Dryad Villages

A Grove Within A Grove

Saleh'Alire » Cultural ⭲ Buildings ⭲ Dryad

I tried to stop for water at a village I came across. With their houses scattered about both the trees and ground, I believed it to be a typical Thaila village as they're common here in the Ajda Wet Forest... But I quickly found myself on the other end of a Farryn spear when I pressed for shelter; they're not much for company, those ones.

— Cliodhna Neachtain, Explorer

Few in the history of Saleh'Alire have ever been welcomed into a Farryn village. Those who have been lucky enough to receive the honor, though, frequently report that their movements are restricted while within the village bounds. This heavy restriction concerning where outsiders are allowed to visit, however, is far from being due to their generally isolationist nature... Indeed, the Farryn have good reason for keeping outsiders away from their villages- and this reason lies within their unique abilities, and the structure of their dwelling places themselves.

A Triplicated Structure

Dryad Village

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Nearly all Farryn villages are structured much like the trees to which they are bound. As a result, villages are organized with three sections, or rings, which radiate outward from a central point in the village.
Each of these rings serves a specific function for the village's community. Each also has a different set of both cultural and legal rules that govern them- the strictness (and severity of punishment for violation) of which depends on deeply into the village one ventures, with The Heart having boththe strictest rules and the strictest punishments.

The Bough

The outermost ring of a Farryn village is often called the bough. This is where everyone in the village lives, works, crafts, and otherwise goes about the activities of daily life; houses and businesses are built here, and it typically expands out and away from the interior rings as the village grows in size.
Few rules apply to the bough of a village outside of the usual legal mandates against murder, thieving, and general social ills. That being said, any outside visitor to the village- whether Farryn or other- is strictly prohibited from leaving this area and venturing further in.

The Grove

The middle ring, or the grove, contains the trees to which the Farryn are bound. Each tree is planted in the grove as saplings during a Farryn's treebinding ceremony. As a result, the grove is a sacred place among the Farryn- one that connects them to community and the ancestors.
Groves also double as a collective resource area for the entire village. Taking from the Grove comes with strict rules, however; Farryn may get in trouble for taking too much, selling what they take (though this doesn't apply to any items made from what 's taken- only raw resources), or for wasting anything that's taken.

The Heart

And the center of each village is a ring called the heart, where villagers go to worship. It's also where the gifting and treebinding ceremonies happens, and where the Dryad Kings / Queens are crowned during their coronations; the heart is integral to Farryn faith and usually contains a great tree, natural spring, portal, or another type of feature considered sacred.
Entering this central ring outside of periods of worship, a coronation, a gifting or a coming of age ceremony is strictly prohibited for all Farryn- save for Tenders, Kings and Queens, or High Mothers; outsiders especially are banned from entry.

The Dryad House

Layout
Open; no discernible room division
Size
Thin and large; multistory
Main Shape
Circular / Cylindrical
Material
Wood and other natural materials- usually with a thatched roof

Main Colors
Natural and earthy tones accented by bright colors typically found in flowers
Decorations
Sheer and flowing fabrics in bright tones, flower garlands & arrangements, nature murals, clay pots, baskets, and wooden or fabric furniture

[...] Regretfully I wasn't allowed in when the flood of them began shuffling towards the heart; I'm not "one of them", as they tend to say... Still, I could hear the chanting from the bough. Their song was beautifully ethereal and haunting, but not dissimilar to a funeral dirge and made me think the ritual was like that of a funeral for them.

— Gao-Su Vahana, Explorer