Story: Sprite History
As long as the lands of Lensmoor have existed, people of all races have seen Sprites, Pixies, Wisps, and other magical beings in and out of the forests; these races roamed entirely wild across the wilderness, many acting as tricksters and nuisances for the other races that settled the mainland of Lensmoor at the time. The small, flying creatures easily avoided all attempts at eradication and it wasn't until the High-Elves made contact with them that it was believed that these little things could be communicated with.
The Sprites and Pixies were receptive to the Elves and decided to join the Elves and the other magically touched races at the time. Together these and many more races ruled the continent of Lensmoor in peace, collectively known as the Fae Folk and this fellowship of races went on for generations uncounted.
The Sprites and Pixies however shared several traits that at times caused them to be at odds with one another. First, and foremost, both races migrated; drawn to places of great magical power, being creatures of magic themselves. The world itself has great, invisible ley-lines of magic; over time and as a result of actions taken by the gods: the ley-lines of magic shift and change location.
The area multiple ley-lines crossed over was known as a fount of magical power. And while that fact is only useful to the most exceptional magic in the world, the Sprites and Pixies are still drawn to it. The presence of that much ambient magic puts them at ease. It is for that reason that both races race to be the first to find these places and establish their homes there. In time, when the ley-lines shift, they would migrate and try to find a new fount of magic.
Although there was a time in the most extreme past that Sprites and Pixies fought over these lands, in respect to their accord with the other Fae Folk, they put that behind them and shared the land. That is until the other Fae Folk began to go away; the Faeries turned inward sealing themselves in a Realm of Mists, the Ents travelled north to attend to land ravaged by wildfires, and the Elves migrated south to Tikol. In amongst the same time as all the departing races, the ley-lines shifted once more; suddenly the Faeries and Pixies too decided it was time to leave and scattered outward, combing Lensmoor for a new place that ‘felt like home’, a fount of magic. Although they found such a place, it was smaller than the previous one and the resources around it were limited. It was clear that both races could not co-exist there.
Just when it seemed that war between the Sprites and Pixies was inevitable, the sitting Goddess of Magic, Naida, gave them an alternative, guiding them to an island south of the mainland. The heavily forested island had a rich natural resource: magical crystals. Power from these crystals emanated up to the surface and produced the same feeling for the magical races as one would expect from a fount of magic. The island was not created by Naida, but rather by a race that had come before, and gone.
Although there was enough room and resources for both races to co-exist peacefully, the Pixies suffered from what some would call ‘wanderlust’, they could not remain in one place too long and so most of them set off for a new fount of power, leaving only a tiny handful behind with the Sprites.
The Sprites on the other hand established a permanent kingdom there on what they proclaimed Crystal Island. As the individual Sprites came and went from the island, visiting the mainland and wandering the lands of Lensmoor like they have done since as far back as any of them can remember, and in time the other races came to know of Crystal Island, friend and foe alike. As often as Sprite adventurers would go and observe the development of the human nations on Lensmoor, so too was Crystal Island visited.
Witches came, with gremlin minions and other foulness to plunder Crystal Island’s magical resources. However, by that time the Sprites, having remained in the same magically enriched spot for so long, had learned to properly channel that place’s power and created a globe of crystal to protect their kingdom. Seeing no need to do battle with these evil forces, the Sprites simply left them, trapped outside their Kingdom to rot there in their own greed and hate.
'They may not be as fast, or as good with magic as we are, but their shoulders make EXCELLENT perching places!' -- Zixiee, Sprite Adventurer
It wasn’t long after that, the human capital of Old Lensmoor was destroyed and the gods declared that all the races would join together with the humans and help to build a New Lensmoor. The Sprites contributed (magically) to the reconstruction and earned respect in the eyes of the modern Lensmoor races. Sprites now travel the lands of Lensmoor as equals, no longer being looked at by the other races as mere pests, but suitable adventuring companions.
