drahy-uhd
I am a Dryad : They are Dryads : It is Dryadic : This is about Dryadkind
Also known as Grassmen, Treelings
I am a Dryad : They are Dryads : It is Dryadic : This is about Dryadkind
Also known as Grassmen, Treelings
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Every world on The Sphere is blessed with a World Tree. Though the tree is known by different names on each world, the World Trees are all beings as ancient as the planet they inhabit, their roots reaching down to the very heart of the world. The World Trees help to regulate the flow of Mana through the planet, ensuring that life is given a chance to thrive there. If ever the World Tree were to die, so too would the planet.
Dyrads are children of the World Trees, seeds given a soul and grown into Mortal beings who serve the will of the World Tree. Dryads are a rare sight to behold and most common folk might easily mistake one for a monster or Godling. Their rarity diminishes somewhat the further one travels from civilization as Dryads prefer to work their will in the wild forests, sweeping plains, and lonely moors of the wilderness. PRESERVERS OF NATURE Almost without exception, Dryads are preservers of the natural world and each seeks to, in their own way, guide Mortals into a greater harmony with nature. Sometimes this overarching mission takes the form of slaying a dragon whose corrupting magic is harming the land. Sometimes it means finding an ancient treasure that can restore an ancient forest. Whatever the quest at hand, the greater goal at the forefront of the Dryad's agenda is to protect and preserve the planet.
The LIFE of a DRYAD
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"Do you feel it? Can you hear it? The hum of the world. She is singing out here. Come, let us join in the song!" |
ARBOREAL ROOTS
As plants given sentience and a Mortal soul by the World Tree, Dryads have a number of plant-like qualities which they may use to their advantage. All Dryads are able to commune with the World Tree (which rarely answers but often sends messages, ideas, and impressions to its children in their dreams), and are also able to speak with any plant as though they were talking to a fellow Mortal. While the conversation may seem one-sided to outside listeners, it's perfectly intelligible to anyone who understands the language of plants. Dryads who are truly in touch with their arboreal heritage are able to root themselves in the ground and draw both power and nourishment from it as they tap into Mana's flow to restore their strength.
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ARBOREAL ROOTSYou are able to speak with plants as though you were conversing with any other sentient creature. To observers, this is an odd, one-sided conversation as only you (and others who understand the speech of plants) are able to hear the plant's reply with any clarity.
AdvancedYou can use an Asset to unlock the Advanced version of Arboreal Roots, which works as above but also allows you to (once per Rest period) dig your roots into the soil to absorb nutrients and commune with the World Tree. Doing so restores 1 Resolve to you or one ally who is touching you for the entire time you are rooted.
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NAMES OF THE DRYAD
The World Trees do not name their children. Dryads who spend much time around Mortals often take names based on the customs of those who surround them or are given names by fearful locals, reverent of the strange plant "god" who walks the fields and forests near their homes. Thus, Dryads will either have a name that is common to the culture they live in or will bear a name that sounds more like a title, in the fashion of most Medicon.
THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT
Each Dryad is unique in their personality, outlook, and goals but those grown from the seeds of the same World Tree are nearly identical in appearance. Even the Dryad themselves have trouble telling one another apart and rarely spend any time together once they have left their childhood beneath the boughs of the World Tree and set out into the world. Dryads are solitary beings with no nation or culture of their own. They most often work the will of their parent Tree alone in the wilderness, serving as gardeners of the world and protectors of nature. A rare few live among Mortals in centers of culture and progress, acting as the voice of nature and an advocate for the wild world to leash the insatiable pace of civilization's expansion. Dryad are distinguishable not by any shared culture or value, but by the traits that all the children of a particular World Tree share.
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Hailing from Androsil, the World Tree of Tendale, Androsine Dryads are cunning and fierce, just like the wild world from which they come. The Kindre of Tendale live in harmony with the natural world, rarely raising settlements of any significant size or taxing the resources of their environment to the brink. Thus Androsine expect all Mortals to behave with such restraint and are often frustrated to discover that most do not. Their approach to overcoming obstacles consists of assessing the problem using all the available data before dealing with it in the most direct and efficient way possible. This is the Androsine approach to everything from combat to relational disputes; observe like a predator watching from the brush before leaping into action with tactical precision.
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AppearanceLike all Dryad, the Androsine have a mix of plant-like features to compliment their Mortal frames. Broad leaves adorn their heads, falling like hair against their blue-green skin. They stand tall and thin, about six feet high with piercing blue or black eyes. |
HomelandAndrosine Dryad are born from Androsil, the World Tree of Tendale. They spend their childhood beneath the boughs of Androsil, leaving home some time in their youth to live among Mortals, usually somewhere on the world of Tendale. |
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The children of Avosil, the world tree of Thera, embody many of their world's best values; they are bold, adventurous, and willing to follow a dream to the ends of the world if necessary. Avosine Dryads are fearless warriors for the causes they believe in, both literally and figuratively. Unfortunately, they can often be social bulldozers, rolling over everything and everyone around them, even friends and allies who weren't necessarily in the way. For an Avosine, putting oneself out there, dealing with discomfort, and putting life at risk is just a necessary part of the calling to protect the world. More so than any other type of Dryad, one is likely to find Avosine living in the bustling center of Mortal cities, caring for what little wilderness remains in such a place in an attempt to bring the city and its denizens back into harmony with nature.
