Pixies
The nocturnal, mysterious green-magic users of the Windthrown prairie.
Basic Information
Genetics and Reproduction
When Pixies mix with other magical beings things can get... interesting.
Pixie women almost always only give birth to two children. Large Pixie families simply don't exist. Obviously, part-pixies are more likely to be able to have more children. Twins are very rare but they do happen; it's unclear whether or not a Pixie who has twins could then have a third child, as the occurrence is just so rare.
Half-pixies have about a 50/50 chance of inheriting Pixie magic. Less than half Pixies have even less of a chance, but quarter-pixies have been known to have some magic powers. Generally, the power diminishes as it becomes more diluted, so half-pixies are less powerful than full-pixies, and quarter-pixies often can't do much more than the latent things like see in the dark, see auras, etc.
Growth Rate & Stages
Most full-blooded pixies begin to "manifest" their powers between 4 and 6 years old. Part-pixies may take longer.
Biological Cycle
The seasonal solstices increase different aspects of the Pixies' powers. Every solstice, they get a little more powerful. So, the older a Pixie is, the more power they have.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Pixies exist in tribes. Tribes can vary in size. Usually, three or four tribes in a certain geographical area will be allies with each other, migrating around each other and sharing resources. Pixies can freely travel and marry into any tribe. Even if two tribes are currently in some kind of dispute, the wishes of individuals are usually respected.
The Pixies rarely all gather together, and communication between tribes is often spotty. A common Pixie saying is "The Prairie is wide," which essentially boils down to, "instead of fighting let's just move away from each other." This method works well because the Pixie population grows very slowly and they have a lot of space to spread out. Recently, however, settlements and troubles with the other Windthrowns have put strain on this philosophy, and the Pixies are struggling to adapt to having to be closer to each other.
A few decades ago, a Council of Chiefs was established to help with better communication between the tribes. All Chiefs are invited, but not all attend the meetings, which are held at each seasonal solstice. Some Pixie tribes resent the idea of uniting with others. Other Pixie tribes just don't believe it's really necessary. Still others are all for becoming more united and organized. It's a complicated subject.
Pixies do not use Capital Punishment. Killing other Pixies is a major taboo, unless it is legitimate self-defense, and even then you are expected to try every other option first. Killing anyone or anything with magic instead of a weapon is a major taboo. Just... just don't.
Because of this, when a Pixie commits a serious crime and refuses to reform, Pixies will banish them. Recently, some of these banished Pixies have begun to band together. These bands often raid other Pixie tribes and terrorize Windthrown settlers. The Pixies call them Gadshas, which means Shamed Ones. Unfortunately, many Windthrowns see all Pixies as raiders. Sometimes they will refer to any Pixie as "Gadsha," which is extremely offensive to the Pixies.
Facial characteristics
They tend to have narrow faces with smaller, more pointed facial features. Pixies also have slightly pointy ears.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
They exclusively are found on the Windthrown Prairie. They do not like to be in places they can't see, so they avoid forests.
Average Intelligence
Pixies like to think of themselves as smarter than other humanoids, but in all honesty, their intelligence average is probably the same as all the rest of them. Some of them are geniuses, some are just clever, and some are, well, not that bright.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Pixies love giving each other nicknames. Your given name from your parents is just that, a "gift," something given to you without you having to do anything for it. It is customary to give your given name first when you meet someone new, but if you are going to have any type of working relationship with them, it is expected for you to have names for each other. This of course gets complicated and sometimes ridiculous, with each Pixie having multiple names that they answer to. Last names are not really a thing for Pixies; you introduce yourself with your given name and then the tribe you belong to, for example, Zevi of Swifts, or Elma of Eagles. If you marry into another tribe, you just change the tribe to whichever one you choose to live with. Typically, men will go to their wife's tribe, but it's not unheard of for the opposite to happen, and no one really cares either way.
Pixies will also give nicknames to non-pixies, although it usually takes much longer and is a sign of great trust/respect.
Major Organizations
The Council of Chiefs is pretty much the only large organization, and it's, err, doing it's best.
