Elemental Spirit Folk

Fey beings from legends and stories with inherent elemental powers.

---

Alisngaw

Small folk of the tropical zones who come out during the wet season.

• Lifespan: 120 years
• Diet: Water and insects
• Habitat: Anywhere with a wet season
• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Alisngaws are 4’ tall, hirsute fey beings with greenish blue hair. They have spindly limbs and large bellies, and their foreheads have a third eye usually obscured by hair. One in a thousand have big insectoid wings that only allow them to hover a little. Steam comes off their furry bodies if they are out in the sunlight.

Alisngaws are keenly aware of humidity. They can tell you exactly how much humidity is in the air at any time. They can sense changes in the weather, and they can smell better when it’s more wet out.

An alisngaw can turn into steam once per day for about 30 seconds, which they use to get through thick vegetation, usually. They can mimic the sound of insects who live in the area they live in, and they know local insect sounds inherently. If they move to a new area, it takes a year and a day to adjust.

Alisngaws are not impeded by rain, no matter how hard, and they are resistant to wind. Flooding does affect them, but they are strong swimmers. Thus, they often go out during rainstorms and monsoons to help people.

Alisngaws live in small communities in rain forests and other places with wet seasons, preferring to live in places with heavy vegetation so they can stay hidden. They only interact with other local communities during storms, during which they help those who are stranded. Otherwise, they keep to themselves, storing up water for the dry season, harvesting insects, and creating plant art and crafts.

In imperial societies, they are accused of drowning people and treated like threats.

PRO 8 ATH 9 Swim 11 STR 6 AWA 8 WIL 8 PRS 7 STH 9

---

Cascadian

Tiny folk in waterfalls.

• Lifespan: 120 years
• Diet: Tiny animals, plants, and minerals
• Habitat: Waterfalls
• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

6” tall fey beings with translucent wings of water and six spindly limbs (sometimes four legs, sometimes four arms). They have bluish skin and hair made of light.

Cascadians need the rush of water over them to live. They can leave waterfalls or rushing water for days at a time, but eventually, they must return to the rapids.

All cascadians can breathe both water and air, have immunity to cold, and can teleport short distances. They can also swim against current with no penalties. If a cascadian dances on water, the water will dance with them.

Once a week, a cascadian can create a minor rainbow. Once a month, they can create a bridge of water. Once a year, they can summon a torrent of rain. They need not be near water to do these.

Cascadians are so small, they often avoid interaction with others unless someone is disturbing their waterfall. Those who live in imperial lands are considered pests and often harmed by imperials.

In their own communities, cascadians live in vertical communities behind the waterfalls, catching small fish, bugs, and plants that come down the cascade, building simple hidden structures in the rocks, and making art out of light and water. They are often paired with and friends to jamuqas if they live in the same areas.

PRO 8 ATH 14 STR 3 AWA 9 WIL 9 PRS 10 STH 11

---

Ceotire

The people of the mists.

• Lifespan : 1,000 years
• Diet: Common fey fare
• Habitat: Misty moors
• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

The people of the mists. They appear to be 6' tall figures with glowing eyes, bluish white flesh, long fingers, and fey faces. They have white hair, and their shadows move independently.

Ceotire (Kyoteeray) have the ability to teleport via mist. Anywhere mist is, they can move there. This can be a matter of feet or a matter of thousands of miles. The further they go, the more they must rest afterward, but the longest rest they will need is four hours to recover from walking the mists.

Their shadows move independently and, if the ceotire closes their eyes, they see through those of their shadows.

For every century they are alive, they gain a new power:

• 100: protective mist
• 200: freezing blast
• 300: hear the whispers of the mists
• 400: instill confusion
• 500: entangling mists
• 600: chilling grasp
• 700: speak through the mists
• 800: draining mists
• 900: senesce target
• 1,000: mist form

Ceotires dwell in great misty moors and hidden realms masked by mist. They are an ancient and powerful species who know many secrets, ancient lore, and the ways of the world. They have secret communities protected from outsiders by their control of the mists, and they answer only to their elders and the world itself.

In the city-states, those few who have come out of the mists face discrimination and fear, for they are considered bogeymen by the general population and often demonized.

