#considered giving them more insect like faces (faceted eyes etc) but i like the very classic old school dragon shape

[sanctus-ingenium]

drew some more perns just now.. it's been years but i remember the wings on the covers of some of the books being insect-like and the text backs this up a little in places. i thought a variable wing morphology would be fun, the propatagium can be extended or relaxed similar to slats on a plane to increase wing surface area and lift at low airspeeds. here we have a light and fast blue (top) and a more robust brown (bottom)

[wondrousworldbuilding]

Populating Your New World

Building a world from the ground up has almost countless facets to consider. Even after you’ve created your protagonist’s culture, city, government, religion, etc., you might go along writing only to find that the meadows and forests and even alleyways are devoid of life. Wildlife. Your main characters’ species won’t be alone on its planet, and if you’ve created a brand new world entirely from scratch, you might find that populating the land and water with terrestrian plants and animals doesn’t feel right, not when every other aspect is original. So what’s a world builder to do?

Figure out how your main species fits into the world

Are they at the top of the food chain? What kind of predators or dangers might they face in the wild?

How much more intelligent are they than the animals around them? 

How has their technology, gardening, hunting, etc. altered nearby ecosystems?

To what creatures in the world are they most closely related?

What creatures and plants have they domesticated and bred? Why? How similar or dissimilar are the creatures, plants…or even the reasons behind their cultivation or domestication?

How much control are they able to exert over their environment? 

Are they carnivores, omnivores, herbivores, or insectivores?

Developing an ecosystem 

(If you are creating a multi-biome planet, you will need to do this separately for all different types of climates and/or regions.) 

I like to think in terms of terrestrial evolution; I make a chronological checklist starting with what came first, and then what followed. I find that method very useful. So (in brief summary): basic geography, weather, plants, microorganisms, aquatic creatures, amphibians (or similar), small land creatures, larger land creatures, flying creatures. This section might benefit from sketches and charts (even if your crap at drawing, it’s just for your eyes anyway. It will help solidify your ideas and keep them cataloged for later reference as you write).

What is the general climate? What biome classification(s) does it fall under?

What does the basic landscape look like? Draw a picture.

What early activity (tectonic, erosion, or otherwise) has helped to shape the land?

How unpredictable, violent, or mild are the weather patterns? How different are the seasons? What weather might be considered “nice” by local inhabitants? What weather do they dread?

What is plant life like in the region? How has water supply, sunlight, or soil fertility affected plant growth?

How do plants breed and spread? Have they grown to rely on other creatures (bees, mammals, etc.) to pollinate or spread seeds, or do they take care of it themselves? Why?

What role do microorganisms play in the ecosystem? Have they been discovered and studied by the intelligent species of your world, or do they remain largely a mystery?

Salt water or fresh water? How has the quality, size, and richness of the body of water affected creatures living there? Consider the types of aquatic plants as well and how this environment has affected them…and how they have affected it.

What’s the largest creature inhabiting the average body of water in this region? What’s the smallest? Draw a food chain or food web (see the difference here).

What creatures use camouflage as a primary method of survival and/or hunting? How has this affected their appearance?

What animals live both in and out of the water? How similar or dissimilar are they from the amphibians of our world? Why do they live in both land and water? How do they fit into the water and land food webs/chains?

What animals have become exclusively land-dwelling? How do they make their shelters? 

Draw a food chain/web for the land creatures in this region.

What are the largest land animals? The smallest? How does their size give them an advantage or disadvantage in their environment? 

General creature-development questions and tips

General thoughts for your original creatures

Eye color, shape, behavior

Skin/hair/fur texture

Social behaviors (among its own kind)

Behaviors around new creatures or situations

How does it reproduce? How many of its young survive?

What does its home look like? How does it find or make its home?

Strength/weakness and physical build (muscles, teeth, agility, etc)

Number of limbs and use thereof

Take existing animals or fantastic creatures and use them as a jumping off point for your imagination. 

Blend characteristics of animals from a similar climate or region.

Add unique (and logical) characteristics to familiar creatures that helps them fit your new world.

Create something entirely new from the depths of your imagination

Place yourself in your new ecosystem and create new creatures with features that make sense for that setting.

Let the magic or technology of your world play a part in how your new creatures have developed. How have the unique parts of your world molded its creatures?

Consider how an existing creature or fantasy creature might continue to evolve over millions of years in the climate you’ve created. Let that help you develop your own animals.

