Dream realm (sixth dimension)
Sub-Races
Disclaimer: there are as many races of fae as there are types of human dreams. It would be impossible to catalogue them all. Below is a short list of the most abundant sub-races, listed by their abundance and characteristics. The fae thrive most on the type of dream that birthed them; while they may take sustenance from other dreams of any sort, they will find most fulfillment with ones closer to their nature. Alternatively, a fae has the ability to change a dream to their own resonance, so long as the human is subconsciously willing.
There are two additional divisions of the fae: those who are created from pure dream, and those who are born to other fae. Several wars have been wrought over something so simple; the main differences between the two are longevity and variance of power, although there are entire sub-races made of one or the other division.
While it seems that the Fae-Borne have the added power of both parents, making them formidable allies, they also tend to live a typical life-span from birth to death, and are more likely to suffer such 'mortal' deaths that afflict humans. The Dream-Borne fae, on the other hand, have a much more chaotic life-span, varying from a few seconds to several thousand years. They are limited by the dream that birthed them, but are more apt to influence such dreams.
All fae need dreams to survive. The dream-realm itself is a place of pure sustenance for fae, but the closer a fae is to whatever element birthed them, the happier - physically, mentally and emotionally - that fae will be. The dream that birthed a fae is very powerful for that fae - the closer they are to such elements, the more power they will have. Put a Myrn (a water-born nymph) in a forest fire, and the Myrn will melt from sheer bewilderment and fear; but they thrive in every aspect if water exists as a constant around them.
There are also two levels of the dream-realm. There is the level where all fae exist, the realm itself, and there are the fields of human dreams. The realm itself is created from dreams that have already been, whereas the fields are constantly changing, because they are made from pure energy. These fields are both a powerful and a dangerous place for any fae to travel - while they can enter the dream of any human, they are bound by the laws of that dream once they enter.
- Elves.
- Sunhe (seen)
Characteristics: Almond-shaped eyes, usually light blue, green, violet or amber. Fair to tan complexion. Light to medium-colored hair, can be straight or curly, thick or thin. Fairly tall and slender build. Sharp, pointed ears.
Dreams: The 'fairy princess' dream is a common one that births these creatures. They're more often royalty than not -- knights in shining armor, damsels in distress, kings and diplomats and priestesses and priests; the dignified, pedestaled creatures of our fantasies make up the abundance of this race. What humans idealize, this race sets into being.
- Lefh (layf)
Characteristics: Slight point to eyes, usually gray, green or hazel. Fair, tan or gold complexion. Gold to orange hair, usually fine. Tall, slender to muscular build. Their ears are usually very thin, and somewhat smaller than the sunhe ears, as opposed to the ears depicted in "Aeden." (He's somewhat of an anomaly.)
Dreams: Lefh are a sub-race of created elves; none of them are 'born' to other fae. They are ageless when they are created, and are guardians to the Sunhe and to precious and important objects and people in dreams. Although some of them can appear animalistic, the vast majority are human and somewhat exquisite in appearance.
Lefh have a very particular role. When an elf of royal/noble stature is born, its lefh is created whole, and that lefh remains their guardian throughout their life. Most lefh are male, though a few have actually been female. In a tragic twist of fate, lefh are forbidden from falling in love with the ones they guard -- if such a lefh's love is ever returned, that lefh will cease to exist.
Lefh are often suited to their ward, even before that ward's particular characteristics are known. Most lefh are treated as glorified servants; some are treated as slaves, or less.
- Louhna (luna)
Characteristics: Slight to rounded eyes, usually dark. Tan to dark complexion. Medium to dark hair of many colors, though the most common are brown, blue and gray. Medium to tall, slender to medium build. Sharp, pointed ears.
Dreams: Louhna are the keepers of secrets. Born to dreams under 'moonlight,' they are known for romantic dreams, passionate fantasies, desires and whims of the lover's hearts. They tend to be villagers rather than city-dwellers; they're often found in country settings, or among small communities.