PRO 9 ATH 9 STR 9 AWA 11 WIL 12 PRS 8 STH 14

---

Clootie

Hairy fey of the springs.

• Lifespan: 400 years
• Diet: Water-heavy fey fare
• Habitat: Springs and baths
• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Clooties appear to be 4’ tall, hirsute fey folk, usually with dark brown hair all over them.

Clooties live in springs. They can breathe underwater; their hair does not get wet. They can speak to plants, fungi, and animals who drink from their springs for up to an hour afterward.

Clooties are seen as “ugly” or “repulsive” by many other species no matter what they actually look like. This is a self-defense mechanism that they can turn on and off, but most leave it on, as it does not work on other clooties and they forget they have it on.

The touch of a clootie will purify any water. If they give water to someone from their spring, the water can heal, soothe, or restore the drinker. They can turn other water into a lesser version of this once every other day. They can smell water for miles.

Clooties live in small communities around springs, natural baths, or other small sources of water. They are secretive and fearful, as their people have been harmed by outsiders. They are matrilineal and matriarchal. They like to play games, especially hide and seek, and they love making toys out of stone or wood for their children. Most clootie communities will have secret stores of toys alone.

They are viciously oppressed by imperials, who use them like dogs to find sources of water.

PRO 7 ATH 9 STR 6 AWA 9 WIL 8 PRS 6 STH 9

---

Crag Folk

Small folk among the stacks, skerries, and rock isles.

• Lifespan: 200 years
• Diet: Seafood-heavy fey fare
• Habitat: Rock islands and stacks
• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Crag folk appear to be 3’ to 4’ tall fey folk with shaggy hair on their heads. They are usually tanned and dark of hair, but there is some variation. Most are very scrawny.

Crag folk are resistant to heat and cold. They can swim very well, but they can only breathe underwater for a short time. They are very good at jumping and climbing, and they can comfortably cling to a steep slope or vertical for days, even sleeping there.

All crag folk can turn their skin to stone temporarily if they press against stone for more than a few seconds, but it only lasts a short while. They can also turn their hands into spears to catch fish for a few seconds at a time.

Crag folk live on the skerries, stacks, and rock islands, the small collections of rocks in the shallow sea and ocean waters, river waters, or lake waters. They have small communities that focus on scavenging for food, fishing, and finding trinkets and small objects to trade. They are often employed and exploited to be fishers, trash collectors, or pearl divers.

PRO 8 ATH 9 STR 7 AWA 9 WIL 8 PRS 7 STH 9

---

Dawn Folk

Fey of the rising sun.

• Lifespan: 300 years
• Diet: Fish-heavy mortal fare
• Habitat: Coastal equatorial regions
• Socioeconomic Status: Privileged oppressed

Dawn folk appear to be 6’ tall fey folk with golden brown skin, hair the color of the sunrise (it varies by day), and golden tan furry legs.

Dawn folk’s hair changes color every sunrise, matching the coloration of the sunrise from their precise location. If they are inside or otherwise blocked from the sunrise, their hair still changes to match the sunrise from their location assuming no obstacles were in the way.

All dawn folk know both their own location (on Shem) and the location of the sun at all times. If they leave Shem, it takes them a single rotation of the orbital body or spacecraft they are on to adjust their locational sense. If they are adrift in the void of space, they are probably dead, but if somehow they are not, their locational sense does not work.

Dawn folk are resistant to heat and radiation. They can see in the dark and can view bright lights without harm to their eyes.

At sunrise, they can bask in the rising sun’s rays and heal wounds, illness, or other physical maladies down one level (i.e., deep wound to normal wound). However, once they have done this, they cannot reduce it another level the next sunrise - they can only heal fresh wounds. Sunrises can also reduce their exhaustion and stress levels.

Dawn folk live mostly along the equator in coastal communities. There are many different nations of them, but almost all are sea-faring. They use their locational awareness to become very skilled sailors. They worship the sun, love to fish and dive for pearls, and have daily ceremonies at dawn. They are known for their elaborate cuisine and sea shanties.

In imperial lands, they are often exploited as sailors, but usually in a position of privilege. Some dawn folk even assimilate into imperial culture, and a rare few have become ruling class.

