They came from old fey magic that favored speed, lightness, and the spaces between larger footsteps. Their earliest stories speak less of conquest and more of slipping through danger untouched: hiding beneath leaves, nesting in hollow branches, riding warm drafts, and learning which creatures could be teased safely and which required a very fast exit.

As they spread through hidden glades, groves, ruins, and settlements touched by enchantment, they developed lives built around flight, secrecy, and constant motion. Their wings let them ignore many boundaries that larger folk treated as final, while their small magic helped them survive locks, wards, predators, and social situations that could have been solved honestly but were much funnier sideways.

Their colonies formed around shared vigilance and shared amusement. Songs carried warnings, pranks tested cleverness, and bright gatherings helped them remember that tiny bodies did not mean tiny lives. Elders were valued not because they grew solemn, but because they knew exactly which reckless ideas had already exploded and which ones still deserved a proper attempt.

Now they remain playful, independent, and difficult to categorize without using several rude gestures and one apology. Some aid larger folk with surprising loyalty, others meddle for sport, and many do both before breakfast. They are delicate in appearance only; their survival depends on wit, speed, nerve, and the absolute conviction that no cage has ever been built correctly.