Unlike the other two subspecies of faeries, woodlands faeries tend to gather in one area in big, familial settlements called clans. Every clan has a distinguishing crest that is magically marked onto family members once they reach ten years of age. Woodlands are clan driven and fiercely loyal to their families. The clan crest is a source of pride and identity that can't be removed by any means except magical, usually in response to banishment for a deep family betrayal.

Crest appearance:

Magic comes from natural sources, so woodlands form their clans at sites with strong magical pulls. Each clan's crest usually depicts their magic source. 

Clans are matriarchal, and crests reflect that. Each generation has a unique crest, half from their mother's crest, and half from their father's. The parts of the crest that are passed down are always from the mother's mother and the father's mother. Since male woodlands relocate to their wife's settlement, the part of the crest that a woodlands inherits from their mother usually hints at their clan's magic source.

For example, a female woodlands might have a crest that is comprised of an oak leaf and a fern. The oak leaf is from her mother's clan, and the fern is from her father's. She meets and marries a male woodlands whose crest consists of blackberries from his mother's clan and primroses from his father's clan. Their children's crests would then contain an oak leaf and blackberries, and they would be raised in their mother's clan's oak tree.

Crest placement:

Different crest placement means different things to woodlands. Some common placements and meanings include:

Forehead: The head of the clan (clan matriarch; usually the oldest female in the clan)

Heart/throat: Willing to give life for clan

Shoulders: Willing to bear the burdens of the clan

Arms: The clan lifts them up

Hands: Willing to work for the good of the clan

Spine: The clan supports them

Legs: Willing to follow the clan 

Feet: They will remember the clan wherever they go

Only first and second born woodlands can place their crests over their hearts/throats or across their shoulders. Younger siblings choose other locations.

Ashton's crest:

Ashton's clan crest is a dragonfly with leaves for wings, which is odd because dragonflies are closely associated with sprites, not woodlands. Sprites don't have clan crests, so if Ashton's crest was created specifically to include his sprite heritage, then his sprite family must have a consistent presence and influence in his life.

Ashton is a confusing faerie because Niles can't tell if he lived predominately with woodlands or sprites. His wings and clan crest suggest he identifies more as a woodlands, but his physical appearance and crest type suggest otherwise. It would be helpful to know which side of Ashton's family is water sprite and which is woodlands because Ashton would have likely grown up and lived with his mother's side of the family. 

If his mother was a water sprite, his woodlands father would have relocated to her stream or pond. If his mother was a woodlands, Ashton would have lived with his mother's clan. For Niles, who desperately wants to help Ashton get home, knowing this information is key in narrowing down the location of Ashton's family. 

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A/N: Where do you think Ashton's from, given his crest, behavior, and appearance? Nobody can figure it out, unfortunately. There are no known woodlands clans with mixed sprite ancestry.