Mothlings
Mothlings are a moth-like species of fae that resemble fairies with varying degrees of balance between moth and human features depending on the mothling. They reside primarily in The Hidden Village of Mothlights and are a generally friendly people, eager to help outsiders.
After Tympi's disappearance and Ilven's departure with their Myotling siblings they have been in conflict with said myotlings though actual fights or battles rarely ever occur. Instead they mostly just hold grudges and treat each other a bit worse while also sending spies, diplomats and others to attempt to resolve the issue.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Mothlings have the body, arms and face of a human. Their legs are insect-like from the feet to midway up the thigh where a transition occurs between the insect chitin and human skin. Their feet are mostly just nubs with two long claws in the front and one in the back. Their ankle/shin area has the appearance of overlapping chitin similar to an insect's leg which becomes smoother further up the leg until reaching the mid thigh where it begins a gradient into human-like, pale skin.
The backs of their hands and arms have sections of overlapping chitin which usually appears on their elbows and the center of the arm and forearm. This same chitin also appears on their shoulder blades and lowerback. They also have tufts of fur around their necks, and some mothlings even have fur covering their abdomens with more insect-like, furry faces as well.
Their faces are mostly human in appearance with eyes that are slightly larger than you'd expect for the size of face. These eyes are a solid color, usually black. They also have two antennae rising from their foreheads which resembles the antennea of their respective moth species that they share their wings with. Their faces could also be more moth-like in general at times. 
Each Mothling has a pair of moth wings which resemble various moths ranging from very plain white wings to ruby tigers, death's-head and more. These wings, like any other moth, are covered in dust. Some Mothlings have found that there are practical uses for the dust such as alchemy or enhancing the effects and tastes of beverages.
Genetics and Reproduction
Mothlings do not reproduce and have no offspring, however, they do raise Mothling children that have recently bloomed.
Mothlings, for the most part, cannot die from the passage of time, and they don't fully die from other means either. Each Mothling comes from a flower which blooms and stays bloomed so long as they are awake and thriving. These flowers close as they sleep and open when they awaken. All known mothling flowers are currently kept in The Meadow in the mothlight village.
When a mothling dies, either from poisons, violence, or even just accidents, its flower also wilts and is reduced to a bud to regrow much like a rose. The mothling remains "dead" until the flower fully regrows. At this point the mothling emerges from the flower once again as it blooms. Mothling flowers only bloom at the very first week of autumn (Yunend 01-07).
Growth Rate & Stages
Much like humanoid races, mothlings start out smaller as babies, have a learning/growing period, and then stop growing as they reach adulthood. The primary difference being how they look during those stages and the fact that there is no real decline stage that leads to old age and death.
Mothling babies fresh from the bloom are tiny sized and far more insect-like than their later stages in life, instead taking on a very larval appearance which resembles a caterpillar. These caterpillars have very few humanoid features and spend most of their time curled up or consuming plant matter which is either provided by their adoptive parents or sought out on their own.
Mothlings spend about a year in this phase before changes gradually begin to occur which usher in their adolescence. The transformation into adolescence occurs as the Mothling larva hybernates during Summer. They lose most of their "extra" legs as their primary legs become their arms and singular pair of more humanoid legs. Their bodies elongate and become humanoid and they develop more humanoid heads and faces. These faces still have many insect features which will eventually be lost as well. However, some mothlings never lose their moth-like faces and maintain an, albeit anthropomorphized, moth appearance overall.
They stay in this adolescent stage for about 17-23 years slowly growing and losing more and more insect features until they are the described adult Mothlings. They do not change further by the passage of time or biology, but they can be injured and have lasting scars.
Ecology and Habitats
Most mothlings can be found in the Hidden Village of Mothlights, but there are a select few that have set out into the world for adventure or to search for Tympi.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Their Diet is undoubtedly vegetarian.
