Sprite

Azur from the world 'Ha-iknee during the age of Hanifamun answering the call of Isis as invited by the Elfs. This all female race of Fae lived by three Castes and each one had voted to answer the call of the aliance wtih their distant cousins. A band of warrior and healer Sprites were sent to answer the call along with a few Healers and Priests. Among the band were some of the bravest young female Sprites of 'Ha-iknee all eager to prove their dedication to their Caste. Over 75% of the Sprites that were sent to Azur were of the warrior class. Normally a Caste is made up of an equal number of classes which provided balance to the social orders but in Azur this was balance was tipped by the warrior class. Many classes were not represented which forced the Sprites to interact more with other races.

Each of the Castes sent a one hundred strong contingent through the portal where they helped to defeat the Isis rule. Not yet tired of the new world, many of the warrior Sprites chose to stay during the age of Jacmus. The Sprites of the W'aughter Caste chose to settle in the South where water was more abundant, the Wyndeh to the North where cold winds prevailed, and the Ph'are to the West where the hot sun scorched the land and molten lava spouted from the cracked ground.

With the Isis defeated, the warrior Sprites reinvented themselves as mercenaries or as hired guards, offering protection from those who travelled in shadows. By the start of the Jacmus Prime era, many of the original warrior Sprites had retired to their new homelands in Azur, leaving only a few whose reputation as resourceful and battle experience was respected through out Azur.

As the age of Humanity dawned, the Castes voted to leave with the Fae to the Netherlands. A few chose to return to their home world, 'Ha-iknee. The decision to travel to Netherlands was slow in being cast. The Sprites were one of the last to leave the surface to seek out the Netherlands but they lost their way in the Underworld and were set upon by a well armed and expectant, nest of Drow who were out scouting.

Ill prepared, the Sprites were out manouvered and many died or were taken prisoner by the Drow. The Sprites that were captured would not have lived long for the Drow were not merciful. Those that escaped capture retreated, hoping to reach the surface before the way back to the surface was sealed.

The total population now numbered fewer than 50 and seven more died as they banded together in a narrow cave not that far beneath the surface. They were lost and trapped between planes. Combined their magic was powerful and they cast it, weaving a powerful spell that hid the cave from view. The Sprites slept for thousands of years undisturbed until the spell broke and they woke in the age of Ahnicus.

Personality Traits

Strong willed
Athletic
Striking
Alluring
Versatile
Charming
Spiritual
Protective
Argumentative
Passionate
Magical
Protective
Vengeful

Physical Description

From the distance, most Sprites look like each other maintaining a similar height within a few inches of 5 feet. Sprites are generally slender but curvacious, with an aethletic, humaniod physique. The Sprites Caste usually determines the looks. W'aughter Sprites flesh was generally paler with a bluish tint that sometimes gave them a deathly look and they have been mistaken for the walking dead. Phare Sprites flesh various but they all share a mayne of thick, curly hair in shades of orange, red and burgandy. Wyndeh Sprites were the darker spirited of the Sprites and their complexions often reflected their intentions. Most Wyndeh Sprites are born with a set of wings. The wings can be large and feathered or small and clear. Some Sprites are born with four wings like a fire-flies, while others have wings that can grow and retract from their back.

Clans or Tribes

Castes play a pivotal role in the religion and social interactions of Sprites. Castes also determin the physical appearance and some of the magical abilities of a Sprite. The three Castes are:

Relations

Sprites tend to keep to their own willing the adverturers to come to them at Lake Beirelle. Their combined army can still be bought for a price and occasionally a Sprite will be swept off their feet into an adventure with a small group of others usually as a hired mercenary.

History

The Sprites answered the call of Isis towards the end of the Hanifamun age. They came through the open portals for a price and in return provided their warrior services to the alien race. It did not take long before the Sprite's loyalty was swayed another way by their distant cousins, the Elfs and the Sprites stood down, giving up their role as the Isis' protectors.

Jacmus provided the Sprites with a role in this new world. The people wanted protectors from the Evil that remained in the world long after the Isis had departed. Demons had also entered the world at the same time as the Fae and now they explored this new world that had up util now, remained hidden from their senses. The Sprites were ideal mercanaries for the Humans and other creatures inludng the Fae that wanted protection from the Demon race.

