Monsters - Dryads

Dryads

A Dryad turning her victim, by Kyrinn S. Eis.

Dryads are creatures of myth, painted by the Greeks as passive beauties of the oak trees. It may be that once, that is how they were. The dryads, with their sisters Meliai of the ash, the Caryatids of apple, the Epimeliad of the walnut, and the hamadryads who sleep in the trees, all protect the earth.

These creatures stand in the earth in the day, and wail when they are cut down and killed by the cruel machines of the modern world. They hold back throughout all of the seasons, but midsummer is when they are freed from their static forms. They step forth, creatures of wood with the slow sap pouring through their veins.

Dryads whisper through their leaves to draw their victims close, almost like Sirens singing, and they do no more than touch the humans who murdered their fellows. Upon the touch, the human is paralyzed, and roots burst forth from their feet, holding them to the ground. Their skin turns to a rough, thick bark, which breaks apart as wood branches tear through their flesh. The Dryads will watch in satisfaction as their victims bones break, and as the blood pouring from them turns to slow, sticky sap. This transformation cannot be stopped, and in the end, the victim is no more than another tree in the forest.

Today's art is by Kyrinn S. Eis, creator of 

URUTSK: World of Mystery

. Thank you Kyrinn!

Note: If you decide to use any of the monsters in a campaign, please let me know! I'd like to see how they work out.

Would you like to contribute art for the Monsters collection? Contact me at briesheldon@gmail.com.

Thank you!

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