Dryads

Many panic when they encounter a sick Dryad for the first time, but here are some tips to keep in mind!

• Remember to purify your water! Dryads are not concerned with the temperature, they'll drink it even if near boiling!
  
• If you do not have any good soil available, meat will serve as an excellent substitute! Dryads in particular like bugs and other small critters.
  
• If the cause of the sickness is a mushroom of some kind, make sure to wash off spores as best you can!

– Cassandra Firenmen's Lexicon of Maladies

Basic Information

Anatomy

Dryads are humanoid in apperance with most possessing two arms and legs. However, dryads are know to occasionally posess three arms, most often located on the chest, back or sharing a shoulder with another arm.
They posess pointed ears, almost universally have eye-colours in a shade of amber and posess skin akin to bark or wood. Depending on the grooming habits, this skin may look akin to polished furniture or if left alone long enough, will resemble old bark and sometimes be covered in fungi or insects.
Unlike other species, Dryads have no biological differences corresponding to what other humanoid species would denote as "genders", but there do exist elders, or "matriarchs", defined by their wooden "horns" and large retractable prickles.

Genetics and Reproduction

Dryads do not reproduce in the same manner as most other sentient species, but instead tend to collect pollen (or other genetic material) throughout their lives before choosing a particular spot, or "grove" to plant a large number of young, who she then protects from intruders with their life. This is what triggers the growth of "horns" and prickles and serves both as a means to defend their young and a demarcation of elder status.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Unlike most other species, Dryads can and often will exclusively live off of sunlight and sufficiently clean water, which they can absorb through their body naturally. They are not averse to eating meat however and in the more arid regions of Kontinent, insects and other such creatures are a welcome addition to the diet.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Unlike other sentient species, Dryads only adopted complex naming traditions after establishing regular contact with other species and therefore tend to have longer and more complicated names. Names like "Rustling Leaves", "Many Branches" and "Thick Bark" are very common and surnames are always taken from the matriarch and is near always simply the tree or other piece of fauna the Dryad shares traits with (Oak, Pine etc.).

Major Organizations

Dryads have no nations to call their own, but have traditionally not been seen as citizens of any nation they happen to reside in. Most matters of justice and authority are decided by the local Matriach and for the few times a large number of Dryads need to speak their mind regarding an issue a meeting between Matriarchs of a particular area (the north, the steppes or other such denominations are commonly used). Once every several hundred years or in the face of dire issues, most prominent Dryads convene in a great council to act as a voice for Dryadkind as a whole, though this is exceedingly rare.

Beauty Ideals

Dryads see life as the pinnacle of beauty and as such most decoration personal or not, will consist of flowers, leaves or other such growth. Dryads living on the coast may use algae and clams to adorn themselves, while Dryads living in the mountains have a tradition of preserving a lone, rare mountain flower somewhere on their body.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Dryads most often speak the languages spoken in their birth region, but all Dryads also have their own language. Like the language of the Squidspawn, it cannot be spoken by other sentient species, as it involves secreting special pheromones to communicate. However, this quality in turn allows Dryads to communicate with most complex flora and to some extent also animals.

Common Dress Code

Dryads do not have a need to "dress" in the same manner as most other creatures, but in regions with harsher climates Dryads often cover their more vulnerable parts with moss, thick bark, leaves or other foliage. In addition, they often decorate themselves with flowers, vines or other plants according to personal preference.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Dryads are well-regarded by other sentient species and are generally left to their own devices when it comes to most matters of politics. They share a strong sense of Kinship with the fellow wandering species the Kouleva and will often make common cause in matters great and small. When it comes to love, Dryads enthusiastically welcome partners of any species and often form a large network of non-Dryad friends, lovers and relatives over their lives.