- Helfn (hin)
Characteristics: Round eyes, commonly violet, dark blue or indigo. Fair to dark, although sometimes they can be pure white or soft blue. Dark hair, usually purple, blue or white, thick. Soft sheen of 'fur' over skin. Short (half to 3/4 the height of a normal elf), small build. Long ears, rabbit-like or floppy. I've often been told they resemble bunny-people. ^^;
Dreams: Made from simpler dreamstuff, Helfn are often drawn out by subtle emotions, such as the soft pleasure of a rainstorm, or the tranquility of sunset. They rarely take speaking roles in such dreams, although they've been known to give ancient knowledge or advice to the humans they visit.
- Wlyn (wil)
Characteristics: Slanted to round eyes, green or brown. Tan to bronzed complexion. Blonde to dark brown hair, usually curly or wild, thick. Medium to tall, slender to wiry build. Long, thin ears.
Dreams: Independence, harmony and peace draw these creatures to their shores. They are rarely seen in cities or even in clusters, preferring to live alone in forests or by winding rivers instead. Made from dreams of wilder emotions, travel and hunt and the searching for something indescribable, these creatures are wanderers more than anything.
- Duare (dwarves)
Characteristics: Squinted or slitted eyes, blue to brown. Tan to brown complexion. White, blonde, brown or red hair, thick. Beards or facial hair. Short, medium to stocky build. Slightly pointed to rounded ears.
Dreams: Made from dreams of incessant work -- dreams in which it feels as if nothing is ever accomplished, and in dreams in which it feels like one's life-long goals are achieved. Anything that is attained by hard work or a relentless spirit will draw these creatures to it.
- Sethn (set)
Characteristics: Varied. Usually animalistic, both realistic animals and fantastical ones. A dying breed since WW3.
Dreams: Humans who often dream themselves as animals are responsible for birthing the Sethn sub-race. They are 'shape-shifters', of a sort, in one form human and in another whatever creature their creator imagined themselves. Since many animals became extinct after the world suffered through WW3 and chemical war-fare, this race has become limited and rarer to find.
- Imajin.
- Sehn (sin)
Characteristics: Wide to slanted eyes, white to black and various shades of gray. Charcoal black to gray or brown complexion. Pitch to light gray hair, occasionally (but rarely) pure white. Tall, thin to normal build. Sharp, pointed ears.
Dreams: The most 'human' of their racial counterparts, the Sehn are created from desolate dreams. Unrequited love, undying want, hunger, helplessness, hopelessness, depression -- the subtler sphere of the dark spectrum contributes to their birth. They often spend their lives in search of whatever piece of them was missing upon birth. For instance, Sky's father Crimson was created from a dream in which the dreamer could not find his home. So Crimson wanders the dream realm in constant search of his home.
- Goln (goblin)
Characteristics: Squinted to round eyes, one to three. Green, gray or black complexion. Coarse hair, or no hair, brown to white in color. Short, heavy build. Rounded or enlarged ears.
Dreams: Whereas Sehn are created from subtle emotion, Goln are created from moments of pure, vibrant emotion, usually rage, frustration or violent depression. The purer the emotion, the less reason or sentience these creatures need to possess; they manifest that moment of emotion, whatever it may be, and act accordingly.
- Cebu (chebah)
Characteristics: Slanted, almost slitted eyes, usually glowing or colorless. Light to dark gray complexion. Little to no hair. Serpentine or slender build, occasionally with wings. Small or no ears.
Dreams: Another of the emotional sub-races, Cebu are created more often than anything from pure fear. They manifest this in two ways -- either by living eternally paranoid, or by being the creatures that invoke such terror. It's rumored the ancient 'dreamcatcher' was created on the physical realm to 'catch' this particular sub-race, and keep it from entering a person's dreams.
- Jois (chois)
Characteristics: Varying on all aspects. Sometimes humanoid, with draconic features such as a tail, or claws, or leathery wings in groups of two or four. Small to monstrous.
Dreams: Similar to the Lefh, the Jois are the guardians of what is lost -- that is, objects that were never meant to be found, by human or fae alike (including lost memories, lost childhood, lost objects, and lost souls). They are born from dreams with something unattainable, or some terrifying truth that the dreamer forgets upon waking. These guardians are blessed with a sense of foreboding, so that anyone near these objects will desire to turn quickly away.
- Chsm (chismera)
Characteristics: The Chsm vary depending on the higher race they echo. Some are humanoid with wings; some are draconic and serpentine; some are indescribable by human means.
