"Rejected Idea 3: The Sprites"

  Again, this is pasted from the original summary.

    In another, very thickly grown forest, can be found, by those who know where to look, or those unfortunate enough to stumble across it, is the kingdom of the Sprites.  They grow up to six inches tall, have wings, and are not very magically inclined due to their decadent culture.

  The ancestors of the Sprite were the Faeries.  The Faeries were a malicious and mischievous lot, who got pleasure from killing and torturing people of the other races.

  Eventually, the Faeries broke off into two sections, and the other section was a more peaceful group and chose to call themselves Sprites.  There was some conflict between the two groups, but they never warred, until one day, when the Sprite's numbers were enough, and the king had finally had enough of the Faeries vile behavior, they had a war and, to the best of their knowledge, all the Faeries were slaughtered.

  Now, I said the Sprites more peaceful, but I didn't say entirely peaceful.  The current king isn't too much different from the other Sprite king, and he's not entirely respectable by our standards.  Sprites enjoy fun and pleasure, and the royalty is arrogant and demands all behave a certain way.

  If you ever have the chance to be face to face with the royalty, and you don't know the code of conduct, then it's best to at least have one person with you who does, because if you insult the king or make him mad in any way, chances are you will die.

  Despite the negative qualities of the royalty and the culture in general, they do have a strict code of honor.  They always keep their word, never lie, and are very serious in the business of favors.

  The two favors that people most ask of the Sprites is to be assassins and spies.  They make the best assassins and spies, and they won't quit until the job is done.

  If you ask an individual Sprite for a favor, then you must do the Sprite a favor in return (usually you will be told right then what is wanted of you), and it is only that Sprite with whom you have the agreement.

  If you go to the king and ask the favor, then you have the entire Sprite army at your service.  This means, if you hire an individual Sprite to be an assassin, and he dies, then your deal is over, but if you ask the king, then he'll send one Sprite, but if it dies, then he'll send another.

  Sprites in general can be somewhat keen on sexual favors of other races (the size difference is a novelty), but this is especially so of the king.

  If you are a female or have a female with you, chances are he will want to put her body on the trading table, but if you make it respectfully clear that sexual favors will not be traded, then you reduce your chances of the trade being accepted.

  Sensha, being Sensha, knows all about the Sprites, because she's dealt with them before, and the king even owes her a favor, which is extremely rare.  She is about as close a friend as any non-Sprite can be with the king.  She will be doing some major begging for forgiveness on behalf of Crysta.