Dryads

The Forest Wanderers

History

While the Sinnehliv were deep in the forests, maintaining their groves and documenting nature’s ebbs and flows, deeper still in the forest were another kind of people, one forged from Arvora’s delicate hand mimicking their forest cousins. These people were called the Dryads, and their history is forever intertwined with their Sinnehliv cousins.

In ancient past, there was a small commune dedicated to Arvora deep within a hidden forest, inhabited by a group of humans and their sentinels. The monastery lived in harmony with the natural world, tending to their crops peacefully and giving back to the grove they called home. Out of curiosity, and perhaps security, it came to be that a Sinnehliv elder approached the monastery and asked to converse with the nuns to discern their purpose in the forest. The people there were in awe to see such an impressive creation of their patron goddess and humbled themselves before the elder. The two people began to speak on their worship to Arvora and, impressed with the peaceful nature of the humans, the Sinnehliv elder told his brothers and sisters that they had found new friends in these worshipers. Time passed as the two species interacted, the Sinnehliv even finding roots in the monastery itself, and humans living among their small grove. Generations passed, and the strong bond between the grove and the monastery grew with each passing year.

But it came to be that not all shared the monks sentiment for the sanctity of the forest. One fateful day, a group of raiders invaded the grove and the monastery, and in a ruthless act of violence, began to slaughter it’s inhabitants for their meager belongings. One by one, nun and Sinnehliv fell alike, their bodies heaping together in masses, until all that was left were the commune’s guardian and the Sinnehliv elder. Still dedicated to her worship of Arvora, the guardian felt it her need and purpose to defend the Sinnehliv elder until death. And so, with her final action, she yelled to the elder to run into the forest, to find a new grove, while she held off the raiders. The elder fled, and the guardian fell, not before ensuring the Sinnehliv’s escape.

Distraught with grief over the loss of her grove, the monastery, and her friends, the elder fled deep into the forest and set down roots in a small clearing. It was here that she prayed to mother, offering all that was in her being in her cries to her. And Arvora heard them. She, too, had seen the destruction of a people that had dedicated years to her worship. She decided it was time to reward them for their sacrifice. With a breath of life and the essence of the forest accompanying it, she raised the humans who had fallen that day with the majesty of the forest in their soul. As they raised, they found themselves beautiful, with chimeric alterations to bear and a deep connection to the earth and animals around them. These were the first Dryads, born from their dedication to Arvora and protection of her wards, and began to dedicate their lives to her worship.

Physical Description

Dryads could be mistaken for humans from afar, as they share many features with them. Dryads have chimeric animal features, such as antlers, spots, or fur. The dryad was created as an extension of Arvora’s will, and a reward for the humans who worshiped her endlessly. The most common forms of Dryad hybridizations are Leopards, Wolves, and Foxes, however, there have been dryads of other animal hybridizations like Lizards, Birds, and Deer.

Usually, dryads do not deal with jewelry or fine clothing, wearing simple wanderer vestments, tucking a flower behind their ear, or armor. While not all dryads are monks, most find the humility of their monk origins appearing in a desire to limit their material items. Most dryads own a small satchel where they keep things of sentiment or necessity.

• Common Height: 5'0" - 6’0”
• Common Build: Ectomorph, Mesomorph
• Common Eyes: Green, Red, Amber, Brown
• Common Hair: Variable, Usually Colors Found in the Forests
• Common Skin Tones: Pale, Beige, Tanned, Caramel

Culture

Usually, dryads will travel in a pack, living in nomadic settlements led by an elder. Dryads will take materials from the surrounding area to build small encampments consisting of makeshift tents made from sticks and leaves. Dryads never carrying such materials with them along their journeys, however. Normally, they build these encampments around one large tree, using it as a temporary shrine to Arvora. When the dryad move on from a settlement, they will leave everything behind to degrade back into the environment. The diet of the Dryad differs between packs. All dryad are Omnivores. Their diets usually consist of berries, hunted meats, fruits, anything coming from the forest. However, some packs choose to live strictly off plants, fruits, vegetables, etc rather than meat and the vice versa is also true. Dryad do not cook their meat, preferring to consume their meats raw.

The familial bonds of the dryad are different than most other cultures. Packs raise the young collectively, rather than the standard strict familial households. Because of this, Dryads do not typically take a surname. Young that grow up alongside each other go by sister and brother and everyone else in the pack will be referred to as aunt and uncle, regardless of blood relation. Immediate family, however, will be called the same things, however with "blood" proceeding the title, so Blood-Brother, Blood-Sister, etc.

The elder is chosen based on the longest surviving member of the pack. Once the elder becomes ill-fit to lead, the pack will move on, leaving them there while the next elder leads on. This can go on indefinitely, with a pack crossing the continents many different times in only a few generations. The dryad’s culture varies depending on the pack. Some are isolationist wayfarers, traveling from location to location in an effort to combat threats to the forests and occasionally help others survive the perils of the wilds. Other packs are simple wanderers, traveling from location to location in an effort to see all of Arvora’s beauty; preferring to be pacifists rather than protectors. The difference in cultures also extends to different continents. Dryad in Honji are viewed as spiritual guardians, defending temples and shrines during Goblin raids and skirmishes. There, they are called the Yeou. Some locals believe they can actually transform into animals, namely a fox, however this is just a myth.

Dryads are known to speak a multitude of languages, being wanderers of many places. However, like their Sinnehliv cousins, Dryads speak the Lahn tongue as their first language.

Mechanics

• Lifespan: 130 years on average.
• Dryads are able to reproduce with any humanoid, but the offspring is not a hybrid of the two races. The offspring will always be a Dryad.
• Dryads possess an innate empathetic connection with the fauna of the land. This allows them to immediately distinguish the intentions of any animal, but also allows any animal to determine their intent.
• Dryads have a natural fear of fire, though not a natural aversion.
• Dryads are nimble and agile, climbing trees and swinging from branches with ease.
• Dryads are able to replicate features of forest animals on their person. They are born with this trait at birth and it can only be of one animal only. [i.E: A Fox] Such traits include;
• Facial hybridization [i.E]; a dryad may have different colored hair, ears of a mammal, tongue of a snake, or sharper canines.
• Limb hybridization [i.E]; a dryad may have small claws, fur, or scales on their hands or arms.
• Body hybridization [i.E]; a dryad may have a tail or some similar trait.

The World of Aethius • The Multiverse of Aethier