Faekin

Creatures of the forest, turned friend by a lost girl... Poor child. Heh heh heh.

— The Storyteller

There is a story that out in remnants of the Scorched Lands exists a forest. This forest, known to scholars as Whimsical Wood, is home to a race of creatures concoted purely to keep away the lonliness of a young, lost girl.
Years into her life of solitude within Whimsical Wood, the Fae of the Forest could take it no longer. She gathered her energy and knowledge of Magicae to create a psuedo form of life. As the Fae never had a chance to grow up, her mind remained immature. She molded the Faekin in an image she cared deeply of, animals, and mixed part of her personality with them.
The Fae's Magicae wasn't perfected, causing some issues in the creation of the Faekin. Their initial image were created on juvenile animals, yet the Magicae used to create them meant they can never grow from this form. Faekin reach an apex of about two feet and hold their childish tendencies throughout their life. They have the shortest lifespan of all the sentient races on Fearann Úr, averaging at about half a century. There are rumours that the Fae can extend chosen Faekin's lifespans, though at the cost of her own.
The Faekin call Whimsical Wood their home. Their entire race remains Unknown to the other regions across the continent. Even the researchers of Athame have yet to discover the wonders that lie in the forest beset beneath their mountains. Though their existence is Unknown to the current regions across the continent, rumours flutter on the wind within Nuria of a race of juvenile, anthromorphic animals that live within a forest in their borders.

First of the Faekin

A story passed down between all of these furry friends is the story of their creation. As the Faekin have spread wide through the Whimsical Wood not all of them have direct connections with the Fae of the Forest and thus this story varies slightly throughout their lands.

Let me tell you, young one! Arthur and I were the first, don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.

— Merlin Wylld

Sometime during the Second Era, the Fae of the Forest travelled across the realm she had protected with her magic. She had took a large portion of this Nurian forest under her wings and created a whimsical, illusionary barrier that kept out anything she deemed a threat. Being a young child, that was almost everything. Animals, however, were fine to come and go.
The young Fae was naive, however. She did not understand the ramifications of the circle of life. She stumbled upon a half eaten rabbit on her wander and broke into tears. For it was not fair that a child that she had sought to protect has been harmed within her walls. She wished to get to bottom of it, and spoke to her woodland companions to find out more.

Her friends told her about predators, and the food cycle, which only amplified her dismay. She swore that she would protect every creature in the forest regardless of whether they should hunt with instinct or not. This discussion was the first step in the plan to create the Faekin.
It wasn't but a few days later when the Fae found a small Fox kit hunting a young bunny. She watched the creature stalk and stumble through the undergrowth, too young to hunt effectively but too old to rely on its mother any longer. The Fae was empathetic, but she knew what she had to do to protect every single creature.
She cast her spell, catching both the kit and the bunny within its grasp. It transformed them, cutifying them with the mind of a child. Enlarging their heads and forming their bodies to become bipedal. The creatures gained a fragment of her mind, gaining sentinence, the ability to speak and a rudimentary understanding of the world.

The Fae was not finished, however. She remembered stories that her mother used to tell her of heroes and god-like beings that held immense power. She wanted her first two Faekin to mirror this. She named them, and supplied them with more of her own power. The Fox gained immense amounts of strength and a deep understanding of martial combat. The Rabbit learned Magicae, having a wrought and deep understanding of the Arcane Arts. The Fae decided to name these two Arthur Penfox and Merlin Wylld respectively.
Once her experiment was fulfilled, she cast her enchantment across the entire forest. The Fae could not afford to expend the same power that she had given to Arthur and Merlin, meaning the rest of her creations were akin to normal mortals. Her spell, however, only affected the young of the forest animals. Her rudimentary vision and lack of foresight is what caused the Faekin to remain in this state.
No creature type within the forest was spared. Mammals, reptiles and birds were all transformed by this enchantment, becoming sentinent almost immediately. These creatures began to build their cultures and societies almost immediately, some even completely unaware of the Fae that granted them sentience.
To the adult animals that were unaffected by the curse, the cycle of life continued. They bred, and their young stayed unenchanted just as they did before the spell. The Faekin themselves bred amongst each other, creating more of their kind. The forest is now divided: the intelligent Faekin who understand the concept of mortality; and the mindless creatures that wandered the forest before and still do to this day.

