Nymphs

Beautiful humanoids that dry out quickly when in an arid area. They usually stay in shady forests near bodies of water. If a Nymph must travel to a dry place, they either carry jugs of water and/or bottles of lotion to keep themselves hydrated. They often have pale white skin and pitch black or golden blonde hair. Some subspecies have other skin and hair colors that are more exotic. Their builds are very similar to humans except they’re shorter and more slender, with slight webbing between fingers or toes in some subspecies. Their skin is very smooth and usually hairless except for their heads/faces. When away from water they usually pick protective clothing made of leather, scales, or water-resistant furs.

Since they live near and in water, most nymphs are good at sailing, fishing, navigation on waterways, and other related tasks. (They also have artists, musicians, scholars, etc, but other races know them for water-related stuff.) Most can swim before they can walk on land, and all through life they tend to be at their best there. Much of their advantages are lost away from any body of water, but around one, they tend to be hard to catch and even harder to battle with. The best way to weaken them is to let them dry out, but no sensible nymph will allow that without a struggle. They’re good at crafting since they often need clothes, tools, etc that are durable in moist environments, and it’s easier/faster to make some things than to trade for them. When they do need things, they barter, unless interacting with races that use currency often. Most nymphs live in small gatherings that try to be independent, though they trade for things they don’t get readily. Many enjoy traveling to new places despite the complications...but not to deserts. There are only a handful of nymphs anywhere that will willingly enter a desert, as the combination of sand, heat, and sun are the perfect blend of things that make them uncomfortable. In Lu’Arla they live in relative harmony with the fairies in Tir na Nog... if you count harmony as pretty much being the responsible ones in a nation full of flying kids who like to party. Any long term organizations in Tir na Nog more often than not have a nymph or a team of them keeping it running smoothly while a fairy is at the top barking out possibly conflicting orders. The fairies don’t manage to drive them crazy because the nymphs there are pretty casual about most parts of life. They do value finishing what they start and taking care of their community, so they would want to help keep things running even if the fairies were more helpful about their part of things.

These nymphs mostly have their structures underwater; one entrance is always dry, the other not. This makes it easy for them to get in and out even if the exits or entrances above ground are built fairy-sized. It also gives them quiet places for sleeping, private conversations, or storage space that they know won’t be disturbed by winged neighbors. 'They are fine with sharing and don’t make a big deal of it if a fairy wanders off with something in their house, unless it was a gift. Even simple gifts are treasured by them, and they’ll give chase to try and get back a flower crown from a child while shrugging over a fishing hook they bought for themselves. It helps that the fairies don’t keep the things they take, usually; sooner or later somebody in town will find it laying around somewhere, and fairies fly faster than most nymphs can run anyway. 'It’s said that there are a handful of things to do to anger a nymph. Destroy their homes, attack their families or allies, threaten their livelihood, and dump foul things in the waters where they live. These are just about the only things they’ll hold grudges over consistently, and they’ll go out of their way to make sure the issue can never happen again. Messing up the water gets a really bad result, so even fairies watch what they do around the waterways. Usually.