Quafaie are fantasy creatures that exist in the fantasywriting of Hugh Kemeny, and are created by him. They are primarily in HughKemeny’s Black Phoenix short stories (at time of posting this, none have beenpublished).
Quafaie are similar to some definition of elves, however inHugh Kemeny’s work they bear no relationship to Elves. Before describing theQuafaie, first a brief definition of Elves and Dwarfs in Hugh Kemeny’s BlackPhoenix world:
Elves are based on the typical fantasy Elf that J.R.R.Tolkien popularized in his Middle Earth (The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, etc).They stand about the same height of humans, being no less than 1.67 m (5.5 ft)tall. They are mostly forest folk and great archers. (More on the Elves in the Black Phoenix worldlater.)
Dwarfs are also based on the typical fantasy Dwarf, alsopopularized by J.R.R. Tolkien. As adults they reach an average height of 1.25 m(4 ft). They generally all have long beards (including the female dwarfs), liveand work in mines and underground, and have a deep sense of metallurgy – includingrelated magic.
Quafaie are slightly smaller than Dwarfs. Quafaie grow to between1 m and 1.25 m (average height of Dwarfs), though with any peoples, there areexceptions. Unlike Dwarfs they have no facial or body hair (similar to somedefinitions of elves). The hair they have on their head is almost moss like,with colour ranging in the earth tones (primarily brown, but with hints ofgreen).
Unlike Dwarfs who live underground, Quafaie live aboveground. They are close to nature and the earth, understanding the soil, water,and to some extent animals. Like both Elves and Dwarfs they have some innatemagic. They can sense when curses or blessings have been placed on the land,find water and know the best places to plant for fruitful crops.
Quafaie are only able to procreate once a year. This goesfor both male and female Quafaie, so although they can mate with other peoples(Dwarfs, Elves, Humans), it is quite rare.
Since they appear androgynous, and only procreate once ayear, they do not use masculine or feminine personal pronouns, instead theyhave their own – see below:
| Third-person Singular | Subject | Objective | Reflective | Possessive |
| Masculine | He | Him | Himself | His |
| Feminine | She | Her | Herself | Hers |
| Neutral | It | It | Itself | Its |
| Quafaie | Quie | Quir | Quirself | Quirs |
Note: the plural of Quafaie is Quafiae (one Quafaie, manyQuafaie)
Quafaie reach sexual maturity at 20 years of age. Aroundthis time, usually the year leading up to their 20th birthday, theyare sent out of the community to learn more about themselves and the world atlarge. When they reach sexual maturity they go through a rite of passage inwhich they choose their adult name – which they discovered while out in theworld.
They live to about 200 years old, almost as long as Dwarfs(which live to about 250 years). Both male and female Quafaie reach a form of menopauseat the age of about 150; the last 50 years of their life is generally helpingthe community, usually teaching, as they are considered wise elders at thatpoint in life.
More about Quafaie and other creatures of Hugh Kemeny’sinvention in other posts.
