The Encyclopedia of Fey Creatures

The Encyclopedia is a thick, leather-bound book that smells faintly like daisies when opened. The book is extremely long, but houses a lot of valuable information about fey. Made in the Pyrite Era by Vassoan Scholars, the book is compilation of Fey information compiled by general editor Elrig Pasth.

## On Blink Dogs

*"Blink Dogs are a particularly odd creature. They have a strong affinity to the Feywild, as it was the place from which they were birthed. When the people of the Feywild, the Eladrin, raised arms against the gods, they sent machinations there just as evil as those they sent to our plane. The creatures known as Displacer Beasts were murderous and evil creatures put in the Feywild by the gods to kill the Eladrin.*

*When first imparted onto the Feywild, the Displacer Beasts were prey to their own nature. They killed ruthlessly and mercilessly, but were little more than mindless beasts. Eventually, they began to be captured by the evil Unseelie Court of Fey. The Unseelies would train and use the Beasts to kill not only Eladrin, but any type of Seelie (good-aligned) fey. After being prisoners for some time, the Displacer Beast was confronted with it's enslavement.*

*It was this capture by The Unseelie Court that forced adaption upon The Beasts, and they became vastly intelligent. They grew minds and wills of their own, and abandoned their God-given purpose. Instead, Displacer Beasts fell in love with not simply killing warriors in the mallus, but anything they could hunt and kill. They became indifferent to the gods' struggle.*

*By far the most fun prey to hunt for Displacer Beasts is Blink Dogs. Blink Dogs were a Seelie Fey who for a long time were actually considered pets and friends to the Eladrin. Thus, Blink Dogs have a natural inclination towards Eladrin. Once Displacer Beasts began to hunt Blink-Dogs for sport, there was a national cry to protect them.*

*Displacer Beasts, being god-created to hunt and destroy, were much more powerful then Blink Dogs, whose only main strength was a good defensive ability to blink. Due to this, Displacer Beasts nearly extincted all Blink Dogs and s a result, during the last days of communication between the fabled city of Great Vassos and The Feywild, Eladrin sent the remaining numbers of Blink Dogs into the mortal plane.*

*Now, mainly in Vasilia and Congeria, Blink Dogs are commonly found traveling in small packs. Behaving much like a normal dog, an interesting difference is the mark The Feywild left on Blink Dogs. As they say, you can take the dog out of the Feywild but you cannot take the Feywild out of the dog. Because of this, Blink Dogs still have the opportunity to walk between planes, temporarily leaving the mortal plane and traveling through the Feywild. To the average person it may appear as though the dog has teleported. This is not the case. The dog is in fact moving through another plane (The Feywild) where the laws of time and distance are vastly different, making movement easier.*

## On Faerie Dragons

*"Faerie Dragons are an extremely small class of draconic creatures usually no bigger than a common house cat. They boast a beautiful iridescent scale pattern that reflects all the colors of the rainbow, colors which represent their age. They also boast beautiful large butterfly-like wings on their back. Their long tensile tail oft twitches and matches the emotion of the fey. They are remarkably swift and sneaky.*

*Faerie Dragons are a type of Seelie fey that love mischief and playing pranks on unsuspecting travelers. Nothing excites them more than playing a good practical joke, save perhaps sweet treats. In order to be able to execute these pranks, the Faerie Dragon is normally invisible - as the creature ahs the ability to magically become invisible.*

*Faerie Dragons can be pesky at worst, but a good friend at best. Faerie Dragons love good company and respond well to those who revel in their jokes and share their delicious sweets. Travelers would do well to keep a few extra sweets when traveling. Playing to the creatures draconic nature, it can be tempted with sweet foods and candies which it enjoys immensely. In return, the Faerie Dragon will usually offer some bot of advice or help.*

*Beware evoking the ire of a Faerie Dragon, if goaded or made upset, the creature may attack with it's magical ability, sharp fangs, or hallucinogenic breathe. Further, be aware that if you see one Faerie Dragon there are likely more hiding invisibly nearby in case they need help. Spell-casters, beware. The Faerie Dragon has a strong resistance to magic that allows them to escape serious consequences of a spell more often than not. Once a Faerie Dragon has had a memorable interaction with a mortal, it may never forget the face or mortal, sometimes even returning years later to play pranks again when they least suspect it.*