Dreams: Sometimes a mortal spirit drifts beyond the plane of dreams in sleep. It touches ephemereal qualities of the seventh and even eighth dimensions. The fae born from such dreams as these are the Chismera -- the ghosts of other realms, existing here and often believing themselves as fallen, otherworldly creatures. Their energy comes from higher places than dreams.
It may literally destroy a Chsm to face the fact that it is nothing more than a fae. Its entire existence is based on a lie – the lie that they are something else entirely, made up of energies beyond a simple dream.
- Weli (weelee)
Characteristics: Varying on all aspects, although never humanoid or animalistic. These are living objects; books, boxes, wheels, clocks, houses, anything that ordinarily wouldn't have sentience, but by some twist of dream, does. They communicate in completely different ways -- for instance, a book Weli of mine named Customli can write in itself, in many different languages. It can't hear, but it can read what is written on its pages, and those words can magically be erased.
Dreams: These are called imajin only because they are unnaturally sentient. They are the omens, the signs that people often miss in dreams and in reality, appearing only when there is a mystery to solve.
- Gulce (geche)
Characteristics: Varying on all aspects, although for the most part they are either humanoid or animalistic. They share a common thread of having very uncommon features -- a rabbit with fangs and a lust for blood; a hound with only small patches of mange instead of fur; a human with sores all over its body.
Dreams: Dreams of unnatural creatures spawn the gulce -- everything from rabid animals to undead to howling trees, they derive their energy from anything and everything strange. The things that exist in dreams that don't feel like they should have ever existed -- they sprout there like weeds and infest your thoughts, until you wake with the nagging sensation of those images for hours afterward.
- Pixies.
- Baili (bee)
Characteristics: Small, glittering eyes, usually with curls around either side. Green, blue or black complexion. White or multi-colored, stocky hair. Small build, ranging between 3 to 30 cm. Sometimes iridescent if they move their wings fast enough (two to six veiny, transparent wings). Small but pointed ears.
Dreams: Baili are formed in the quieter, simpler dreams of nature. They can be in dreams as a simple annoyance (a bug), or a beautiful night-time symphony (a firefly). They make up the small intricacies that are often overlooked in more complex dreams.
- Lafli (laffee)
Characteristics: Small, glittering eyes, pink to green, with curled lashes. White, peach, pink or yellow complexion. Varying hair, usually soft and curled. Usually humanoid. Tiny to small build, ranging from 1 to 100 cm. A pair of wings, butterfly-shaped or of flower petals and colored. Slightly curled ears.
Dreams: Some debate is given over whether the lafli are a separate sub-race from the baili; there are many similarities, and they form from relatively the same dreams, but they share enough different characteristics and ratios that they deserve their own class.
- Cydih (Sait)
Characteristics: Almond eyes, green or brown. Pale, soft, or dark green complexion. White, green or brown hair, usually stringy or unkempt. Small, elven build, varying height but usually never more than a meter. Wings resemble leaves of varying size, color and flora. Some of the larger ones may have no wings at all, though they do tend to have some sort of bug-like characteristics. Uniquely shaped ears.
Dreams: Children's make-believe. These creatures are the heart of a 'neverland,' the immortal children. They flock to gardens, and dreams involving flowers, shrubs, or pretty foliage.
- Bybi (bubbles)
Characteristics: Cherubic or non-humanoid. Wingless. Usually floating 'bubbles' of light.
Dreams: The Bybi are birthed from dreams of pure happiness. They are usually a human's first dreams -- the first pure emotion, the soft blur of untainted reality, drawn to that innocence.
- Hei (hee)
Characteristics: none listed.
Dreams: Similar to the class of Bybi, the Hei are rarely seen and only heard. They will manifest as a tickling laughter, a soft giggle, or a random squeak that drives the curiosity or the lighter emotions.
- Seu (so)
Characteristics: Non-humanoid. Usually simple, watery images or tears.
Dreams: The Seu are birthed from dreams of pure sadness. They are fairly similar to the Bybi, except that their first pure emotion is grief rather than joy.
- Nymphs.
- Myrn (merfolk)
Characteristics: Usually light-colored eyes. White, blue or tan complexion. Varying hair in texture and color. Small to muscular build, half-fish, with scales occasionally adorning other areas of the body. Coral-shaped ears.