PRO 8 ATH 9 STR 8 AWA 10 WIL 8 PRS 9 STH 8

---

Dvergar

Crafters of stone.

• Lifespan: 600 years
• Diet: Subterranean fare
• Habitat: Caves and tunnels, mountains and mounds
• Socioeconomic Status: Privileged oppressed

In the early days of the world, a stone became aware. The stone was cloven by the shifting of the earth, and thus was two stones, both aware. From these two stones more stones were cleaved, and as many eons passed, the stone took form, and became a mortal person, and thus were the dvergars born. In their own legends, they formed in the body of the giantess who is the world.

Dvergar are fey folk of about 4' to 5' in height. Their skin usually resembles human hues, but some are pitch black and others pale white. Coloration varies by individual, not national groupings, and usually reflects their relationship with stone. Their ears are slightly pointed, but not as sharply as most fey. They have straight hair, but otherwise human-like in hue, and tend to keep beards and braids culturally. Those who interact with the mortal world often wear beards if they can grow them because without them, many mortals confuse them with children.

Some dvergar have shapechanging powers, however.

One in a thousand dvergars is born with birthmarks that make it seem as if they were burnt severely over a significant portion of their bodies. These are said to have "been burnt on beauty's pyre" and are culturally treated as spiritual and magical. Because of this, these dvergars are usually stronger in magic than others.

Dvergars are shapers of stone and rock, makers of caves and tunnels, miners of mineral and gem, builders of mounds and hollows, and smiths of jewelry, weaponry, and tools. They have a natural ability to make things when it comes to stone.

A dvergar can shape stone and rock with their hands, using only a little bit of their magic. If they wish to create a cave or a tunnel, they usually work together with others to do so, but using a lot of magic, one can do it alone given time. If they wish to build a mound or hollow a mountain for one of their comunities, it is often a long-term project or a group effort. Their smithing is not wielding magic over metal, but heating stone to create the forgefires needed to work the metal.

Dvergars cannot get lost underground. They can locate objects made of stone or rock underground via a form of echolocation if there is no solid barrier between them and the object. They call this the "clamouring", and they claim they have this because they were once "married to thunder".

Other earthen powers held by some dvergar include enriching soil for to grow plants, taking strength from the amount of stone around them, and rarely, creating pillars from the ground to lift up the sky.

Dvergar are of fey descent and still have fey powers. Every dvergar has some of the following:

• Shapechanging: some dvergars can alter their appearance, usually by taking on the qualities of different kinds of stones.
• Sizechanging: some dvergars can shrink or increase their size by half or twice. This never lasts long.
• Transmutation: some dvergars can turn metal, flesh, blood, wood, or various other substances into stone or other materials they need for craftwork. In legend, this is how one of them brewed mead from blood.
• Camouflaging: some dvergars can blend into their surroundings if there is anything made of stone nearby, becoming nearly invisible.
• Minerslights: some dvergars can create lights with a snap of their fingers. These cold lights are safe to use in mines without exploding trapped gases, hence their name.
• Infecting: some dvergars know a charm to cause disease in others, drawn from ancient microbes lost beneath the surface of the world.
• Dreamsending: some very rare dvergars can send their image into the dreams of others to deliver a message.

If a dvergar does not see sunlight in their first 50 years of life, they become weak to it and turn to stone if it touches them. If they do see it, they are innured, even if it is but a moment. For this reasons, most dvergars make a trip to the surface at least once if they live far enough down not to see the sun.

Dvergars live underground all over the world in vast societies. The most well-known live in Akazad, a thanedom in Faerie near the border with the lands of the White Crown. There are many nations of dvergar in other parts of the world.

The Akazadian culture is focused on their mountain homes. They live in cities and towns in hollowed out mountains, hills, and valleys, in the highest layer of the subterra (called the Lithosphere). They are ruled by a council of thanes, each one a skilled master of their crafts - mason, smith, sculptor, tunneler, bergsmed (mountain shapers), miner, builder, quarrier, potter, mosaicist, ceramicist, brickmaker, beadworker, wagoner, driller*, railworker*, mechanic*, digger, farmer, gardener, jeweller, wallmaker, architect, engineer*, teamster, polisher, engraver, carver, etcher, millwright, seimsologer*, paleontologer*, etc. Some of these occupations are not available in all eras and are marked with an asterisk.