How balanced are your ecosystems? Do the predators outnumber the prey? Are there are enough creatures eating insects to keep the populations under control? How plentiful is the flora? Can it feed as many herbivores as it needs? 

What natural processes work to keep the circle of life moving? (i.e. forest fires)

Draw pictures of your creatures to keep on file. They don’t have to be perfect. The simple act of sketching them out will help solidify their appearance in your mind. This will help you with consistency when describing them in your narrative. 

Remember that you don’t have to have a full sketch and profile for every living being on your planet. For many of mine, I have blank spaces in my food webs where a “fill-in-the-blank” creature needs to be–is–but I haven’t sketched it out. I just know what it eats and what eats it. You can create only the handful of animals you need for your story, but still have a fully developed food chain, filled by creatures you’ve never seen and, therefore, don’t know what exactly they look like. 

When developing your creatures and ecosystem pulls your focus away from your story for too long, you might be taking it a little too far! It’s okay to do creature development a little bit at a time. You don’t have to have any part of worldbuilding completely fleshed out before you start your novel. Otherwise, none of us would ever get any actual writing done!

Integrating your hard work into your narrative

Any animals that appear in the narrative, you need to know what they eat, what eats it, etc. In an ecosystem nothing happens in a vacuum. It’s a web, not a line.

A setting serves many purposes. One of the most important ones is something for your characters to react to in order to develop and deepen them. So as you handle nature (creatures, plants, ecosystems) within your narrative, keep in mind the purpose that it is serving. Bear in mind how each individual character would see and react to their world, and let that reflect who they are to the reader. Make sure to pay attention to what your characters will pay attention to. In a rainforest, you might see beautiful, colorful creatures, like a poison dart frog. An artist will think, “That’s beautiful,” while a survivalist might think, “That’s dangerous,” or even, “That’s useful!” 

Don’t be afraid of over-including details in your first draft. Write what comes to mind, what feels important, and then you can whittle down to the most important details in later drafts. Some of what you write in your first draft might not make it to the final, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important for you to actually write it! You might learn a lot about your world from your first draft. 

Happy building!

Check out the rest of the Brainstorming Series! Magic Systems, Part One Magic Systems, Part Two New Species New Worlds New Cultures New Civilizations Politics and Government Map Making Belief Systems & Religion Guilds, Factions & Groups War & Conflict  Science & Technology History & Lore

[riccardolll-blog]

NPC Building Tips #1 - Flaws

Why do players come to bond with some NPCs but not others?   What makes an engaging NPC?   How do you create a recurring NPC who your players will love?

I think the answer to this question has a couple of different answers, but in this post I’ll be focusing on what I consider one of the most fundamental requirements for creating key NPC - their flaws.

Why focus on the NPCs flaws?  Quite simply because whatever flaws your NPC has will make the character a) memorable, b) likeable, and c) creates story and world building opportunities. 

Memorable NPCs

Players are more likely to remember the queen who can never find her coronet, much to the exasperation of her elderly lady in waiting.  Or the blacksmith with several missing teeth who likes to whistle loudly through the gaps while he works. 

These tidbits give clues about the kind of personalities your players are dealing with, and can form a reference point for your players when they later want to revist that NPC. 

“Where was that ranger who dressed entirely in snakeskin?  Didn’t they know something about poisons?” 

“Didn’t we meet a young gnome merchant who liked to gamble in that city?  Maybe they know someone from the underground we can talk to?”

Lifelike NPCs

Players are also more likely to connect with a character they see as in some way fragile or lacking because an NPC who revealing their “human nature” is more real/lifelike.  Their flaws will resonate with your players own humanity. 

What’s more is that NPCs with flaws gives you options for story building.  An NPC with no weaknesses has no need for the heroes (or villains) of the story.  To build a story around an NPC, push the flaw to a small extreme and imagine what the consequences would be.  For example, a salty old seadog whose love of sailing keeps him away most of the time comes home one day to find his wife missing.  He now lives in a disorganised dump of a dwelling and pines for his love day and night.  Can the players help?  

Story/World Building Opportunities

Giving NPCs flaws also allows for world development outside the players story arc.   Take the above example our beloved seadog.  After the players successfully reunite the sailor with his wife, there is a graceful cut scene and the players continue on with their adventures elsewhere.  After some time, something brings them back to the coastal town where the seaman and his wife live.  They discover that the sailor has learnt the error of his ways, but still struggles with his passion for sailing/the sea.  In an attempt at loving compromise, the sailor has opened a ship building business.  The business allows him to continue to sail, but means he does not travel too far or for too long.   Unfortunately, it’s early days and the business is struggling which is putting financial strain on the couple.  Etc.

