Faerie dragon

"Faerie Dragon" redirects here. For other uses, see Faerie Dragon (disambiguation).

Faerie dragons
Faction/Affiliation	Independent, Cenarion Circle, Night elves (Alliance), Draenei
Homeworld	Emerald Dream Draenor
Area(s)	Emerald Dream Feralas, Ashenvale and the Jade Forest (Azeroth) Shadowmoon Valley (Draenor)

Faerie dragons (also known as sprites, sprite darters, blink dragons, fey dragons, fae dragons, or fey drakes) are diminutive, intelligent creatures that look like flying lizards (much like a chameleon with butterfly wings). Though not actual dragons, these mystical-looking creatures police the Emerald Dream from magic due to their intrinsic connection to the realm and their natural affinity for finding fonts of power. As such they are immune to magic. Thanks to their abilities, the priestesses of Elune have often called upon the faerie dragons to aid in the defense of Azeroth.

Background

A faerie dragon in Warcraft III.

The faerie dragons of Ashenvale are known for their playful demeanor, seemingly disappearing on a whim. The more mischievous ones will often materialize out of nowhere to save their allies, or simply to mock their foes. One wouldn't know it from looking at them, but the lovely faerie dragons can be truly fearsome if trained properly. They elaborately command the arcane for both offensive and defensive purposes: absorb it, redirect it, even nullify it entirely. Other skills include the ability to disappear and blink from one location to another. They're nearly harmless alone, but in large numbers, they can have a stunning effect on a battle. Faerie dragons can speak, but few of them choose to do so. The faerie dragons that dwell near Nordrassil in Mount Hyjal can see through enemy illusions. They are quite intelligent and able to speak, albeit some with broken grammar, in a variety of local languages. The faerie dragon, Pip serves as a member of the Council of Dreams, and is capable of fully articulate speech.

This creature resembles a dragon in some respects, but feathery antennae sprout from its head and its wings are moth-like. Its turquoise scales shimmer in the sparkles that dance from its body. It turns its head to look at you with a beady black eye before emitting a small keen. They have a powerful natural defense against magic and the unique ability to phase out of reality. Their defense seems to work by encasing themselves within a strong energy shield that repels most magic and conventional attacks. While in this form they can siphon the unused magical energy wasted in basic spell casting, and then focus, amplify, and direct it back at the unfortunate caster in a sort of "feedback" attack. This ability is very powerful but requires a great deal of effort, and can only be used sporadically, requiring the dragon to rest between uses.

After the second invasion of the Burning Legion, Malfurion Stormrage summoned faerie dragons from the Emerald Dream to help purge the night elf forests of demonic magics. The creatures were also briefly called into service during the night elves' hunt for Illidan Stormrage. However, the faerie dragons were not part of the actual military hierarchy of the Sentinels. The faerie dragons and chimaera are simply somewhat intelligent animals with ties to the Emerald Dream and Nordrassil, respectively. These beings all assisted the night elves not due to a desire to help them in particular, but because the night elves were the largest local force who opposed the Burning Legion. Short of a planetary threat, it is rare to see mountain giants, faerie dragons, or chimaera fighting with a mortal army. In any case, the vast majority of the faerie dragons have since returned to the Emerald Dream, with only a few populations left on Azeroth.

Larger breeds of faerie dragons have been seen that resemble traditional dragonkin. They seem to share the same abilities of their smaller counterparts, albeit in greater power. A number of them were used as mounts by the draenei on Draenor, but they have also been seen on Azeroth and as defenders of the Emerald Dream. A breed of faerie dragons known as Whimsydrakes were used as companions by adventurers during the incursion of the dream by the primal incarnate, Fyrakk. These playful protectors of the Emerald Dream may be larger than their relatives, the faerie dragons, but they are no less mischievous. Whimsydrakes have a tendency to phase out of reality when mounted by a rider they dislike.

Moon Priestess Lasara used the Altar of Elders to transform Alliance adventurers into faerie dragons during the Battle for Darkshore.

Locations

A giant fey dragon in Hearthstone.

The only large population left on Azeroth is located in the untainted forests of Feralas and Ashenvale due to their abundance of elven ruins and many abandoned moonwells. The Grimtotem tribe of tauren has recently been endangering the group in Feralas, capturing them for experimental use. There have also been reports of the faerie dragons in the Talon Den in Stonetalon Mountains. It is likely that when the druids of the den awoke from the Emerald Dream, the dragons came with them in some way, such as Nal'taszar.

