Root Sprite Colony
Beneath the velveteen grass of the Sacred Moonlight Groves, the roots of each Cocoa-Coffea Tree are cleaned and cared for by a Colony of Root Sprites. These grounded creatures are responsible for removing the buildup of Dulcis Saxum. This care allows the root system to maintain adequate moisture and nutrient absorption to the rest of the tree.
Conversely, failing to remove the saxum before it crystallizes could starve the cocoa-coffea tree and its entire strata of Sprites. Furthermore, the improper stripping of saxum resin can damage the delicate root fibers, stunting the cocoa-coffea tree's growth. In a worst-case scenario, this would even set it on a slow path to an early demise.
Structure
Root sprites are organized into large colonies that live in and amongst the thickest, most ancient roots of an individual tree. The most populous of the various strata of sprites, their numbers speak to the delicate importance of their place within a cocoa-coffee tree's society.
Each colony is tasked with the care of a single tree's roots. Because cocoa-coffea trees grow in a single grove and near together, the outermost reaches of their roots often mingle with those of their neighbor. The basic, root nature of Root Sprits make them territorial, and skirmishes between neighboring colonies are common.
All Sprites are born among the Root Sprites. Many choose to remain and start families of their own. But more than half eventually move on into other strata of their tree's society.
Culture
As they age, rooties become increasingly more sensitive to light and oxygen. Past a certain age, they can no longer go above ground and allow the Grass Sprites to tend to any exposed root surfaces.
This underground isolation makes them slow to receive news from the rest of their tree, and resistant to said news when it arrives. Most rooties consider the gossip that spreads inward from the skirmish zones to be more reliable than the "nothing much has changed" responses they get from the Grass Sprites.
A lot of rooties really do just believe ANYTHING you tell them! They're so funny that way! For example, my dad believes that our Dew Spinner, Farella, is in league with the ancient volcano spirit that supposedly lives deep beneath the valley! Isn't that the most sun-kissed thing you've ever heard?
This sprite community expansion makes me <3