Terminology
Battleborn: Humans turned into fae-like creatures by the queen during the last battle of the fae war.
Change: The process by which humans become fae. It is incredibly painful and can last anywhere from four hours to a day.
Fae Ally/Allies: Any human who helps the fae gets the supplies they need to survive.
Faeborn: Humans with the potential to become fae.
Founders: The firstborn of any species. They also lead the fae.
Halflings: Crossbreeds of any species.
Haven: A piece of land given over to the fae. Currently, there are two in existence: Tearmann in Canada and Daingneach in Scotland.
The Nead: The city of the angels.
Paxton: The city of the battleborn.
Tearmann: The fae capital city. Built inside and on top of a mountain. It is also the name of the haven.
Dragons
Dragons are the least common fae race. They are passionate people as equally fond of their friends as they are their hobbies. The hydrogen sacks in their chests enable flight and fire breathing. Males have two spikes on their foreheads and females have a spike at the end of their nose.
1st generation: The scales of these dragons match their hair color from when they were human. Their hair grows in thick spikes like hedgehog quills instead of single strands. They have primitive digitigrade feet, hollow bones, and bat wings fully attached to their arms and their bodies to their waists. Additionally, they have small secondary wings stretching from their hips to their knees that function as stabilizers and rudders. They also have no tails.
2nd generation: In this generation, scale colors start to diversify. They still retain a vaguely humanoid form and size, but they have proper wings and a spiked tail.
3rd generation: These dragons are what an American would consider a dragon. They have four limbs and two wings. They can reach massive proportions, ranging from 20-100 feet long, and their scale patterns are unique to each dragon.
Angels
Angels are explosive people bound to their own code of honor. They are unique among the fae in that they produce massive amounts of energy that they can use as a weapon or a tool. The angels established their own city (the Nead) so they could have a safe place to train their young to control themselves.
1st generation: These angels are similar to those seen on church walls. Their wings are large and separate from their arms; however, their chests are larger to make room for the larger muscles and organs they need to sustain flight. They’re not graceful, but they don’t need to be. Additionally, they have hollow bones.
2nd generation: Their wings are bigger and more developed at this stage. Their eyes also develop a sheen that makes looking into them uncomfortable and they develop rudimentary tail feathers.
3rd generation: Angels develop eyes like a hawk. They’re powerful enough to level a small building if not properly trained. Their wings and tail feathers are fully developed.
Centaur
Centaurs are philosophers and warriors. In their youth, they look before they leap and their wisdom is hard-earned.
1st generation: These centaurs have human upper bodies with horse legs and cloven hooves. Their hair grows in a line down their backs and their ears resemble a horse’s.
2nd generation: At this point, proper back legs develop, but 2nd generation centaurs still tend to be shorter than their parents. They retain their cloven hooves and are large enough for small people to ride them.
3rd generation: These centaurs are fully developed. Their horse halves can be as large as Clydesdales or as small as quarter horses and they retain their cloven hooves. They’re usually much bigger than their parents or grandparents. They’re large enough for a normal-sized human to ride them.
Dwarves
Dwarves are determined engineers. They seek knowledge to improve the lives of those around them and to accomplish things never seen before.
1st generation: Dwarves of this generation look like humans that have been compressed down. All dwarves can grow thick beards from a young age. Their eyes are best suited for the dark, but they can still see clearly in bright light as well. These dwarves average around 5’ 5” tall.
2nd generation: Their proportions smooth out and they look like short and stocky humans, averaging around 5’ tall. Their hair becomes uniformly curly and wild. They see excellently in the dark but struggle in normal light.
3rd generation: These dwarves wouldn’t be out of place in an epic fantasy novel. They average about 4’-5’ tall. They have excellent night vision but need special glasses to see in brightly lit places.
Elves
Elves are the second least common fae race. Like their kin from fantasy, these are a tall and ethereal species. Elves are renowned for their empathic abilities and their steady hand with animals.
1st generation: These elves look like pointy-eared humans that have been stretched out to make their bodies long and gangly. This leads to most averaging about 6’ 6” tall. They begin developing the empathic powers their race is known for, but most can only influence a small sphere around them.
2nd generation: These elves have more natural-looking proportions, but still average around 7’ tall. Their empathic abilities are usually strong enough to disable even a dragon at close range.
3rd generation: These elves are the strongest of their kin. They average about 8’ feet tall and their empathic abilities are on par with a low-level command from a founder.
Gryphons
Gryphons are a proud species who seek learning for the sake of learning. Offending a gryphon might just be the last thing you do, but they will fight beside their friends no matter what they face.
1st generation: These gryphons are feline in nature. Unlike dragons or harpies, they have wings separate from their bodies and a rudimentary second set of back muscles to support them. Their fingers end in sharp talons and their feet are those of a lion. They walk on two legs and use their tufted tail as a rudder in flight.
