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| Species | Dryad |
| Order | Dryad |
| Classification | Vaettir |
| Family | Plant |
| Sphere | Flora |
| Origin | Felesia made them from trees |
| Lifespan | ~3000 years per generation |
| Habitat | Forests |
| Food | Nuts, berries, and fruit, soil nutrients, sunlight, and water |
| Description | During their initial generation, dryades appear to be nutbrown, feminine, human-like beings with brown hair and distinctly leaf-like garments. If they have a particularly different type of tree (palm, for instance), they sometimes have hair or facial features that reflect it. In their secondary generation, they appear to be trees with weathered faces. |
| Procreation | Dryades attract partners of other species to mate with, bringing them into their trees. The process can be risky for their partners. The dryad becomes pregnant and enters her bonded tree, and when she gives birth, her child becomes part of the tree. Their tree generations reproduce via normal processes depending on the variety of their tree, usually producing a little nut or fruit that grows into a new dryad. |
| Generations | Dryades' forms alternate between generations. One generation is a human-like being, the next is a sentient tree. |
| Esoterica | Dryades are beings of greenlight aether and using it is not uncommon. They also often use other kinds of aether, especially through druidism. Other common energies wielded include mana, poioumenon, yahas, radiance, ordinal energies, and spirits. The only energy they cannot use is brown aether. |
| Bonds | Dryades form bonds with trees. Most draydes form bonds with just one tree, but some have many partners. Any kind of tree, including supernatural trees, are possible partners, though they cannot bond with sentient trees. The bonding process requires the dryad to enter the tree by phasing into the wood and sleeping there each night (or eight hours a day) for a month without being rejected by the tree. Rejection is very rare. |
| Special Powers | Dryades bond with trees through an aetherial form of soulbonding, tapping into the aetherial part of both of their souls. They phase into the wood of their chosen tree and sleep there for part of the day or night for a month, and if the tree does not reject them (which rarely happens), they are bonded with the tree. Multiple bonds are rare but not impossible. When they have children, their children are birthed within the tree and fused with it, creating their tree generation form (dendral form). In their anthropomorphic form, they are supernaturally beautiful. They can speak to trees and coax plants to grow in specific ways. They can see in the dark. They also gain up to six powers (usually two to three) based on the tree they bond with. If they bond with multiple trees, they cannot gain more than 10 powers total. In their dendral forms, they can choose to seal their canopies and block the sun in order to intimidate intruders into their woods. They can command non-dryadic trees and sense what is happening beyond the edges of their roots and limbs up to a mile. |
| Special Cases | Supernatural trees have special powers associated with them. Some examples: Unique trees rarely allow dryades to live in them, since if the dryad reproduces, they would be turned into a dryad. The World Tree, however, is a unique Aeonian that can bond with many dryades and allow them to bear children, which are united with the World Tree itself. Dryades bonded to or born from the World Tree are just more powerful versions of dryades (averaging about +9 above all standard stats). Faeriewood gives dryades the power to glamour like faeries and makes them weak to iron. Dogwood trees give dryades protection from unholy energies. Ironwood trees give dryades much higher toughness than almost any other tree. Rubbertrees make them bouncy. Wath hickories make them incredibly strong. Void berry trees give them control over void, . Zaqqum trees are only bondable by dryades who have committed a grievous sin (murder, rape, exploitation, enslaving, etc.) Their powers vary by the nature of their sin and the power of the zaqqum, but it is always infernal and often very potent. The only trees living dryades cannot bond with are man-eating trees, trees of nothings (which nullify their souls), and waldgeists (being home to another soul already). |
| Weaknesses | Fire hurts them. The bond between a dryad and their tree means they can suffer harm when the other is harmed, up to and including death. Brown aether can kill them. |
| Culture | Dryades have many nations, each one defined by their commonest tree-partners. Some common nations include daphnaie (laurel trees), epimelides (apple/fruit trees), hamadryad or balanos (oak), karya (walnut or hazelnut), morea (mulberry), aigeiros (black poplar), ptelea (elm), syke (fig), ampelos (vitis), and meliae (ash). Most dryad nations are centered on the dendral generations. The dryades live in villages near their dendral children, protecting them. They raise their anthropomorphic children communally. Their villages are led by a council of elders of both dendral and anthropomorphic generations. When a dryad is ready to bond with their first tree, they are encouraged to speak with every unbonded tree in the forest, spending a year choosing. Some choose quickly, however. Rejection means spending at least a decade in contemplation before trying again. Dryades are fierce defenders of their forests. They have deserved reputations for ruthlessly killing those who threaten them. It is said that all dryades were once hamadryades. The first dryad to leave and find a different kind of tree was being chased by human men who were seeking to sexually assault her. She found a laurel tree to protect her, and she bonded to it. Other dryad nations of note include the empimeliad shepherdesses who guarded the winged rams with golden fleece, and the meliae, who were nursed by Mother Shem herself with earthsblood. |
| Other Nations | World Tree dryades, known as gaiadae, are very powerful druidesses who command greenlight aether at a 42. They are few in number, but revered by all draydes. Oneiradae dryades are faeriewood-bonded. They are usually part of the Summer Empire and their culture part of faerie culture. Kraneia are dogwood-bound dryades who are often devoted to the Swanmother. Those who live within The Vestige are sacred sisters of Grayson. Those outside of it are more varied, but all very attuned to heavenly energies and usually faith. Siderae are ironwood-bonded dryades who are usually aloof warriors, and kaoutsoukadae are rubbertree-bonded dryades who are fascinated with discovery and experimentation. They are teachers and students who focus on learning through experiences. Dynamadae are Wath hickory-bonded dryades who are part of Wathite societies, and adeiazae are void berry tree-bonded dryades who are focused on using void to nullify other trees. They are feared by most dryades. Zaqqum-bonded dryades are called dolofonae. They are ruthless, often bitter, manipulative, and abusive. They live in small bands of convenience and protect their forests with cruelty. |
| Notables | Tilluel, ascended to the Rains; Dendaramaine, Ancient Dryad Mother |
| Sample statistics | PRO 9/7 ATH 10/0 STR 8/22 AWA 11/13 Nightvision 14/Root Sense 16 WIL 10/13 ROG 10/7 Soul Connection Beauty 14/Intimidation (WIL) Coax Plants 13/Tree Control 22 Tree-Speech 13 Tree-based powers (Var.) |
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