They met on the banks of Moss Branch Creek at dusk, during the Summer months of the twelfth year of the Golden Crown, nearly twelve-hundred years after the disappearance of the Ancient Ones. The creek, which ran between Driftwood and The Emerald Grove, lazily flowed as the light of the full moon reflected upon its surface. Her name was Silas, a flawlessly beautiful Dryad from The Emerald Grove.[1] She had chestnut brown hair, which in the right light had a green hue and dark blue eyes. His name was Johnathan, a well-built human from the town of Driftwood, the closest settled area to The Emerald Grove. He had dark black hair and light brown eyes. They had met one day, almost a year ago, while Johnathan was fishing along the banks of the Moss Branch Creek. Silas had watched him from the tree line for several hours, mostly out of curiosity since she had never seen anyone other than her fellow Dryads before. Johnathan stood there casting his line into the water, continuing to catch nothing and feeling himself become more and more hungry until suddenly he felt a large tug on the line. The sudden and vicious tug shocked Johnathan, who had not expected such a large and powerful fish to live in the calm and gentle creek. He tried his best to fight against the creature, and for a moment caught a glimpse of the giant fish he had unintentionally hooked.
“By the gods!” Johnathan exclaimed aloud after seeing what had to be a four-foot long and nearly two-hundred-pound Cleft Fish.[2] Johnathan stood no chance against the might of the fish, but hunger consumed him and made it so that he would not relinquish the rod and the first chance he had at a true meal in days.
Silas, still watching from the tree line, was very much entertained watching Johnathan’s struggle against the creature, as Dryads are known to be lovers and protectors of nature, and almost entirely despise the abuse it suffers at the hands of mortals. However, after a few brief moments, Silas saw Johnathan’s strength give out, and she watched as he was dragged into the water by the Cleft Fish. She stood by waiting for him to emerge from the water, but after about a minute, her concern began to grow. Despite her father Solomon’s warnings against coming into contact with humans, or any of the other mortal races for that matter, Silas swiftly rushed out from the tree line and nimbly dived into the creek in hopes of rescuing Johnathan. Since, despite their destructive habits, the mortal races were also a part of nature, and Silas felt a Dryadic duty to save the drowning man.
After a few tense moments, Johnathan’s body exploded out of the water like a breaching whale and landed on the ground next to the creek. Silas then drug herself onto the bank alongside him. Silas quickly caught her breath and then went to work resuscitating Johnathan. Pressing down on his chest did not work, so Silas had to resort to sucking the water out of his lungs. In the midst of Silas performing this act, Johnathan awoke, coughing up water, causing Silas to stumble back. He looked around, his eyes hazy, until he finally saw Silas’ face. He cautiously moved away from her, recognizing that she was not human.
“What...what are you? What did you do to me?” He asked.
Silas curiously looked the soaking wet human over while she remained knelt in the position she was in when he awoke. Johnathan patted himself down and looked himself over the best he could to ensure that he was not injured, or robbed.
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“Did you pull me out of the creek?” He asked with a shocked expression on his face.
Silas took a moment to answer as if she was trying to translate his question into her own dialect. She then gently nodded affirmatively. Johnathan smiled and let most of his guard down.
“Thank you. Though, I’d be even more grateful if you had any food on you. I was really hoping to catch some supper.”
Silas scratched her head with one of her dainty fingers and then ran off back into The Emerald Grove. Johnathan watched her run off confused as to what was happening, but before he could think of the possibilities, Silas had returned carrying a small satchel. She walked over to Johnathan and kneeled down in front of him. She reached into the satchel and pulled out what appeared to be a piece of hard tack. Johnathan took it, trying to seem thankful, be he was disappointed that the only thing she had to offer him was a dried-out, brick-like, piece of bread, that one was more likely to break a tooth on than find nourishment in. He stared down at the hard tack in his hands and then looked back up at Silas. She made a motion, raising one of her hands towards her mouth, and bit at the air, giving Johnathan instructions on how to eat. What the hell? Johnathan thought. At least it’s something.
However, as Johnathan bit into the hardtack he was taken aback both by its texture and taste. He discovered that, although the bread felt hard on the outside, he could bite through it with minimal effort, and the texture was almost cake like. The taste, as well, was equally magnificent, being a mixture of honey, vanilla, and cinnamon. After swallowing the first bite, Johnathan noticed a sense of calmness and warmth come over him. He looked up at Silas and she smiled at him. He thought to himself that she looked as if she were made of starlight, and basking in her radiant beauty, he smiled back at her and finished eating the bread.
***
A week later Johnathan returned to Moss Branch Creek, and after fishing for a few hours he noticed Silas appear from the tree line. They grinned at each other, and she ran over to him. She threw herself around his neck and they held each other for a while.
“I brought you something,” Johnathan said taking a step back and kneeling down before her. “I saw it on my way here and it reminded me of you.” From a pouch, he pulled out a vibrant yellow flower that reminded Johnathan of Silas’ radiance. Upon seeing the flower Silas smiled wide, and Johnathan thought he noticed her blush. Johnathan then stood up, brushed Silas’ hair behind her left ear, and then placed the flower there. They held hands and gazed into each other’s eyes, then Silas leaned in and kissed him.
If Silas’ father Solomon knew of his daughter’s actions on the bank of the Moss Branch Creek, he would have burst forth from The Emerald Grove, pushed his daughter aside with a blast of magic, and then struck Johnathan down with a bolt of lightning. Solomon would not do so solely out of anger over the loss of his daughter’s virtue, but also out of concern for his daughter’s immortality. As Dryads, both male and female, retain their immortality and can only be killed in battle, as long as they maintain their virginity. Their race performed a magical ceremony where the blood of two Dryads, truly in love, regardless of gender, was mixed together and planted beneath the roots of an ancient oak tree. From that mixture, a baby Dryad grew underground, until, after six months, it dug itself from the earth and let out a scream, alerting its parents to its birth. But Solomon did not know of his daughter’s actions, which were against his warnings and the teachings of the Dryads, and he would not find out until the seed of destiny had already been sown.
1. While some believe Dryads to be a race all to themselves, Knowing Ones believe that Dryads are decedents of Elves who migrated to The Emerald Grove before the Ancient Ones left Terra. Dryads’ connection to nature gives them many incredible powers beyond those of the mortal races. Dryads choose to reproduce through magic to maintain their immortality, though they are able to reproduce through conventional methods if they so choose. ↑
2. For a more comprehensive description of the flora and fauna of Terra see Appendix H. ↑