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AppearanceAvosine Dryads are tall and lean, with skin that is more wooden in appearance. Like most Dryads, they sport a crop of colorful leaves in place of hair and adorn their bodies in leaves, flowers, and vines. Their features are sharp and their eyes sparkle in shades of green or blue. |
HomelandAvosine Dryad are born from Avosil, the World Tree of Thera. They spend their childhood beneath the boughs of Avosil, leaving home some time in their youth to live among Mortals, usually somewhere on the world of Thera. |
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On the watery world of Astora, the World Tree grows not above ground, but on the floor of the ocean, in a vast and magical grotto attended and defended by the Djolasine Dryads. Djolasine travel the seas and isles of Astora with the grace of a dolphin and the ferocity of a shark, on an unending quest to keep the seas clean and in balance with the rest of the world. They are known for their deep, spiritual nature and untethered minds that are able to see an issue from many perspectives. Such a mindset makes them empathetic to a fault, able to see the motives of even the most hateful opponents. The Djolasine have many allies on Astora both above and below the waves and are renowned as counselors and peace-keepers throughout their home world.
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AppearanceDjolasines have deep green skin and several prominent markings over their faces and bodies. Deep purple leaves of kelp grow upon their heads, draping down like a short mop of hair. Soft, delicate features surround keen, purple eyes which pierce through any who meet their gaze. |
HomelandDjolasine Dryad are born from Djolaosil, the World Tree of Astora. They spend their childhood beneath the watery boughs of Djolasil, leaving home some time in their youth to live among Mortals, usually somewhere on the world of Astora. |
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Atop the tallest mountain on the world of Varion grows the World Tree Dynelasil. From her seeds sprout the Dynelasine Dryads, creatures of wisdom, grace, and beauty who work against the forces of evil and corruption that seek to claim their world. Dynelasines are eternal optimists, with an uncanny ability to see the beauty in everything and everyone. They are also famously moody and regal, insistent upon being treated with proper deference for the supreme importance of their role on Varion. Most do not have many interactions with Mortals, dealing instead with the host of good and evil godlings that war for control of the planet's wilderness. They are well-known as diplomats and respected for their ability to bring new perspective into a tense situation.
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AppearanceDynelasines have blue skin with leaves in varying shades of violet and indigo and petals of white adorning their bodies. They are tall, thin, and beautiful, with delicate features and eyes of blazing purple that seem to see farther and deeper than most. |
HomelandDynelasine Dryad are born from Dynelasil, the World Tree of Varion. They spend their childhood beneath the boughs of Dynelasil, leaving home some time in their youth to live among Mortals, usually somewhere on the world of Varion. |
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Setharkis drifts through the Cosmic Machine, a lone ghost moon appearing on every world to gather the souls of the dead and spin them once again into the wheel of fate, ever turning the cycle of life, death, and reincarnation. There is no "life" to speak of on this moon, yet like every world, Setharkis too has a World Tree. In lieu of maintaining the balance of nature on her world, the World Tree Hallosil plays an important and mysterious role in the cycle of reincarnation and the Hallosine Dryad serve at her pleasure. Some act as guardians, defending Hallosil against the machinations of the Underkings who seek to control her. Others walk among the souls of the departed as sage guides and peacekeepers. Still others journey to the world of the living to hunt for escaped specters, destroy the undead, and bring lost souls to rest.
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AppearanceHallosine Dryad are covered in dark, near-black bark with subtle highlights of amber throughout. Where other Dryad have full heads of leafy hair, the Hallosine's is dry, gnarled branches. Their forms are tall and gaunt with eyes glowing in an amber hue. |
HomelandHallosine Dryad are born from Hallosil, the World Tree of the dead on Setharkis. They spend their childhood beneath the boughs of Hallosil, leaving home some time in their youth to live among the Mortals of every world as heralds of death and preservers of the cycle of life. |
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Hailing from the land of dreams, Kinmorasine Dryad are a strange and eccentric lot who tend to speak in riddles and nonsense that, once decoded, turns out to be quite profound. They have a keen sense of humor and are quite fond of practical (and impractical) jokes. Kinmorasil, the World Tree of Nod, has been touched by the Nightmare, a corrupting force that is slowly turning all of Nod to darkness and horror. Fewer and fewer Kinmorasine are sewn with each passing year and those who live now all bear a touch of madness from this taint. While nothing can be done to reverse the effects of the Nightmare, its progress can be slowed and the Kinmorasine work tirelessly to preserve their world, save their mother tree, and fight the work of the Nightmare within their own souls.
