Fae
The fae are a family of supernatural entities tied to the natural world. Often tied to a particular place, a fae creature can be the living manifestation of a lake, a forest, or other feature. Others are less closely bound, but tend to be commeasurately weaker. Spirits of nature, the fae and their ilk have endured a long retreat in the material plane, as the onward march of civilization and the resources it consumes push the wild spirits further and further into obscurity. Though individual spirits may be great Elder Powers, conflicts between folk and fae have rarely resolved in favor of the fae. Powerful though they may be the fae do not build civilization and often do not coordinate among themselves, leaving each outpost of nature's guardians to fend for itself.
In the worst instance, in Exodus-in-Prime the fae of the land have been systematically wiped out by the ruling elves of the land.
Basic Information
Ecology and Habitats
As spirits of nature, fae dwell where unspoiled wildland reigns. Builders and the works of folk sap their power and provoke their wrath. An anti-civilizational entity, a fae lives as a manifestation of a wild piece of nature. It is not born or created, but simply is, and remains until a force beyond nature disturbs it. The fae do not have needs as most creatures, though they depend on the health of their bound lands to maintain their own vitality.
The exceptions to this rule are the Fear Gortach, a twisted parody of wildland fae caused by the elves campaign against them, Fear Gortach must draw their vitality from other living things directly, draining them away in the process.
Beyond the prime material, fae also exist in the Borderworld and particularly in plane of the Light. Where there is no civilization or other external force to disturb them, the fae can obtain almost godlike power, and indeed the fae of the Light are greatly feared by many peoples of the prime. In particular the elves of Exodus fear and loathe them.
Civilization and Culture
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Fae and folk generally have poor and often bloody relations. It is claimed that in the dark past, the fae of the light crossed the planes to capture folk to take back into their realms and playthings. The elves of Exodus claim to have been folk of the prime material once, before the fae took them for millennia until their eventual escape through the borderworld. Conversely, fae are often put to the sword where their presence prevents folk from exploiting nature, though in some cases an accord is reached between a group of fae and nearby settlements.
There are even groups of folk that have entirely abandoned the trappings of civilization and accepted a more animal existence in exchange for the protection and patronage of fae spirits, chief among the gnomes. However, the gnomish population has been almost entirely destroyed by the elves of Exodus.
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