Bestiary of the Bladeseekers #1 - Dreams of Dragonflies

Once more, I find myself haunted by my dreams. I wonder if this is the doing of the orcs again. Sometimes, I wonder if their faith in me is worth the headache it sometimes brings. I want this bestiary to contain useful, actionable information that helps my fellow Bladeseekers and something that contains vital tips for survival against beasts and folk alike. Something that helps future generations of this order we are founding. And yet, here I am writing about something that does not exist.

— Tyson MacBogard, Lord Founder of the Bladeseekers.

The elflike dragonflies

In my dreams I see beings that are familiar and yet alien at the same time. Their base form is clearly elven, as visible by their three-jointed thumbs and their pointy ears, but they are nothing like any elf I have ever met otherwise. I have described them to my three elven friends, who between them have met all living elven folk, and none of them match what I see in my dreams.

Appearance

These elves are relatively thin, even for the generally slender build their real cousins share. Their ears are thin and pointy like stakes and protrude from the head, often parting hair on their way. Their eyes seem a tad to large for the size of their head. Their skin is fair and I have mostly seen light hair colours with brown being the darkest I have beheld so far. All of them appear very friendly to me in my dreams, which however only highlights another attribute, their upper canine teeth are long enough to significantly protude from the line of their teeth, suggesting a carnivores diet and a hunters lifestyle if they were mindless beasts.

Who are Tyson MacBogard and the Bladeseekers?

Tyson MacBogard, was one of the founding members of a adventurers/mercenary guild in a place outside of the world. He does not exist within the world of Focis at all, but somehow his writings in the form of the Bestiary of the Bladeseekers have found their way to the world. More strangely, many of his descriptions match beings that exist on Focis and even more so he sometimes accurately described beings that did not exist in the world of his origin, but do exist on Focis. The existence of the Bestiary is a mystery still unsolved and the book and its many copies are prized curiosities among many civilisations.

The most striking feature are the wings though. They vary slightly in position along the back, ranging from just at the shoulder blades to slightly above the hip. Males seem to generally have higher placed wings than females and are also perceivably lighter and smaller. Based on this I estimate that female elves of this kind are build for maneuverability, while males are optimised for speed. The wings also vary in exact shape, but there are always four and they are always elongated, somewhat resembling those of a giant dragonfly.

Habits

This is where I would normally describe the common behaviour of the beast I am describing, but in all my dreams they never seem to follow their day to day activities. Instead they seem to be standing or sitting with me as if we were having a conversation as friends. Sometimes there is a steaming liquid served for drinks, but I never see who makes it. Maybe I do.
But I digress. Without actual knowledge for this, the best I can offer is guesswork. I would expect the elves to have developed at least a primitive level of society, so tool use, complex plans and intelligent behaviour is to be expected, especially considering the lack of truly lethal natural weapons. Somewhat ironically, they do not seem like the type to choose flight over fight. Additionally, I would expect them to have the instincts of a carnivore, one that is primarily an ambush hunter, swooping in from above with precision and swiftly dealing a lethal blow to their prey.

A figment of my dreams. I can not say for certain, but I believe that it is the orcs planting these things in my mind. I do not know where they get knowledge about these species that do not exist upon Midgard, and I do not know why they send them to me subconsciously. I do know however that writing them down makes the dreams stop and gives me some reprieve, at least until the next dream starts.

— Tyson MacBogard, Lord Founder.

Weaknesses

I do not know of any true weaknesses due to the sometimes blurring nature of these dreams. I would expect them to be light, so that they can actually lift themselves off the ground. As a result there most likely would be a weight disadvantage. Indeed their flight also likely limits what they can do on the ground. Prolonged combat without their aerial advantage might prove their biggest weakness.
Other than that I can not say anything for certain. Maybe if I knew of their intelligence I could say more on the matter.

Advice

Finally, the part where I would normally place any tips for you when facing this beast. However for the aforementioned reason, what advice now follows is not battle-tested, so take it with caution. The biggest apparent challenge for you is their flight. Use bows or other ranged weapons, if needed. If you can manage it, injure the wings to prevent them from taking off. Additionally use cover to your advantage, force them to fight you where their flight is limited.
If I am correct about the weight difference, any fight up close would likely end in your favor. Get heavy punches in if you can, maybe their bones are brittle like birds. Try to avoid their bite if you can, keep their teeth away from your vitals. Other than that, you will need to deal with the usual issues fighting sapient enemies. Traps need to be hidden, plans need to be less than obvious to even have a chance of working. If you could get a read on their personality, plan for traps or ambushes in a way that punish their natural reactions. If you can get a net in the place they are most likely to go, they are either out of their element or right where you want to have them.
Good luck and keep the blades honored, Tyson

It is done. I hope I have done my dreams justice. I do not dare strike them from future copies of this tome. If I do they may return to my dreams once more.

— TMB, Lord Founder.