Bitter Sprites: Physiology

Sprites are not made up of the same things mortal creatures are. There are no tendons, ligaments, blood vessels or internal organs. There is only flesh, bone, and skin. Skin holds everything together, and bone gives it all structure, but the flesh is solid light. When the skin is cut, the light leaks out, but once it is out of the body, it darkens and cools, becoming blood.

Sprites can survive some horrible wounds, and they heal very quickly, but there are some things that will surely kill a sprite. Decapitation is the most obvious. If a sprite looses too much light in the form of blood, they will die. Also, if they lose too much of their flesh to theft, they will also die.

Normally, sprites soak up sunlight, getting their fill throughout the day, even from ambient or reflected light. They do not eat solids, though they do need water, and drink regularly. Fortunately, dewdrops are quite enough, and there is plenty of water to be squeezed or sucked out of plants. They often chew on leaves for the flavor and moisture, tough they just spit out the fibers. They have teeth appropriate for chewing vegetation, much like humans.

Sprites also have teeth for cutting and tearing, much like humans. When sprites engage in the act of cannibalism, they rip through the skin and eat the flesh, absorbing the light and life energy it contains. As the light cools and becomes blood, it stains the skin of the sprites, but this will become absorbed eventually. The blood stains the teeth of sprites, and this does not come out. This lends sprites to the custom of smiling, showing their teeth, letting other’s see that they are not stained and are not a threat.

Cannibalism will stop the aging process of a sprite. Bellies offer only a day’s reprieve from aging, and glowies stop aging for a few days. Tinies give a week. Girls and oldies give a whole month’s worth of time. Boys also offer a month, but they are not as tasty, though gnomes extend life by two months, if a sprite can choke down the tough flesh. Ancients are not edible.