Bird of Paradise

Birds of Paradise are small, translucent, winged beings native to Tempest. At an average height of one inch, they are the smallest of the Fae, and the most varied. Each island in Tempest has its own unique Bird of Paradise, each with distinct coloration. They do not respond to humans and are incredibly adept at dodging magical effects and other fae, making them an incredibly difficult race to study. Whether or not they are intelligent or capable of language is unknown. In the rare cases that a specimen has been captured, any attempts to bring it off its island caused instant death of the subject within a few minutes of leaving land. The bodies of these subjects broke down into a shimmering dust, which dissolved on contact with mundane material. Due to the ethical implications of this, no major organization is willing to publicly finance continued investigation at this time.

Birds of Paradise live in communal hives and each hive seems to have dominion over about half of a square mile. There is no noticeable difference among members that have been found in hives, making it unclear if they operate in a similar manner to hive insects or have a more egalitarian structure. Either way, each hive serves the same ecological niche as bees, pollinating local flora and using the pollen to make a liquid called Æther. This substance has similar physical qualities to honey, except that it glows faintly and is the same color as the Birds of Paradise which produced it. It is also highly volatile and illegal across most of Khadaka.