Fey

Fey are creatures from the Feywild, a parallel plane to the Prime. Many are typified as having supernatural abilities and a connection to nature or to some other force or place. The language of the fey is called Sylvan. Fae, or faeries, as many like to be called, are creatures of any size, shape, texture or smell, that exemplify and inhabit natural wonder. They go by many names, like “Green Folk”, “Fair Folk”, “People of Peace”, sometimes “Wee folk”.

Legend
There are many unsubstantiated legends about fey in the Forgotten Realms, especially in the forested areas of the Dales, and the like. Faeries, in good and friendly lands, with warm lush forests and babbling brooks, are said to be short friendly folk, with a twinkle in their eye, pronouncing wealth and good luck on those deserving, who often happen to be the mortals who find them. In other places, blasted lands and choking swamps, fey are seen to be mad redcaps, devouring infants, corrupting youth, and bringing bad luck to any whom they happen to take interest. The truly uninformed will see the elves, dwarves, gnomes, and even goblins as a form of fey.

As with any legend, there is a taste of truth within. Many fairies are tiny, and many of the legends about fey are quite true. Many fey, pixies, for example, can only be seen by those whom they choose to reveal themselves, though powerful wizards can often make them out. Elves and fey are united by common belief, by their connection to natural purity, and for the fey, this is enough to create a connection of appearance. Gnomes enjoy making light of supposedly serious things, and this unites them with fey as well, though only in attitude. Fey and Goblins may be connected more closely, by age-old blood lines, but this is conjecture.

As for whether fairies desire weal and woe, both are the case. Fey are creatures connected closely to nature, and just as rain from clouds save farmers and trouble travelers also, so fey help some and injure others. Fey are a people of many different alignments and interests, like humans are, and just as most of humans, dwarves, and elves concern themselves little with the fair folk, so the fair folk, by and large, concern themselves very little with the mortal races.

The darkest and most powerful legend about fey in the Forgotten Realms goes back eons, to the creator races. Some sages claim that the fey were one of the four, possibly five, creator races. Others pass this off as pure nonsense. Going to the source, asking ancient fairies, has proved only to be a headache, alas, as none seem interested in providing a straight answer.

Species of Fey
There are many, many different species of fey and the term "fey" seems to simply mean any creature whose origins are tied to the Feywild. Fomorians, Gnomes, and Hags are all examples of fey, though less commonly identified as such than fairies, sylphs, or dryads. However, perhaps the best known examples of fey are the elven races: drow, eladrin, and true elves. Until recently all three of these races were considered one and the same, though recent events have caused scholars to realize that in fact, the term elf is a misnomer when applied to all three, though it is still a common way of categorizing them given their shared heritage and close cultural and linguistic relationships.