Does the Snow Faerie Wear Shoes?

Because the Snow Faerie would not comment directly on this matter, I was forced to resort to every writer’s least favorite pastime: research. It was my theory that there may be some rule of thumb such as “only the most powerful faeries wear shoes” or something of that manner. So off I went, visiting first the Neopedia- the book which proves most useful ninety percent of the time. By simply typing in the keyword: faerie, I was able to come up with an array of different articles on great faeries such as Fyora, Jhudora, the Space Faerie, the Battle Faerie, and the Grey Faerie.

Of course, none of these articles would have been any use to me out of straight text; none of the stories specifically say “Oh, and by the way, the Battle Faerie wasn’t wearing any shoes. She never wears shoes, actually.” Fortunately for me, however, each Neopedia article is brilliantly illustrated. From this, I was able to list the shoe wearing habits of four different faeries- but more data was needed.

I ventured next into Meridell, where I paid a visit to Illusen, who was hard at work making small Neopets journey out in order to bring her expensive items for her mysterious cause. I didn’t go far into the glade, not wanting to make her think I had come to complete one of her quests. (I’ll admit, I’m still a bit sore at her for sending me back to quest one after failing her at quest twenty six and I wasn’t quite ready to go back to her.) Instead, I hid behind a large leaf, just close enough to take good look at her feet as she bent over to retrieve a prize for a blue Grundo who had appeared a few minutes after me. After I noted my observation on my writing pad, I scurried away as fast as my feet could take me; I didn’t want her to catch me and think I was a spy for Jhudora. But while I was in Meridell, I thought I’d take one more stop.

The hall of records in Meridell shows the stories from both heroic battles fought against Darigan. It was there that I hoped to catch a glimpse of Psellia, the all too mystifying light faerie who saved Jeran from falling to his death from the Citadel. However, the small glimpse of her that could be seen carrying Jeran through a castle window showed no more of her than did the Gallery of Heroes. Defeated, I left for my next stop: Terror Mountain.

It occurred to me that there is one other faerie resident who has set up shop in Terror Mountain. The Negg Faerie, with a sole mission to collect and trade neggs with all willing Neopians, lives deep in the Ice Caves inside her negg shaped home. Luckily for me, I had bought a negg several days back for some unknown reason, and now could use it as an excuse to see her.

With a deep breath, I stepped through the threshold into the surprising warmth of the Negg Faerie’s residence. The green faerie smiled at me and extended her hand, obviously looking for me to give her my negg. I complied, and delicately placed it into her palm.

She carried it over into a corner and examined it for a moment before turning back to me. “It’s a good negg,” she said politely. “I can give you three negg points for it.”

“Sounds great.” I smiled back. I had already gotten what I had come to see.

My last and possibly most important stop was made to Faerieland, the center of faeriedom in Neopia. In this glorious kingdom, I hoped to take a look at some of the greatest and most powerful faeries in existence.

I started off small, going first to the faerie employment agency. Although the uber faeries of light, darkness, earth, fire, air, and water may be seen sparsely, their pictures are placed above the descriptions of their quests on the help page. Noting their appearances, I left for my final destination: the Hidden Tower.

Standing regally was the queen of all faeries, Fyora. Her tiara was positioned perfectly on the top of her head, and her staff was clutched powerfully in her right hand. She was the picture of beauty in her purple dress, which extended all the way down her body- covering her feet.

Now, if you think I was going to ask the queen of all faeries to lift up her dress, even just enough to see her feet, you’re mad. Instead, I walked swiftly out of the tower and thought of one last item that could help me.

I typed in “Fyora” into the search bar and instantly found it: the Fyora Doll available at the regular toy store. It was a perfect likeness in every way that I could see, except that this doll sat down so you could see its legs. Writing down my last observation, I went home, where I typed out my list of faeries and their shoe habits, which is as follows:

Confirmed shoed faeries:

• Fyora (according to the Fyora Doll)

• Illusen

• The Negg Faerie

• Light Faerie

• Fire Faerie

Confirmed un-shoed faeries

• The Grey Faerie

• The Battle Faerie (She wears tights)

• The Soup Faerie

• The Space Faerie (Also wears tights)

• Jhuidah

• Water Faerie (She has fins)

• Fountain Faerie (Also has fins)

Unconfirmed faeries:

• Jhudora (The Neopedia wasn’t much help, and there was no way I was visiting her. Can you blame me?)

• Dark Faerie

• Air Faerie

• Earth Faerie

• Psellia

• The Snow Faerie

As you can see, I was sad to find that there was absolutely no rule of thumb for faerie footwear. It seems that all faeries, powerful and… less so… have completely different ideas about whether or not shoes are a necessity. Even with this defeating factor, I took three important facts and was able to come to a reasonable hypothesis.

The first was that the Negg Faerie, Terror Mountain’s other faerie resident, DOES wear shoes. This would lead to the idea that in a climate as cold as the one on Terror Mountain, shoes are essential. However, this fact is canceled out by the second, which is that the Space Faerie, who spends most of her time in the even icier regions of space, does NOT wear shoes.

And so, ladies and gentlemen, I turn to my final piece of evidence: the Snow Faerie seeks items for her mysterious spells. It is my hypothesis that this is the spell that keeps her igloo warmer than the outlaying snowy lands. She does not wear shoes, which are less comfortable than bare feet. This would explain why she never emerges from her home, saying that it is “too cold”; even though she has a coat and various neopet species have made the mountain their home.

With my final explanation given, you may wonder: “What was the point of all of this?” Well, I assure you that this was not just another mindless ramble to waste your time when you could be playing “Ultimate Bullseye”. Whether or not a faerie deems it necessary to wear shoes may be a good insight into the lives of one of Neopia’s most uncanny resident species.