Their crafting is the core of their culture, and this is central to almost all dvergar cultures. Things they make are very important to them, and they will not part with them without an equivalent trade unless the person they are giving them to is very special to them in some way. Something made by a dvergar is almost always imbued with the magic of elemental earth in some way. The importance of their crafting to them often makes outsiders think of them as miserly or xenophobic.

Earth and stone are the materials they work with. They live in hollowed out mountains, deep caves, great earthen mounds, warrens and tunnels, and cities and towns made entirely of stone. The heart of every dvergar community is their crafting halls. It is said the heat made by their works is felt miles above and below.

They value arts and crafts of stone primarily, but they also make music, rhythmic music echoing through their underground homes, smashed into rock and stone. Funerals are an important part of their culture; a dvergar's funeral involves being buried as deep as possible and marked with as large a stone as possible. Their writing is entirely runed based and etched into stone tablets.

Imperials exploit dvergars for their crafting skills. They are stereotyped as lustful, greedy, and conniving. However, their skills often get them privileged positions and wealth in imperial society in spite of this.

PRO 9 ATH 9 STR 11 AWA 8 WIL 9 PRS 7 STH 9

---

Founga

Sandy-haired fey living on the coast.

• Lifespan : 200 years

• Diet: Fish-heavy mortal fare

• Habitat: Coastal regions

• Socioeconomic Status: Privileged oppressed

Founga are fey beings with sandy-colored hair and pointy ears. They have gills and lungs, and their eyes are bright blue and green (one eye blue, one eye green). They have fins under their arms.

Founga can breathe on land or underwater. They are resistant to cold and unaffected by pressure changes. Once a week, they can make their skin hard as seashells. They can speak to molluscs and crustaceans. They have the ability to walk on water once a week, and they are very good swimmers. They can calm and strengthen waves if they swim in them.

Founga live in small coastal communities, usually as fishers and sailors, and are often exploited for their powers. They are treated well among the oppressed because of their skill as sailors. Local founga are embedded in the native nations.

PRO 8 ATH 8 Swim 10 STR 8 AWA 8 WIL 8 PRS 8 STH 8

---

High Folk

Fey folk living in the high mountains.

• Lifespan : 200 years

• Diet: Montane fey fare

• Habitat: Mountains

• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

High folk appear to be fey folk with greyish skin, hair like colorful, wispy clouds, pointy ears, and eyes like stone. They have clawed hands.

High folk live in the mountains and are resistant to cold. They can breathe thinner air without issue. They are able to climb with their clawed hands, and they can speak into the wind and be heard miles away. They have the ability to float gently if they fall off a high place, though this only lasts a few moments (long enough to re-establish a hold). All high folk are attuned to the mountain they are born on, and the nature of that mountain gives them different abilities:

• Ancient: the mountains of the region are all ancient. Lower mountains with forests and valleys, these mountains give high folk the power to speak to stones.

• Cryovolcanic: rare mountains found mostly on the sky continent, cryovolcanoes give high folk frost forms.

• Crystal: rare mountains found mostly on the sky continent, crystal mountains give high folk longsight.

• Dome: dome mountains give high folk the power to delve, splitting open the mountain temporarily and dive deep into them.

• Dune mountain: dune mountains are massive sand dunes the size of small mountains, giving high folk the power to take a sand form.

• Fell: fells are barren mountains that give high folk the power to repel weather effects.

• Forested: montane forests give high folk the power to speak to trees.

• Grassy mountain: grassy mountains give high folk the power to vanish into the greenery twice per week.

• Sky mountain: non-crystal, non-cryovolcanic mountains on the sky continent give high folk the power to summon winds.

• Snowcap: snowcap mountains give high folk the ability to take a snow form.

• Table mountain: flat-top mountains give high folk the ability to go longer without water.

• Volcanic: volcanic mountains give high folk resistance to heat and acid.

