Idea Preserve of the Pixiekin - Garden Fantasy

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There is a place where robbins sing their sweet songs from dawn to dusk. A landscape where the breeze is perfumed by flowers and the green grass is feathery soft and cool. A retreat brimming with so much beauty and tranquility that merely being in its presence can take your breath away. It's the Abbey of St. Thomas, tucked away just outside Yellow Rose Village, a picturesque community nestled in Arbor Valley.

Its grounds are beyond compare. Every inch of greenery, footpath, and fountain are faithfully tended by the brothers and sisters of St. Thomas. But they're not the secret to the gardens' success - that credit goes to the pixiekin.

Abbey of St. Thomas​

Abbey Yard
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Invisible to humans the pocket-sized pixiekin are the world's greatest growers. Three varieties of the wee folk reside in the Abbey's luxurious lawn: Fairies, winged pollinators who tend the flowers and trees; Gnomes, hearty seed storers who manicure the greenery and till the soil; and Carplings, goldfish shapeshifters who sprinkle dew over thirsty plants and curate the creeks and fountains. Together they have transformed the mundane grounds of St. Thomas into a magical preserve, a wonderland of harmony and enchanting scenery. But while the fairies, gnomes, and carplings work tirelessly to maintain their paradise, there are creatures who aim to sabotage it.

There is another variety of pixiekin, a capricious and cruel breed despised by their good natured cousins - the Spriggans. They are the bane of beauty and the spoilers of serenity. Their troupes never put down roots because the vermin destroy their environments and move on. To date St. Thomas has been free of their taint, but a foul wind has blown through Arbor Valley, and the claim over the Abbey's gardens will be challenged.

Spoiler: pixiekin

Pollinators, Nest Nurses, Spider Slayers​

Groundskeepers, Seed Storers, Rat Rangers ​

Water Sprinklers, Fish Feeders, Creek Curators​

Miscreants, Tiny Tricksters, Fiendish Fairies​

 

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GLOSSARY

Abbey of St. Thomas - cloister of monks and nuns whose gardens are populated with pixiekin
Arbor Valley - countryside surrounding Yellow Rose Village
Blight Barrier - a magical property of preserves that repels certain pests, mainly snakes, bats, toads, and most of all spriggans
Carpling - goldfish shapeshifting pixiekin, affinity for water
Fairy - winged pixiekin who pollinate flowers, affinity for air
Gnome - sturdy soil tilling pixiekin, affinity for earth
Laurel - leader of pixiekin troupe
Mixed Troupe - group of different varieties of pixiekin
Pixiekin - pocket-sized humanoids who are invisible to humans
Preserve - grove or garden claimed by all three benevolent pixiekin varieties
Spriggan - cruel and capricious pixiekin, affinity for chaos
Troupe - group or clan of pixiekin
Yellow Rose Village - community where the Abbey of St. Thomas is located

Fairies prefer to float above the Abbey yard and rub elbows with moths and butterflies. They have many responsibilities throughout the upper rungs of the gardens, one of which is to play the role of pollinator. Another duty they happily perform is inspecting and grooming the lovely trees that ornament the grounds. And as they work their way through the tangle of branches they make sure the songbirds' nests are comfortable and secure.

Like all of the pixiekin in the preserve fairies occasionally need to screw their courage to the sticking-place and become heroes. Spiders are their most common foe. Arachnids have feasted on many of pixiekin (primarily fairies) who were unfortunate enough to get stuck in their web. And as is true for all vermin, to consume a pixiekin awards the predator with supernatural gifts of strength and wit. So as one would expect, fairies are quick to slay any spider that's managed to creep its way into the garden.

Perhaps their most dangerous duty is the relocating of caterpillars. While the butterfly and moth larva aren't reviled, they can't be allowed to chew up the beautiful greenery throughout the preserve. So whenever discovered fairies carry the wiggling intruders outside the blight barrier and lay them gently on an unclaimed leaf. But the greatest dangers hide just across the barrier: snakes, bats, even spriggans. Fairies can never let their guard down outside the preserve.

In terms of mood and temperament fairies are the most effervescent and light-hearted variety of pixiekin. They're also the most musical - many fairies spend their free time performing songs or humming lullabies.

 

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Gnomes prefer a barefoot lifestyle so they can sense the grass and earth through the soles of their feet. They're the tallest and heaviest pixiekin variety, and they put their extra strength and constitution to good use. They are diggers, tillers, planters, and harvesters. They aerate the soil, pull weeds, rake and remove fallen leaves, and add rich black dirt to unsightly low spots around the gardens. And of course, like all of the pixiekin in the preserve, they battle and chase off vermin.

The most common garden ravager to slip through the blight barrier is the rat. Once inside the rodents devour flower bulbs, mushrooms, and every precious seed they can dig up. It's not uncommon for more brazen packs to break into gnome domiciles and pillage their cupboards. Occasionally a starving rat will even pounce on a pixiekin in hopes of securing some magical protein. And death by rat is a horrible way to check out. Being poor hunters they don't instinctively go for the kill, which means they often feed on their prey while it's still alive.

When it comes to dwellings gnomes have options. Most live in cozy burrows deep in shrubbery with garden stones serving as front doors. Others live in tree stumps, or moss covered logs, or forgotten flower pots. In terms of mood and temperament gnomes are the most tireless and steadfast of any variety of pixiekin. In their spare time gnomes enjoy cooking, crafting, and scavenger hunts.

Carplings spend more time in the water than on land. They are aquatic curators, and they work hard to keep their freshwater environments healthy and pristine. Debris in their fountains isn't tolerated, brook & creek clogs are swiftly dislodged, and nearby plants are refreshed with a cool drink. And like all of the pixiekin in the preserve, they protect their territories from savages.

Throughout the waters of St. Thomas the most common enemies of carplings are striped salamanders. Up to twenty inches in length the amphibians prey on minnows, goldfish, ducklings, and pixiekin. Carplings attack the predators on sight, for they would quickly overrun the preserve's beautiful brook if left unchecked.

There is one aquatic monster that the carplings - or any other pixiekin at the abbey for that matter - cannot drive out. And that is the venerable snapping turtle named Torvax. The razor beaked reptile has lived in the brook before the pixiekin settled there, and it doesn't plan to leave. He's gulped down more pixiekin than any other predator, and he has gained extraordinary abilities for doing so. Torvax is clever, cautious, and patient. Beyond anything a normal turtle is capable of. When so inclined he can even speak. And in terms of combat, he's a proven juggernaut. The pixiekin of the preserve avoid him, as that's their only option. Thankfully for them, Torvax is a sluggish swimmer.

Each day, hours before the sun rises, carplings abandon their gold fish forms and step onto the brook bank. All of them clutching an opalescent gem, a shower pearl, a treasure gifted to them by the moon while they swam and napped under its light. And then the creatures walk the bank and search for the thirstiest plants. Once found they burry their pearl near its roots which dampens the surrounding soil and conjures dew droplets on its leaves.

In terms of mood and temperament carplings are stoic, prudent, and gallant. In their spare time they enjoy swimming, diving, leaf sailing, and stone skipping.