Dryads
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Dryads are half plant, half women creatures found in many places across Felarya. Their size varies a lot, but they can usually easily grow more than 130 feet tall and, in the very deep regions of Felarya, some are rumored to reach humongous heights. It's hard to characterize dryads, as their appearances varies quite a lot between specimens. They generally have a trunk in place of their legs, so they spend most of their time rooted in one spot. Unlike most other rooted "plants", dryads can actually uproot and move themselves, although it's a slow process and happens rarely. Some dryads have legs, though, and thus can roam freely. Dryads share a sort of spiritual link between them, which means that they can communicate at a distance, share sensations (sight, smell, hearing and taste), and be informed on the many things that happen in the forest. A dryad can also shut down this link if she wishes for some true alone time. Once in her long life a dryad can share a version of this link with another being, regardless of that person's race. This special link connects that person to that dryad alone, and not to the greater dryad network.
In spite of their immobility, dryads pose a serious threat to adventurers. They are mostly carnivorous, and their arms are incredibly strong, enough so that they can crack a vehicle in half as easily as we can crack a nut. Despite their apparent bulkiness, many dryads are limber, agile, and flexible, which makes their capture range a lot larger than it looks like at first glance, and many use vines and roots to catch prey or defend themselves. They are also experts at mimicry and camouflage, sometimes using magical illusions to improve it. Even if you *know* that is a dryad there, if she wishes to remain hidden you will have a hard time distinguishing her from the background. They capture their prey by staying perfectly still and quickly snatching it unawares when it is close enough. If nagas are known for their strong stomachs, then dryads are known for their irresistible throats: they can swallow absolutely anything that is the right size. It's a one way road though, as dryads are unable to throw up anything they have swallowed. Dryads can impart special properties to their saliva, such as making it numb whatever it touches, heal injuries, or induce sleepiness. Dryads are not as voracious as some other predators though, and can also rely also on photosynthesis to feed. They are usually sweet, pleasant, and wise beings and they get along very well with the other races (those who are not prey that is). This is especially true with fairies, nagas and deerataurs. Many dryads share a common weakness: fire. Once they start burning they are hard to put out, and so they are very afraid of it. Most dryads will completely hide from a fire based or fire using threat, but some (such as Drayla) have found some good defenses against it.
Dryads possess a rather unique mean of reproduction, combining seeds with other plant's pollen captured from the air around them, before releasing them when the conditions are right. They release a great many seeds, but only a few land somewhere that matches the criteria for the seed to sprout and begin the process of developing a young Dryad. Other seeds simply sprout regular plants. This explains why dryads appear to be so varied and with an appearance based on plants that grows in their region. At the first stage of their life, young Dryads appear to be just like normal plants, until they reach a certain size. At this point their outer casing will fall off, revealing their human half. Their now conscious minds connect to the Dryad network, where the other Dryads will take care of them, teaching and comforting them, and sometimes send friends to help them if they need it. Young Dryads have an abundance of photosynthetic cells, allowing then to survive solely off light and water until they grow larger. As a Dryad grows, the amount of photosynthetic cells does not increase proportionately, which necessitates the introduction of prey into their diet to compensate. Young Dryads possess an unconscious camouflage and illusion reflex that immediately allows them to hide from would-be threats and predators. There is usually not more than a few dozens seconds between the time where the dryad reveal herself to the world for the first time, and the time she becomes hidden again.
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Known Dryads
Bramble Dryads
This species of dryad has dark brown skin (or red if they live in the jungle of perils) and hair of the same color. Their tree part is covered by thorns, as is their human part, though to a much lesser extent. Each thorn is coated by a powerful liquid sleeping agent that can knock out a kensha beast in mere minutes. Although their thorns make them very dangerous to give surprise hugs to, a bramble dryad can retract their thorns instantly, and they usually do so when their friends are around. To do so indicates that the dryad both trusts and respects you. They are extremely dangerous for adventurers, being able to use their roots as weapons, ripping them from the ground with great speed in even at a distance from the dryad. These roots have more than enough strength to crack a vehicle in two, and enough precision to flick a cigarette out of your mouth without touching your face. This precision comes in handy when catching running prey. Bramble dryads share the same mental network as other dryads but tend to not use it very much, being more solitary and secretive than other species.
