from March’s Creatures Beyond the Walle

A type of nymph, dryads nurture, protect, and inhabit wooded forests and groves throughout Damensea. Dryads most commonly bond with oaks but sometimes ash, pines, poplars, laurels, or other trees. Not much is known about dryad society, although travelers sometimes hear dryads’ wild and merry songs on the wind through the trees.

Extremely shy like other nymphs, dryads are usually seen only by forest dwellers unless the dryads’ forest is threatened. Dryads are fierce yet mischievous protectors of their trees. Men must take great care to not anger dryads when traveling through their forests. Travelers who have started large fires often spend the remainder of their days lost amid the branches of the dryad forest. Travelers who have killed any trees are swarmed and murdered by the nearest dryads.

In appearance, dryads resemble humans, albeit very attractive ones, except their hair is never blonde and their eyes are never blue or gray. Dryads age similarly to humans until they bond with their chosen tree; once they do, dryads age as their tree does and share their tree’s long life span. Although many believe dryads are exclusively female, male dryads exist, but female dryads outnumber them three to one.