Culture

Faekin culture is divided directly down the middle. This is due to a river that flows straight through the Whimsical Wood, dividing it between the East and West. The Eastern side of the river and extremely devoted to the Fae of the Forest, and include her in their culture. Many Eastern settlements contain statues or carvings towards the Fae as they believe that without her their life would not come to fruition. Whilst this is true, the same sentiment is not followed on the Western shores.
The Western Faekin do not believe in a diety. Due to a lack of bridges across the river when the Faekin were first created, they did not believe in the Fae of the Forest nor her power to create their sentience. As time, and their soceties progressed, bridges were built and eventually the two sides of the river were united. Their immature minds left little for wiggle room during the diplomacy. Although they are currently at peace, the West still do not believe in the Fae of the Forest as she has never been a part of their community.

The Fae, due to her underdeveloped mind, took this attack personally. Rather than appear before the Western Faekin and prove her existence, she sulked. Years turned to decades, to centuries, and eventually the divide between the factions caused tension. Not long after a bridge was constructed across the river, a war between the East and West had broken out. The East wished to convert the West into believing in the Fae, but they would not relent.
The war lead to a stalemate, and both factions agreed to allow the other to worship whatever they wish. Since then, diplomacy and trade has fared much better between the two sides, though some tension still simmers in the air.

---

Despite this divide, the East and West Faekin are relatively similar. The enchantment removed the creatures desire for the food chain, making all Faekin live off a vegetarian diet. This has lead to structured towns with people who don't much venture farm from where they are born.
Each settlement often has an elected Mayor. On the West, it is simple democracy. On the East, it can sometimes be swayed by the Fae's favour. Each town will then work as a single unit. Sometimes they unite together, and all Faekin will aid another if they need to but a completely united Forest does not exist. Some units have come together to form small collectives however, though taking down another Faekin unit through domination is hardly on their mind.
The largest settlement resides in the East and surrounds the Fae of the Forest's home. This city is also home to Kato Bennett and the rest of the Faekin army. It is the most militaristic of the Faekin settlements and holds a large unit of soldiers that are dispatched to handle issues across the Whimsical Wood.
As for the other Settlements, they all strive to be self sufficient. Often most will have a handful of farmers that provide the food for the settlement; a blacksmith or two to provide repairs or tools; a carpenter that will help build or repair homes if needed; a small unit of soldiers to protect the settlement from any stray wild animals; and the rest will often make up jobs unique to the area the town is located within.

Fashion, Arms and Armour

Despite their size, the Faekin are quite the crafters. They weave plant fibres together with silk they can collect, from the comparatively large spiders that reside within the Whimsical Wood, to create clothing. With not much frame of reference, other than their leader - the Fae of the Forest - and her memories, the Faekin craft clothes after the Fae. This fashion is similar to how Elven clothing is styled. The clothing also differs slightly between the East and West, the East opting for more religious imagery amongst their fabric.
Their connection with nature, inability to mine large quantities of metal and reluctance to harm animals that live within the Whimsical Wood only allows for the Faekin to craft rudimentary armour. There are some extremely rare cases where a Faekin may wear metal, however most don wooden or even woven armour. Their armour is designed less with protection in mind, but more to scare potential foes and allow for full mobility within them.
Their weapon choice is quite similar. The majority of Faekin weapons are created from wood, with the occasional spear and arrowheads being crafted from small stones they can find. Once again, there are the odd occasion where a Faekin will wield a metal weapon though the cases are few and far between.
Modern Faekin societies have also adopted some Nishimese culture. Katana and Naginata are constructed from wood and given to soldiers that resemble the Nishimese Samurai. Long before Nuria had disappeared, it was said that a Nishimese convoy were travelling through the country headed to the Reizi Plains to act as an offering of peace between the two countries. The convoy became lost, and settled on the edge of the Whimsical Wood. During this period, the Nurian countryside was just as dangerous as the Scorch Lands are percieved to be, and the convoy was attacked. The gifts never reached the Plains, but curious Faekin claimed them for their own, using them as inspiration to create their own weapons and armour.

