their clans live in small villages of wooden or stone
huts.

Arts:
Though not skilled at anything else, the leprechauns can
play bagpipes quite well. Their music is wailing and eerie, but
jaunty and wild.

Magic:
Leprechauns have the ability to purify gold with magic that
always return to their pockets.

Wood-Gnomes

History

Descended
from gnomes who came to live above ground but were still were unused
to such open space and went to live in the forests, the wood-gnomes
were secretive, suspicious, and unnoticeable to humans. But when
humans began cutting down their great forests, the wood-gnomes, too,
were forced to leave earth for the Otherworld. They did not take part
in the revolution of 100 P.D. – in fact, the wood-gnomes were
really the only ones being sensible at the revolution, for they
thought of the revolution as a silly quarrel for honor and pride.

Social
System

The
wood-gnomes are led by a single chieftain, who has complete power. As
the wood-gnomes are very secretive, not much is known about them, but
it is obvious that their chieftain has many spies in many places. He
is served directly by a force of elite bodyguards, the most skilled
warriors of all the wood-gnomes. But the entire wood-gnomish
population is a highly skilled and trained army. Besides the single
chieftain and his bodyguards, the rest live in small camouflaged
villages, ready to be called up to fight.

Warfare

Wood-gnomes
are most skilled with bows and arrows, but also have some stone
knives and stone-headed javelins. They are incredibly skilled with
all their weapons, training whenever possible. They wear no visible
armor, though some say they wear several layers of thick leather
beneath their robes.

The
wood-gnomes ride foxes into battle, harnessed and saddled with
leather. They use guerrilla tactics and many cunning strategies to
defeat their foes. They have no method for sieges, because they have
no fortresses.

Daily
Life

Clothing:
The wood-gnomes all wear robes: covering all of their
bodies but their noses, feet, and hands, the robes are made of fur,
died into camouflaged colors with plants. The wood-gnomish
chieftain’s robe is died red. They also wear leather quivers,
belts, and sheaths for their weapons.

Appearance:
Taller and thinner than their relatives the earth-gnomes,
the wood-gnomes are still short by human standards. Among the
fairies, they are second in height only to the leprechauns. The
wood-gnomes have long, hooked noses which protrude out of their
hoods. Their features, though not as stocky as the dwarves, are round
and soft.

Transportation:
All wood-gnomes ride foxes. Gray foxes are preferred by
the scouts and messengers, because they are smaller and can climb
trees. Others ride red foxes. The chieftain rides a black fox.

Habitat:
Obviously, wood-gnomes live in the forests: because they
are so suspicious and secretive, they prefer to live deep in the most
foreboding of forests, with many traps around their invisibly
camouflaged villages.

Magic:
The wood-gnomes have the ability to

Hobs

History

The
descendants of pixies and gnomes, the then-small race of hobs left
earth before any of the other fairy races. Being a peaceful, honest
people, the hobs were of basically the same opinion as wood-gnomes
about the revolution of 100 P.D.: it was a silly excuse for
bloodshed. They remained apart from other fairy races and only traded
with some.

Social
System

The
simple, honest, industrious hobs are a remarkable example of
democracy among fairies: each hobbish village is led by a council
which meets to make laws and decide cases. Other than this, they are
free to do what they want. Laws are voted on and council members are
elected by all hobs.

Warfare

Daily
Life

Clothing:

Appearance:

Transportation:

Habitat:

Arts: