The Elf

[ #2 pencil on printing paper, marker, scanned ]

During the Medieval era in Christian Europe, in their mythology, the elfs ('elfs' is proper) were never pointy-eared super models...but this. They were widely believed to exist, not just by pagans but everyone including Christians, lower class and upper class, knights, royalty, etc. Elfs were described as short with a nasty disposition and arrows that could cause death, sickness, depression, mental illness, sores, boils, measles, blindness, alopecia, miscarriages, infertility, etc. They were often perched on churches or in the clouds, looking for a target and giddily picking a arrow with whatever poison was on it - and taking a shot so well aimed to hit the bull's eye 90% of the time. But the elf was no demon, they often were put in art beside religious figures, bows armed and using their head-wings to circle about.
This wasn't believed nor upheld by Medieval Christians in southern Italy, Ethiopia, the Middle East, but seemed to only be in Europe. , it was believed that elfs would use their giant wings on their heads to stay high in the clouds or zoom around low in the shadows, or sometimes go invisible, and they would shoot even saints down for the fun of it, or if Jesus told them to.

And elfs were not confused with angels, nor confused with fairies...who were another bag of horror altogether.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elf#
https://gemaecce.com/2015/07/18/elfshot-medicine-and-changing-belief-systems/

The Elf in Italy and Christian Rome circa 1400s-1600s:
https://www.deviantart.com/ogyunglilbig/art/Italian-Elf-870772229