Faerrels

They are made of mischief and joy, with a near human level intellect. Do not let their small heads and bodies fool you, they are fae touched, they possess far more intellect than their small heads would suggest they can hold. They are a favorite companion of Emerald Magisters, those whom choose to truly embrace the nickname of druid, for they are small, sneaky, playful, cunning and touched by magick. An ideal familiar. They are loving pets, yet ferocious predators in their own right, terrors to rodents, hares and small birds alike. A unique creature found only in the greatest forests of the world, and an indicator of places once truly touched by the Fae folk, before most of them fell to the taint of the Void.

An excerpt from Alexandria Rivain's comprehensive research tomes, Valerick's Flora and Fauna, the wild and amazing, Volume III, E-F

Basic Information

Anatomy

Faerrels are common in many ways to ferrets and weasels, their closest animal cousins, but are fae touched. They possess a near human intellect, and are capable of bonding and communicating basic ideas telepathically with one person in their life if they are raised from kits. They are tricksy and smart, along with being flexible and nimble of body. Like many of their mundane cousins, they have a very flexible bone structure for being a vertabrate, allowing them to squeeze and maneuvor in and out of spaces that would seem impossible for a creature with a proper spine and bone structure.

Their coats vary based on region, but whites, browns and blacks are the most common. Their little black eyes are no accident, for all Faerrels possess a mild connection to the manna of Scath. They are in fact magickal beasts of a nature, able to manifest some very basic abilities, such as mild invisibility, silent steps and even, if they feel threatened enough and panick, an illusory like effect where suddenly there will seem to be three of them, mirror duplicates of themselves. Their inherent connectivity to Scath makes them a well loved familiar of Onyx Magisters as well, though in truth it is far more common for Emerald Magisters to take on a familiar than any other.

They are quadrapeds, with short stubby legs, though they can move faster than many may expect, able to reach speeds of 10-12 miles an hour. This may not seem like much but for an animal that never gets much larger than the average human adult's shoe, that is swift indeed.

Genetics and Reproduction

Faerrels reproduce like their ferret and weasel cousins, and raise them quite quickly. A litter may number 4-8 kits, though it is likely only half make it to one year of age. Once they are a year old, they are already fully grown, and their minds open, their fae blood coming to life. We do not understand the complexities of Faerrel families, for they are not near as territorial as other common members of their family. They also mate for life, which is most unusual for the family of creatures.

A Faerrel pregnancy only lasts 4 months, swift for the mammal world, even for such small creatures, perhaps it is due to the magick within them.

Growth Rate & Stages

Faerrels live about 20-30 years, reaching old age at about 15 years. They are high energy and mischevious creatures from the day they are born, loving to wrestle, play, and prank. They reach maturity after one year, but do not reach sexual maturity until three years. Males are slightly smaller than the females, though slighly longer of body. As they hit adulthood, this is when the onyx hue takes their eyes, the intellect within them becoming eeriely humanesque at that point.

Ecology and Habitats

Faerrels love thick woodlands and forests, and this is their native habitat.

Dietary Needs and Habits

They are obligate carnivores hence they sit on the list of apex predators for the biome, as they have not adapted to eating anything not carnivorous in nature. This is true even though they are obviously small enough to be a prey item for larger predators. They are generalists, capable of hunting crayfish and small minnows, frogs and lizards, rodents, small birds, rabbits, and even other members of their family such as pine martens and weasels and moles. In fact they need a variety of prey items to be healthy, as they get their nutrients no other way.

Biological Cycle

Faerrels shed twice a year, growing a thicker coat for the winter, and a thinner one for the summer. They do not hibernate, though they do sleep for 14-18 hours out of every 28 hour day. The rest of the time, in the wild, is spent playing, hunting, and exploring. They are naturally social and naturally curious animals, forming small groups called 'businesses', a silly name but one enjoyed by many. They mate for life, and the actual reproductive instinct between a couple will generally trigger in the early part of spring, meaning the kits will be born near the end of summer. Those kits will be blind and weaned for six weeks, ready to make their first attempts at meat by mid autumn, and by the next spring they will be capable students, learning to hunt from their parents, working with the family group and the larger group, learning to be social.

Behaviour

Faerrels are surprisingly social, needing friends, needing companionship, and often live in little businesses of 5-6 adults. Most odd for the animal kingdom (though one would do well to remember these are a fae touched magickal beast) mated couples have no fear or issue having un mated faerrels within their Business and it does not seem to create any sort of conflict or problem in the hierarchy. They defer to the eldest Faerrels among them, defering to wisdom of age.

They are a super creative and playful species, and their home burrows and dens will oft have many random bits of flowers, fabric, leaves, feathers and other colorful, pretty and comfy objects, as they enjoy stashing such things, still keeping that ferret behavior even with the fae touched blood. They will riddle their burrows and warrens with slides, double tunnels and all manner of other fun play thing for racing and sliding and other ways to play and enjoy themselves. They are notorious thieves as well, loving to steal and stash all manner of random object, making little sleeping dens of their 'comfort loots' all over their home territory.

Additional Information

Domestication

They are quite willing to be domesticated in a sense, and due to their inbuilt ability to bond telepathically with a magister, that potential makes them a loved and common familiar, most commonly with Emerald and Onyx Magisters. Even outside this however, they make wonderful, empathic, fun and mischevious companions and pets, should one be able to feed them correctly, care for them, and does not mind living in constant readiness for random pranks and jokes and missing garments.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Faerrels are burrowing animals and rely more on scent and hearing than their eyes, oft capable of only seeing clearly a few dozen feet beyond their own bodies. This does not really create a large vulnerability however, as their sense of smell is so keen, their intellect so sharp and enhanced by the magick of their fae touched blood, they seem to be able to identify things, even things they have never interacted with before, by scent. They seem to almost be capable of picturing their surroundings by smell and audio alone, and whilst perhaps not able to perfectly identify everything, can seem to tell general information, such as danger, threats, hiding spots, sizes and shapes, all of this and more from that limited information.

They also have limited tremorsense, seeming able to detect things through the soil and earth when they move over a limited distance, roughly 20-30 feet, and utilize this in the wild to hunt all manner of rodents, along with slighly larger prey like other Mustalids such as moles, and even other larger game like rabbits. They are obligate carnivores, and are excellent climbers as well, and hunt all manner of birds, preferring pheasants, quail and wild turkey.

They are also tuned to magick and manna, and can be trained to seek out magick, like a dousing animal of sorts, they are excellent companions for a would be adventuring mage for this reason, especially if seeking potential lost and forgotten magickal artifacts and trinkets in long forgotten places.

A Faerrel deep in a sleep after a hard day of mischief making and shennanigans.

Scientific Name

Faeris Mustalidae Mischievi

Lifespan

20-30 years

Conservation Status

Like any fae blooded species there is the acknowledgement that they are likely endangered, due to the very nature of what they are and the taint upon the manna of the world.

Average Weight

3-4 pounds

Average Length

18 inches to 2 feet