Kal
Whispers
- Intent: Creepy Fae/Fairy analogues. Some are nice, some want to eat your liver.
- Image Credit: Various (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) by Sandra Duchiewicz; the Unseelie Court by Gary Laib.
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: 'Fairies', Wisties
- Name: Qhivurine | 'Sprites'
- Designation: Sentient
- Origins: Lorinia (Feraxalia)
- Average Lifespan: Subrace dependent. Typically measured in centuries or millennia.
- Unusually prone to mutations; often beneficent, but nonviable offspring are common.
- Estimated Population: Scattered | Found in a variety of places, but rarely inhabit entire planets.
- Description: Varied, eccentric, and prone to 'mutate a bit' across generations, the Sprites are a diverse but little known species. In their ancient past, they developed the ability to hunt larger prey by means of euphoriant spittle and the little-understood ability to avoid standing out. As a result, they have blended in with various myths and superstitions despite their somewhat eccentric appearance; that said, they are not a secret, per se. A quick HoloNet search could likely locate more than a few biological and societal studies; Lorinian academics feature heavily.
- Breathes: Subrace dependent, typically Type I and II.
- Average Height of Adults: 0.2 - 2 metres, subrace dependent.
- Average Length of Adults: Humanoid proportions, slimmer on average.
- Skin Colour: Subrace dependent; shades of green, grey, blue, and purple are common.
- Hair Colour: Subrace dependent. May or may not have hair; any colour imaginable is possible.
- Distinctions: Most Sprites look female, with the exception of the seemingly sexless Gremlins and a small portion of other Qhivurine. Highborn retain their near-human sex, but the transformation is more likely to be viable for females. Sprites rarely perish from old age - Gremlins have a tendency to die young, but even they can live surprisingly long lives if they develop a fully-functional survival instinct.
- Reproduction: Sprites are not a sexually dimorphic species. With the exception of Glitterhivers (Scions lay the eggs and Queens fertilise them) and the Highborn (who reproduce by transforming abducted near-human younglings) they are capable of autogamy but can and often do 'merge' the genomes of two or more individuals, presumably to reduce the risk of passing on undesirable traits.
- 'Hungry Eggs': With the exception of the Highborn, Sprites are an egg-laying species. They lay their eggs as soon as they develop the ability to absorb nutrition through the gooey 'shell' - the 'egg' must then be cared for, protected, and fed as they (quite literally) grow. This unusual system of reproduction is quite safe for the 'mother', but the eggs themselves are very difficult to move until they hatch. This may be an adaptation to their genetic instability; with pre-modern health standards, a 'mother' would need to lay quite many.
- Winged or Not: Sprites may or may not have wings; the smaller the Sprite, the more likely they are to be winged. The Highborn rarely have wings, but exceptions exist. Sprites with wings are likely to be somewhat more fragile than those without them.
- Races: Sprites come in a variety of more-or-less clearly defined subraces or breeds. Due to their unstable genome, the lines are a bit fuzzy.
- Gremlins are the most vicious, fastest breeding, and least trustworthy form of Sprite. They lay vast clutches of eggs at a time, can reach maturity within weeks or even days, and are quite willing to eat anything, including sentients, if starvation overcomes them. Were it not for the fact that only older specimens can reproduce and only when well-fed, they would surely have overwhelmed entire planets.
- Gardeners are an isolationistic breed primarily concerned with 'cultivating' plant or animal life. Young Gardners may concern themselves only with a few scattered flowers, but some of their Elders have been known to set up elaborate breeding projects. A few have even had an interest in 'domesticating' sentients, albeit usually without much success - unless one counts Enthrallment.
- Glitterhivers are insect-like Sprites innately capable of telepathic communication. Their societies are hive-like and highly stratified - they are ruled by gold-skinned 'Queens', organised by silver-skinned 'Scions', and fed/defended by plentiful 'Drones'. Their bodies can create both a silk-like material and a flexible resin frequently used in construction projects. Unlike some comparable insects, any one hive can have more than one Queen - interestingly, the hive's eggs are laid by the Scions, the 'Queens' only fertilise them.
- Muses are natives of the Dreamlands, Sprites associated with minds, dreams, illusions, and inspiration. They derive their name from their habit of inspiring genius, especially of the artistic variety, in other sentients - but this is only one side of the picture. Cruel or malevolent Muses often derive sadistic satisfaction from inspiring paranoia and insanity in others, often through nightmares and whispered lies. It's not at all uncommon for Muses to be able to induce a sort of 'sleep paralysis' in resting beings, presumably to avoid retribution.
- Merlings are the Spirtes of seas, lakes, and rivers, flighty beings rarely seen by other sentients. They tend to be small and shy, only rarely interacting directly with larger creatures - perhaps a lonely stranger weeping by the riverside or a handsome wanderer.
- The Highborn are a kind of 'genetic nobility', rare beings that inspire instinctive obedience in most lesser Sprites. Somewhat taller than a human yet leaner of build, on average, they are strange yet regal beings. Instead of birthing more of their own kind, as all other Sprites do, they must 'acquire' and transform compatible near-human younglings. This process makes them individuals above all else - no two Highborn are exactly alike in appearance or cognition. They are disproportionally likely to be Force Sensitive compared to other Sprites.
- Relations: Sprites have been known to produce hybrid specimens or alter (socially or biologically) other beings, as described below.
- Changelings are a hybrid species of Sprite and Near-Human, typically born to take the place of an abducted baby or youngling. Due to their hybrid nature, they are even more likely to be nonviable than Sprites - many are downright sickly. Those who survive resemble the species of their 'parent(s)' in most ways, but often display an uncanny insight and a ravenous aptitude. Adrenaline or strong emotion is known to turn their eyes an eerie black, betraying their true nature. They may feel a pull to their Sprite cousins, especially in adulthood.