Local high folk are semi-integrated into the local native nations, but they have their own culture and traditions as well, mostly revolving around protecting the mountains and those that live there. They are hated and oppressed by the imperials, and those from other parts of the world are often there as slaves or indentureds.

PRO 8 ATH 9 STR 9 AWA 9 WIL 8 PRS 8 STH 7

---

Hill Folk

Small folk who live in the hills and have a varied diet.

• Lifespan : 200 years

• Diet: Anything

• Habitat: Hills

• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Hill folk are hairy folk who stand about 3’ to 4’ tall. They have one single eye in their foreheads and disproportionately large noses. Many of them have hunched backs, but this is not a universal trait; it comes from living in caves even too small for them. Their teeth are made of stone and metal.

Hill folk can eat and digest almost anything that is small enough to fit in their stomachs. They are immune to poisons except for industrial/infernal ones. They are attuned to the hill lands they dwell in and can speak to the animals, plants, and fungi there. If they go to other hill lands, this power does not translate, even if the animals, plants, and fungi are the same. Their territories are determined by birth, though it is possible to attune to a different region if they live there for a year and a day.

All hill folk can “hill hop”, leaping from the top of one hill to the top of another; they can do this to any hill within 10 miles. They can also burrow into hills by spinning around on its highest point.

Hill folk live in extensive clans in the hill lands of the world. Their cultures vary by region, but most are insular and closely guarded. They live in burrowed out hill caves and live off the land. Those local to the region of the campaign are partially embedded in the local native culture, but they have their own distinct ways. They have a love/hate relationship with the prospectors in their area - big mining groups they hate, solo prospectors may be able to befriend them if they act right.

They are viewed as nuisances by imperials.

PRO 9 ATH 9 STR 8 AWA 8 WIL 8 PRS 7 STH 9

---

Holly Folk

Folk of the winter.

• Lifespan : 200 years
• Diet: Meat-heavy mortal fare
• Habitat: Anywhere with winter
• Socioeconomic Status: Privilege oppressed

Holly folk appear to be pale-skinned folk, 6' tall, with green holly-leaf hair with red berries mottled throughout. They have brown and grey skin. In summer, they wilt and look sickly.

Holly folk are beings of winter. They derive power from it. In other seasons, they are weaker.

All holly folk can create a slight chill in the air around them no matter what season, and they all have the ability to speak to holly trees.

During autumn and winter, holly folk have the following powers:

• Holly leaf blade: they can summon a large holly leaf that can be used as a shield or bladed weapon.
• Chill berry: they can take the berries from their hair and crush them to release a much, much colder blast of cold air.
• Repelling crown: their hair glistens with winter light and repels infernal energies.
• Dark strength: at night, they are much stronger.

Other winter-based powers may be possible. Consult the GM.

Holly folk are part of a dual culture with oak folk. They dwell in temperate places and have a constant contest to see who reigns, but it is a friendly rivalry. Holly folk care for the world in the cold months, oak folk during the warm ones.

Local holly folk are embedded in the native nations.

In the city-states, they are among the oppressed, but they are often considered a privileged nation because they are fetishized by the ruling class.

PRO 8 ATH 8 STR 8 AWA 8 WIl 8 PRS 9 STH 8

---

Hrupkaj

Small folk who attuned to autumn.

• Lifespan : 200 years
• Diet: Common autumnal fare
• Habitat: Anywhere with autumn
• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Hrupkajs appeaer to be piles of autumnal leaves when they are lying down. When they stand, they appear to be fey beings about 3' tall fey beings with gold, red, orange, or yellow skin and hair made of fallen leaves. They have twig-like antennae, and their eyes are burning pits. They smell of cinnamon.

All hrupkajs are more powerful in autumn. They can disappear into a pile of leaves simply by laying down. They can sense the lifespan of a tree by touching it. They can summon a bitter cold wind once per month during the autumn and a soft 10-minute rain once per month the rest of the year. Anything they bury, they will always remember where it is.

