The Magician’s Diaries: The Sprite Matriarch

Hello my children,

This week I will be expounding upon my experience with the fey, the dastardly little devil’s they are. As stated before, fey creatures are tied closely to their local environments. Wherever you may find them, you are to notice minor or major differences in anatomy and hierarchical structure. You’ll come to know fey of all different shapes and sizes, yet their common purpose is predicated upon an ability to disrupt and subvert the expectations of mortal man, 

This brings me to the trickery of the common pond sprite, a cousin of the common garden fairy. To my surprise, the comprehension of base level magical phenomenon is severely lacking with many of my newfound pupils. Fear not, for I am a generous teacher that wishes the best for all who listen to the cautionary tales I spin. It just causes an old croon like myself a great deal of worry that the study of our world is relegated more and more to the classroom when it was just a few centuries ago where I had been thrust into the field with little to know understanding of how or what I was doing. Ground work is precisely what is needed to forge lasting relationships where one thinks there are none to be had, and it really distinguishes the lowly street magician from the primed, educated sorcerer that I hope all of you aspire to be. At the very least, since you are attending office hours it must mean that you are more passionate than the common trust-fund student too feeble to work as a squire.

Nonetheless, we have pond sprites to talk about. To put it simply, sprites are defined by their connection to bodies of water as fairies are to the land. Like their cousins, sprites are of a proportionally humanoid build and about 1 foot tall. Their features closely resemble that of modern elven blood with their pointed noses, almond eyes, and long ears– though I would hope no one is insensitive enough to equate those of modern elven blood with pixies or fairies, as has been done in past academic study.

Whereas faries find power through a communal bond and their ability to coordinate like a swarm of tactical wasps, sprites are bound by their relation to a single brood Matriarch– a river or pond spirit who is referred to as their “mother”. I’m unsure as to how a being of The Matriarch’s size is capable of producing such small offspring, but I am not here to judge the familial structure of beings from another plane of existence (that is a job for astral pirates, which we will cover in Extra-Planar Entities 237).

The Matriarch’s first priority is the safety of her children, however, she seems to relish visitors even if they may be unwelcome. Some of my associates have learned the hard way the customs and norms of meeting The Matriarch. Sprites will dance around the perimeter of swamps and rivers hoping to discover wayward adventures whom they will lure to the heart of their den. Though The Matriarch presents herself as calming and matronly, fey are deceptive and often will engage you in games of wit and death if they are of such a mood. Luckily, when I had first been introduced to my local colony, I had prepared a crystal of great magical potency that was taken in exchange for a most wonderful conversation. The fey are creatures of extremes, granting boons or curses to the travelers they may meet, so hope that your first impressions may leave you with the lasting impression of a friend made

However, it has seemed as if my ramblings have gotten the better of me once again, and this story must continue another time. I hope you have found this short analysis to continue to be useful on your journeys. Listen well, and know that the best experience is waiting for you out there just a hop, skip, and a planar jump away.

Until next time,

-The Magician