Fairy

Fairies are the most common characters in BOREAL: The Official Webcomic. They are characterized as being the patron spirits of the forest's small plants including shrubs, bushes, grasses, herbs, perennials, and weeds.

Fairies vary in adult size from 8 inches to 2 feet standing, though larger fairies are often mixed Sprite, which is common in woody shrubs, small trees, and other more traditionally shrub or grass like plants that actually fall phylogenetically into tree families. They come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colours, and host-body species.

## Life Cycle

### Infancy:

Before a fairy begins its life, the soul pertaining to its plant will be assigned to an animal host-body. These can range from mice and squirrels to foxes and bobcats, and will always be assigned upon the host-body's birth. This causes the host body to undergo a transformation into an infant called a seedling, losing a tail and changing the general skeletal structure to accommodate for a large brain, smaller teeth, complex hands, and working lips. The parent of the host body will automatically abandon this baby and will psychologically deterred from eating it. This baby can survive by hiding without food or water for up to a week, but must be found by another fairy and nurtured in order to ensure survival.

### Growth:

Fairies grow at different rates from one another, usually maturing based on experience. Seedlings reach toddlerhood within a few years, but it could take up to a century for a fairy to grow into its pre-teen-hood. On average, a fairy will reach adulthood at 350-400 years old. The maturing through childhood and adolescence sees the most variation, as differing levels of experience occur at different times over the fairy's life. Similarly, a fairy can see a significant growth spurt after undergoing a major life experience such as undertaking a great burden or undergoing a traumatic experience. These growth spurts can be as fast as a 1:1 change over the course of a year, and are an expected occurrence.

### Adulthood:

Fairies remain as adults for several centuries, as their host bodies have partial immortality. While they will undergo some effects of aging, they will be gradual and not nearly as unpredictable as the changes in the initial growth of the fairies. The average fairy life expectancy is anywhere between 1500 and 2000 years. If a fairy passes around 1500, they're considered seasonal passers, and those that persist beyond 1500 years are referred to as elders.

### Death and Reincarnation:

Once a fairy has exhausted the partial immortality of their host-body or undergo a fatal injury, their host body will pass away and their spirit will be released. This spirit will then be reassigned to a new host body upon the next mammal birthing season. While parts of the personality will carry forwards, none of the fairy's memories will. Thus their soul will begin a fresh, new life starting as a seedling.

## Origins

The Fairies were created by Forest Spirit Seikatsu close to 5 thousand years before present in order to aid the spirit in upholding the forest Boreal, which had become too extensive for them to tend to on their own. The Forest Spirit created them by splitting off the parts of their soul that was designated to each plant and assigning each to a host body. They raised the first generation of fairies, but as time went on, the fairies settled into their own society and eventually settled in the Lich Novier.

## Subcategories

Half-Sprite

Toxic Fairy

Sorcerer

Alchemist

Healing Fairy