The Fae Encyclopedia
(For Curious Humans)
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Pixies
Pixies are about the lowest you can get in the rankings of the Summer Court without hitting the more mindless races. In fact, most Fae consider them to be mindless anyway, just little fluttery twinkling lights, but I've met some very intelligent pixies in my day. They all have a bit of a problem with memory, but they can carry on a conversation with the best of them.
They're easy to overlook, because even the tallest pixie is no larger than a man's pinky finger. Dozens of them can live in a 'colony' that lays claim to a staggering five foot by five foot region of a forest. Take a few steps and you'll have crossed into and out of their domain. Typically they occupy hollow logs, preferring the combination of cool shade and breeze, allowing them to flutter in and out as they desire. A hollow log by a stream or brook is an excellent combination, providing shelter and water in one handy package.
One difficulty in dealing with pixies is their names. They're all named Pix, each and every one of them. Somehow they can tell each other apart by name, but I can't tell any differences in pronunciation... how do they DO it? Thankfully, each pixie has a differently colored aura of light (small and bright for the young, large and flickery for the old) and they certainly don't sound the same. They speak with an accent that's a strange mix of Scottish, Irish, and English, based on my studies of old media. They've never been to those places, as far as they know... they've simply always talked like that, for some reason.
Although quite fragile, and prone to having entire colonies wiped out in an instant from the errant step of an ogre or a charging bulldozer plowing a forest under to make way for a human settlement, don't underestimate them. "Death of a thousand cuts" can be quite literal when you're facing an army of angry pixies. Pixie magic can be a hell of a thing, as well; the stronger spellcasters are quite adept at hiding things, and at extremely localized weather manipulation. However, there's no good reason to get on a pixie's bad side -- they're inoffensive little things, and as long as you're friendly or simply leave them alone, you've no reason to fear them.
EDITOR'S NOTE: I've never actually met any pixies. They're more a midlands thing, in the Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania tri-state areas. I'm down south near Florida, and while there's plenty of old logs here, there are also gators and worse. Not friendly territory for pixies.