Long ago the land was full of Fae spirits. The bodiless Fae lived in the trees and grass, rode about upon the backs of cats and seals and all manner of animals. There were strong Fae and weak Fae, Fae of the earth and Fae of the air, all manner of spirits that lived with nature and helped it to grow.
Then the world changed and people came to Gaia and the Fae began to lose their connection with the living things of the world. Slowly the gentle voices of whispering Fae was lost to the sounds of the towns and the people, slowly the Fae began to die.
No one seemed to notice, after all, few people can see a spirit, and if the animals no longer seemed to listen to the wind and the plants no longer reached out to caress a passing breeze, who would take the time to care.
But one girl, Flauna, noticed. Able to see past the physical to the spirit, she noticed the Fae and the slow fading that seemed to be taking them from the world. And apprentice to an alchemist, Flauna thought she might know a way to save these friendly spirits.
It took her years to go about Gaia gathering the spirits in special bubbles she made with her alchemical mix of science and magic. Protected from the world in these bubbles, she had time to think of a way to save them. But Flauna knew that it would take very powerful magic to keep the Fae from fading away.
And so she sought out the one place she knew magic touched the world most powerfully. In the center of the great forest was a mighty tree, the oldest tree that set forth roots at the beginning of time. Reaching high into the sky it was as big around as many buildings and its roots ran to the very center of the earth. There was no more magical place than this, if the Fae could not thrive here, there was nothing more she could do for them.
Using the alchemy she knew and the magic whispered to her by the tree, Flauna infused the tree with the Fae bubbles, hoping that they could live with the tree, though not truly knowing what would come of this magic.
After months of waiting, Flauna had almost given up, sure that the Fae were lost to history and that the magic of the tree was not enough to save them. But then she noticed something, she noticed that some of the leaves on the mighty tree had changed, their colors different, and those that fell from the tree slowly changed, as though they were cocoons for something else. And the fruit of the tree also was changed, dotted with gems and slowly growing into something else.
And thus were the Fae born, slowly the leaves grew into the Sirad and the fruit into the Travain and the mushrooms growing at the tree’s base became the Koehir. Flauna knew there were more Fae waiting to spring forth from the tree and the magics it held, and she waited to see which would be next.
Of course, there was already magic surrounding this tree, and even some of the most mundane things were more once they had touched the tree. The insects and small animals that made their homes in the trees were infused with a basic intelligence, so when Flauna brought the Fae bubbles to the tree, some of those already here found individual Fae to whom they would bond. So that sometimes a lady bird, spider, or other creature became a familiar to the new Fae.
Of course Flauna realized that she could not care for all the Fae herself, for while they were intelligent, they were not accustomed to the needs of a physical body, and so she found a peaceful shop on the edge of the forest where she could take the Fae to find loving new homes.
And so she talks to those who wander by, telling them of the Fae, of their needs and the happiness they can bring into the lives around them. She tells them how these small creatures are both plant and animal and how they can channel the magics of the mighty tree no matter where they are in the world. And sometimes, she lets the fortunate take some of them home to love.
