Pyskie

Species: Homo Eldritchus Minora

Location: Across Northern Eulysal, especially Whelk

Origin: A biological slave species created by the elves, like the Avianids, Jessokai and Dvergar. They were designed to be magic aids and amplifiers as well as a connection to the fae.

Appearance: Though with the proportions of elves, Pyskies are only half as tall as an elf. They are slight, delicate, but agile creatures. They have very long pointed ears and two "antennae" like protrusions that emerge from and hang over their head. They have two pairs of wings, like an insect's, similar to a moth's, though females tend to have wings closer to those of butterflies. They also have a fairly long, feathery tail. Another feature of Pyskies are their variety of hair and eye colours - they are not limited to the ones that show up naturally in elves and humans and dark green, blue and purple haired Pyskies have all been told of. Pyskies also have noticeably sharper teeth then elves and more dexterous hands and feet.

Disposition: Pyskies have a generally playful disposition, though they are not adverse to quite a bit of trickery at someone else's expense. They tend to not put too much emphasis on family or any sort of clan - this is due to centuries of being raised by only their elf-owners. However, in Nordironia and Dalysium there are colonies of "free" Pyskies that have banded together for protection. While exuberant and playful, Psykies can also be sullen and bitter if they feel they have been slighted. As well there is often an underlying sarcasm or cynicism to those that have begun to yearn for places outside if their servitude though others prefer to be totally submissive to make their lives easier. Psykies are always quick-witted and intelligent, able to solve problems and come up with creative ideas fairly quickly. Free Pyskies are very wary in their dealings with strangers, being fearful of being lead into another life of slavery. This is because Pyskies have a very strict code when it comes to oaths and promises, never breaking them and becoming very angry when someone breaks a promise or oath to them.

Psykies were originally created by Elves and the majority of them still live with Elves as servants. Pyskies are intelligent and magic attuned and are often trusted with more difficult or complex tasks. They are one race that is still in servitude to the elves - while some have escaped after their masters met with misfortune, most are still in servitude to an elf or elf family. Besides being a sort of "magical assistant", many Pyskies work in a role similar to a fool, playing clever tricks and making witty comments. Many elves train their Pyskies to do this and other communicative skills to work as messengers.

Magic: Pyskies are a very magical race, perhaps more so than even elves and are born with considerable power. The downside to their ability is, however, that they have a very hard time advancing in the strength or varying their type of magic at all. A Pyskie is usually stuck with the magical skills he is born with. Pyskies are so magical, however, that they can work in some ways like a "Counter-Null" - they increase the clarity and strength of mages near them. Their most powerful ability is that of being able to slip into the fae and having a skill at traversing it - a skilled Pyskie Faewalker will appear to be merely teleporting around, darting in and out of shadows. They also have a very good nose for magic, able to locate mages and magical objects with ease. Most Elven research into the Fae has been done using Pyskies as explorers and recorders, though some of these do not return from journeys that put them more than a few minutes into the Rockies. Wether they were slain or somehow used the aura of the place to break free is unknown.