Storm Gremlin
Storm gremlins, or spandules, as they used to be called, are playful but mischievous Air faeries that inhabit the numerous floating islands of Altairus.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Storm gremlins are humanoid creatures with blue skin ranging from cyan to almost lavender in color. Their long, beaklike noses, pointed ears, nasty yellow teeth, and spade-tipped antennae and tails make them resemble blue-skinned little devils.
Male storm gremlins are much smaller than females; they typically only grow to 4-5ft. (122-152cm) in height and tend to have a pudgy, somewhat childlike build. Females, or fifinellas, can grow to 5-6ft. (152-183cm) in height and have a leaner, more shapely build.
Genetics and Reproduction
Like humans, storm gremlins typically give birth to only one young at a time. Gestation typically lasts about six to seven months, and baby storm gremlins, called widgets, are live-born with only slightly more faculties than a human infant.
Growth Rate & Stages
The growth period of storm gremlins mirrors that of humans. They are born helpless and dependent on their caregivers for survival. This period lasts for 1-2 years, or until the gremlin starts walking. It is during this time that a storm gremlin will begin to show signs of a developing personality, as well as magical powers. This is considered an important event for storm gremlins; it marks the end of infancy in their culture. Aside from their magical powers, their growth stages mirror those of human beings.
Ecology and Habitats
Storm gremlins inhabit the various cloud continents that float around Altairus, such as Tempest Island. These continents are wrapped in perpetual storms, lightning, and high winds, which storm gremlins are well-adapted to.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Storm gremlins are omnivorous and have evolved to subsist on a highly varied diet. Their diet depends a lot on the lands they visit when they pass over them. In particular they love tear bulbs, which when cooked, lose their tear-inducing capabilities and have a buttery, savory flavor.
Biological Cycle
Since storm gremlins are associated with the Air element, they are Seelie faeries, and thus the strength of their magic is directly tied to the sun and its cycles. Their magic tends to peak in strength around the Summer Solstice, and it is weakest at the Winter Solstice. It is also strongest at midday, and weakest at midnight.
Behaviour
Storm gremlins' resemblance to little devils is entirely appropriate. While they are normally quite playful and friendly, but they can quickly turn nasty if they are offended or even just bored. Their ill-tempered attitudes are responsible for many of the destructive storms that Altairus experiences.
Fifinellas in particular are feared among the denizens of Altairus, as they are not only bigger and stronger than the males, but more aggressive. They typically serve as leaders to bands of storm gremlins flying through the skies.
Even when they are in a good mood, storm gremlins can be troublesome. Widgets especially are endlessly curious and will stick their noses into everything. Couple this with their tendency to shoot bolts of lightning out of their hands when startled, and you have a recipe for disaster. Fortunately, they usually get a better sense of danger as they get older.
Even with their bad tempers and troublemaking attitudes, storm gremlins are generally friendly creatures that love to laugh and play.
Additional Information
Social Structure
While the largest storm gremlin settlements are more or less egalitarian, storm gremlins as a species are somewhat matriarchal; Fifinellas are bigger and stronger physically and magically than male gremlins, and in smaller packs of storm gremlins, the oldest fifinella is typically the leader.
Facial characteristics
Storm gremlins share traits with all gremlins; they have long noses that resemble birds' beaks, pointed ears, and long, arrow-tipped antennae. Their cheeks and the inside of their ears flush a fiery pink.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Storm gremlins reside in the skies of Altairus, distributed across the numerous floating storm cloud continents that drift across the land.
Average Intelligence
Storm gremlins are about as intelligent as a human being. Like other magical beings, they only grow more intelligent and powerful as they age.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Storm gremlins' senses are well acclimated to the perpetually stormy Air continents they call home. They possess superior eyesight in low light conditions, and their antennae can sense minute changes in weather conditions as well as help them conduct their magic and communicate with each other. They use their tails primarily as a counterbalance when they are climbing trees or navigating the skies atop clouds they create for travel.
Magical Powers and Abilities
Being Air elementals, storm gremlins' main magical ability is weather control. They can create rain, snow, sleet, or even massive weather events like tornadoes when enough of them get together. They float around Altairus on clouds that they create and visit the lands below by sliding down rainbows they materialize.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Most storm gremlins have surnames that have something to do with the weather. This surname is often indicitave of what powers the gremlin will have, since magical powers are often passed down through heredity. This is not always the case, however.
Gender Ideals
Storm gremlin societies tend to be somewhat matriarchal. Being stronger and more ambitious than the males, fifinellas tend to serve as leaders to bands of storm gremlins and are given an important voice in community decision-making.
Courtship Ideals
Most often, fifinellas will mate with several males at a time. In a few cases, a fifinella has one particular male she wants to mate with, and they will form a monogamous relationship, although this is less common. Since most storm gremlins are not overly materialistic and the entire community helps out with raising the children anyway, this is not usually an issue.
Average Technological Level
Storm gremlins are surprisingly technologically advanced. Though their stone huts look primitive on the outside, they contain many modern amenities. They use the electricity from the thunderstorms on their islands as a power source.
Common Dress Code
All storm gremlins wear the same skin-tight jumpsuits with badges on their left side representing their powers and personality. The color of these jumpsuits varies significantly, but their gloves and boots are always a slightly different color from the jumpsuits. Male storm gremlins' boots only go to the ankle, while the females' boots go to the knee.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Storm gremlins, like all gremlins, are a nomadic species. Unlike other gremlins, this is not because they themselves move around a lot, but because the islands they reside on do. They frequently travel down to the ground both to explore and to trade.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
The most important and well known tradition in storm gremlin cultures is the Storm Gremlin Jumpsuit Ceremony.
History
Storm gremlins are a race of gremlins that have adapted to thrive at high altitudes and extreme weather. It is speculated that early storm gremlins came from a common ancestor that lived on mountaintops such as Mt. Gloom, exposing them to harsh and stormy climates. This forced the gremlins to adapt and gave them powers over the weather. This allowed them to live in the harsh climates of many of Altairus's floating islands such as Tempest Island.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Other species wisely give storm gremlins a healthy amount of respect. Storm gremlins are responsible for much of the weather of Altairus, so many cultures, agriculture-focused ones especially, have a vested interest in keeping them pleased. And for good reason; the weather they bring can make or break a harvest.
While they do not have an established form of currency, it is very common for storm gremlins to establish trade relations through barter, exchanging resources they got for cheap in one land for a much more valuable resource in another. The largest storm gremlin settlement that exists, Cyclone City, is a keystone in Altairian trade.
Air
Male storm gremlins are shorter than females, and tend to have a pudgy, somewhat childlike build. This is particularly true for younger storm gremlins. As they get older, they lose some of that pudge and develop a more profound musculature, but for a healthy storm gremlin, they always retain some pudge. Their eyes are oval-shaped.
Fifinellas, or females, are not only taller than males, but more shapely and muscular as well. They tend to have long, muscular legs with boots that end at the knees with a slight heel. Also unlike the males, their eyes tend to be teardrop-shaped.
Storm gremlin skin is almost always a shade of blue, though it can range in color from cyan to almost purple. Most storm gremlins have fairly light-colored skin, though there are a few exceptions.
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