The Bestiary Chronicles

Dryad

 Dryad - The Mistress of the Wood

Class 1 Elemental

Elements: Water/Wood

     Dryads and Oreads are breeds of nymphs that watch over trees, groves, woodlands and mountain forests. They are the spirits of the oaks and pines, poplar and ash, apple and laurel. For those known as Hamadryades, a tree was born with her birth to which her life was tied to. While the tree flourished, so did its resident nymph, but when it dies she also would pass away. It is a very curious relationship to study and observe as they share a Symbiotic and Codependent tie to whatever tree they call home, they care for it, and protect it, they give it water and help it bloom and in exchange the more the tree grows the greater the power they possess. 

They can make plants grow at a phenomenal rate, turn into trees as a disguise, grow wooden armor all over their bodies if needed for battle and their blood is a potent near toxin that causes temporary paralysis when in your system.

Though Dryads are female and can reproduce "The Good Ol' Fashioned Way" by mating with a male from another humanoid species they mostly keep to themselves and reproduce asexually by means of their wooden wombs producing a seed which when planted produces both a tree and its Dryad. They mostly do this due to Satyr being particularly fond of Dryads and going around having intercourse with unwilling Dryads, Satyr hunt them down till the ends of the earth because of this particular obsession and so Dryads hide from them. And I must admit, though Batman's poison Ivy is a very beautiful woman indeed she is no more than an acorn of beauty compared to these women of the mighty Oak.

     For this reason Dryads are very defensive of their resident forests and trees. Defending them with no limit of how much trouble they can cause. They have great influence over animal and insect behavior in the area and will often attack with swarms of bees or wasps as their most common tactic of defense. They camouflage into the foliage around them and can even turn invisible for a short time when they are in possession of "The Blood of the Forest Mother."

    Don't get me wrong, it is not actually blood, it is a special concoction that Dryads create using many ancient magics and procedures that even I do not understand but it does involve tree sap and water from an underground spring. When the potion is invested by the Dryad, it will give them complete albeit temporary invisibility. From the moment the liquid touches their lips they have 1 hour of invisibility before they become visible once again. They carry many many many vials of this stuff at once so they don't ever get caught by surprise in a tough situation. 

You can identify the presence of a Dryad with three key signs:

1. Mysterious singing in the forest. They are sometimes known as the Sirens of the forest for their beautiful singing.

2. Strange and erratic animal behavior. Such as aggressive herbivores and dazed looking predators.

3. Pour some salt on the tree they inhabit and they shall run out of it, salt dries them out like a slug.

       Dryads are peaceful till you threaten their forest so to deal with one simply don't hurt their trees. Don't hold axes of blades of metal and stone. Don't harm or pollute their groves. Respect their laws. NEVER CLAIM TO BE A LUMBERJACK I CANNOT STRESS THAT ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!! Once you anger a Dryad they will alert others and they shall come running, very soon you shall be surrounded by them. They are afraid of fire and salt, if either touch them they shall run cowering in extreme agony. Their fingers are akin to sharp talons made of sharpened Oak stakes so I would advise not to let them lay their hands on you if you wish to keep your intestines inside of your gut and your face to not be mauled into an unrecognizable fleshy and broken structure...

So in conclusion, if you get into a fight with a Dryad it is entirely because you have been an asshole to them.