Fairies

Description

Fairies are the smallest of the Mystics, only ranging between five and fifteen centimeters tall, not counting their large ethereal wings, which would be best described as a combination of butterfly and dragonfly, which are about as long as they are tall. They have long limbs and fingers, as well as large heads, which are about a fifth of their length, with large pointy ears, big round eyes, and wide sharp-toothed mouths, and their hair is thin and silky and comes in a wide variety of colors, mostly ranging from brown to red and yellow, as well as white and black and everything in between.

Anatomy and lifecycle

They are semi-mammalian in nature, and only partially follow traditional mammalian anatomy, although they don't have sexual dimorphism. They menstruate about twice a month, but they don't give birth to live children, they actually lay eggs, one at a time, after developing it for about three months. This egg will hatch after a few weeks, and then the baby fairy is born. Fairies age quickly and they will reach sexual maturity within two years, they are considered adults when they can fly on their own. They are omnivorous and primarily feed on fruits and insects. Despite their modest stature, they have strong limbs and bodies, especially for a creature their size. They can reach an impressive age of around one hundred years old, which is actually quite young as mystics go, and they are by far the shortest living of all the mystics. Because they live so long, and have such fast birth cycles, one female has the capacity to have a very large large amount of children in her life even considering that they reach menopause around the age of fourty.

Living Habits

They live in large colonies in trees, preferably very large old trees with a big canopy where they have plenty of space for themselves. They will often build a home inside of the trunks of trees, where they will live with several generations, and they will expand their home as more individuals are born until the tree dies, becomes overpopulated, or is no longer a safe place. Then the younger fairies leave to find a new tree to live in. Sometimes a tree colony starts out with just a few families, who build their home, and as families grow bigger, split apart and younger fairies decide to move out and start their own home, the colony grows bigger over many generations, and colonies are usually just a collection of a few large extended families. It is not uncommon for single fairies to join other trees because they form a relationship with a member of another colony. Fairies are renowned group hunters, and they use a combination of javelins, bows, and magic to hunt.

Magical Abilities

Fairies being Mystics, they are strong magical beings, and their magic focuses on wind and nature magics, as well as transformation, although this is considered a highly advanced skill among the fairies, and most of them are not capable of this.

Combat prowess

While many larger beings might look down on the fairy, thinking them small and weak, fairies can be dangerous foes, especially because they like to swarm around enemies in groups. They use their long blades, and spears, which might look like tiny letter openers to larger folk, but they are still long enough to cut you to pieces, especially because such small creatures are hard to defend against.

In a hidden meadow, I stumbled upon a group of little fairies with wings resembling miniature stained glass windows, casting a mesmerizing display of colours. Their laughter echoed like tiny bells, and their attire, adorned with leaves and petals, spoke of an ancient magical society. As I approached cautiously, they took notice of me, and retreated into their tree tops, but one of the fairies, seemingly more curious than the rest, approached me with a twinkle in her eyes. Her voice, like the gentle rustling of leaves, spoke of forgotten tales and timeless wonders, though I could not understand what she meant, I couldn't help but feel a great sense of wonder, as the moment passed, sadly she did not stick around, and she too retreated, after having taken a good look at me.
-Encounter with fairies, as described by a wondering mage

Related Species:
The Mystics