Shadow Dryads
These dryads lives in very dark places such as Evernight forest. Their skin is dark blue or black and their eyes are a beautiful glowing purple. They have small patches of soft lights on their body which create beautiful patterns, which they can control. The popular belief that shadow dryads have dark, evil personalities because they live in perpetual darkness is entirely false. Like most inhabitants of that zone, shadow dryads possess perfect night vision and so what they see is not a perpetual night but rather a normal forest, full of life and activity. Thus, shadow dryads have no more sinister personalities than the rest of their kin. This is little known among regular dryads because the regular network that most dryads use does not reach their shadow counterparts, who developed their own network. Shadow dryads are roughly as dangerous as other dryads, except that their mouths and throats are stretchier, allowing them to swallow much larger prey than normal.
Faebanes
A rather small and shy variety of dryad growing throughout Bulvon wood, or along the edge of the Fairy kingdom, and sometimes in Deeper Felarya. They stand anywhere from eighty to a hundred and sixty feet in height, with dark green mottled skin that enables them to blend into the dappled shadows of the lush undergrowth of their preferred habitat. The most distinctive feature of faebanes is a wide pink bloom that covers the top of the dryad's head with its large fleshy petals. Multiple smaller flowers of the same color grow on their shoulders as well. This produces a powerful odor that provides the dryad with her favorite meal: fairies. So powerful is this pheromone-laden scent that these dryads are always smelt before they are seen. Especially as they take great care to conceal their presence from both prey and predators.
The intoxicating scent makes fairies feel extremely carefree and euphoric. They are overcome with a desire to locate the source of the odor and to adopt a human size in the process. Only those with extremely strong wills are able to escape the siren song of the chemical lure, and only for a limited amount of time. Once within range of the dryad, the dozy fey are gently enticed towards the flowering bloom on top of her head and then gently snatched and gulped down. Faebanes can also inhale their prey out of the air at short range. The strong grip of the dryad's powerful oesophagus is guaranteed to damage the precious wings of the unfortunate fairy, rendering them helpless once in the stomach of the predator. Faebanes are secretive and prefer to avoid contact with people outside of eating them. They also tend to uproot and move themselves a lot more often and faster than other dryads in order to avoid being located and destroyed by vengeful fairies. On rare occasions, the chemicals of the dryad's flowers are harvested and sold by a few select dealers for purposes that are best left ignored.
A beautiful and serene dryad. Picture by Nekochank and used with her permission. To see the larger version, visit her Deviantart gallery.
Swamp Dryads
These dryads are usually much taller than their land based counterparts, with a light brown or orange skin. They can blow a cloud of incapacitating spores which fogs the vision of their foes and makes them cough uncontrollably. Some swamp dryads have sharp leaves on their heads which can be thrown like razor blades. In the great marshes they are particularly hard to spot because the human part is very high above the ground and is often lost in the fog that covers the swamps. Only the occasional loud noises from their stomach will give them away. While an unlucky adventurer might not be able to see the dryad through the fog, they posses piercing eyesight that allows them to see through smoke or fog without any problems. Unlike most other dryads, swamps dryads seem to be able to develop multiple links with others beings. They tend to build themselves a huge personal network with neighboring creatures, like harpies and saurotaurans,becoming the center of a little eco-system.
Known Swamp Dryads
Draytha
Mycodryads
Mycodryads are very rare and only found in some particular places that have plenty of fungus and lichen around. Mycoria forest happens to be one such place. Mycodryads are symbiotic lifeforms, dryads living in harmony with the ambient fungus. Because of this, they have an incredible ability to regenerate. Their plant part is not made of bark like other dryads, but is instead made of mushroom, and thus is a lot softer and easier to pierce or tear. However, should you hurt a mycodryad, her wounds will close almost instantly, and even if you cut off one of her limbs it would regenerate in mere seconds. This rapid regeneration combined with their inability to feel pain has led to the rumor that mycodryads are invincible. This is incorrect, but only if you use some very powerful magic. Mycodryads are very friendly with fungoïds. Because these creatures can't speak and have a scary appearance, everyone considers them as little more than monsters. This couldn't be further from the truth, as fungoïds are actually an intelligent race, wise and philosophical.
Cactus Dryads
Like one could figure, cactus dryads are found in desert zones and wastelands, mostly in the Akaptor desert. They are rare and rather small compared to most dryads, usually only reaching heights of 80 to 90 feet, due to the lack of water. Their plant half is that of a giant cactus, and ranges from light green to dark green or brown in color. They can store vast amounts of nutrients and water for very long periods of time in their lower halves. Their human part is usually a dark tan color and is covered in a thick carpet of cactus needles, thicker than a bramble dryad's thorns. Like bramble dryads, cactus dryads can retract these spines in the presence of friends, but can also launch them towards an enemy or attacker at a great speed. For some reason, the time magic of the Akaptor desert is weaker around a cactus dryad, and some mages have theorized that the dryads are able to drain it to a certain extent. Cactus dryads are extremely voracious because of the lack of food and water in the desert, and will rarely let prey escape. They hunt by creating very realistic mirages and unless you are familiar with the zone and know that there is no oasis there, it is highly probable that you will be fooled by the illusion. There are exceptions though, and Akaptor nomads are said to have managed to befriend some of these dryads.