Dreams: Unlike Syrn, the Myrn need only the water element to be created. They are the largest sub-race of Nymph, with entire cities and civilizations created under the oceans and rivers of the dream realm. Few of the Myrn exist in the smaller streams or lakes, and most prefer tributaries or bodies of water that join other, larger bodies. There are several sub-races of Myrn, as well, but not enough is known about them to list them here.
- Syrn (siren)
Characteristics: Sea green or blue eyes. Pale to tan complexion. White, blue or black hair in any shade, usually straight, thin or thick. Varying build, usually slender, sometimes with blue or green scales along the limbs/waist.
Dreams: Originally seen in dreams where there is ever-present water, Syrn also require the air element to be birthed. They are territorial, possessing islands or mountains. The Syrn have been known as entrancing, enticing sailors to the shores of their islands, or malevolent, enticing sailors to their destruction -- all with the use of their voice.
- Dryi (dryad)
Characteristics: Amber, green, haze or brown eyes. Dark to light complexion, but usually yellow in tint. Earth-colored hair, often with leaves or twigs instead of pure strands. Long, lean build, usually able to blend in to trees or shrubs. Varying ears.
Dreams: Dryi are created from dreams of ever-present earth. Underground dreams, forest dreams -- anything that involves nature in its wildest form will attract the energy of such fae. They prefer such chaos to civilization, rarely traveling with others or venturing into the more 'civilized' world.
- Tryi (treant)
Characteristics: Varying shapes, but these creatures usually resemble plants and trees more than humanoid forms. They almost always have leaves or flowers of some sort, and in their younger stages are unable to uproot themselves from the earth. These are quite often home to the pixies, particularly the Cydih.
Dreams: While the Dryi roam the wild side of nature, Tryi are often stagnant within it. They are so attuned to the chaotic rhythm of life that they are immersed in its flow, rarely bothering to move away from it. The rare, humanoid elf that dares to venture into a ring of such Tryi will often be taunted or harassed for coming so far -- or, if they are unlucky, may be completely destroyed and consumed in the cycle of nature.
- Frys (frost)
Characteristics: White or pale blue eyes, often angular. Pale complexion. White or pale blue hair, though some darker shades are occasionally noted. Small to gargantuan build, with varying features that include snowflakes, crystallization of certain aspects, or even pure snow for skin. Crystal-shaped ears.
Dreams: Nymphs born of pure cold, their element is air. Such fae are rather rare, since creating them often involves dreams of complete stagnancy, where nothing but silence or cold is present. Other elements may also be present in the dream, although some are rare than others; there has been occasion where a Frys was born from both fire and cold, but these are anomalies, and little is known about combining such elements.
- Grys (gryphon)
Characteristics: Light-colored eyes, often slanted. Pale to vibrant complexion. Bird-like features, such as wings or feathers for hair, in many varying colors. Small to large, usually thin build or wiry enough to keep afloat in the air. Sharp, tube-like ears, or no outcropped ears at all.
Dreams: Born in dreams of endless flight, these creatures are usually able to take to the air and live there for long periods of time. They live in the highest places -- mountain peaks, the tallest branches of trees -- and rarely have any desire to touch land or interact with those upon it.
- Feir (fairy)
Characteristics: Bright yellow to dark red eyes, often slanted. colorful complexion, usually luminescent. Wild hair, warm colors. Tiny to small build, occasionally fiery wings. Pointed ears.
Dreams: Glimmering and full of energy, the temper of the Feir is often what people think of when they imagine fae. They are flighty, passionate, and short-tempered, full of the fire that emanates from their being. Born to dreams of wild-fires or equally chaotic heat, they formed their own faerie rings on earth -- although their rings were occasionally more mischievous to humans that chanced to sleep within them.
- Nyine (lycan)
Characteristics: Natural eye color, slanted to wide eyes. Pale to dark complexion. Light to dark hair, usually in fur or fuzz form. Small to heavy build, occasionally with paws for hands/feet, or even claws or talons, depending on the animal they resemble. Animalistic ears.
Dreams: Nyine are born from dreams with fire and earth. They are the lycan, and have often been misconstrued with true Changelings, since they seem to be a mixture of human and animal features, caught between both phases of transformation. They prefer the wild, but several have been known to frequent cities for adventuring or other less noble purposes.
-- last amended 03.07.08.
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