Dryad

Dryads are elementals of wood, who take the forms of beautiful women with skin and hair matching the bark and leaves of the trees from which they spring. Though many mortals consider Dryads to be the gods of their trees, they are mistaken: this role belongs to a far different spirit, the Kodama tree-gods. The Kodama are bureaucrats of their purview, and concerned with the size and extent of their tree, while the Dryads emerge when the essence of Wood moving within the tree to ensure its growth and fecundity are obstructed (by other trees blocking it from sunlight, by woodcutters felling its branches, by infertile ground shriveling its seedlings, and the like)... all trees have a Kodama, but only some (typically those ancient trees whose essence flows have grown strong over a century or more of age, though this is not always the case) have Dryads.

Both god and elemental can be possessive of their charge, and while their interests seem to align on the surface they frequently come into conflict: a god might arrange for wood to be harvested by mortals in exchange for prayer and its continued survival which a Dryad would militantly oppose, a god might want to crush its own seedlings so its tree can monopolize water and soil while a Dryad would want new saplings to spread far and wide. The view of the Celestial Bureaucracy is that the Kodama is automatically the master of the Dryad emerging from its tree, but the various Terrestrial and Elemental Courts will occasionally take the opposite view due to their hostility to the dictates of Heaven.

In open conflict with a tree god, a Dryad is at a disadvantage: while she is material, it is immaterial unless it chooses to manifest (which it will do when she is most vulnerable), and while she is not bound to her tree as the god is to its purview, it can simply arrange transfer to a different tree and sabotage its origin out of spite as it leaves. The god can also steal away from the torches of lumberjacks, who know by tradition that Dryads are dangers which must be snuffed out before chopping can proceed. The position of Dryads is thus precarious, and often Dryads seeking aid against a hostile Kodama, or whose trees have been felled by mortals, have little option save to seek powerful patrons and protectors. It is for this reason that they are sometimes known as ‘Wives of the Forest’, serving as harem and attendants to the masters of forest spirit courts, the Forest Walkers or Kings of the Wood, the latter of whom can be particularly cruel masters to those they view as weak, expecting their ‘wives’ to compete for favour.

It is unfortunate that this position in the forest courts is widely viewed as natural by gods and men, leaving newly-freed dryads thinking they have no choice but to submit to the forest courts. And yet, occasionally a whisper will echo, of communities of Dryads deep within the Eastern forests who rule themselves without submission to sorcerers or Spirit Courts both...

While all Dryads share certain features, the details of their appearance and personalities can vary greatly, based on the tree whose conflicted Essence birthed them… though one would be mistaken to stereotype too heavily as each is its own distinct being.

Birch Dryads

Birch Dryads, with their silver-white skin traced with brown lenticels, are known for their refinement, often serving as senior wives and hostesses in their Forest Courts. Here they arrange parties and seasonal celebrations, organizing dances and fussing over fashions, the calm veneer on the surface quickly proving false when their tongues turn to court gossip. They can be demanding of a summoner (and vocally critical of their poor dress or empty social calendar), and are thus rarely summoned… though another reason might be to avoid risking the wrath of the Forest Court master who might favour them.

Oak Dryad

Oak Dryads, with their dark skin displaying even deeper grain, have a reputation as caretakers, known for their pacifism and compassion. They tend to be called upon to calm and care for the masters of their Spirit Courts, and for their summoners as well.

Pine Dryads

Pine dryads, standing tall with long needled hair, have a reputation for their ferocity and skill as hunters. They generally keep themselves distant from the politics of the Spirit Courts, serving as guards and enforcers, though more than one has won the favour of a Wood King by taking competition with his other Dryads to the sphere of physical violence.

Pine Dryads are resentful of summoning, and protective of their trees, as many a mortal hunter has fatally learned.

Yew Dryads

Yew Dryads, quietly elegant in their beauty, are more often found alone in exile from the Spirit Courts, though not by choice: most forest spirits, including other Dryads, do not wish to count the Yew amongst their number.

Yew Dryads are lonely creatures, often grateful for summoning, and prone to fall in love with any who show them some degree of kindness. This is the curse of the Yew Dryad, as her lips are deadly poison, able to harm even the resilience of spirits and the Exalted. Unlike her Ash sisters, a Yew Dryad is rarely malicious… they cannot resist drawing close, to them the inevitable outcome simply a natural part of love. Often, a Yew Dryad will root and absorb her decaying beloved, before the loneliness strikes again and she moves on.

Apple Dryads

Apple Dryads, with bright-coloured waxy lips and tan-rose skin of irregular grain, are known by many impolite sobriquets gained from their reputation for being brazen with their affections. Their beauty is one of exaggerated proportions, which appeals to certain summoners and makes them sought for work in spirit brothels, though they are not considered to match the sensual skills of spirits such as Nymphs.

Willow Dryads

Willow Dryads are sorrowful creatures, forever crying in sadness. The source of their depression is unknown, but is sometimes thought to be the cycle of life itself… the necessity of change, the demand that death must come before there can be rebirth… that is so entwined in their nature as Elementals of Wood.

While one would think there would be no place for constantly-weeping courtiers in a Forest Court, the Willow Dryads have a place there nevertheless, allowing the dominant spirits to indulge in tombs for fallen favourites... or, perhaps more often, mocking monuments to those they destroyed to take power over their Court. Summoners also make use of them for this purpose (including the Morticians of Sijan in some rites), for their sobbing features concealed beneath a curtain of long green hair is considered an artistic and beautiful expression of sorrow For the most part,

What one must not do, however, is seek to interrupt their mourning, by force or offered cheer… the wrath of a willow dryad in response to such a transgression will be great indeed.

Ash Dryads

The most vicious of dryads, the elementals born of ash trees serve as priestesses and gatherers, capturing mortals for sacrifice to the masters of their Spirit Courts, as well as performing the bloody rituals with glee.

Where the Yew Dryads kill for love, and Pine Dryads for the glory of the hunt, the Ash Dryads are eager and gleeful as they stalk mortals, taking greatest pleasure in snuffing out those who camp beneath the seeming safety of the trees, or even taking to villages at night to vandalize and slay. Woe to the summoner who irks them further by pulling them from their bloodletting to his side.

Palm Dryads

Palm Dryads, with their broadleafed hair and finely-furred skin, are known to some as the nursemaids of the Forest Courts, though the need of spirits and their offspring for a wetnurse tends to be minute.

Summoners, on the other hand, oft find the Palm Dryads very useful for just such a role. The elementals produce a rich, nutritious milk which seems to satisfy most nurslings human or otherwise, supplying it from their bellies with a kiss.

Due to the distribution of palms, Palm Dryads will emerge far from the usual Forest Courts more commonly than other Dryads, amongst the deserts of the South and the islands of the West. The spirit denizens of the latter are hostile more often than not, but amongst the most enduring oases of the Deep South are those where Palm Dryads and Oasis Manatees have forged alliances to defend their charges from the predations of Flame Ducks.

Source: Expanded and amended from the work of ‘’someone’’ else ‘’’somewhere’’’, arg.