Their heriocs continued into the Jacmus Prime era where a darker side of the Sprites began to dominate brought on by a rogue Wyndeh warrior, Melrose Darkgaze. Not long after her disappeareance, the Sprites withdrew from the larger social settings in the world to a few choice areas that they had taken as their own. It was their own fault that they did not hear about the call to withdraw from the human world until it was nearly over. The Sprites had chosen to remain apart from everything else, making it difficult for anyone to contact them unless it was truly desired.

When the word came, the last of the Fae were already leaving. With no one to guide the Sprites down into the caverns of the underdark they turned left and right without care, calling ahead and freely announcing their intended path. The Drow were happily lying in wait, hidden in the shadows of the underdark caves.

They had no mercy.

Just over 4 score of Sprites escaped the slaughter and the enslaving of their race to the Drow. The women turned and ran as fast as they could, upward, back the way they had come. The Sprites' feet hardly touched the ground for over a day or more as they retraced their steps and finally stopped. Taking refuge in a small round cave where there was barely enough room for them all to sit. Together they cast a protection ward around the cave, it was a spell weaved to hide the cave upon a different plane making it invisible. Another spell was cast, this one would make a person feel nausea the closer they came to the cave and a third spell, a spell of sleeping cast upon all the Sprite so that they would sleep through the age of Humanity, to wake when they were need again.

The air was much different when one side of their cave collapsed. The Sprites awoke to find themselves in a cold climate but blessed with the springs of a warm lake. The geography had changed, the cave they had slept in which had been a hundred kilometres beneath the ground was now a hundred metres above water level.

Alignment

Any

New Race Lands

Dar is the only continent where Sprites are known to have emerged at the end of the Chaos age. Lake Berielle though nestled in the frigid South close to the Southern Pole, is partly located on top of an old volcano Mount Derendorf which heats up the waters to create a fog covered lake ideal for those of the W'aughter caste. Caves surrounding Lake Berielle lead down into the earth to the molten fires of Mount Derendorf where they Phare often congregate. High above Dar the Wyndeh fly soaring with the currents that the cold brisk air generates as it moves across the surface of Lake Berielle.

Religion

The religious creed of the Sprite survived the journey from their home planet, 'Ha-iknee. Many trillions of moons ago on 'Ha-iknee, a young warrior Sprite by the name of Rayne was injured after a battle, near to the end of the 1,000 year war war. The war was a war of Sprites against Sprites before they were gifted with the harmony of their race in a time when there was no order and no discipline. The injured warrior took refuge in a cave deep within the earth, where despite the cold air in the tunnels around it, the cave remained warm and after a small amount of time, Rayne found herself fully healled. When she went to leave the cave, Rayne found her way blocked by an ethereal being, one who had helped to form the world, 'Ha-iknee, a God by the name of Phare. Because the God had given her safe passage and had healed her wounds, Rayne was bound to serve the God for her mortal life. Two other Sprites had also shared similar experiences with Phare's sisters, the Gods W'aughter and Wyndeh. The laws not only bound the Sprites to serve the Gods for eternity but also bound their other Sisters to the Gods and ended the 1,000 year war by unifying the Sprites through the three Castes.

Language(s)

Common
Ite (Native language of the Sprite)

First Names

Sprites first names usually have a strong religious connection and a Sprites birthing will often have an influence in the name choosing. A Sprites genes are usually strong and they will mate with other species in order to have their own offspring. The pregnant sprite usually retires to a quiet place, sometimes in the closed leaves of a lilly pad or inside a clamb where it is dark. The Sprite gives birth without assistance of others and when mother and child have nursed they are now ready to face the rest of the Caste. The child is always female and usually the same caste as the mother. Held high above the mother's head, between her warm hands, the newborn sprite will have her first glance upon the world. The Caste's high priestess will call the child's name, inspired by the landscape of her birth. The name is repeated three times by the Caste.

Family Names

Sprites do not have a Family Name. Instead Sprites tag onto their name either their caste or a two word description given to them by their sisters that describes a general behaviour.

Examples:

Kohl of Wyndeh
Melrose Darkgaze

Adventures

It is rare for Sprites to venture out on their own, but occasionally a Sprite will find herself riding as a hired mercanary without any other sisters around her. Sprites like to let the adventurers come to them at Lake Berielle. The understand and control the appeal of their mystique beauty, a lucid charm which attracts people to them.

Though sightings are rare in this Age, Sprites are more likely to be seen in larger groups of hired mercinaries of no less than 12 warriors usually purchased at a significant cost for a borderland war.