The Wishes are spiritual beings, connected with the forces of nature- the sun, the moon, the seasons, the elements. Wishes have existed since the beginning of the natural world, and will exist until said world ends. Their connection with nature goes beyond simple love of the forest- they exist as sands and soil, and trees and roots, growing and changing with the great cycle of nature.
They are, as I see them, a return to Elves being Faeries.
-There are two kinds of Wishes, the Summer People and the Winter People.
Summer People are connected with the Sun, flame, heat, war, courage, the summer, and the day. They are tan-skinned, golden haired, tall, and all have a golden sunburst upon their backs. They are courageous (sometimes foolishly so), brash, arrogant, optimistic, prone to loud self-aggrandizing. In the arts of war, none can match them, and even if they fall, they are born again the next day at sunrise. Their colors are those of flame- red, orange, yellow, and white. Their metal is gold and brass. The Summer People burst forth in a fiery blaze in the morning as children. At noon, they have grown into the height of power- they are mighty and strong, with great magic. In the evening and twilight, they are lined elders, with the remains of their strength. When the sun sets, they burst into flame and burn to ashes. When the sun rises the next day, these ashes rise again. On the first day of winter, all of the Summer Folk burn away, and do not rise again until the first day of summer of the next year.
The Summer Folk dwell in white and gold cities of brass and fire and marble, in the hot lands of the world- the deserts, the jungles, and the plains.
The Winter People are connected with water, cold, culture and the arts, the winter, and the night. They are lily-skinned, raven-haired, small; their women are voluptuous. They bear a silver moon upon their backs. They are melancholy and sad, with deep dark feelings, humble, and pessimistic. They are supreme artists and musicians. Their colors are those of the water and the night- black, blue, silver, purple, and green. Their metal is silver. The Winter People rise into being at moonrise as young children. At midnight, they are great in subtle strength- wise, magical, sad. Nearing the morning, they become old, and laments rise from the forest glades. When the moon sets, they freeze and melt away. On the first day of summer, the Winter Folk melt away, and return again on the next winter.
The Winter Folk dwell in scattered, black and silver communities in the cool lands- the upland forests, the mountains, and the moors.
-The Wishes worship an impersonal deity known as the Harvest of Wishes, who is represented as a ten-armed disc containing a sunburst and a crescent moon. The Harvest of Wishes, it is said, harvests the souls of the Wishes in their time (night and winter for the Summer People, day and summer for the Winter People). {Need help with their religion.}
-The Wishes are immortal and effectively undying, for when slain, they rise again at the next sunrise or moonrise. They fall to no disease, and are powerful beyond men in ancient magic and in war. They know things that mortals have never heard. They are polyglots- they can speak any language which they have heard before. The secret language of the Wishes is not taught to any mortal.
-Wishes look like beautiful humans, though both kinds have their specific genotypes. The only visibly-apparent difference is in the eyes- Summer People have eyes with golden irises, while Winter People have silver.
I really hate to add to the recent glut of New Looks at Elves, but this just struck me as such an awesome idea, I had to share it.