Alguanes
Alguanes are essentially aquatic dryads, part alguaes and part humans. They have usually long, slender bodies, slighty waving in the current, thin limbs, and slighty elongated faces, giving them an exotic look. Their skins appear to be rough and heavily textured as well, making it easy for them to blend into their surroundings without using any magic. The magic they are adept at is more centered on manipulating and changing the current of the water in a zone around them, which they use to capture preys. They can also create brief but powerful whirpools on the surface by inhaling water, posing a threat to small ships sailling above them.
Snow Dryads
Snow dryads live mainly on snowy mountains and plateaus. Their trunks and skin are white, they have evergreen foliage, and are generally smaller than most dryads, growing to between 70 and 100 feet tall. However, they make up for their short height with their powerful lungs. They use them mostly to suck in prey from a distance, but can also blow an enemy right off an edge, or even freeze them. They are obviously very resistant to any cold-based magic and some of them master a powerful blizzard spell that works very well when combined with their powerful air blasts. Snow dryads mostly feed on animals, but will eat humans at the first chance they get, seeing them as a all too rare and sweet delicacy. Very few people ever manage to talk to a snow dryad, as it's usually impossible to even approach one without being vacuumed up and swallowed.
Domesticated Dryads
Domesticated Dryads are a bit of a rarity on Felarya, in no small part due to the difficulty in acquiring one. Through magic, selective breeding, or nutrient deprivation, they are rarely capable of growing taller than an average human, though some mutant breeds are able to top the thirty foot mark, and they are all of the "lacking legs" variety. Being usually small in stature these Dryads are rather limited in their dieting options as well and are obviously much less voracious than their giantess counterparts. They rely entirely on an owner to both provide them food and protect them. More often than not, the smaller of these individuals will be denied a link to the dryad network by being placed in potted soil until their loyalty and subservience to their owner is established. Domesticated dryads are often "content" with their life at this point, not recognizing that they are not free and might have had any other type of lifestyle. This is why the owner must be careful before planting a domesticated dryad, especially if she bears any magical talent. Once in contact with the soil of Felarya, she will comes in contact with the rest of her kin, and her loyalties may shift. Hence why owners will often "spoil" a dryad before the planting stage, to reduce the chances of her revolting at a later time. The relationship between a domesticated dryad and her owner is never a sure thing. Dryads are extremely patient beings and some loathe their "masters", secretly plotting against them while displaying an obedient and docile attitude. Some however, are totally loyal, seeing their owner as a sort of father or mother figure. This depends largely on how the dryad is treated and the environment she grows in. There is at least one instance of an arrogant noble being eaten by his pet dryad, and several other mysterious disappearances within expansive gardens can be linked to such a fate.
The diet of a domesticated Dryad is limited only by both what the owner can possibly feed her and what they choose to feed her. Some of the smallest sizes are sustained solely via photosynthesis and soil nutrients, while others are fed gourmet meals fit for royalty. Living food such as neeras is sometimes given to a domestic dryad, albeit rarely in large quantities lest she develops a taste for things still moving. Still, with their expensive cost and amount of time necessary to develop, some nobles may "look the other way" if a gardener or three go missing every now and then. After all, commoners are cheap, domestic dryads are not; one could buy a row of houses in Negav for a comparable cost ! Rarely will one be owned by anyone other than a breeder or a noble. A domestic dryad's functionality is not limited to simply garden decor or display. If loyal enough, she can provide her owner with extraordinary pieces of information that only a dryad can acquire without the risk of approaching a wild counterpart. They are sometimes used as spies or for intelligence-gathering. Furthermore, few people will be willing to risk sneaking through a garden known to host such a being. While the owner may insist the creature to be safe, people will always remain cautious on Felarya of something that can eat them or has connections with another being who could.
Credits goes to Mangamastermind for the idea of snow dryads, to Zoekin for the Faebane, to Rcs619 for the reproduction explanation, to Malahite and Silent-Eric for domesticated dryads, to Pendragon for the Algua dryads, and to melancholy-melody13 and Icalasari for Cactus dryads.