They also have up to three of the following, depending on their age:

• Make gourds grow
• Fearsome countenance
• Instill melancholy
• Summon owls or hedgehogs
• Preserve food
• Restorative cider
• Turnip lamp
• Shorten day
• Deadly hunt

Hrupkajs in their original cultures are usually focused on seasonal festivals, ornate clothing for each part of the year, and tending to the world during autumn. They are protectors of the autumnal forests and fields, and during that time, they make sure the animals, plants, and fungi are safe. They fall dormant in spring, but they are active the rest of the year.

Many local hrupkajs are embedded in the native nations.

In the city-states, they are mostly enslaved or deeply oppressed.

PRO 8 ATH 8 STR 5 AWA 9 WIL 9 PRS 8 STH 10

---

Kobel

Mining spirits.

• Lifespan: 250 years
• Diet: Common miner fare
• Habitat: Mines
• Socioeconomic Status: Privileged oppressed

Kobels are mining spirits between 18" and 3' in height. They usually take the appearance of small fey folk with disproportionately large heads, wrinkly skin, and long arms. Their hair is usually white. They like to mimic the clothing of those who work the mines, so most wear mining garb. When in mines, they can take the form of a small blue flame. When outside of mines, they can mimic the form of a wooden doll. The place on their chest above their hearts usually glows slightly, though not bright enough to be seen through clothing.

All kobels have the ability to sense when a cave-in or earthquake is about to occur. In this moment, they can knock on the nearest wall and create a sound loud enough to be heard throughout the mine. In times when no crisis is about to occur, they can still create a loud banging, though not quite as loud, which they use to communicate.

Other dangers of mines, such as toxins, explosive gases, and so on, can also be sensed by kobels, but they communicate them in different ways. They have special knocks for every danger, and one for safety, which is the inviting knock. Their laughter can bring fear or delight to miners.

Kobels also can sense metals, minerals, and gems, or anything miners are seeking. They have various charms to alert miners to them, ranging from lights and sounds to special markings. If they are especially powerful, they may also be able to transmute certain veins into different materials (famously, silver to cobalt or vice versa).

Kobels can speak to the memories of those who died in the mines.

If a miner or miners upset them, they have charms and magicks that enact terrible vengeance. The least of their powers is to send small stones and pebbles flying through the mines. They are able thieves, able to teleport small to moderate sized objects away at a whim. Ropes and chains may be cut with a snap of the fingers. Mocking laughter may fill miners with fear. The worst thing they can do, though, is use their knowledge of the dead to terrify and torment miners.

Kobels exist in mines all over the world, and every place, they have a slightly different culture. Some are more pranksterly, some more helpful, and some more spiteful.

If a kobel wants to be helpful, they will sneakily push carts. This is often mistaken for a prank, even though they try (and sometimes fail) to take the carts to where they belong. They may also try to mime the work of miners, using similar tools, but sometimes, they do this enthusiastically but ineffectually. Othertimes, though, they are intentionally mischievous, stealing food or tools.

Kobels work the mines in exchange for money or food. They prefer tasty pasties and the common fare of miners, who know to leave a little bit out for them in solitary corners of the mines. If they are paid money, they will only take money equal to the amount of work they did based on what the miners are getting paid, no more, no less. If miners are enslaved, they will steal food from overseers and owners and refrain from their usual trickery.

Kobels are called bluecaps in the borderlands between Faerie and the White Crown. They are called coblyn(au), knockers, klokers, tommyknockers, and bergmaenleins in other areas. They have many names around the world. They are not to be confused with kobolds, who are household spirits.

The most famous and powerful kobel is Old Cutty Soames, who lives in a mine in the borderlands.

PRO 8 ATH 9 STR 8 AWA 9 WIL 8 PRS 7 STH 10

---

Oak Folk

The folk of the summer.

• Lifespan : 200 years
• Diet: Meat-heavy mortal fare
• Habitat: Anywhere with summer
• Socioeconomic Status: Privileged oppressed

Oak folk appear to be leaf-haired figures with acorns scattered throughout. They stand about 6' tall and have dark brown and grey skin. In winter, they get sickly and weak. As children, they have an acorn cap on their head, which they shed when they come of age. Most keep this and wear it as a hat as adults.

Oak folk are beings of summer. They derive power from it. In other seasons, they are weaker.

All oak folk can create warmth in the air around them no matter what season, and they all have the ability to speak to oak trees.