Beauty Ideals
Pixies tend to think of long hair with braids or pony-tails as being beautiful. Some Pixies cut their hair, but usually only to the shoulders, hair any shorter than that is very unusual and may raise concerns about what happened to your hair. All Pixies have green eyes that glow when they use their powers, so they find the variety in eye-color of other humans and magical beings fascinating.
Courtship Ideals
The man has to kind of court the woman as well as her mother. You always want to impress the mother.
Relationship Ideals
Men often have to travel in order to hunt, so women typically run things at the camp. Chiefs can be male or female. A chief's spouse is seen as their counselor.
Average Technological Level
They are nomadic, so some Windthrowns mistake them for primitive, but Pixies are very good at what they do. Their tents are made of excellent materials and are designed for quick set-up/take-down. They are also very durable to withstand sudden storms. Pixies are excellent at textiles and weave fabrics in ways and from materials that humans have still not figured out. One example: Blacksilk. Only Pixies can make it.
Select groups of Pixies are trained in other skills such as metal work. They are hidden in very secret, secluded villages, because for the most part they are entrusted with making Focuses.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
All Pixies speak one language, commonly referred to as Pixie because I'm not super creative. There are different accents/dialects depending on the tribe, but generally they have no trouble communicating with each other.
Common Etiquette Rules
You always greet people respectfully. Even if you don't actually respect them. And you give your given name and your tribe name. However, you are not expected to divulge any of your nicknames, as those were names you earned and therefore the other party has to "earn" them from you, or give you their own. Like I said, the nickname thing is complicated. Even Pixies get confused sometimes. So, with people you don't really know well, just stick with the given name. Pixies whistle to get each other's attention. It is not seen as disrespectful at all. They can't really knock on tent doors, so they whistle. If they are trying to hail you from a distance, there might be a whistle accompanied by a wave. Pixies are very visual people, so they love waving.
Common Dress Code
They don't really have a "code," but they don't wear more clothes than is necessary. Pixies are almost always riding, so clothes that are easy to ride in and light to wear are good. Obviously they have to layer as the weather demands. Blacksilk cloaks are typically only seen if they expect trouble from Gadsha or another Pixie tribe, since Blacksilk protects from Pixie magic. During the night, they will often have short sleeves or no sleeves, and keep their head uncovered to show off their cool braids.
Pixies are nocturnal, but trading with Humans has led more of them to spend more time out during the day. However, their skin is fair and burns easily, so Pixies who spend time outside in the sun are more covered up than they would be at night. They often wrap their arms in cloth and wear either their blacksilk hood (which actually does great blocking the sun) or a wide-brimmed hat.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
Flag-dances. Pixies celebrate a festival at each solstice, and this is always done with lots of food and games and flag-dances, which are like winterguard routines. Basically, until you're old enough to be initiated as a warrior/hunter/tribe leader, you are a flag-dancer. Boys and girls are expected to participate. The dances also involve a lot of training that leads into using common weapons like spears, so it's useful. Sometimes if an older Pixie is teasing or being mean they'll call a younger one a "flag-dancer," which is kind of like saying they're a "whippersnapper," or "youngster." This isn't super offensive, usually it's just funny, but it depends on the context.
Common Taboos
*Killing other Pixies - even when they have disputes that come to violence (which is rare), they are often trying to raid and take something, or just wound each other.
*KILLING WITH MAGIC- VERY BAD
*Using a nickname that you didn't give someone without them giving you permission
*Teaching the Pixie language to an outsider
Common Myths and Legends
The Legend of the Windtreader:
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Pixies used to think more highly of other species, but that has been in decline as the humans have not been treating them well. They don't get much interaction with species such as Shifters or Sirens, but they have myths about them. Generally, Pixies still consider you an ally until you prove yourself otherwise, although they are more guarded than they used to be. Mostly they look down on humans for being wasteful/destructive.
Lifespan
120 years
Average Height
5ft for males, 4.8 ft for females
Average Weight
110-150lbs
Average Physique
Think light and fast. They are strong too, but not muscly.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Pixies skin colors are usually paler than other Prairie-dwellers because they are nocturnal. Usually within the caucasian-spectrum of skin color, with some slightly blue or green tints depending on the tribe.
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