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Artemis Fowl
World
The world that the Artemis Fowl Series takes place in is, very simply put, the world we all lived in back in the year 2000. There is, however, one small difference...
There are species of fairies (collectively known as the People) living underground. Long ago, the Fairy People saw the havoc that humans (Mud Men) were wreaking on the Earth, and fled to where they could no longer be exploited or hunted down. The underground home of the People is known as the Haven. The city exists so deep within the Earth, that no normal man could get down there without seriously injuring himself. And thus, most humans are oblivious to the fact that fairies are living underground--and when they accidentally stumble on this fact, they are usually mind-wiped by the fairy police force.
Fairy Culture
The People
There are eight species of fairy, known as the Eight Families. They are:
1. Elves - Elves are about three feet tall, have pointy ears, and have lost their wings through evolution. They possess a wide variety of magic including mesmer, the ability to shield, and the gift of tongues. Character Example: Captain Holly Short
2. Dwarves - Shorter and less proportionate than elves, Dwarves can unhinge their jaw to tunnel underground, have hairs can detect vibrations, and saliva that glows in the dark. However, because Dwarves usually live under and in the ground, their skin burns after 3 minutes in the sun. Character Example: Mulch Diggums
3. Pixies - Pixies are similar to elves, but their brains are larger, their skulls are more fragile, and some pixies can become extremely intelligent. They possess the gift of tongues and mesmer. Character Example: Opal Koboi
4. Sprites - Sprites are also similar to elves, but they have green skin and wings. They also possess the quickest reflexes of all fairy species, and have the gift of tongues, plus limited healing abilities. Character Example: Chix Verbil
5. Goblins - A reptilian species of fairy, Goblins are one of the least intelligent species of fairy. They frequently engage in turf wars and can create fireballs with their hands or nose. Character Example: The B'wa Kell Triad
6. Demons - Demons begin their lives as "imps", sporting gray skin and red runes on their body. After induced bloodlust, imps "warp" into full-fledged demons, which are considerably bigger and have plates on their body. A subset of demons, called warlocks, can use magic and stay in their imp form. Character Example: No. 1
7. Centaurs - Half horse, half man, horns on head. Pretty self-explanatory. They are the second largest species of fairy, and although they do not possess magic, they are very intelligent. Character Example: Foaly
8. Trolls - The dumbest and largest species of fairy, trolls possess no magic, but have an acute sense of smell, night vision, large tusks, and poison claws. They hate bright lights and noise. Character Example: Troll
The Lower Elements Police Reconnaisance Squad
LEPRecon/LEP for short, this specialized squad is the police force of the People. They rely more on technology rather than magic to execute their missions--which include quelling Goblin uprisings, mind-wiping humans who happen upon fairies, and just protecting the People in general. Artemis' friend, Holly Short, is a captain in the LEP, while Foaly is the Tech Genius of the outfit.
Fairies and Humans
Fairies and humans do not get along. If the People were discovered, the LEP believes that mud men will try to exploit their magic--and they would be right. Many of the humans that appear in the novels are not nice people. They are out for power and wealth, and fairies can provide both. Thus, fairies immigrated underground hundreds of years ago, still harboring bitter feelings towards mud men.
Magic
In Artemis Fowl, magic is a very tangible thing. It materializes as blue sparks, and needs to be replenished when it runs out. In order to do this, a magic wielder has to plant an acorn from an 100+ year old oak tree far away from where it fell by a bend in a stream under a full moon. Pretty specific.
Also, a fairy is not allowed to enter a human dwelling without permission. If a fairy does enter a home or building without permission, the fairy loses all their magic and becomes violently ill. Fortunately, there are creative ways of getting around this. In The Eternity Code, Juliet Butler asks a receptionist if she can bring "her invisible friend" into the building with her. The receptionist thinks it's a joke, and tells her to bring all the invisible friends she wants. Also, in The Lost Colony, there is a placard on the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan that invites people to "come and go as they please". Both of these are invitation enough for a fairy to enter.
There are many types of magic that are used in the series.
Healing
Whenever a fairy who possesses magic is injured, blue sparks will form to close the wound automatically. The process is nearly unstoppable.
Mesmer
When a subject is mesmerized, the fairy ultimately controls the actions of the subject. The fairy can ask the subject questions, and the subject has to be honest; the fairy can induce the subject to make choices he or she normally wouldn't make, even when awoken from being mesmerized; the fairy can even convince the subject of things that aren't true (i.e.: they didn't see a fairy flying overhead). Mesmer comes from the voice and eye contact. Artemis and Butler evaded this magic technique by wearing mirrored glasses in the first book, and mirrored contacts in The Eternity Code.
The Gift of Tongues
Allows the fairy to speak any language fluently without having to learn it. The fairy common language is called Gnommish, but because of the gift of tongues, other fairies are able to talk to Artemis with no problem.
Time Spells
This was used by warlocks to move the demon world of Hybras into limbo, so demons wouldn't start a war with humans. Usually, twelve magical beings are required to perform the spell correctly, plus a huge power source, but in The Lost Colony, Artemis and company pull it off with five magical beings and a volcano. It requires that the caster focus completely on the desired time-destination, but Artemis, being a magical beginner, throws the group three years into the future.
Gargoyle's Touch
A form of demon magic. It allows the warlock to turn an object into stone--it can also reverse the process.
At this point, there has been no evidence of offensive magic in the series (such as Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, etc.).
For more information, Artemis Fowl @ Wikipedia is very elaborate and details every character in the series, along with book summaries.
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