#alvaria

Description: "Threllys" describes any sea-dwelling humanoids that can shed their tails for legs and transition to land. Some have hair in decorative patches or bright patterns on their scales. There are many different subspecies of Threllys, from the marlin-like Kajaudi to the eelish Morr, each with unique features. They can vary greatly in size, from less than a foot to over ten. They are also cold-blooded and have incredibly sensitive eyes with a protective film over them, perfect for seeing in the dark oceans.

Culture: Threllys culture can vary greatly based on the part of the sea they're from and the type of Threllys they are. Generally, they tend to value jewelry, focussing on stones and passed down through families. The sea is unforgiving; parents and children die more often than they do on land, so villages tend to act as large families, raising the young together and staying very close-knit. It is also divided distinctly between many deities that are very protective of their territories; the residents are aware of the deities that rule their home and often worship them and pray for protection. Gender roles are nearly nonexistant; male and female Threllys look and act incredibly similar. Land-dwelling species look down on Threllys and regularly disrespect them and their kingdoms.

Gryffonei: The Gryffonei are a species of bird-like humanoids that live in a free-floating kingdom above the clouds. They hunt the Threllys for sport, keeping them for display or cooking and eating the tails. Many Threllys are afraid to near the surface lest they be hunted. Gryffonei won't hunt land-dwelling Threllys.

Transition to land: The process of altering a Threllys's body to live on land is long and painful. They start by rubbing the top edges of their tails against rocks, stimulating the beginning of the process and loosening the tail. They consume great deals of food and spend more time near the surface as their breathing transitions from gills to lungs. They then find a sheltered place on land, their tails harden to a protective "cocoon" and they fall into a coma for the rest of the process. Legs grow withing the shell of the tail and other body systems readjust. Once the process is done, they wake and shed their tails (sometimes they don't come off nicely and must be cut), then all that's left is getting used to their new legs. (I had to simplify the process a lot for this brief description; I may cover it in more detail later.)

Written Description: Fae are naturally small creatures (2 - 3 ft.) but very adept at magic and can appear taller and larger at will. Their skin can be any color, including neutral tones (though this is rare), and have patterns of tougher, darker skin that grow warm to burning hot when they use magic, depending on how strong the magic is. A single set of horns, which vary widely in shape between individuals, sprouts from their head, the same color as the dark patterns on their skin; anywhere from one to four sets of thin, translucent wings adorn their backs; and each has a long, whip-thin tail, most often black or a darker shape of their skin tone. Abnormalities in fae teeth are common, ranging from fangs to tusks to curved teeth poking through gums and lips. Their sclera are black, their irises any color imaginable, though they often match the fae’s skin, and their pupils can dilate. They tend to prefer flowier fabric and are particularly averse to covering the sections of skin with patterns on them.

Origins: Fae are born when when a large collection of magic goes untouched for long enough to condense into a single, powerful being. Because of this, they have no biological genders, though they may identify with genders used by other species (for example, Kit uses he/him despite having no real gender).

Fae Deals: Fae were created by magic and continue to be sustained by it throughout their life. Their magic naturally depletes, both through natural life and the direct casting of spells, so they must replenish their magical energy fairly regularly in order to stay alive. They do this through deals. Every being has some amount of magic within them. A fae grants a wish to an agreeing mortal (sometimes mortals approach a fae, sometimes a fae targets a mortal) in exchange for access to that mortal’s inherent magic, which feeds the fae. A fae cannot make a deal or access a being’s magic without the being’s express permission (this can manifest in spoken agreement, a handshake, the signing of a physical contract, etc.), but once a deal is made, it cannot be broken by either party (it is physically impossible). The fae also controls how much of a being’s magic they take; they can take it all in one fell swoop, killing the individual, or feed off of it a little at a time, providing a more sustainable and consistent food source; mortals’ innate magic naturally replenishes. Even if the fae instantly kills the individual they made the deal with, however, they must still complete the wish of the individual. It is possible to corrupt a fae deal and bind a fae permanently to an individual, dooming that fae to be the servant of the being they made the deal with until the being’s death. This requires strong magic and rare materials, however, and the knowledge of how is difficult to obtain.

There is more to fae lore and just basic visual information (such as a lot of jewelry being an indicator of power) and I have it all organized nicely in a document using a template that I will use for all the Alvarian species, but I'm hesitant to share that as it has information on other, not fully developed species and may be connected to an email containing my legal name. If you want to know something specific, or have questions about what I said here, I'd be happy to answer.

Also noteworthy is that Kit, one of my favorite characters to draw, is an Alvarian Fae that has been tricked into a deal that now has him trapped in service to a notorious gang boss.