*If trying to tell the difference between male and female Faerie Dragons, observe them in sunlight. While bathed in sunlight, female Faerie Dragons are known to glow with a golden tinge, while males have a silver tinge. An important thing to note about the Faerie Dragons is the way in which their scales and colors change. As a dragon ages, they change colors and become stronger magically. Below is a chart you can use to denote age by observing color. Do be aware that the platinum wings of the dragon do not change color.*

 Orange
 Yellow
 Green
 Blue
 Indigo
 Violet

*Faerie Dragons are one of the very few dragons to enjoy tropical forests, but will be happy to settle in near any forest. They make their nests high up in the tops of trees by collecting bits of hay, straw, branches, tree bark, and other small materials.*

*They are herbivores, they enjoy nuts, grains, honey, fruits, and roots. When necessary, they have been to known to hunt insects. What they truly enjoy beyond any other earthly things is baked treats - they love baked sweets so much that they will go to great lengths to collect them. Some might say they show signs of an addict when it comes to baked sweets. However, by far, the crème de la crème for the small dragons is apple pie. Some say there is no limits to what a Faerie Dragon will do in return for a slice of delicious apple pie.*

*Faerie Dragons have a natural ability to speak to animals and often tried to include them in their pranks and jokes. This is because Faerie Dragons are one of the most social fey creatures, and if you are wondering where a particular Faerie Dragon nest may be, look yo nearby settlements of fey. Faerie Dragons enjoy building their nests near dryad's trees or satyr homes to be able to socialize. Faerie Dragons best friend however, are pixies. To a Faerie Dragon, it is better to laugh together than laugh alone.*

*Although Faerie Dragons are magical nature do be aware that they learn their magics not to harm but to prank. They sometimes spend months practicing a new spell with which they can pull a brand new prank on a new target. However, Faerie Dragons try to avoid violence and will never learn a spell for the sole sake of harming another*

*Other than pranking and eating sweets, Faerie Dragons love to swim and float in water. They sometimes waste entire days away swimming in oceans and brooks with friends. They are famously good swimmers and are amazingly dexterous underwater.*

## On Satyrs

*"Satyrs are a sentient Fey creature from the Feywild. There exact origins, to this day, remain unknown. The first satyrs were thought to be born from the union of other, older fey creatures such as Nymphs and Dryads. Some theorize that there may also be eladrin or human blood in them. However, it seems that genetic makeup is not so important in the case of satyrs, for what's more curious is that once a couple that birthed satyrs began to have children, all of their children would become satyrs. For this reason some people believe biology matters not so much as the Fey Magics which create satyrs.*

*Satyrs are famously fun-loving creatures who revel in carnal delights. They are bold explorers, born with a strong wanderlust and desire to discover new things. Satyrs love finding ways to get in and out of trouble, so that they may have exciting stories to tell next time they imbibe some delicious alcohol.*

*Satyrs tend to live in small groups, inhabiting homes carved into giant trees or built into hills. The more common Woodland Satyr is known to pass time in these groups by drinking, playing fun games, composing music, dancing, and copulating. They tend to make poor soldiers and fighters, as Satyrs are lovers rather than fighters. In battle, they are more reliable in the stealing of enemy battle tactics and liquor. When force into combat, Satyrs prefer to keep their distance and shoot arrows from deep in the woods so as to avoid too much danger.*

*However all this is not to say that Satyrs cannot live in refined society. There have been many satyrs who move into cities and towns seeking new experiences and adventure. Strangely, despite what racial group they move in with, satyrs always seem to know whose palms to grease and how to get by obstacles.*

*It does follow, however, that Satyrs would fit in with many groups of people. They are diplomatic and careful in negotiation like Half-elves. They are as fun loving as Halflings or Gnomes. They drink as much as Dwarves and delight in drinking games, in fact, many Dwarven phrases about drinking come from Fey drinking games. The same is true for Elven sayings about exquisite and fantastical faun parties.*

*Though Satyrs tend to get along with mortal races, they do still have the fey disposition of trickery. Satyrs love to fool mortal races - especially humans. To many satyrs, there is nothing better than looking at the face of a human who just realized that the have been thoroughly hoodwinked.*

*The only Satyrs who prove to be a problem are those particular raucous, hedonistic, self-absorbed male satyrs that go mad with hedonistic desire. These males travel in small packs with an unquenchable desire only fulfilled by food, drink, or sex. These Satyrs attack with their rams and can prove very dangerous. The most deadly of Satyrs are those Mountain Satyrs who go so feral that their entire human head is turned into the furry, long-haired head of a goat."*