Building NPCs with Flaws

Assuming you’re now sold on the idea that flaws are a critical part of NPC character building, how do you go about picking/dreaming up your flaws?  And how many flaws should an NPC have? 

To be annoying and answer in reverse, generally your players won’t remember more than two flaws in a character, and generally you as DM won’t have enough time to sufficiently illustrate/explore more flaws than that. 

Personally, I think one major flaw and a minor flaw in an NPC is enough.  Remember, your NPCs like your characters have other facets to their characters like dreams, ideals, relationships, etc.  The flaws do not make the entire NPC, but they will be a defining trait.

With this in mind, how do you pick your flaws?  Well, you have two main options.  You can either build your character from the flaw up (see generator below), or if you already have a character with some kind of context/story behind it, pick a flaw that seems to fit with that context.  Take into account factors such as the NPCs age, race, what kind of environment they were born/raised, the society they live in now, influential people in their life and their potential flaws,

E.g. a little mermaid with an interest in goods that fall from passing ships may be naive and strong willed.  Alternatively, an old warrior whose people are facing almost certain genocide from an invading force may suffer from a deep existentialism and be slightly deaf. 

NPC Flaw Generator 

A little silly, but a fun way to get the creative juices running.

Follow the generator twice.

Your NPC is:

Roll 1d4.

A little

Somewhat

Fairly

Very

Roll 1d100

Gullible

Obsessed with [open the nearest book to page 6 and read until you find the first common noun]

Pedantic

Timid/shy

Allergic to something (anything! e.g. herbs, insects, dust, grass, magic, sunlight before 9am, constructs, etc.)

Blustering/bombastic/flamboyant

Frugal/meager/scrooge

Annoyed by people younger than them.

Tired at all times

Cold

Missing something (a nail, eyebrows, fingers, eyes, teeth, lips, limbs, a heart, a loved one, etc.)

Arrogant

Pious and/or religious

Deceitful

Acerbic/sour

Paranoid

Evasive/keen on avoiding questions

Overly cheery/chipper/optimistic about everything

Absent minded

Reclusive

Overweight or underweight

in debt to someone

Traumatised by something (e.g. lost a parent when young, witnessed a murder, was conscripted into a rebel army at a young age, seen a ghost/apparition, experience a severe drought/famine, survived the black plague, etc.)

Unlucky (could be mechanical as well as story based, e.g. always rolls with disadvantage)

Callous/insensitive/tactless/abrasive

Socially awkward

Pretentious

Unsubtle about being a peeping Tom/Tammy

Nosy/in need of getting to the bottom of everything

Unscrupulous

Fastidious

Lazy

Cruel

Servile

Impatient

Ignorant and/or bigoted

Ungainly

Legalistic

Dreamy/disconnected from reality

Susceptible to outbursts of small person syndrome (whether actually short or not)

Cheat

Uncouth

Discourteous

Aggressive/vexatious/pugnacious/cantankerous

Doubtful

Mad/insane

Narcissistic/egocentric

Insomniac

Tall tale teller/liar

Over energetic

Anxious

Patriotic

Mechanical

Psychic

Stubborn

Delicate/frail/sickly

Weak/feeble/elderly

Easily embarrassed

Fussy

Self indulgent

Prejudiced (your choice of prejudice)

Claustrophobic

Tone deaf

Tattletale/snitch

Overworked/stressed

Rebellious/surly

Nihilistic

Despised (by someone specific or in general)

Creepy

Nomadic/itchy feet

Bossy

Idiosyncratic.  Pick a distinct/unique personal behavior proportionate to your first roll.  (e.g. waves their hands above their heads before entering another room, always turns/travels in a clockwise direciton, must always be carrying something in their left hand, will never wash their hair, adopts every stray cat they come across, etc.)

Gluttonous

Guilty about a crime they committed that has not yet been found out

Talkative/chatter box

Domineering

Flirtatious

Fearful of change (a specific change or change in general)

Untidy

Bludger/moocher

Confused

Fickle/capricious

Pessimistic

Easily distracted

Paternalistic

Elitist

Evangelistic for a specific cause (pick your own! e.g. veganism, industrialisation, communal childminding, fitness lifestyles, unions for magic users, compulsory documentary photography, etc.)