These creatures have also been found in Dire Maul's west wing, but fell prey to the ghostly Highborne and now serve them as pets. One faerie dragon can also be found in the Barrens, inside the Wailing Caverns. Altered by the Emerald Nightmare, this one is called a "Deviate" Faerie Dragon.

Faerie dragons can also be found in the Whispering Forest in Tirisfal Glades, where they converge around the mushroom ring at regular intervals to sing to one another, dancing, and lighting up the forest with their strange ritual. Some can also be found in Mount Hyjal, the Blade's Edge Mountains, and even in Pandaria. The Shadowmoon Valley of an alternate Draenor's past also features wild faerie dragons, found on the Shimmer Moor.

Draenor

This section concerns content related to Warlords of Draenor.

Enormous faerie dragons, called fey dragons, are also found in Shadowmoon Valley on the alternate Draenor, where they serve as mounts for the draenei. Many of them dwell in the Shimmer Moor, and the Draakorium is a draenei town where the dragons are raised and trained to become mounts.

Given that faerie dragons are closely tied to the Emerald Dream it initially seemed impossible for them to appear on Draenor, as the Dream was originally thought to have been created specifically for Azeroth. Now that the Dream is understood to extend to worlds other than Azeroth, it is possible for faerie dragons to exist outside of Azeroth.

Notable

Main article: Faerie dragon NPCs

•   Brighteye
•   Brightwing
•   Deviate Faerie Dragon
•   Faebright
•   Glimmer
•   Moonglow
•   Nal'taszar
•   Pixiebell
•   Pydarter
•   Raindash
•   Squiggy
•   Flicka

As a mount

•  [Enchanted Fey Dragon] is available from the Pet Store for $25US or €20/£17 and requires a Battle.net account to receive.
•  [Flourishing Whimsydrake] is rewarded from  [70] Emerald Welcome.

As a companion pet

•  [Blinky Egg] is bought from the Battle.net Shop or In-Game Store for £9/€10/$10.
•  [Kal'andu] is rewarded from  [70] Burning Out.
• Nether Faerie Dragons can be captured in pet battles around Dire Maul in Feralas.
•  [Sprite Darter Egg] is a rare world drop in Feralas.
•  [Sun Darter Hatchling] drops from the Oddly-Colored Egg in the Caverns of Consumption in Winterspring.

As a hunter pet

In the Dragonflight expansion they are tamable as part of the Lesser Dragonkin hunter pet family.

In the RPG

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

Faerie dragons are not related to true dragons, though they share similar traits in appearance. They are mystic creatures that protect the Emerald Dream from hostile magic, occasionally they join their night elf allies in Azeroth's battles as well. Faerie dragons are thought to be unable to speak.

Notes

• According to a legend, a group of curious dark trolls followed the path of a fairy dragon to the Well of Eternity, leading to the creation of the night elves.
• Magical dust can sometimes be found upon their wings.
• The Sprite Darter variety are noted to be omnivores and are known to eat meat. Agnar Beastamer believes it may have something do with Elune's plan for the elves.
• Late at night during a full moon, the sprite darters in the Woods of the Lost in the Jade Forest are known to shed their scales. Their scales grow with a bright jade light and fleck off into the water, attracting  [Jade Lungfish] like moths to the light.
• A sprite dragon plushie was available at San Diego Comic Con 2014, along with a nether variant.

Gallery

World of Warcraft

• 

  A faerie dragon as seen in World of Warcraft.
• 

  Updated model in Legion.
• 

  Moonglow, a fey dragon on Draenor.
• 

  Emerald Helper
• 

  The banner used at flight points that employ fey dragon mounts.
• 

  Sprite Darter's Wings transmog set is inspired by the fey dragons of Azeroth.
• 

  Faerie dragon concept in Patch 10.2.0.
• 

  Dragonflight faerie dragon.

Other

• 

  A faerie dragon as seen in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.
• 

  As seen in the Alliance Player's Guide.
• 

  Plushie
• 

  Brightwing from Heroes of the Storm.
• 

  Artwork shown in a blog post for Brightwing from Heroes of the Storm.

Patch changes

• Patch 7.0.3 (2016-07-19): Model updated.