## On Dryads

*"Dryads, like nerieds or nymphs, are nature spirits that are older than most living mortals. Unlike sprites, who live on average only about 40 or pixies who share a similar lifespan, dryads are creatures whose age cannot be surmised by mortal means. That, combined with their privative lifestyles has shrouded them in mystery and wonder for mortal peoples. In Elven folklore Dryads are a race of women with unearthly beauty symbolic of the beauty in antiquity, human legends of Dryads describe alien beings who wage war on civilization - a representation of the power over nature (and also quite likely descended from many human towns and colonies started in dryad territory resulting in nasty fights and skirmishes with the powerful fey). No matter the culture, there is a great deal of misinformation and fascination.*

*Dryads live solitary privative lives, rarely interacting with each other or any other creature; preferring to keep to themselves. Dryads life forces are tied up into the trees which they inhabit, and because of this, even if they wanted to socialize with other creatures, they wouldn't be able to for long. Dryads can only survive away from their tree for so long or travel so far from it before both the dryad and tree dies. So, dryads tend to themselves and often hide from mortals when they can feel their approach. The only creatures that are said to have been liked by dryads are the small and likable pixies whom they let create egg-shaped nests in their branches.*

*Dryads* *are also very largely peaceful creatures who do not commit violence unless they are truly backed into a corner. The dryads are guardians and protectors of life, and to take it is not in their nature. For this reason, dryads hide from anyone that may pose a threat to them, choosing to outlast rather than overcome when they are confronted with violence.*

*Otherwise, Dryads are known to be wise and intelligent, a bit guarded, and elusive. To find Dryads is a hard task, for they often do not want to be found. If a dryad has run and hid in a tree however, and you were lucky enough to see it happen, then the dryad can be killed or threatened with the burning of it's tree (the most horrifying possibility to a dryad, who would die if his home tree were removed or destroyed in such a manner).*

*Contrary to popular beliefs and stories passed down (mostly from elves), all dryads are not women. Although due to a few chance encounters this was thought to be true, recent discoveries in the Great Fey Wild Reservations of Vasilia have proven this theory false - there are both male and female dryads. Though their origins are not known , nor is it known if more can be made, there is a precedent for Dryads going into open conflict.*

*Early in the bronze era, as the Vassoans began to cut down the forests around them to expand their city, a group of dryads was formed - the first and only notable case of a dryad alliance. The group tried to stop the encroaching woodsmen but were cut down in their tracks when the King of Vasilias at the time, Gavriil Totas, sent a militia of Vassoan Guardsmen back by Arcanum Pyromancers. The forest was cleared, but presented a scary reminder for humans: the dryads were their enemies. Since this, dryads have had a sort of bad reputation among humans and halflings who often inhabit the same spaces and have some to see them as evil."*

## On Sprites

*"Sprites are small loyal creatures who although are small in size and generally weak can be quite a fierce enemy when swarmed. It follows then, that sprites stick tightly together, seldom giving predators a chance to catch them alone. They form group colonies in large old trees living in egg-shaped nests on the highest branches. In general, warriors live on the bottom most branches, artisans and merchants above that, and then another top level of warriors and the Warrior-King. The purpose of this is to provide defense for the most valuable citizens in the community, the healers, chefs, trappers, and experts of other trades.*

*When defending their home, Sprites generally will consolidate all non-warriors in some sort of guarded nest or knot in the tree and protect them while the rest of the army is led by the Warrior-King against the threat. Sprites generally try to use strong sleeping potions and deadly poisons to gain the edge in the battlefield, as due to their diminutive size and strength they would quickly be bested by any combatant in head on combat. To that end, their preferred method of combat is to put their enemies to sleep and either move the threat or kill them in their sleep depending on the disposition of the enemy. Second most preferred is jumping into combat with poison blades and more-so poisoned arrows. When either of these fail, sprites know better than to test luck and will utilize their speed to return home and evacuate the home tree. In some cases, treants will allow sprites to build homes in their branches and so the tree itself may lend aid to the sprites. See the chapter on treants for more information.*

*When attacking an enemy camp or village, the sprites would be a bit more methodical in their planning. The sprites would send small groups of scouts - enough to defend each other but less than enough to be detected easily. The scouting party would watch sometimes for weeks and observe the layout and going ons in the community and launch their attack at the most opportune moment.*