Punny, at all time

Conflict adverse

Expensive in their taste (whether they can afford it or not)

Colour blind

Conformist/complacent

Uncooperative

Privileged

Childish/immature

Insecure

Epicurean or stoic

Insipid/irresolute

Procrastinator

Cynical

Which grates on the nerves of:

Roll 1d6.

Family member

Friend.

Authority figure.

Neighbour.

The players.

No one in particular (but may have other consequences!)

All the best for your planning and playing.

[thefatfeministwitch]

Faerie Magick for Beltane

May 1st, also known as May Day or Beltane, is a time when the veil between worlds is thin. The same is true at Samhain on October 31st, but instead of spirits of the deceased coming to visit we have magickal beings from the land of fae – faeries, elves, gnomes, leprechauns, etc. Music, dancing, revelry and time out in nature are all part of regular Beltane celebrations, and not only is this attractive to the fae – but you are close to their territory! Though finding a pathway or portal into the faerie realm is rare (and quite frankly, inadvisable), there is plenty you can do to welcome the fae into your life, garden, home, and Beltane celebrations.

Why Work with Faeries?

I’ll be honest – I’m terrified of faeries. I mean honest-to-god scared. My mother read me real fairytales right alongside with my disney favourites and I always knew faeries were just like people – good and evil all rolled into one. That said, there is good in there. Many people have faeries as guides, rather than angels or ancestors,  and even more celebrate the faerie realm in their magick.

So why invite faeries into your life an magick?

Well for one thing, faeries are beings of earth. They live on, and are made from, all the same star stuff you are. They are beings that are deeply connected to the planet, and even when they leave our plane of existence they’re still here.

Faeries are literal. This is something that shows up a lot in fairytales – a tendency for humans to misunderstand that faeries are actually being honest. Unfortunately our way of thinking and communicating is very different, but if you can learn to take what they say at face value and read between the lines they can save you a lot of time.

Faeries encourage indulgence in the finer things in life and treating yourself. This is something people can forget – that letting your hair down, laughing, dancing, and celebrating is vital to our survival. Fun is not frivolous, it’s a necessity! No one knows this better than faeries. If you’re struggling to find fun and playfulness in life, faeries can lead you in the right direction. They can also make you laugh your brains out.

Finally, faeries weave magick into every facet of life on earth. That rare bird you saw today, that feather in your path, that field of flowers that wasn’t there before? Faeries. The use all of the tools the earth has to offer to bring you magick and messages.

Of course, if you have trouble viewing faeries as something real and tangible, that’s ok! For many people, the faerie world isn’t something physical, but something subconcious. Something that we all have access to as beings of this planet. You can work with faerie archetypes in meditation or in meditative states, view them through your third eye, or communicate with them as an unseen guide.

Words of Warning!

If you’ve never read an honest-to-goodness fairytale in its original form, your idea of faeries might be a little sugar-coated. You probably imagine gorgeous, tiny, apple-cheeked, butterfly or dragonfly winged humanoid beings with sparkly auras. Or maybe jolly little leprechauns, or even the gorgeous elves from films. In reality, most faerie stories ended in tragedy and gruesome deaths. Though some faeries are elemntals or nature spirits, such as gnomes, salamanders, and wood nymphs – you also have Incubus and Succubus faeries who drained energy from their lovers; Banshees who’s screams fortold an imminent death; Merfolk and Sirens who dragged sailors to their deaths; Red Caps with sharp teeth and nails who could over-power even the largest man; The Bendith Y Mamau who would kidnap healthy babies and replace them with deformed and sickly changelings; and even the spirit of Death himself was said to reside in the land of fae. The Wild Hunt is a faerie hunting party that would lure restless souls from their beds on dreary nights and never allow them to return. In short: faeries aren’t all sweetness and light. They’re powerful magical beings with an endless life, and a very fragile sense of pride. Treat faeries with respect, and don’t demand anything from them. Ask, don’t demand.

The Magic of Flowers

The one thing all of the stories get right is that faeries love flowers! Much like bumblebees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, faeries dine on the sweet nectar of flowers. Though any flower, in any colour is able to attract faeries, there are a few they prefer.

