Lita Burke

Here is more about Tinker Bell’s naughtier cousins—the fairies flitting about in the woodlands near Lita’s castle.

This post is the second of two (go here to see the previous one) with tips on how to care for fey-folk. Last time, Gentle Reader learned the practical aspects of fairy care. Today’s topics focus on their magical matters.

Pixie Dust

Because they are so small, fey-folk cannot sing word spells like wizards, nor can fairies whistle magic like elf mages. A fairy instead sheds its magic when it flies and leaves a glittering trail. This fairy magic (also called pixie dust) settles, sparkles for a while, then fades. If pixie dust is kept in a corked bottle, the fey magic lingers indefinitely.

In the Clockpunk Wizard world, fairies are wee fluffs of trivial magic and disregarded by all serious magicians. Only elf mages, and a certain unconventional human wizard, find the fey-folk’s enchantments useful. Some humans are allergic to pixie dust–it makes them sneeze rainbows.

When they can find it, unicorns, boggarts, and dragons inhale pixie dust for its intoxicating effects. You could say that for a while they become fey.

Mice that chew shed alicorn (unicorn’s horn) also become a bit mad. They go about collecting pixie dust and create jewelry from it, namely sparkly tiaras. The bling, unfortunately, makes it easier for predators to spot them. House cats who eat these enchanted rodents develop a predilection for pearls. They caterwauler spells to transform their bell collars into luscious pearl necklaces.

Deepest Magical Sorrow

Fey-folk are carefree creatures. Their pixie dust brings happy thoughts and temporary silliness to the partakers.

But the fairies have a deepest sorrow. These tiny magicians are so closely tied to their habitat, they cannot survive without it.

In the plate-shaped ocean world of Clockpunk Wizard, its floating islands drift outward from the hub to the rim. The ferocious Rim Storms tear apart these spent lands, obliterating everything on them that cannot flee. The resident fairies sense their floating island’s pending destruction. They lie down, close their eyes, and will themselves not to awaken.

Sometimes a kindhearted mage will coax dying fairies to accept a binding enchantment to replace their habitat magic instead of taking the longest sleep. Here begins the tale of a young wizard who tried that very thing to save the fey-folk of doomed Hurt Island.