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AppearanceThe Kinmorasine are very tall, standing at over seven feet on average with long, lanky limbs and limber bodies. Their skin is of of a lighter wood that seems dark in shadows with fern-like hair of green, adorned with flowers and glowing eyes of deep purple. |
HomelandKinmorasine Dryad are born from Kinmorasil, the World Tree of Nod. They spend their childhood beneath the boughs of Kinmorasil, leaving home some time in their youth to live among Mortals, usually somewhere on the world of Nod. |
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When one imagines the landscape of Helios, the picture of a blasted, blighted land pocked with geological disaster, endless deserts, and fanged mountains gnawing at heaven come to mind. Yet there is a more happening under the surface than immediately meets the eye. Vast, wild seas, jungles, deserts, and forests of underground mushrooms all teem with life, held in balance by the World Tree K'thilosine. She sits untouchable in the midst of a great desert no Mortal can easily pass through, attended by her brood of warrior-children, the K'thilosine Dryads. Like all Mortals born of Helios, they are made for war. Where other Dryads are usually calm, measured, and serene, the K'thiosine are brash and aggressive, eager to water the soil with the blood of those who would despoil the land for their own gain.
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AppearanceThere are no leaves to be found upon a K'thilosine's body; just hard, jagged bark that peaks in a crown of spikes and covers their body in points and hard edges. They are tall and powerfully built with highlights of red and eyes that glow a fierce yellow. |
HomelandK'thilosine Dryad are born from K'thilosil, the World Tree of Helios. They spend their childhood beneath the boughs of K'thilosil, leaving home some time in their youth to live among Mortals, usually somewhere on the world of Helios. |
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At the top of Evenar's highest, most holy mountain grows the World Tree Luvesil, guardian of all nature. She is most powerful among the World Trees and it is said that she maintains some mysterious psychic connection with every other World Tree across the Cosmic Machine. Her children, the Luvesine Dryad, are protectors of the holy mountain and often spend their whole lives upon it, protecting the foothills from any other Mortal who would set foot upon it. Luvesine Dryad are evasive, quiet, and sage-like. Few venture from the holy mountain and those who do are either exiles or on a mission of dire importance for the sake of the mother tree and the world of Evenar. Such Dryads tend to think quite highly of themselves and are prone to behaving as if they are above the laws and concerns that beleaguer lesser beings.
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AppearanceThe Luvesine Dryads are oddly blue in appearance with bark-like skin and pointed spikes upon their heads. They are adorned by flowing leaves and light blue highlights that flow like water upon their athletic frames. Eyes of glowing green peer out, seeing deeper than they should. |
HomelandLuvesine Dryad are born from Luvesil, the World Tree of Evenar. They spend their childhood beneath the boughs of Luvesil, leaving home some time in their youth to live among Mortals, usually somewhere on the world of Evenar. |
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The world of Diodes is dying. For centuries, its inhabitants have polluted the skies and seas, stripped the land of resources, and pushed the planet to its limit. Despite its most valiant efforts to maintain balance, the World Tree Wraelesil was been unable to stem the tide of wanton greed and destruction. Her children, the Wraelesine Dryads failed. The World Tree was captured and the Wraelesine Dryads enslaved by the vast and powerful Oluxar Hive City, Othene. All Wraelesine Dryads are born into slavery to Othene and its nobility; any found elsewhere on the Sphere were either sold or somehow managed to escape their binds. As Diodes dies and her World Tree fades, so too does the strength and resolve of the Wraelesine to ever escape their plight and restore the world to its former state.
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AppearanceOnce a green and vibrant people, the Wraelesine have gradually faded over time. Their skin is a purple color with glowing orange accents. The leaves that adorn their athletic bodies are fading to the orange, red, and yellow hues of autumn as their mother tree slowly dies. |
HomelandWraelesine Dryad are born from Wraelesil, the fading World Tree of Diodes. They spend their childhood beneath the boughs of Wraelesil, enslaved to the powerful nobles of Othene, the vast Hive City of the Oluxar - few ever escape these bonds. |
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The forested world of Arcadia blooms with life, beauty, and magic thanks in no small part to the tireless efforts of the World Tree Ygdrasil and her children, the Ygdrasine Dryads. These Treelings work endlessly to grow and protect the forests, fighting against the spread of the Plaguelands and those infected by their malicious will. Despite the challenges and hardships inherent in their role, Ygdrasine Dryads are optimistic and upbeat, always sure that things will work out for the best in the end. Their positivity borders on naivety at times, irritating more dour, realistic Elves who often inhabit the trees alongside them. Ygdrasine Dryad, more than any other, tend to travel abroad to other worlds in hopes of offering aid and assistance to the agents of nature in their plight to maintain the balance.
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AppearanceYgdrasine Dryads have a youthful, exuberant appearance with green, grasslike skin and leaves of pink and purple adorning their short, petite, bodies. Their eyes are gray-blue and always full of hope, no matter how dire the situation they happen to gaze. |
HomelandYgdrasine Dryad are born from Ygdrasil, the World Tree of Arcadia. They spend their childhood beneath the boughs of Ygdrasil, leaving home some time in their youth to live among Mortals, usually somewhere on the world of Arcadia. |
