Fiona's Field Guide to Phasms

Week 1 Observations

           So this is my journal, meant to keep records of Phasms so I can keep them all straight. Seriously, there are way too many of them. I don’t know how Mer does it.

Selkies (Meredith): Seal-people. They have seal skins which they can take off and be human. When they put their seal skins back on, they go back to being seals. Apparently they’ve got some kind of secret underwater place where they live and can do some magic.

Dryads (Me): Tree spirits. Seems like they actually live in tree and stuff. One type will actually die if their tree dies. Guess I’m not pretending to be that type. From what I’ve heard other people say, the farther away a dryad is from their tree, the weaker they are. So being on this island supposedly puts me at the level of a normal human, which thankfully means I don’t have to pretend to be able to…well whatever it is dryads do

Kobolds (Hall twins): They’re household spirits. They’ll take care of the house, but they are prone to mischief, especially if you piss them off. According to Mer they can take different forms. I’ve never seen them in anything except their human form so I have no idea what the other forms are.

Djinn (Mr. Bishara): Not at all like the movie Aladdin apparently. There are a bunch of different groups of them. Mer doesn’t know which one the principal belongs to. He’s kind of secretive, so this is all I’ve got so far.

Jackalope (Mr. Hastings): A jackrabbit with deer antlers. No, seriously, that’s what they are. I really don’t know how he looks human, or what he can do, but every time I look at him I can’t even imagine that he really just looks like a rabbit.

Cynocephaly (Alex): Dog or jackal-headed people. I’ve only ever seen his teeth change, but I can see Alex as a dog. He’s like a super happy, friendly dog.

Rusalka (What people thought I was): Apparently they’re a red-haired water spirit who drowns people. Glad to know everyone thought I was homicidal when I first came.

Undine (Mme. Fontaine): They’re water spirits who generally come from forest pools or waterfalls. I read this thing that says they have no souls, but I’m sure that’s just a bunch of bullshit. Because I also read that Kobolds are horrible creatures that will attack you in groups. The internet is not all that accurate, sadly.

Merrow (Tyna): They’re kind of like mermaids and kind of like selkies. They basically look like mermaids, but have a special hat they need to go breathe under water all the time. So sometimes people are dicks and will steal their hats and make them marry them. It’s a wonder more Phasms don’t hate humans

Xana (Jordana): They live near pure water and like to comb their hair. That’s seriously all I could find out. Everything else is really different depending on what story you’re talking about. I guess that means they’re like humans, they can be good or bad.

Harpy (Aura): Pretty women with the bodies of birds. They’re supposed to steal food and punish bad people, but I can’t see Aura doing that.

Pombero (Duarte): A hairy, black, shrunken looking guy. They’re guardians of the forest. They’re also blamed for any ‘surprise’ pregnancies by unmarried girls. I’m so sure it’s the Pombero and not some guy in town.

Yeti (Mr. Rana): The abominable snowman. Well, not really. I thought they were white, but apparently they’re brown or black. Kind of like Sasquatch, except not the way the media shows them. They generally live high in the mountains. Mer says a bunch immigrated over here and that’s why we have Sasquatch stories. They’re actually the same people.

Kitsune (Asahi): Fox spirits. They can use magic, sometimes play tricks and sometimes protect places. Basically, they’re like people, some good, some bad, some in between. I’m guessing Asahi’s in the protect group because I can’t picture her playing any kind of trick.