Excerpts from _Sprites:  History, Culture, and Mystery_, by Sool
 
Common to the ancient epic song-dances of each of the sprite bloodlines is a
tale of how the sprites, once one in personality and appearance, came to be
far-flung in small groups across the earth, each group growing to become a
full-fledged subspecies, or bloodline.  This is the only commonality between
the historiographies of the bloodlines; it seems that there was indeed
either a diaspora or a flight from something that would have destroyed the
entire race, but the song-dances are unclear.  They only state that there
was a time of great fear and fast movement across the land in all
directions, and then a great longing to be back in "the land of
shimmer-green."  It has only been in past few centuries that the sprite
bloodlines have explored far enough to be able to recontact their lost
brothers and sisters, and they have done so with rejoicing and abandon,
organizing myriads of Pan-Sprite get-togethers, feasts, parties, treasure
hunts, and prank competitions that draw sprites from every corner of
existence.  This reunion of the bloodlines has also caused a steady and
rapid boom in sprite population and the birth of many cross-blood children.
These new developments have been met with open arms by the sprite race as it
watches its culture and blood become richer and stronger.
 
Sprite culture does not have (and seems never to have had) a central
government, an official head of state, and economic system other than
bartering, or any true hierarchy.  The closest the sprites can claim to come
to any of this is the existence of the Sunspark bloodline with its
distinctive physical features and symbolic nobility.  In truth, the Sunspark
live just as other sprites do, though they have produced more great leaders
(in the Sprite sense of the term) than any other bloodline in recent
history.  The ability of sprites not only to subsist but to thrive on what
the land gives them has enabled them to live for millenia in a state of near
total personal freedom that no other race or civilization can hope to rival.
This, in turn, has enabled them as a race to focus on things other than
survival, such as art, pleasure, wit, and physical grace.
 
Sprites have never had a system of official marriage.  It is instead
replaced by a biological function that bonds a couple emotionally for life.
This occurs in slightly over one third of the population.  Once a bond has
been formed, it does not break unless one of the pair ceases to exist.
While unbonded sprites have frequent and varied romantic dalliances, bonded
sprites are unable to fall in love with or be attracted to anyone but their
mate.  Children of unbonded couples are never considered illegitimate, and
the offspring of both bonded and unbonded couples are raised communally by
the families in their village.  All sprite infants (with the possible
exception of a few pureblood Bloodwing) begin to fly within fifteen minutes
of their birth.

See also: Bloodwing Cloudrunner Dusk-Dancer Green-Sands Springfoot
     Sunspark Water-Song