Sprift

Impish Familiars

To the Helvaran commoner Sprifts are quite well known creatures with many myths and tales attributed to them. They can be encountered all over, most often, though, at the side of a magic user, to whom they assist as familiars and trusted helpers. However, that is already where most people's knowledge about these tiny magical beings ends.   A Sprift is a small, impish creature usually in service to a person with talents in arcane, divine, or natural magic; such as a sorcerer, a wizard, a witch or - rarely - even a druid. The Sprifts call these people their 'keeper'. They will perform a multitude of tasks for them such as spying, scouting, delivering messages and goods, help with spellwork, do household chores or light menial work.  

Loyal Companions

Sprifts spend their life searching for a person to follow and, once they have found someone, they are fiercely loyal and the most hardworking creatures one could imagine. Why the Sprifts do this, though, is still a source of mystery. Once a Sprift loses its companion person, it is free to search for another, although many Sprifts choose not to do this and remain solitary. Sometimes, a Sprift might be inherited from a family member or a mentor, if agreed upon so by the Sprift in question.   If a Sprift chooses a person who - for some reason - will not have it, it might turn into a little bit of a nuisance, following the human around, and take up residence and make a nest in their home anyway.   Winning over a keeper's favour, includes acquireing information or secrets to to show off their usefulness, or to bring the human little gifts, usually in form of spellcasting ingredients. If these little gestures go unnoticed or remain unappreciated, a Sprift may very well go to even greater lenghts to make its presence and wish to bond known.   As a magic user, attracting a Sprift and keeping a bond with one of these creatures is considered a sign of great talent and an omen of good tidings to come.  

Mieschievous Troublemakers

Encountering a lone Sprift usually is not a cause for concern. A Sprift will most often just act mischievously around and towards humans or inconvenience them - sometimes more, sometimes less. However, there are also stories of them being incredibly charming and easily winning people over, or tricking humans into tacking part in their schemes. Sprifts that have been around the human world for a longer time, may know very well that they have no trouble winning children over to spread mischief alongside them.  

Demonic Pests

While the Sprift is seen as a mostly harmless troublemaker in traditional Helvaran folklore, their abysmal origins and general closeness to spellcasters have earned them somewhat of a bad reputation in contemporary and emerging religions, leading to the Sprift having become one of the most villified creatures in the Imperium. The Imperial Church has officially cast the mantle of demonization over the Sprift and it now counts as one of the exiled species having been formally proclaimed as evil spirits, demonic pests and a danger to the people of Helvara. This causes many households in the Imperium to search for means to ward their homes from these creatures, which in turn is good business for the many witches, that have bonded with the Sprifts.  

Vengeful Fiends

The only known instances of a Sprift actually turning into a dangerous menace to someone are their very elaborate and well thought out revenge schemes against people who have wronged their keepers. If said keeper does not care to keep the Sprift in check or - even worse - is dead (especially as a result from the targeted persons actions), the Sprift can become a serious threat to the wellbeing of a person. A Sprift may enact such a revenge scheme with astonishing patience and persistence and will not rest until its goal is completed, which can range from simple humiliation to death.   If a Sprift chose to bond with a person from a prominent family that already has some type of household spirit or guardian attached to them, it might be compelled to enter into a fierce rivarly with the other spirit presence in its keeper's life.  

Valuable Creatures

In other regions, the Sprifts are highly sought after creatures, though there is not a single known instance of someone successfully making a Sprift work for them against its own will.   Sadly, what also makes them valuable, are some of their anatomical parts that make highly potent components for magical work.  

Supernatural Abilities

The supernatural abilities of the Sprift are not fully known. One of its specialities is that it can go invisible to the eyes of humans and beasts. According to the hierarchial law of fiends, they are unable to exert these powers on other fiends higher in the abysmal hierarchy.   Further, Sprifts can detect the presence of magic of all kinds, due to them being attracted to magical energies.