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SPRITES
MAGICAL ALIGNMENT: Light, but not virtue following. Rather, much like The Fae, sprites must obey the balance of nature. Straying too far from this will cause a sprite to turn to dust.
LIFESPAN: Unlike The Fae, elemental sprites are incredibly durable and do not experience any of the detrimental effects of aging. They can survive near-total destruction (the loss of limbs, crushing, removal of a chunk of themselves), and so long as their inner core survives, they may regenerate. These beings are, however, vulnerable to
contradictory elemental mana*.
OVERALL APPEARANCE: There are six different subspecies of sprite, with extremely unique appearances to one another. They do, however, share an overall 'shape', with some minor variations. All sprites are notably short in stature, ranging from 4 feet tall to around 5'9", depending entirely on their origin. With large, pointed or drooped ears, flat, snakelike noses, thick antennae, avian-esque feet and, sometimes even, tails, sprites have little hope of blending into a human-only society.
The most obvious feature of a sprite is that their entire bodies are constructed from a specific element, even the hair or 'fur' across their bodies. This element, be it foliage or wisping flames, typically follows colourations that can exist within nature, but often gradiates into other hues. Their facial structure differs from other humanoids, too, generally having larger, wider heads and small, wide set eyes. All sprite variations possess small 'wings', detached from their shoulderblades.
*A frost sprite, for example, is able to be melted by fire or even a particularly hot day.
LEAF SPRITES: By far the most common variation of these creatures, a leaf sprite is produced when any light-mana nature elemental (for example, a dryad) and a faerie reproduce. Made up of leaves, grass, flowers or even tree bark, these verdant beings have an affinity for agrokinesis, botanical empathy or even communicating with animals.
VARIANTS
PUDDLE SPRITES: Also known as water sprites, these beings are the resultant offspring of any light-mana water elemental (such as a mermaid) and The Fae. Their bodies are entirely fluid, translucent and often blue or even teal-tinted. Alongside controlling the water they're made from, they may posses other forms of hydrokinesis.
FLAME SPRITES: A flame or fire sprite is produced when any fire elemental and a faerie reproduce. Strangely enough, however, this does not need to be a light-mana parent. Many a fire-based dragonborn has sired a flame sprite. Their body makeup and powers are relatively self explanatory, although, alongside pyrokinesis, a fire sprite may also be able to utilise fragokinesis.
BREEZE SPRITES: A slightly less common variant of a sprite, a breeze or air sprite is produced when any light-mana air elemental (for example, a kaze kitsune) and a faerie reproduce. These creatures are made solely of clouds, and range from a stark white to crystal blue, even sometimes lilac. Along with aerokinesis, these creatures can often exert control over the weather, or create cloud-constructs.
SPARK SPRITES: The rarest variant of sprite is a spark sprite, entirely built from electricity in its rawest form. Often sporting bright yellow or neon blue hues, these beings are the resultant offspring of any light-mana electricity elemental (such as a sanda kitsune) and The Fae. As for abilities, spark sprites are incredibly powerful, whether generating electricity or harnessing it as a weapon.
FROST SPRITES: Also known as ice sprites, these beings are the resultant offspring of any light-mana ice elemental (such as a snow harpie) and The Fae. Their bodies are crystalline and translucent, often white, pale blue or even teal-tinted. Alongside an advanced form of cryokinesis, they may also alter surrounding temperatures, or induce slipperiness on a surface.
OVERALL BIOLOGY: Outside of their 'inner core', a mana-filled sack that functions almost like a heart, sprites have no real internal structure. No organs, no bones, not even skin, technically speaking. They are made entirely of one material, through-and-through, puppeteered almost by the magic that surrounds them. As such, sprites have no real need for sustenance or rest of any kind. They are (mostly*) unable to become sick or be injured, and in place of eating or sleeping, may 'recharge' themselves in rather peculiar ways. A leaf sprite, for example, may need to bask in the suns rays; a frost sprite, for instance, may need to be below a certain temperature to regenerate energy.
REPRODUCTION AND HYBRIDISATION: Much like both armourans and stuffins, sprites are technically incapable of reproduction or hybridisation. Rather, in order to have offspring, these elemental pixies simply 'split off' a part of themselves - the development into a unique sprite infant is practically instantaneous from there. If done so in the presence of an interspecies partner, the resultant offspring may share traits with them, such as animalistic ear shapes. They may differ in colour, size and texture from their sprite parent, but will always display the same element.
*A leaf sprite may be vulnerable to infections that commonly affect plants, such as blight or powdery mildew.
SEXUAL DIMORPHISM: Sprites have no sex, and no concept of gender - they are all distinctly androgynous, present in various ways fashion wise, and some may even choose to forego clothing entirely.
CHILDHOOD AND DEVELOPMENT:
Created as fully-formed, smaller, squishier adults, young spritelets tend to resemble toddlers moreso than newborns. They pick up on most milestones within the first three months of life, such as walking, flight and rudimentary speech, though emotional maturity is something that may only come with age. Appearance wise, a spritelet may be slightly brighter in colouration than an adult, and may even glow in low-lighting.
ORIGIN: Sprites exist solely as the resultant hybrid between The Fae and select other species', and do not exist within any realm other than The Overworld. They are a far 'newer' species than most, appearing in the last 200 or so years, as more species' interact with one another.
CULTURE: As total cultural and spiritual chameleons, sprites find it easy to assimilate into any and all lifestyles. The majority choose to follow religions or beliefs that align with their element, such as a flame sprite worshipping Pele or Hestia, goddesses associated with fire itself. They may also retain echoes of Fae spirituality, especially if they are the child of a fairy, mirroring their circles of worship and propensity to pass down folk music to their offspring. Widely speaking, a sprite does not necessarily devote itself to nature as a nymph or a faerie may, leading to some unfortunate occurrences.
There are very few sprites living within Embers Edge at present, notably fewer than 50. They are a particularly unique species to come across.
