Nixads are pixies.

In Vateshran Hollows, the mid-boss of the Brimstond Den is the Magma Queen, an oversized nixad. Speaking to Aydolan after that confirms that she is a "pixie."

I then heard another laugh behind me and turned to see a small airborne creature circle in front of us and hover on four emerald dragonfly wings. From head to toe, she measured the length of my forearm. She had the body of a woman, sparsely clad in what appeared to be a combination of leaves, bark and chitin. Her face rather resembled that of an insect – with small mandibles, large eyes that looked like multifaceted cut emeralds, and a curved horn rising from each side of her head.

“Well, hello, little one,” I said softly, trying to avoid scaring her away. I noticed the front of her shins were each clad in chitin, ending in a vertical spike about the length of one of her tiny forearms. These protrusions rather unobtrusively followed the front of her lower thighs when her legs were straight but I imagined would present rather aggressively when her knees were bent. She bowed then did a graceful midair backflip.

“I was saddened,” I heard Kynareth say, “that your fox familiar did not travel with you. The find familiar spell used to summon her was unique to your late tribe. As that tribe’s tree won’t sprout for another century or so, the spell simply did not exist in this time. I have asked this nixad to travel with you and it seems she has agreed.”

I looked at the. . . nixad hovering in front of me. “I’m Buffy and pleased to meet you.”

The nixad sneezed, misting both Kynareth and I as the force of her sneeze propelled her back nearly an arm’s length. She then pirouetted gracefully, hovered over to me and landed on my shoulder. I felt tiny hands against my cheek and a small tendril of magic between us before she hopped back up into a hover.

“Her name is Willow,” I announced.

“Yes,” said Kynareth. “Willow is an emerald oak nixad – the smallest variety of her kind. She does not speak any language that you recognize but, as you have just experienced, she understands you fine and, in her own way, can communicate well enough. Do not expect her to vanquish your foes, but I believe you will find that she has some helpful abilities. Willow is a tracker, for example. If you offer her an object to examine that is closely associated with someone or something you seek, she will be able to divine your target’s location. You’ll also find her proficient at sensing the presence of traps and, with her small hands and arms, quite adept at manipulating the delicate inner mechanisms of locks.

Willow nodded then giggled as she continued to hover in front of us.

“Thank you,” I replied. “I think she’ll prove helpful indeed.”

Kynareth glanced toward the sun as it nestled into the western trees. “Darkness approaches so I will let you head back to your tree.”

“I trust you know the progress of our quest, Kynareth?”

She nodded. “Thoughtful, steady and methodical, as I knew your approach would be. You are doing well, my paladin.”

“Thank you for the visit, my friend.”

Kynareth stood and, still smiling at me, dissipated as she rose into the sky – her domain.

The effect of her visit, combined with having ranted earlier to Acadian and meeting a new little friend who might be able to help me locate Drodda was powerful. My heart was light as I chose to ride Superian back to my tribe’s tree rather than using the nearby wayshrine. “Willow, you’re most welcome to travel with me and I’ll trust you to help me get to know you.”

That earned a giggle as she flew along beside us, occasionally darting underneath Superian’s girth strap, or landing on the saddle’s pommel to braid a section of the mare’s mane. She was quite curious, folding her wings along her back at one point and climbing all over me to investigate my hair, ears and clothing. At length, she discovered the mage pouch at my waist, opened it and disappeared inside, only to emerge a few moments later chortling her approval.

“You may shelter there whenever you wish,” I told her.

Benzux wrote: »

Most of the lore on "fae" creatures is a remnant of the old days of Arena and Daggerfall when TES didn't quite have its own identity yet and was heavily inspired by other fantasy of the time, namely Dungeons & Dragons. It is safe to say that any remaining mentions of fae are just like the ones we have in real life: folk tales and stories conjured up by superstitious peasants. Either that, or they are legends of creatures that once existed but were displaced and wiped out by the arrival and spread of the Tamrielic races, which is what some sources claim happened to the "fae" on Summerset.

Yeah true but would be interesting to see TES take on it.

ESO has some references to faeries in it. I was really hoping the druid stuff would feature them a bit. I suppose nature spirits are somewhat similar. But then again we don't have centaurs or imga yet either, and they both have more of a right to exist in this period.