Language

The Faekin speak an archaic form of Elven, the language the Fae once spoke. Their childlike tendencies warped the language in a unique way, causing a rather basic set of vocabulary. This does not inhibit their communication, however, as it's a step up from animal communication.
As the years continued and the Nurians populated their region, the Faekin began to have contact with them. At first, it was some inquisitive Faekin playing with the Nurian children on the outskirts of the Forest. Eventually, even some of the adult Faekin ventured out to see what was out there. This gave them the opportunity to learn the common tongue, which quickly became the second language of the Whimsical Wood. Eventually the Fae of the Forest outlawed any Faekin from leaving the confines of the forest, yet they never forgot the common tongue.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Fae

Lifespan

50 Years

Average Height

1ft - 2ft

Geographic Distribution

• Whimsical Wood

Discovered by

Fae of the Forest

Habitat

Faekin may be small, but what they lack in sheer power they make up for in ingenuity. Their childlike imagination borrowed from the Fae of the Forest allows for the cities to have a fantastical spark to them. Rope swings, slides created from bark and hollowed out stumps are commonplace within Faekin communities.
They do not have the strength or size advantage to mine large veins of metal. Any small amounts of metal they do manage to mine is often used to create weapons for the Faekin soldiers. They do have the advantage of mining and hollowing small stones and rocks, however large scale quarries are nothing more than a dream for these small creatures.
Though the Faekin populate the majority of the Whimsical Wood, they try to congregate mostly around ponds and lakes as it offers a source of water they can build around. The rainfall and trickle down from the Athame Mountains provide a steady water supply for the creatures.
Most creatures shape their home similar to how their animalistic counterpart would create. Avian-like Faekin will build high amongst the trees, and creatures that often like to burrow can be found in holes in the ground. Their imagination allows for an improvement on these homes. Most nests and burrows will have walls and doors, and sometimes even windows.
A varied Faekin community allows for a wide array of buildings across their settlements. They are often constructed vertically, using the trees and canopy for a tiered system that allows for a variety of different Faekin to live within one community. It also provides an excellent defence, with the Avian Faekin being able to see out across the forest for far distances with their vantage point.

Biology

The Faekin come in a variety of shapes and sizes, aligning to the creatures that could be found within the Whimsical Wood before the Fae's enchantment covered it.

Their breeding patterns don't often differ much from their predecessors, so Rabbit-like Faekin are often the most plentiful. No type of creature was safe from the transformation, however. There were even some young fish spawn flowing through the rivers and ponds at the time that were affected by the enchantment. These creatures grew lungs, however, and gained the ability to live upon the land.
A Faekin's body aligns to what a child may consider adorable. The eyes and head are much larger in comparison to most creatures, where as the body and limbs are slightly smaller. The head takes up around 25% of the creature's entire height.
Due to their magical enchantment, the Faekin keep their nimble forms from when they were mere animals, though at an amplified state. Rabbitkin can leap much higher than others, and though Aviankin cannot fly, they can still glide. Fishkin can remain underwater almost indefinitely and Frogkin have extendeable tongues they use in combat or to hunt.
Faekin's major weakness comes in their physical strength. Unless specifically enchanted by the Fae of the Forest, the Faekin struggle to haul large objects unless working as an extensive group. Even the Bearkin, arguably the strongest of them all, struggle to move boulders they would consider big.
The Faekin rely on their dexterous forms, knowledge of the land, primal animal instincts and cunning prowess to get ahead of anything dangerous that may lurk within the Whimsical Wood.

Hibernation

During the initial stages of the Faekin transformation, some of them still kept to their animalistic instincts. Mammalkin and some Reptilekin resorted to hibernation or torpor during the Autumn and Winter season.
This became an issue for some settlements as their guard numbers would often be thinned out and not all creatures within the Faekin society would enter a form of hibernation. Initially, they attempted to create enough food to prove to these Faekin that they did not need to hibernate, as scarcity was not a worry. Whilst this swayed some, others could not ignore their instincts.
Eventually the issue was raised to the Fae herself, who did not wish her children to waste away their precious lives hibernating. Rather than change their instincts, in a way that could backfire, she instead enchanted the forest to only cycle between Spring and Summer. This gave the Whimsical Wood properties that helped give it its name. Vegetation grows quickly with little time to wither and die.
For the Faekin, however, the solution worked. No Faekin, or animal within the Whimsical Wood for that matter, requires hibernation or torpor anymore. This has helped the Faekin grow more effectiely, as just like their old instincts, they do not sleep for long periods of time during these seasons. The constant state of Spring and Summer also allows for plentiful food yields, objectively removing most traces of food shortages throughout the Forest as long as the settlements are prepared to work.

Currency

As the Faekin society developed they needed a form of currency. As they do not have the capacity to have anthing technical or produced on a mass scale, they settled for a form of wooden coin. The coins are carved from a special tree, known as Amber Elm, that only grows in select places on both the West and East side of the river to ensure counterfeiting can be monitored. To the Faekin, these coins are known as Ulmusnum.

Visit the home of the Faekin...