2nd generation: These gryphons more closely resemble legends. Their upper body resembles a bird of prey, and their lower body resembles a lion. They are capable of walking on all fours but can easily switch.
3rd generation: At this point, the gryphon usually walks on all fours except when they need their hands. It’s difficult for them to walk on two legs as their spines weren’t built for it.
Harpies
Harpies are the social backbone of the fae. They bring news and supplies from one end of the haven to the other and live nomadic lives. They return to their base nests every winter to share stories of the things they’ve experienced since last they saw their friends and family.
1st generation: Harpies at this stage have wings that end in taloned hands instead of arms. Rudimentary beaks take up most of their face, which makes it difficult to speak normally. That being said, they do have human teeth and almost everyone agrees they look strange.
2nd generation: These harpies have arms and wings. Families begin to resemble various species of bird. Their teeth look like they belong in their mouths and harpies can now speak with ease.
3rd generation: Their fully developed muscles and organs make harpies incredibly fast and efficient flyers. Additionally, they develop a talent for mimicry.
Shades
Shades are quiet people. You perceive them only because they wish you to see them. Look away or displease them, however, and you may never see them again. That being said, don’t mistake their quietness for laxness. They’re very protective of the fae and are known for enacting violent revenge when someone under their protection is at risk.
1st generation: Shades look human. At this stage, they gain their blending ability and can fade into the background if they wish. However, they have little conscious control over it and must practice a great deal before they can use their abilities offensively. Many shades wear little to no clothing to maximize their abilities.
2nd generation: Shades can now control their blending naturally unless in a heightened emotional state. However, their eyes develop a gleam that can be hard to hide.
3rd generation: Blending is as easy and automatic as blinking. They walk silently and produce little body odor or sweat that could be used to track them.
Sirens
Sirens are the second most common species. They act as the healers of the fae but are also capable of hypnotizing humans.
1st generation: Sirens are covered in scales the same shade as their skin. They possess rudimentary gills that allow them to breathe in water and shark-like teeth. Their hair thickens to small spikes that they can use as weapons when broken off. They remain human-sized and hold onto fat to preserve warmth while swimming. Their fingers and toes elongate and grow webbing. Their song enables them to heal fae or hypnotize humans.
2nd generation: These sirens have slits instead of noses, and their bodies are better suited for swimming. Their song is stronger, families begin to specialize in one branch or the other, and they develop poison-tipped claws on their hands.
3rd generation: At this stage, their head spikes don’t usually grow longer than an inch or two and resemble fins. Drying out becomes a major health concern for these sirens.
Trolls
Trolls are shepherds of the earth. They make their homes in the forests and plains of Tearmann and tend to the gardens that keep the population fed. Still, they’re slow to trust strangers and unwelcoming toward those who have proven themselves untrustworthy.
1st generation: A troll’s skin thickens and cracks until it resembles bark. Their hair grows in thick and stringy, resembling branches or bushes.
2nd generation: Trolls at this stage have better camouflage. Families will begin to resemble particular species of tree and some will have flowers growing in their hair. Having anywhere from 15-30 fingers or toes is considered normal.
3rd generation: These trolls are practically indistinguishable from trees at a distance.
Vampires
Vampires are the alpha fae species. Their control over other fae is absolute at the cost of linking their very lives to the fae. If the vampires were to die out the fae would die with them.
Vampires look almost entirely human. Looking under the surface reveals that their blood is naturally black, that they have retractable fangs, and that they are incredibly strong–even for the fae.
There is only one vampire in existence.
Werewolves
Werewolves are the most common fae race. A full fifth of the fae population are werewolves. They are loyal and family orientated to their core. The moon holds no control over them.
1st generation: Fur covers the entire body of the werewolves except for their palms and the bottom of their feet. They have claws, primitive digitigrade feet, a tail, and a short snout. They do not change form.
2nd generation: These werewolves are capable of a slight change from a more human form to a more wolf-like form.
3rd generation: These werewolves can change from an entirely human form to an entirely wolf form.
Banshee
Banshees might seem human when first seen, but closer examination will reveal their true nature. Large gills cover their sides, their deadly sharp teeth grow in three rows, and their hair never seems to dry all the way. Their skin is covered in unique patterns that seem to follow no trends. Additionally, they grow sharp talons on their fingers and toes. Their song heals, but only in the sense the wounded are no longer dying. It is like a discordant and offkey choir of the dying and damned.
Demons
Battleborn angels are much more biblical in nature than their faeborn kin. They have functioning eyes all over their bodies—usually anywhere from 20-40, but it is not uncommon to see upwards of sixty. Additionally, they are capable of flight thanks to the two sets of larger wings on their backs, but the wings on their feet and head seem to have no use. The energy they pull from their surroundings burns and scars them but is still effective as a weapon.
