Alter Aeon The Great Library

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Note - as with any topic, researchers should question the reliability
and veracity of these texts.  The library's aim is to preserve
documents, not verify accuracy.

AABN:  34599
Title: a book entitled "On Fairies: Genius Loci"

Faeries are varied in form, temperment, habits and habitat. A handful of
fae creatures are bound to particular places, objects or entities. This
catergory of faeries is sometimes refered to as Genius Loci, spirits bound
to a particular location.

The most well-known form of genius loci are dryads and hamadryads. A dryad
is bound to a particular tree or shrub, which she tends to and guards with
her life. A dryad can travel far from her home plant if she choses, as long
as she carries a piece of it with her, usually as leaves or twigs living in
her hair. In the event of her plant's death a dryad can bind to a newly
sprouted plant of the same variety.

A hamadryads are almost identical to dryads, though they are more tightly
bound in their relationship with a single tree. She must stay within
eyesight of her tree, or she quickly sickens. Her health will return
immediately upon contact with her tree. If her tree dies, she dies with it.
Likewise the hamadryad's death will cause her tree to blight and slowly
die.

Green Men, thought by some to be the masculine aspect of dryads, are bound
to large regions, from which they cannot stray. This can be a forest, a
river, a valley or a mountain peak. Green Men jealously protect their
territory. More kindly disposed ones will establish mutually beneficial
ties with nearby civilizations. Malevolent Green Men actively drive out or
slaughter those they see as intruders.

Naiads and nerieds generally range free over fresh or salt water,
respectively. However they can sometimes bind with a spring, stream or
inlet. They seek to maintain the purity of the water, and may be hospitable
to those that further their goals.

Fossergrims are unusual human or elf-like male faeries that inhabit and
protect waterfalls in deep valleys and mountains. They are very rare and
secretive. Little is known of them other than their affinity for treasure
and the trappings of nobility.

Some sprites, such as shio-yosei, water sprites and frost fairies, seem to
be bound to particular environments. They quickly perish if removed from
such places, far faster than if they merely suffered a physiological shock.
It is rumored that water sprites in paricular, once mature, return to the
same stream or river in which they were spawned to mate and continue their
life cycle.