Most of their diet is textiles, but they also eat leaves and will pay good “Money” for particular greens that they happen to crave. Many mothlings in the mothlight village have their own gardens or community gardens to grow their required sustenance while their farms are used to maintain livestock.
While they have livestock, it is for the purposes of what that livestock can produce rather than the meat. As such, they keep Silkworms in their homes and farms to harvest silk and make textiles which they will snack on, sometimes absentmindedly. Quite adorable. They also have adderhens and goats which they utilize the eggs and milk of for baking.
These baked goods are a delicacy around the forests and while the mothlings usually just consume them with friends, they do also sometimes trade them for more textiles and certain plants that they are hoping to cook with or make incense from.
Some Citizens of Greed can be seen with a Mothling Pastry and will oftentimes only part with it for something incredibly sentimental or of monatary value.
Biological Cycle
Mothlings usually hybernate during the summer, however, this has not been strictly followed during the last 40-50 years as tensions have been growing since Ilven's departure. While the village is protected against unwanted outsiders, it would be exceedingly difficult to defend against a myotling attack.
Additional Information
Average Intelligence
Mothlings are intelligent creatures in the sense that they have sapience, but they have a similar spread of intellect amongst their people as any humanoid race. They are not blessed with innate knowledge like dragons, and learn what they can about the world from their adoptive parents and the Mothlight Library.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Mothlings are all capable of sight, speach, hearing, and limited telepathic communication.
The limited telepathic communication is mostly just the emotions that other nearby individuals are feeling, and only rarely are Mothlings capable of full telepathic conversations.
Civilization and Culture
Major Organizations
Tympi's Court is the primary political faction of the mothlings. As a legislative body they are in charge of creating new laws or updating old ones, and their magic provides the primary protection for the mothlight village where they reside. They're capable of heightened telepathic abilities which allow them to understand the needs of the mothlings that are currently in the mothlights.
While they were once just a part of Tympi's advisory council, they have since assumed direct control of the mothlight village in her absence.
History
Mothlings were first brought into existence thousands of years ago by Tympi. Since then, she has been able to create a new mothling every hundred years leading to the fine population that exists in The Gates in the modern day. Not all of the mothlings that were created survived, however, and the population is not what it could potentially be.
Throughout their existence, mothlings have lived relatively peaceful lives as anytime anything dangerous was sensed by Tympi they hid away in the mothlights. This has changed within the last 50 years, however, as they have been on the cusp of war with their siblings, the myotlings. The conflict began after Tympi disappeared while helping The Writer, and, after Croak was chosen to lead instead of her, Ilven left the mothlights with the other myotlings to form her own civilization and challenge the eligibility of Croak as leader.
Most mothlings spend the entirety of their time within the mothlights, never needing to go out for anything, and as such they are a relatively naive, sheltered group. However, there is the occasional mothling with a drive for adventure that leaves the mothlights, only ever returning for special events or to mourn on Nurend 12th.
As the species grew and began to better understand who they are they began to develop senses of self. Many mothlings took it upon themselves to find their place in the world through travel, others stay at home and just enjoy life or socializing with other mothlings, and some pursue learning new skills and professions as a way to interact with outsiders that visit.
Through these personal and community developments they began to create a culture for themselves based around sewing, baking, brewing and cooking. Mostly peaceful acts that get them closer to outsiders to learn more about them and be able to help them in the forest. Certain delicacies like the Mothlight Pastry and Mothlight Bean Vodka have become well known throughout the gates.
On the other side of that coin are the more reclusive mothlings which would prefer everyone just stay in the mothlights and avoid the outsiders as they usually bring trouble. While most of them were myotlings that left with Ilven and followed her philosophies against outsiders, there are still some mothlings that have these feelings that just couldn't leave home. Their sheltered views creating additional stereotypes for mothlings that they are antisocial and tend to prefer hiding away from the world.
Genetic Descendants
Lifespan
unknown, possibly infinite
Average Height
3-4 feet
Geographic Distribution
Related Organizations
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