Battleborn
The battleborn are the formerly human population of the town of Breckenridge and soldiers that were turned into fae-like creatures by Beira during the last battle of the first fae war. They don’t consider themselves fae. Most don’t trust Beira or natural-born fae, so they live apart from the others in a city called Paxton. Generally, crossbreeding between the two groups is frowned upon.
Each fae species has a group of battleborn that correspond to them, but the battleborn rejected their names and took their own (i.e., dragons became wyverns/hydra/wyrms, werewolves became wargs, elves became orcs, dwarves became goblins, etc., etc.)
The fae refer to them by their species name preceded by battleborn. (i.e., battleborn vampire, battleborn dragon)
Dryads
While young dryads begin life looking like normal humans, they gradually become covered in mushrooms and lichen as they age. The fungi that covers them grows and changes with them so a dryad may look completely different from season to season. Large enough cuts or broken bones will result in offshoot limbs, which may be cut off without harming the dryad if in an inconvenient location or simply undesired.
Ghasts
The fae consider it a blessing that ghasts are relatively rare, for they possess the same abilities as faeborn vampires but have a broader reach. Any one with a weak enough mind are vulnerable to their control. Drinking human blood will sustain them for potentially centuries, but the longer their drink the more their bodies will rot out from underneath them until they are little more than walking corpses. If they stop drinking blood, their bodies will slowly recover and they will resume aging normally. Regardless of whether they are drinking blood or not, all ghasts have large fangs.
Goblins
Even more diminutive than the dwarves, goblins are a remarkably powerful species. Their bodies were compressed down to their present heights—usually less than three feet—yet they lost none of their strength or mass in the process. Their long finger- and toenails are excellent for digging and defense while their ears and eyes are sharper than any fae species.
Hags
Effectively, hags are human torsos with bird limbs. Their heads are a mix of human and avian features and the skin there usually features the color scheme seen in their feathers. Their vision is unparalleled, capable of discerning between a beetle and an ant from a mile away.
Hydra
These are a unique subspecies of wyvern, with fewer than two hundred of them among the entirety of the battleborn. The hydra are more colorful than their cousins and produce a deadly venom. While incapable of sustained flight, their wings are able to support them while they glide from location to location. They have a small set of secondary arms along their stomachs that they can use to hold things while moving about.
Minotaurs
Minotaurs stand nearly eight feet tall as a rule and possess a strange combination of bovine and equus traits. Their fingers and toes end in rudimentary hooves and they shed their horns annually, usually in the spring. They tend to have skittish temperaments and are quick to anger if provoked.
Orcs
Orcs have cartoonish proportions. Their arms are long and thick while their legs are spindly and seem unable to support the weight of their upper bodies. Two tusks of varying sizes poke out from their mouths, which are otherwise normal apparent from their black tongues. Interestingly, they lack eyes all together but are still able to see, in a sense, by reading the reactions and emotions of creatures and plants around them.
Phantoms
Phantoms are unable to reliably control their blending abilities and constantly fade in and out of sight. Their skin is transparent, revealing their bones and organs to the world at large.
Rocs
Rocs resemble nothing so much as a human-sized cat with wings instead of front legs. Despite their odd looks, rocs are accomplished hunters, able to dive at speeds exceeding a hundred miles an hour. They usually eat their food raw and consume everything, including offal and bone.
Wargs
Despite their relation to werewolves, wargs more closely resemble hyenas than any canine. Most of them are incapable of standing bipedal for long. Their bodies are misshapen by nature. Many have extra limbs growing from the wrong places or have their hindlegs and their forelegs swapped around. They are incredibly strong though and their jaws are capable of ripping through metal.
Wyverns
Wyverns have four limbs, two rear legs and two batlike wings that end in fierce talons. They lack the durability of the dragons and make up for it with a level of speed the dragons couldn’t hope to match. Additionally, they are able to submerge themselves in water for up to an hour before they need to come up for air again.
Groups
Committee For Fae Relations – The US government’s fae relations department. It is passively neglectful at best and actively harmful at worst.
The Fae – The fae are governed by the Founders Council. The founders are the firstborn of each species and have a similar level of control over their species as Beira does the entirety of the fae. Currently, they are divided between the summer and winter courts.
The Siren Corps – The fae military which is officially an aid group as the Tearmann Accords expressly forbid the fae from having a military.
Society Against Fae Emigration (S.A.F.E) – A highly anti-fae organization founded after the first fae war. They run or otherwise support most of the illicit fae research in the world but do their best to appear above reproach otherwise. There are small chapters around the country that range from people injured by fae who want tighter regulations around their travel to those actively trying to destroy the fae.