Clover

All clover blossoms are in tune with the faery realm. In fact, clovers act as small doorways that allow us to communicate with faeries. Spend time outdoors near clover and allow your mind wander into the dream world and pay attention to what you see – this is a message from the fae. Never use poison to kill wild clover if you’re interested in attracting faeries to your home or garden. If you wish to collect clover blossoms and leaves, leave behind a small silver token as a gift.

Clover would make an excellent flower essence – use it to communicate, and put it in body and room sprays to attract the fae to you.

Buy Red Clover Seeds and Dried Flowers from Richters

Foxglove

Foxglove is a highly protective, slightly wild, mystical flower that faeries absolutely love. Unfortunately, it’s also FATALLY TOXIC if consumed. (DO NOT CONSUME EVER). The best way to connect with faeries using foxglove is simply by caring for it. Plant foxglove in your garden, cultivate from seedlings, and always spend time with Foxglove while it’s blossoming. Be warned that killing a foxglove could be seen as a slight!

If you consume foxglove flower essence (never make this yourself unless you are adept at this craft!) you may find yourself living that faerie life – a little wild, and extra bewitching.

Buy Foxglove Seeds And Plants From Richters

Lupine

Lupine is hearty and whimsical, earthy and magical, and aligned with both the sun and the element of water. These conflicting properties make it a bridge between ours and the realm of the fae. When growing wild, Lupine usually marks the place of a portal to the faerie realm. Try finding the plant and spending time there, with an open mind ready to drift off.

Lupine is the flower of imagination, and would be a welcome addition to faerie games with children – grow it in the garden where they play or mix the essence in with paint, bubbles, and in the bath.

Verbena/Vervain

Verbena, or Vervain, has long been associated with magic, medicine, and faeries. Verbena serves as the ultimate gateway to the faerie realm. Grow a patch of it in your garden, and on a warm day lie on your back in your patch of Verbena and prepare the drift. Hold on to the verbena either in your gaze, your hand, or just your mind and focus on the scent of the flowers and your intention to travel. Pay attention to everything you see and smell, remember everyone you meet, and accept (almost) all gifts with happiness and reverence.

Be careful! Don’t eat any food offered to you! Eating the food of the faerie realm will trap you there indefinitely. Also be wary not to wander back to where you started without first reconnecting to your body. When you return, leave a gift in the patch of Vervain. This could be something shiny like a coin, something you’ve made, or a walnut shell full of champagne or beer. Make sure your offering matches the value of whatever you’ve brought back.

Get Verbena Plants from Richters

Faeries are consistently angry with humans for their treatment of and destruction of the natural world – this may be why they can be hostile at times. In addition to the flowers above, plant flowers that help feed bees, butterflies and hummingbirds such as milkweed, bee balm, daffodils, lavender, butterfly bush, borage, cosmos, cinguefoil, columbine and petunias.

Other Natural Friends To Faeries

The Oak Tree is the ultimate spiritual tree and is considered to be the home of the faerie king – Gwyn Ap Nudd.

Hawthorne trees often act as a physical portal to the faerie realm.

Ash trees are often believed to serve as homes for entire clans of faeries. If you ever come across a grouping of all three of these trees tread carefully, you may have found the entrance to the faerie realm. A cluster of these trees often serves as a meet up point for The Wild Hunt.

Wild mushrooms – especially the (very poisonous!) fly agaric red and white “toadstool”, but any wild mushrooms are said to house faeries. If you find a ring of them in your yard, this is considered a faerie ring and should be protected!

Making Space for Faeries

Planting a faerie garden can be a fun way to attract fairies to your yard, while giving them a place of their own to stick around. Plant the above wild flowers and focus on drawing insects and other flying animals to your garden as well – faeries don’t live alone after all! Try and leave one part of the garden fairly wild – tall grass, natural earth, full of stones and even weeds. This will let the faeries you know you love the earth just the way it is. Try building the following faerie-friendly decorations and structures in your garden to let them know they’re welcome.

🌷 Faery Houses! Make small houses with wood, sticks, pebbles, leave, moss, and flowers. Tuck them under flowers, bushes and in shady spots to give faeries a rest after exploring your garden. These can be as low-key as a small stone cave or as elaborate as you like! Just make sure everything on the house is safe for the garden once it begins to decompose.

🌷 Faery Furniture! What, do you think faeries just like to flap and trudge around all day? Give them someplace to sit! Get tiny chairs, couches, and tables for faeries. Maybe even some small dishes? Paint them spring colours or wrap them in vines and moss to make them comfy.