During spring and summer, oak folk have the following powers:

• Oaken strength: they can flex or take a stance and give themselves temporary strength and toughness.
• Warming acorn: one of their acorns can be broken open to release extreme warmth.
• Repelling crown: their hair glistens with summer sunlight and repels infernal energies.
• Sunflash: during the day, they can unleash a massive flash of golden flame.

Other summer-based powers may be possible. Consult the GM.

Oak folk are part of a dual culture with oak folk. They dwell in temperate places and have a constant contest to see who reigns, but it is a friendly rivalry. O folk care for the world in the cold months, oak folk during the warm ones.

Local oak folk are embedded in the native nations.

In the empires, they are among the oppressed, but they are often considered a privileged nation because they are fetishized by the ruling class.

PRO 8 ATH 8 STR 8 AWA 9 WIl 8 PRS 9 STH 7

---

Phase Folk

Fey beings who live within eclipses

• Lifespan: Unknown
• Diet: Common fey fare
• Habitat: Faerie
• Socioeconomic Status: Feared

Phase folk are 6’ tall fey beings with black and white skin and hair. Their eyes reflect the phase of the eclipse they are formed within.

Phase folk are legendary beings that appear during eclipses. They may remain afterward, disappearing within a set amount of time that only they are aware of.

Phase folk are equally beings of moon, sun, and world. They can see in dark or light. They can see through matter. They are immune to heat and cold. And they can use mirrors as portals.

All phase folk are attuned to a specific eclipse: lunar or solar.

Those connected to a lunar eclipse can turn invisible once per week, wear darkness as their clothing, use shadowspeak to send messages, use dance to teleport between a moon and the world during a full moon, and speak to wolves.

Those connected to a solar eclipse can form an aura around themselves that reveals truths to others, turn river water into cleansing lights, know where their lovers are no matter what, resurrect themselves from the dead once, and protect anyone near them from esoteric attacks.

All phase folk can read portents in the sun, moons, and world. All of them know when a natural disaster is coming. All of them can heal any deep wound or less if they fast for a day. All of them are stronger during an eclipse of any kind.

Some phase folk can inflict anger, sadness, sickness, or loneliness on people with a silent charm.

Phase folk are revered among the fey, and their influence has been used historically to make people rulers or leaders. The reverence for them among the fey often means they are assumed to be part of the ruling classes of Faerie, but they aren’t always so.

Many are very religious, known for their worship of cosmic bodies. They have beautiful hymns, rituals, and customs in their faith, and the most powerful among them can speak directly to the elementals of the sun, moon, or planets.

Blood magic and sex magic practices are common among the phase folk.

The cyclical nature of eclipses is a central part of their culture, and they are known to hide for long periods and return to engage with broader fey society.

In the imperial core, they are viewed as powerful, mysterious, and dangerous fey.

PRO 10 ATH 9 STR 8 AWA 10 WIL 9 PRS 10 STH 11

---

Salt Folk

Coastal folk embodying the salt air.

• Lifespan : 120 years
• Diet: Fish-heavy fey fare
• Habitat: Coastal areas
• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Salt folk have sandy brown hair, tanned skin, and pure white eyes. They stand about 6' tall. They have fey features and pointed ears. They have fish fins on their arms, legs, and necks.

Salt folk have the power to sense the amount of salt in anything just by looking at it (moderate), touching it (strong), or tasting it (perfect). They can control anything that is not alive and has more than 3% salinity (i.e., the ocean) to some degree by whispering to it, and they can form spears of salt crystals if there is enough of it nearby.

Salt folk are fey beings who live on the coasts as fishers and sailors. They want nothing more than to be left alone. They live off the bounty of the sea, care of their families, and celebrate the change of season and tide. They love their music, their feasts, and their handcrafts.

Local salt folk are a major part of the native nations.

In the city-states, they are an oppressed nation often conscripted into the navy.

PRO 8 ATH 9 Swim 12 STR 8 AWA 8 WIl 8 PRS 9 STH 8

---

Sky Folk

Winged folk from the skies.

