Fairy

"Enigmatic, whimsical, often powerful, fairies exist on the border between flesh and spirit. Some grant wishes; others steal babies. Their physical forms are to some extent malleable projections, but many lesser fairies are fixed to one shape; sometimes, the effort of manifesting physically drains their powers so much that they can’t change back."

- Orchid Euphemia Potter.

A Fairy is a miniature winged humanoid creature in European folklore, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural.

Overview
There are many definitions of what a fairy is. "Fairy" can describe either a single being or multiple ones like trolls, banshees, and gnomes. Some say they are spirits of the dead, elementals in alchemy, demoted angels of God, demons, deities, a type of human, and more.

While they are commonly believed to be sweet and innocent beings, they are in fact, far from it. Fairies of folklore were vicious, vindictive and cruel; embodying forces of nature and often appearing as monstrous figures rather than the winged pixie-like beings we associate the word with today. Fairies of folklore were blamed for all manner of mischief and ills, ranging from petty vandalism and theft to outright murder and kidnap and they would frequently be blamed for causing livestock to grow sick or die, they would lead travelers astray at night or lure men to their doom near ponds and rivers and if sufficiently angered they would even kill.

Fairies could kidnap women, children or men as they saw fit, often at times replacing infants with changelings. But more frequent targets of fairies were travelers and musicians as many Fairies were said to love song and dance. Legends speak of the dangers of such merriment as many mortals have been captivated by a troop of fairies dancing,  although not particularly an act of malice these fairies would often spirit the captivated mortal away to the "other world" to live with them, often never to be seen again by mortal eyes.

Appearances
Fairies are generally described as being humanoid in appearance and having magical powers, though they often come in varying shapes and sizes. Nonetheless, they are regularly touted as some of the most beautiful creatures known in the supernatural world. Diminutive fairies of one kind or another have been recorded for centuries, but occur alongside the human-sized beings; these have been depicted as ranging in size from very tiny up to the size of a human child. Even with these small fairies, however, their small size may be magically assumed rather than constant. Some fairies though normally quite small were able to dilate their figures to imitate humans. They are ornately painted and represent the most prominent aspects of their domains.

Fairies were a species scientifically known as either Homo sapiens sidhe or Trans stellaris, which mostly looked identical to normal humans, but with notable differences. As Homo sapiens sidhe, fairies were taller than humans, possessing ethereal wings, big black eyes, pale skin, and hair resembling the color of various aspects of nature. As Trans stellaris, fairies were smaller than humans, possessing light green skin, and six eyes positioned in two vertical columns. After losing their names, they also lost their true form, resulting in them undergoing changes in physical structure when unobserved and often resembling animals. As such they create carapaces similar to that of insects, and ones that hide their true forms underneath which can only be exposed when one speaks their true name.

They are known for their unearthly beauty, many fairies said to be extremely attractive with delicate and regal faces. Though they mostly resemble human beings, some have extraordinary features such as wings, horns, oddly colored-eyes or skin. A common aspect among them is their pointed ears. Fairies commonly incorporate flora and multiple forms of vegetation as part of their ensemble.

Personalities
They are most well-known in both the mundane and supernatural worlds for their cunning and cruel sense of humor, as well as their delight in tricking others. They frequently seek to bargain with mortal beings, offering someone their heart's desire but never mention that said desire comes with a terrible cost. They are committed to notions of honor and etiquette. While they are always exactly to the letter of any promise they have made, they deliver these results with great irony and often use clever wordplay to their advantage in order to create loopholes for them to exploit.

They are unable to lie. They might, however, tell what they believe is true, even if it is not. They may expertly weave lies into sentences by using methods such as not telling the whole truth, letting others assume things, or not correcting the people with whom they're speaking; this does not, however, apply to the half-fairies who possess the ability to lie as easily as any other being. Fairies are also capable of manipulating one another. There have apparently been times when these either playful or serious manipulations, specifically resulting from problems or conflicts between powerful fey, bleed into the world.

Fairy Sub-Species

 * Fairy Godmothers

Notable Fairies

 * Oberon - High King of the Fae
 * Titania - High Queen of the Seelie Court
 * Nicnevin - Scottish Queen of the Fairies
 * Tinker Bell

Quotes

 * "Honored for their gifts and feared for their wrath, the fairies remind us to respect the world we live in and the forces we cannot see." - Eddie Lenihan in Meeting the Other Crowd.


 * "Did you honestly believe that I would be some small, diminutive thing that gives people favors? Well, you certainly seem uneducated in the true ways of the fairy. Allow me to educate you." - An unidentified fairy to a human.


 * ''"Whatever you do, don't accept their hospitality, their deals, or trust anything that runs out of their mouth.
 * "Why not?"
 * "JUST DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING! Got?! Fairies may be weak but they are excellent magic users and tricksters at getting people wrapped around their palms." - Caution around Fairies.

Trivia

 * Fairies often choose objects from the natural world to send their messages in—acorns, leaves, flowers.
 * Fairies secrets are sometimes encoded and told in ballads by human musicians, an example of which is the tales of Thomas the Rhymer — being both a story and instructions on how to break someone out of Fairyland.

Images Sources

 * (Forest Fairy.png) Forest Fairy by QuinnSimoes
 * (Fairy sitting on a tree.jpg) Fairy by ???
 * (Falero Luis Ricardo Lily Fairy 1888.jpg) The Lily Fairy by Luis Ricardo Falero
 * (SophieAndersonTakethefairfaceofWoman.jpg) Take the Fair Face of Woman, and Gently Suspending, With Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending, Thus Your Fairy is Made of Most Beautiful Things by Sophie Gengembre Anderson
 * (John Anster Fitzgerald, Spirit of the Night.jpg) Spirit of the Night by John Anster Fitzgerald
 * (Fairy.jpg) Fairy by GabrielleBrickey
 * (Fairy tail by ragecndy da8al6m-fullview.jpg) Fairy tail by ragecndy
 * (Pin-up fairy.jpg) Pin-up fairy by ftourini
 * (Fairy by yanaidraws dduicpg-fullview.jpg) FAIRY by yanaidraws
 * (Fairy Color Glissando.jpg) Fairy Color Glissando by Selenada
 * (Legend of the cryptids fairy marshall by edwardch93 de3oocv-fullview.jpg) Legend of the Cryptids - Fairy Marshal Oberon by Edwardch93/Edward Chee
 * (Fairy Warrior.jpg) Fairy Warrior by antilous
 * (Red hair.jpg) Red hair by TheRafa
 * (Yuliya-litvinova-1-fairys-girl.jpg) Fairys and the peasant girl by Yuliya Litvinova
 * (Gothic Fairy.jpg) Faceless by Jesse Lindsay
 * (Forest Fae Fairy.jpg) Fairy by ???
 * (Fae of the night by chaos55t dd6mxfl-fullview.jpg) Fae of the night by Chaos55t
 * (Fairy 0.jpg) Fairy from Monster Girl Encyclopedia I
 * (FairyDC.jpg) Fairy from Devil Children Black Book & Red Book
 * (The captive robin.jpg) The Captive Robin by John Anster Fitzgerald
 * (Fairy funeral.jpg) The Fairy's Funeral by John Anster Fitzgerald
 * (Fairies in a birds nest.jpg) Fairies in a bird's nest by John Anster Fitzgerald
 * (FitzgeraldFairyBanquet.jpg) The Fairies' Banquet by John Anster Fitzgerald
 * (Fairies holding a banquet.jpg) Alternate Colour - The Fairies' Banquet by John Anster Fitzgerald