- The Enthralled are sentients subjugated by a Sprite through long-term exposure to their narcotic saliva. This exposure must be kept to a fairly constrained timeframe to prevent the victim from building up a resistance. If successful, they will become ever more obedient and obsessed with the Sprite who enthralled them, eventually forming a white film over their eyes as they descend into a euphoric haze. The obedience of one of the Enthralled is rarely in question, but their mental faculties often deteriorate somewhat.
- Lost Ones are the younglings abducted for one reason or another. Primary motivations include conversion to Highborn (or wanting the chance to raise a child of a different species; semi-common for Gardeners) and acquiring a loyal servant. Enthralled created at a young age are far more likely to maintain a full grasp of their mental faculties, perhaps due to their still-developing neurology.
- Not all younglings are viable for transformation, but failure is rarely lethal - instead, they typically become one of the Enthralled, though some especially 'beneficent' Highborn have been known to raise and cherish them as they would a Highborn child. That said, 'nicer' Highborn are likely to examine younglings closely for viability before their abduction; their more callous counterparts are more likely to order the 'procurement of a few dozen' under the assumption that at least one should be viable. In some cases their motivation may be giving their Highborn child 'friends'; whether these 'friends' are Enthralled or not varies.
- Force Sensitivity: High; some degree of Force Sensitivity is downright commonplace among Sprites.
- Mask of Mundanity: Sprites are able to make themselves seem normal or even insignificant - the truly skilled are equivalent to View Maskers.
- Enthralling Spittle: Sprite saliva is a potent euphoriant that evolved to help ancient Sprites pacific their prey. Modern Sprites have developed an even more insidious use - continued exposure to their saliva can transform a sentient into one of the Enthralled, see 'Relations' above.
- Lommite Allergy: Skin contact with durasteel can cause rashes while actually inhaling lommite dust easily turns fatal.
- Hollow Bones: Sprites, even wingless ones, have hollow bones - as a result, they are easily broken by strong blows.
- Diet: Omnivore; Sprites can survive on flora alone, but often relish the taste of meat - including, at times, that of fellow sentients. They have a strong allergic reaction to lommite - skin contact with durasteel can cause rashes and inhaling lommite dust can easily become fatal.
- Some Sprites react to ground-up teeth as if they were spice; those of near-human children are especially appealing, thus 'tooth fairies'. Gremlins and Muses are especially likely to have this condition - Muses use discretion, Gremlins steal teeth or pull them out by force.
- Communication: The Qhivurines' native language is an elaborate, sing-song affair that few outsiders have been able to decipher. Fortunately, the Sprites have a much easier time learning Basic and other near-human languages. Some subraces are innately telepathic and all are able to communicate with their own kind through pheromones - far from all are able to communicate anything beyond basic concepts like 'danger'.
- Technology Level: Sprites are, as a whole, a technologically primitive species; artistic tendencies are common, but engineers are a rarity. They have historically relied on the artifice of other species to traverse interstellar distances, but in recent years some of their Force Users have been able to pry open rifts to the Netherworld - the Muses have always been able to interact with the Dreamlands, but new avenues are now open.
- Religion/Beliefs: Sprites honour the Force as the beginning and end of all lives; they view it as a combination of dichotomies, including Light & Dark, Order & Chaos, Creation & Destruction, and Life & Death. They may associate themselves with one or a few of these Cosmic Truths or honour them all as equally essential. Whatever the case, faith is a personal affair, for the most part - they rarely build temples.
- The Highborn have a special place in Qhivurine society. All Sprites seem to have an ingrained urge to obey them; while not irresistible, it is often enough to unify the disparate races - and yet their own origins are little more than myth and speculation. Gardener Sprites may be responsible, though some have postulated that the mysterious 'Old Ones' of Lorinia created them for some purpose or another.
- General Behaviour: Sprites are a varied, somewhat arbitrarily-minded species. Most cherish and protect their offspring, though Gremlins are a notable exception - the Highborn in particular will go to extreme lengths to protect their young. They have a general fondness for shiny items, especially gems, glasswork, mirrors, and polished metals. A remarkably creative lot, they make for excellent artist but subpar engineers - those that expect a Sprite to carry out instructions with exactitude (or even read the instructions) are likely to find themselves disappointed.
- Sprites in the Galaxy: Sprites can be found on a multitude of worlds under a multitude of names, though only rarely in large numbers. Highborn, Muses, and Gremlins are the most likely to be found in urban environments - more than one ecumenopolis has some sort of Gremlin infestation in their underworlds, though these are often kept in check by armed gangsters, mutants, and disease.
The only truly sentient (extant) species (presumably) native to Lorinia, the origins of the Sprites is obscure at best, unknown at worst. A lack of strong written tradition - even today, illiteracy is commonplace among Sprites - and a general disregard for truth has done much to obfuscate their past, as has the scattered nature of what can charitably be described as their 'civilisation' and their 'discretion-enhancing' abilities.
Some have postulated that they may have been made and/or modified by the Old Ones of Lorinia, or perhaps they are the Old Ones - the Rakata, a contemporary species, are known to have degenerated into a more primitive state - but it is difficult to know for sure.
In recent years attempts have been made at studying their history by finding testable remains on their homeworld, but this has been complicated by their apparent origins from Feraxalia specifically - humidly vibrant environments aren't exactly the best at preserving intact genetic samples. They are believed to be responsible for a variety of strange cave paintings, though their fanciful forms make analysis difficult.
