While shambling around in the pits of lava trying to bring about his own demise, Miserable Failure accidentally gives birth to a race of beautiful faries, the Edraei. Miserable-Failure attempts to exterminate the Edraei, whose beauty seems a cruel mockery of his own hideous appearance. However, the faries easily evade Miserable-Failure's clumsy blows. Recognizing that he is responsible for their existance, the Edraei kindly offer to knit Miserable-Failure a new sweater, but he refuses to speak to them.

The Edraei are skilled in the art of making magical fabrics.

In their quest to create increasingly awesome sweaters for Miserable Failure, the Edraei become skilled in the use of magic-infused fabrics. They can make cloth that is as light as silk and as strong as steel or “thermos” cloth that keeps you cool in the desert but warm in the snow. Alas, even with all their magic, they can't make a shade of plaid that Miserable Failure looks good in.

The Edraei have formed the Order of the Plaid Sweater, which vows to create a sweater so beautiful even Miserable-Failure will look good wearing it.

the Glueiao, an offshoot of the Edraei considered near heretics by their brethren for the insistence that Miserable Failure does not, in fact, need a new knitted sweater, but in fact he needs something else entirely, some new fashion that has yet to exist. So the Glueiao seek to create new fabrics, colors, anything that could be new and exciting!