• Lifespan : 200 years
• Diet: Sky fare
• Habitat: Sky islands
• Socioeconomic Status: Privileged oppressed

Sky folk are 6' tall feather-winged figures with blue skin (of varying shades), colorful hair, and cloudy eyes.

Sky folk can fly. They are unaffected by changes in atmospheric pressure. They can sense coming changes in the winds. And they can create whirlwinds by spinning in the skies once per year.

If they remain within a layer of the atmosphere for at least a year and a day, they can fly within it at superspeed once per month or until they leave that layer.

If a sky folk doesn't fly once per day, they grow sick.

Sky folk are a proud and powerful nation in the cloud islands, where they protect the skies from pollutants, infernal powers, and invaders. Those who come to the empires as immigrants are often stereotyped as haughty, stupid, and arrogant, but they are also exoticized and privileged by the ruling class, who envy their powers and wings.

PRO 8 ATH 9 Flight 14 STR 7 AWA 9 WIL 8 PRS 8 STH 7

---

Snegokhod

Fey folk of the tundras.

• Lifespan: 300 years
• Diet: Meat-heavy tundra fare
• Habitat: Tundra
• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Snegokhod are 6’ tall fey with dark grey skin, black eyes, and hair white like snow. They are hirsute, like a hairy human with white hair. They have pointy ears. Some of them have bear snouts. Culturally, they tend to wear heavy furs.

Snegokhod are resistant to cold. They can see in the dark, and they can walk on snow without leaving footprints or sinking into it. They can speak to animals and plants of their home tundra, and they have keen senses of smell.

If they sleep more than 12 or more hours in a 24-hour period, they gain extended senses for the next 24-hour period, being able to see and smell and hear three times as far. They are mostly nocturnal.

Snegokhod can merge with snowstorms or blizzards once per year, turning into a snowy wind being for an hour. They usually use this to reach shelter.

Snegokhod live in nomadic communities on the tundras. They live in both the northern and southern hemisphere, and there are many, many nations among them. Those nearest the Talunese cities live in the high mountain tundras north of the region, and they are xenophobic and territorial. They dislike the imperials and see them as enemies of their homelands. Their culture is a hunting/warrior culture, with a focus on survival, hunting, fur trapping, and snow art.

The original snegokhod nations are further to the north. They tend to be herders of tundra animals, form bonds with local predators, and see themselves as protectors of nature. Otherwise, they tend to be similar to the Talunese nation.

In imperial lands, they are viewed as violent, evil, and even demonic, though some are valued for their skill in hunting or battle.

PRO 9 ATH 9 STR 9 AWA 9 WIL 9 PRS 7 STH 9

---

Vernalian

Folk of the spring.

• Lifespan : 200 years
• Diet: Sunlight, soil, and water
• Habitat: Anywhere with a spring time
• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Fey people with green bodies and colorful hair who blossom in the spring. Vernalians stand about 5' tall. During the spring, their bodies blossom, growing antennae and skirts of petals. Their eyes glow the same color as their hair during this time. Though they age as other mortals do, they retain youthful looks much, much longer.

All vernalians are stronger in springtime. When they blossom, they gain extra senses - their antennae allow them to sense emotions and their glowing eyes allow them to see magical energies. They gain the ability to glamour themselves into other forms, and they have the grant energy and vigor to someone with their touch, though this drains them a little each time they use it.

Outside of the spring, they always have the ability to speak to insects or flowers, to create a soft light with their hair, and to put others to sleep with a spray of pollen via their breath. Their pollen must regenerate after two uses, taking a few hours to do so.

Vernalians live in small, flowering glades in the wilderness, usually near water, often at the end of rainbows. They live in communal, egalitarian groups led by elders, and they meet their needs via foraging (they don't need to eat meat, so they don't hunt). Their culture is focused on making crafts, beautiful music, and works of colorful art, protecting their homes, and building up enough to get through the colder months. Some even sleep through most of the winter if they can.

Local vernalians are embedded in the native nations.

In the imperial lands, they were brutally repressed, nearly wiped out, and mostly enslaved. They are forced to work in gardens or into sex work if enslaved. Those who are free find work outdoors if they can.

PRO 7 ATH 9 STR 8 AWA 9 WIL 8 PRS 9 STH 7