🌷 Faery watering hole! Make sure you put up a little fountain or wishing well for fairies to drink from, bathe in, and soak their tired feet in. This can be a bird bath, or something small just for them. Always make sure the water is clean, and clear!

🌷 Faery Circle! Collect pretty stones and pebbles and create faery circles. This is especially good if you have wild mushrooms and toadstools around your yard – surround them in a circle of stones. Leave whatever grows within the circle to grow wild.

🌷 Faery Calls! The fae LOVE music! Get bells and wind chimes and hang them from trees and hooks around your garden. Make sure they all feature different, but lovely high tones. Stick with glass or metal. Tiny bells for holiday decorations can be hung from tree branches and on strudy flower stalks to blow in the wind. Leave small instruments out for the fae and listen for music. If you’re a musician, make a space in your garden for you to regularly play your music or dance.

🌷 Faery Hospitality! Making a space to leave out food and treasures for the faeries is always appreciated. Leave out sweet breads and cakes, milk, honey, champagne, beer or a flower wine (like dandelion!), and sparkly objects like coins and jewellery. If you find pretty stones on your travels, consider bring it home for the faeries. Never throw these offerings out the window like you would food for animals, place them in designated places that you keep clean and tidy.

Make sure to keep these things clean, tidy, and in proper working order. Never leave broken toys or bells around your faerie garden – repair them. Try and use natural materials that will biodegrade, or stand up to the weather. As far as the actual garden goes – though a little wild and weedy is good, never neglect your garden. Faeries take neglect of the natural environment very personally. Tend to your garden regularly, talk to your flowers and plants, and sing while you do it. If you see that your garden’s had visitors, try not to pry. That being said, always make time to hang out in your garden and play with the faeries. Sing, dance, make music, blow bubbles, make crafts and be creative – do things that make you smile and laugh.

Appeasing, Apologizing to, and Protecting Yourself from Faeries

If you’ve stopped making good on your promises to the fairies, halted your offerings without notice, or made a bargain you can’t keep – they can get angry. This can cause problems in your yard and home that might be described similarly to a haunting. Children in the home may start having nightmares, jewellery and valuables may disappear, and the natural landscape around your home may begin to wither. The easiest way to correct the situation is to appease and apologize to the faeries. Leave out special offerings in large amounts just for the faeries. Write a song or make music just for them. Get incenses and room sprays with floral scents that they love. Leave bread, milk, and ale out on the back porch every night before you go to bed. Make sure to tend to your garden, repair any broken houses, bells, or other faery things you’ve put out.

If you’ve done something wrong while traveling to their realm, or gone back on a deal the only way to make amends is to pony up – either go back and face the court or try and negotiate with at least one foot firmly in our world. Don’t ever try to re-negotiate or re-deal with faeries – they are smarter than you.

If you’ve had a negative experience and want to make the faeries leave you and your property alone, there are a few talismans you can put around to make your property less appealing.

Peonies are said to protect against faeries and the aroma is toxic to them. Planting these around your garden, bringing them inside, and using a spray or oil of peony essence and aroma is a gentle way to get the faeries to leave. Take down all bells and faery houses and places for them to hang out. If you really need them gone and you’re feeling a bit mean – get iron. Stones with a high iron content, iron pipes and metal pieces, iron infused water, etc. Put it everywhere. Put it in the yard and around the house. Put iron shavings along doorways, windowsills, and any other entrances. Take iron supplements to increase the iron content in your own blood if you feel you’re under personal attack. St John’s Wort flowers can be put in the garden and around the home and yard to make faeries leave and feel unwelcome.

Buy St John’s Wort Seeds and Plants at Richters

Interested in more faerie and flower magick? Get these books from my amazon shop, Blue Moon Magick & Metaphysics and help support the podcast and blog!

Field Guide to the Little People: A Curious Journey Into the Hidden Realm of Elves, Faeries, Hobgoblins & Other Not-So-Mythical Creatures by Nancy Arrowsmith

The Magic of Flowers by Tess Whiethurst

Faeries and Elementals for Beginners by Alexandra Chauran

Goblin-Proofing One’s Chicken Coop: And Other Practical Advice in Our Campaign Against The Fairy Kingdom by Reginald Bakeley

Beltane by Melanie Marquis

Faerie Magick for Beltane May 1st, also known as May Day or Beltane, is a time when the veil between worlds is thin.