Olos Fairy

The Forge Fairy

Written by Alchemical Tea
In Character Prose and Art by The Clockwork Human
Inspired by Scramax

"These interesting fairies are among my favorites. The Olos is a large, metal fairy that can usually be seen hanging around blacksmithing shops. If you are a blacksmith in Istengrad who is worth your salt, you will have an Olos hanging around your shop as well. If not, well, that says something about your skills as a blacksmith, yeah? The people of Istengrad will often pay extra to have an Olos “polish” their finished weapon. Their tongues leave behind saliva on the blade which dries and leaves the blade with blueish, swirling and undulating patterns, which finish the entire blade. This pattern, the “Olos’s Artistry” as many blacksmiths call it, offers the blade no tactical advantage, but it does look very nice.
Whilst travelling through the Western provinces of the Boldorn lands, I happened upon a Boldorn settlement just to the East of the Rust Mountains checkpoint. This settlement, Faavrit (lit. Fire Cliff.) was industrial in nature, nothing but smithies and foundries creating weapons to arm the local Stone Lord’s army. This particular Stone Lord, Barshe (Boldorn for “Barrel.”) got it into his head that he wanted to kill a dragon. Not an Istengradian dragon, no, a true dragon. He stated that “A true Boldorn is tempered in the flames of battle against the greatest of wee beasties.” and that “The All Father, the great Smith, would smile upon him and his troops for the gall to even declare he was going to kill such a being.” Well, more power to him. As for me I was staying in Faavrit to rest and sharpen up my sword, as it had grown dull. My next journey would take me through the Rust Mountains, so I needed to be ready.
Another Broken Helm was the name of the smith shop I went to. It was the nuggets and the locals seemed to like Svet’s work, Svet being the Boldorn word for “Shine.” As I walked into the shop, I understood why he was named that. He was bald, very bald. He also polished his head often. Said he was “Rank 982 in the World Boldorn head Shine Race.” Prestigious, I’m sure. He kept an Olos fairy at his shop, they were close, I could tell, as this fairy would stick by him everywhere Sevt went. Edde was this fairy’s name. He was rather large, around 6 inches tall. One of his horns was broken and he had a letter etched into his side carapace, Boldorn letter for “ED.” A loving and well-natured Olos, Ed would let you pet him and feed him, and even made unsavory gestures to ruffians. I let Ed feast upon the rust of my blade when it was time to begin restoring it. To this day, this blade, Olas’vinelle, remains one of my most treasured possessions"

The Olos Fairy, is an uncommon sort of fairy found in the dark places, often deep in the earth, where there are large amounts of metal, either refined or in ore form. These earth fae are most commonly known among dwarves and others who dwell underground, but trade has brought them to the surface, where they most commonly find refuge in or near metalsmithing shops, or coffers where metal goods are held. Rather than being pests, these strange deep fae feed on oxidation, and keep any metal around them shiny and clean.
Olos fairies are small and have a dark metallic complexion and beetle-like wings and carapaces.

Basic Information

Dietary Needs and Habits

Strange amongst creatures big and small the Olos fairy does not feed on plants nor beast instead the insect-like fae employs a manner of internal alchemy through the reagents of oxidation extracted from metallic ore through the use of it's rasp-like tongue and acidic saliva lifting oxidations from the surface of the metals and combining them with its own enzymes to provide the creature with energy.

Additional Information

Domestication

Domesticated Olos tend to be greatly larger and heavier than their wild cousins weighing in close to a full four-pounds though care must be taken to ensure a proper dietary mix for a diet of pure rust is poor for the health of the creature and unless special feeding is carried out the creature will only live roughly half a years

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Metal workers and artisans view the Olos the file like rasping of their mouthparts a welcome song amongst their places of work . Additionally among the crafting peoples there has been a recent trend of decorative etchings using a mixture of oxidative chemicals some craftspeople have taken to promote the rusting of their work only to then remove the rust via Olos fairy the result is a beautiful etching pattern emblazoned in the metal with the telltale bluish coloration of the fairies caustic saliva stained into the metalwork.

Average Intelligence

Animal-like. Described by the commoners as baring the same intelligence of a rooster.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Devoid of sight organs, it is theorized that the Olos fairies locates metallic elements and mates via a combination of pheromones and a special organ located in the thorax.  The function of this special organ, a dense round organ with a honeycomb like structure, while poorly understood is believed to allow the fairy to sense the aura (magnetic fields) given off by iron bearing ores.

Scientific Name

Fairy Oxidatorus

Lifespan

One winter.

Average Height

6 to 9 inches

Average Weight

1.5 – 3.5 lb

Geographic Distribution

• The Rust Mountains