*What we can gather from this is that the sprites are the most militaristic fey creatures, with a heavy focus in their culture on honor and warfare. Sprite honor affects every portion of their lives, from family values to politics everything in sprite culture is about keeping, maintaining, or regaining honor. The sprite idea of honor however, is much more complicated and at times convoluted than any mortal idea of it; it is here we begin to see their fey tendencies despite their militaristic tradition. Any small conceived slight can be used against a sprite as a reason to strip them of their honor, in which case they must go on a Quest of Honor bequeathed upon them by the Warrior-King. The Quest of Honor is usually about completing some incredible feat of physical skill and bravery. Disgraced sprites who refuse the Quest are banished and usually end up dead or in a bandit sprite gang.*

*Other than warfare, Sprites greatest focus is in overcoming that which is perceived by them to be evil. Sprites see themselves as defenders of all in the world which is good and natural and act accordingly. What followed was a militaristic tradition as we have previously discussed. The fact that Sprites have the shortest lifespans of any fey furthers their ambitions in warfare, for in such a short life every sprite dreams of differentiating himself through military honor to be remembered and honored for generations after their lives. Another consequence of this is that sprite colonies are very quick to adapt and evolve to the times."*

## On Nerieds

*"Nerieds are yet another fey species older than mortal comprehension. Like the Dryads of the trees or the nymphs of streams and rivers, Nerieds are fey spirits that inhabit large open bodies of water such as oceans or great lakes. Also much like other ancient fey spirits, less is known about Nerieds due to their mystic nature.*

*What is known is reported by sailors and fishers who make a living on the sea and thusly have the most interaction with the creatures. They are described as beautiful beyond all comprehension, for even elves are awe-stricken by their glorious visage. The Nerieds seem all to be feminine in nature, to date not a single male has been discovered.*

*Their enticing beauty generally draws men, especially lonely sailors, to the water in a desperate struggle to find them and lie with them. Nerieds however are perhaps one of the most powerful known fey entities other than Arch-Fey and Elder Fey. Their power and their dominion is as vast and as unstoppable as the waters they control. They can fell entire ships and creatures with their supernatural powers. Many natural disasters through the ages are either rumored to be or confirmed to be the result of an angry Neried.*

*And angry they can become. Just as wild and as subject to quick change as the waves of the ocean, Nerieds are moody and quick to find fault in people. It takes a particularly ancient and wise Neried to overcome this innate tendency to rash action. The wisest among these creatures however, tend to be reclusive and solitary creatures like dryads.*

*They are emotional, flighty, have an inherent distrust of any living mortal no matter who he may be, and tend to remain in small reclusive groups called sisterhoods. They remain, again, mysterious. Very little information has been brought to light on the mystical nature of these creatures, but they are observed to be immensely powerful and as a result of that incredibly dangerous. If you find yourself seeing beautiful women dancing beneath the waters surface as you sail across the open sea, than quickly avert your eyes and pray to the gods that you have not disturbed their strange rituals; for sailors have before seen the glowing lights of these creatures gathered in a circle carrying out some mysterious prayer. When disturbed, they become extremely violent and there are relatively few men who have seen such things and survived. The advice of this humble author is to avoid contact with the creatures at all costs."*

## On Centaurs

*"Centuars are not technically fey creatures, but fey killers. It is said in the old tales that they were made by the gods to destroy the Feywild, a place whose existence they loathed. Known for their brutality in warfare and their extreme behavior, Centaurs quickly became very feared by other fey groups. The battles between Centaurs and Fey are as old as they are, and often times ends with misery for fey at the hands of the unrelenting centaurs.*

*Being a sick twist of mortal and beast, centaurs lived a confused and angry existence. On one hand they fall prey to animalistic instincts : they are quick to fight amongst themselves, they follow ancient migratory paths (destroying anything that has been built in their way), and they seem to have little regard or empathy for the lives of any creature. However, like mortals, they are crafty. They can make armor and weapons, and can have some primitive form of hierarchy and government.*

*They tend to be deceitful and untrustworthy. An honorable group of centaurs has never been found, and likely never will be. Their instinct to kill is far too great, it is their god-given purpose. Like displacer beasts, they live only to serve the Gods' wills, living and dying solely for them.*

*If found in a situation where you have encountered centuars, the best thing to do is try and climb a tree and hope that help reaches you before their arrows. They are skilled runners and athletes, easily able to outrun most mortal creatures; however due to their large size and horse legs they cannot climb so easily. This really is the only hope in escaping death at their hands. That is, unless you have no one on the way to help. Without reinforcements, you surely will be stricken down by their arrows, for Centaurs are well known for their skills in fletching and archery."*