tting annoying. “We are getting close to the territories of the Pixies and Sprites. If we do not pay proper tribute to them then they will hinder our passage.” Pixies and Sprites. He is afraid of Pixies and Sprites. Wait, why is he afraid of Pixies and Sprites? And I said that last bit out loud, again. I need to stop doing that. “Pixies will confuse and disorient so a person will walk around in circles until they pass out or walk off a cliff. Sprites will put one to sleep and leave them vulnerable to attack from a large predator. It is better to just pay tribute to them.” Russell’s face lit up as if another very important thought had just struck him “It is really important to not get them mixed up, they hate each other and if you call them by the wrong name or give them the wrong type of flower then they will get really angry and curse you. I think the worst curse I have heard of was they turned a group of travelers into trees for three years. They do not like to be called by the wrong name. Pixies like bright and large petaled flowers, while Sprites like flowers with dark colors, small petals and long stems and leaves.” He held up each group of flowers to demonstrate. Analyze and Herbology told me that the brightly colored ones were called Sprite’s Bane, yeah good name and the darkly colored ones were called Pixie’s Bane. The names were actually warnings. A good idea, so people did not get confused and give them the wrong flowers. “What do they do with the flowers?” Why were they so darn important? “They build their homes out of the flowers. When you come across one of the Fae villages, you can tell which species you are dealing with by what kind of flowers their homes are made of.” Oh, there are two types of Fae villages. “So are Pixies and Sprites the only Fae?” Russell shook his head “Fae is a pretty broad category. There are several species of Fae, Pixies, Sprites, Elves, Dwarf, Druids and Gnomes.”

“ Wow, how many races are there in this world?” Russell thought for a moment then nodded “Lets see, Human, the Beastfolk, there are the several races of Beastfolk the Wolfkin, the Rattus, the Vulpin, the Scalekin, the Felis, the Ursus, the Leporidae and Goblins. There are the S’leni, the Evnri, the Fynora, and the Fae.” Wow, there are a lot of races in this world. How are they distributed in the world? “How many of those races are in Darva?” So far I have seen Humans and the S’leni. Russell is half two things that I do not know. How many other races do I need to deal with? “In Darva there are strong human presence throughout most of the country, in the ocean and by the coast there are the S’leni, and in the most northern part of the country in Great Woods are mainly populated by Druids and Elves. In forested areas you can find at least one Pixie or Sprite habitat, and there are assorted Beastfolk throughout the country. The Beastfolk are mostly found in Paralta under the care of the twins the God Hiss and the Goddess Scae. Dirk has the highest population of Fae, all types of the Fae, and a lot of Humans as well. Shevran has a good balance of Dwarves, Gnomes, Druids, Humans and assorted Beastfolk. The Evnri and Fynora are like the S’leni and are bound to one God. The Evnri live under the ground and are bound to the blind Goddess of the Rock and Soil Evrin. The Fynora are bound to the God of the Wind and Sky, Tosh. They are a nomadic race that literally live in and above the clouds. The only cities they have, so I hear, are on the highest mountain tops. Otherwise they stay off the ground. I have never met an Evnri or a Fynora.”

I really want to ask Russell what he is. Stupid Analyze will still only tell me that he is a Halfling and will not tell me what he is half of. If I want to figure this out then I need to be sneaky. Subtle, smart. As I always am. “So Russell where did you learn all of this information?” I thought that most people in a fantasy world are supposed to be illiterate or something. Russell not only can read and write, but the man seems to know just about everything about everything. All of this info he is spilling is coming from the top of his head. Who can even do that? As useful he is, this is kind of ruining my image of a fantasy world. “The Patron God Darvin is the god of scholars and magic. Most people in Darva know how to read and are well versed in something. My mother was insistent that I learn about the different races. ‘Better know your potential enemies.’ Is one of her favorite sayings. My father wished that I would focus more on learning different types of magic. I, like my mother, really liked learning about the other races. As a Halfling I have a need to know more about the other races, since I have two running in my veins.” Interesting, but still not telling me what races he has running through those veins. “Oh your mother sounds fairly vicious. What is she? What do I need to know about each race?” It would be good to get some general information on the different races. The whole don’t disrespect the Pixies and Sprites rule in the forefront of my mind. “My mother is a Druid, and they tend to be a bit violent. Most Druids specialize in one type of magic, or one aspect of one type of magic. Their gifts are almost always something to do with magic. My mother’s particular line of Druids are known for their gifts of disorientation and deception. My gift of Illusion magic comes from her side. There are more Druids in Shevran, but they are different lines. The Druids from the lines of disorientation and deception are more drawn to worship Verdin. Druids are actually one of the less populous races. They really like their games, don’t get on the wrong side of a group of Druids. Their games are not always nice. My father on the other hand is a Wood Elf. They are more reclusive, don’t eat meat and are the best herbalists in the world. They don’t really like the Dark Elves, but the Dark Elves are the best at Alchemy so the two groups do a lot of trading with each other. It leads to a lot of merchants of the two groups trying very hard to cheat the other in business deals. To my father’s great displeasure I take more after my mother and share her love of research topics and games. Many of those who want to enter the trials do it for Darvin, but I want to enter for the chance to get close to Verdin.” So he is half Druid, half Elf. Never would have guessed that. I thought for sure that he would have some human in him. Either Druids looked like Humans or his parent’s genes were cancelling each other out so he looked Human. Or my whole concept of what Elves looked like are completely wrong and that thought makes me kind of sad. Nah, it must be one of the first two. It is a fantasy world and all. So we walked and picked flowers as I listened to Russell warn me that Dwarves may be short, but they are the best with ores and are the only species with a direct relationship with the Evnri. That they will fly into rages at the first mention of them being Gnomes. Gnomes are the same way, they are more partial to fungi than to ores and hate being mistaken for Dwarves. That the Wolfkin males look more like the God Darvin does, and that the females look more human, and their human features change depending on how much human they have in their bloodline. The males are bigger but the women have short tempers and sharper teeth. The Wolfkin and Vulpines are the most common type of Beastfolk in Darva. Wolfkin are generally fond of meat dishes. The best way to distract one is to offer them jerky. The Vulpine are smaller than the Wolfkin, but have higher aptitude for magic. Their looks vary as well from walking fox to human with fox characteristics depending on how pure the bloodline is. It seems with all Beastfolk the males are more likely to look more like the beast and the women are more likely to attack and have sharper teeth and claws. The Vulpine like acorns, instead of meat dishes, offer them nuts and they will usually calm down and focus on getting through the shells. Scalekin don’t like the cold and some lines have poison and such high poison resistance that alcohol does not affect them. Never go drinking with a Scalekin. The Felis are partial to sweet smelling herbs and are likely to strike without warning if you get too close without permission or offend them. The Leporidae are shy and can move very quickly. They have very strong legs and can jump to great heights. They do not eat meat and offerings of fresh vegetables can get them to listen to what you want to say. They tend to make their villages underground and are hard to find. Goblins are the most quickly reproducing race on the planet. They mostly live in Paralta, but there are some in the bigger cities in Darva. They do not look like humans, they have big teeth that have a hard time fitting in their mouths, are shorter and have grey-brown skin or green- grey skin. They are big on trading with other races and make-up the majority of the larger cross country merchant guilds.