Seorsai

**Seorsai** are Lesser Fae who use natural/earth magics. They live in wilderness areas, often in the Great Forest, and prefer natural landforms to man-made cities and structures. Seorsai species include fauns, nymphs, and centaurs. Many seorsai act as guardians, guides, and/or unofficial rulers of wilderness territories.

## Species

### **Fauns**

From the waist up fauns resemble humans, but they have the belly, hips, and rear legs of a goat. Fauns are quite agile on their two cloven hooves. They have a small goatlike tail. Most fauns have short, curly hair and almost all males sport thick sideburns or beards. Hair may be any colour a goat would naturally take. Their eyes are a goat's amber-brown with square, devilish pupils. Occasionally you may find a faun with green eyes, indicating the influence of some other Fae breed.

Fauns are accomplished woodsmen. They live off the land, rarely choosing to cultivate or buy their food, and are excellent hunters when they put their minds to it. Any trap a faun makes is sure to catch its quarry. But most of them stick to nuts, berries, and leaves whenever they're available.

It's said that fauns are lazy creatures. They do prefer to take the easiest path whenever possible, but when they put their mind to something they are as stubborn as a goat and do not cease until it's accomplished. They greatly enjoy trickery, mischief, pranks, and the accumulation of knowledge. Most fauns are accomplished musicians and scribes. The wisest among them are sometimes called *satyrs*, an extremely complimentary title.

They all can use earth magic, though most rarely choose to -- magic takes work. They have an invariable weakness for pretty faces. Most fauns have a number of friends among the nymphs, with whom they spend a great deal of time. They may protect "their" nymphs with their lives and guard the nymphs' territories as though they were the faun's own.

Fauns keep *darbens*, or winter houses, which are extremely difficult to find without the faun's own guidance. Darbens are buried halfway beneath the earth. They stay cozy warm in winter, which is the only time the fauns use them: in summer the creatures remain aboveground and sleep near whatever nymphs invite them home.

Like most Lesser Fae fauns have relatively short lifespans. They are considered mature at 40, then live to around 300 years old.

### **Nymphs**

Nymphs are female Lesser Fae whose spirits are attached to particular places. Sihiri has several types of nymph:

* **Nereid** -- A nymph attached to a river or body of water.
* **Dryad** -- A nymph attached to a type of tree or a copse of trees.
* **Hamadryad** -- A nymph attached to a particular tree.
* **Hesperid** -- A celestial nymph (attached to a star). *(Rare)*
* **Oread** -- A nymph attached to a certain landform.

The fate of the nymph is tied to its place: if the place dies, so does she; if the place is harmed, so is she. Most nymphs are therefore extremely protective of whatever they're tied to. They are usually not very powerful as far as magic or attacks, though they do have some old earth magics at their disposal (and most have plenty of allies). But they are experts at seducing and manipulating. It's said that in one heartbeat a nymph can identify whatever a person wants most; in another she can become it.

Nymphs rarely travel far from their places of power. They can, physically, but they pine and waste when they're away for too long. Many nymphs enjoy spending time with fauns. They are usually friendly, light-hearted beings that enjoy celebrations and parties. The Twelfth Crown is an especial favourite of the nymphs.

Nymphs live about 300 years. They mature by about 20 and remain frozen in time from then on, never appearing to age a day.

### **Centaurs**

Centaurs are wild Lesser Fae with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a horse. Their hair, eyes, and skin can be any normal human colour, while their body is any colour a horse would naturally be. Hair and tail usually match. Height and weight are about what you'd expect from a half-horse half-human beast.

Centaurs live alone. They're mysterious creatures who prefer solitude, and barring that, only the company of their own race. Centaurs are the be-all-end-all scholars of the arcane. They are expert astrologists. Their grasp of natural magic is absolute, enough to make them essentially wild: they do not care about social conventions and can be quite rude. But in times of need, centaurs can provide invaluable insights. They were used to create the Oracle and are masters of augury - if you can get them to speak to you.

Once every fifty years the centaurs all gather. The meeting is called *Al-Vese* (lit. "Star Day," though it lasts about a week). They use the time to combine all of their observations from the past fifty years into a cohesive history, melding what they've seen of the stars and of magic, then interpreting the result. Al-Vese is celebrated by just about every other race of Lesser Fae, though the centaurs maintain a fifty-mile radius in which no others can enter.

It's said centaurs live about 300 years.