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Description

There is the thought that dryads want everything green, all the time. Other species think we want nothing more than to blanket the entire landscape with greenery. The more plants the better, right? Well, I am sure in many cases that would be fine. There is also no denying that we dryads like our plants and having lots of them, but everything needs moderation. Not every ecosystem is filled to bursting with plant life, and doing so would actually be detrimental! It is why we are careful with what we plant and how much space we take up with it. If we let our gardens run rampant, the natural environment would be impacted by it, including the native flora and fauna. Just because it is green doesn't mean it is good. The subject brings to mind a particular species, one that would create a lush land of green that dryads would be terrified of.

When other species spot an outbreak of this plant, they tend to think we are the culprits. They see a patch of forest or a chunk of land blanketed in vines and assume the dryads had been at work. The more paranoid would claim this was our attempt at an invasion, trying to bury their towns and homes in leaves. Let me tell you, dryads did not plant these seeds and they have no love for what has grown there. Take one look at an infestation of this vine, and you will understand why it is called the Smotherer. In small patches, it is just a tangle of vines and leaves, nothing too strange or fascinating. In this shape, people would hardly recognize it, thinking it is another part of the scenery. The problem, you see, is that this particular plant grows quite fast and it is not kind to its neighbors. The vine spreads at an astonishing rate, crawling and growing over the other species around it. The thick leaves that sprout from this vine create an impenetrable blanket that steals the sunlight and buries the other plants in darkness. What's worse is its invasive tendrils that constrict those trapped within it, draining them of nutrients until they wither into nothing. It is an extremely invasive plant, one capable of covering an entire field in a few weeks. Its growth rate is so fast that you could actually watch it spread before your very eyes, seeing its vines slowly slither and devour everything before it. Though I try to make this sound scary, many non-dryads aren't bothered. All they think is "it's only a plant. Just chop it up and be done with it." Well, it isn't so simple and it isn't just any plant.

To go with its incredible growth rate is its sheer determination and hardiness. You could take a scythe to an entire field's worth and turn it to mulch, but you wouldn't have bothered it in the slightest. Small fragments and bundles of this vine can survive cutting, able to regrow its parts and continue its spread. In many cases, chopping the vine up actually makes things worse, as the wind blows these fragments about, further seeding the landscape with them. Some folk have taken carts of shredded vine and hauled it to their farms to feed their livestock, unknowingly spreading the vine further when bits and pieces fall out. It is a nasty species, but it only gets worse when infestations reach a critical level.

Smotherers look to cover and feed off of other plants, and unfortunately they have found some enticing hosts. Most other plants can only stay rooted in place and watch as the infestation buries them alive, but us dryads are a bit more mobile. That means we can flee from this vine, but it also means that we offer something unique to this ravenous parasite. They can crawl and slither, but what if they could walk? What if there was a way to speed up their infestation and cover more ground? This species doesn't have to wonder anymore, because the answer can be found by devouring dryads. The thick tangling sheet of growth will engulf a dryad victim and its many tendrils will hold them fast. In short time, they will bore into their rind and begin to feed off its prey. Food is good, but the vines dig in deeper for something more. They burrow through the body and limbs in order to hijack them, essentially puppeteering the dryad from within. The outer coating of vines also assist in moving the body, working in tandem to make the arms and legs function. The victim will perish from the choking mass and constant leeching, but this end doesn't come quickly. They often are still alive for a few days, in an emaciated, delirious state. They are too weak to fight off the vines, and can only wait for death to come to their starved body. Though they may pass, the corpse is still useful to the Smotherer. The limbs can still be worked and the marching can continue without pause.

The end result of such parasitism is a dryad covered in a shawl of smothering leaves and groping vines. The growth is so thick, that usually you only see the roots and the occasional arm emerging from the green. Their movements are slow and awkward, as if they were sleepwalking. All the while, the vines covering them reach and claw at anything around them, seeking more nourishment and more chances to spread. Seeds will be dispersed as the corpse shambles about, but it also seeks for more victims to join its puppet show. An infested dryad will seek out other dryads, looking to consume them and add them to the mass. To do this, the Smotherer grows special vines that are longer and thicker than usual. Grasping leaves tip these appendages, and they move like snakes seeking prey. When movement is detected, they lash out with blinding speed. The "hands" grab hold and the rest of the vine moves to tangle the victim and constrict them. All it needs to do is slow them down and keep them from fleeing, buying enough time for the other vines to coil its prey. Once held fast, the rest of its mass will swallow them, and the tendrils will go it work. Eventually, they will become another husk for the vine, creating an ever growing mound of corpses to carry this ravenous vine across the land. A Smotherer with just one dryad is young and new, the older ones start to amass more. It has been said that there are rare old infestations that have over a dozen buried beneath its vines, a crawling graveyard of green.

It should be noted that dryads aren't the only victims to this plant, as it strikes any living thing that moves. Meaty prey will still be smothered and invaded by the tendrils, but the squishy flesh doesn't last as long. Once drained dry and time takes its course, the fleshy body tends to fall apart, making it a poor puppet. This doesn't stop the Smotherer from feeding on meat, it just means that the bodies won't be preserved and used for moving. Tear off the leaves from one of these shambling mounds and you will find quite the collection of bones scattered amongst the tendrils.

As you can imagine, this is a horrific fate. To be crushed beneath a writhing pile of vines and your body invaded in such a vile way. Then left to slowly be bled dry as your limbs move without you, knowing your inevitable corpse will be used to hunt others. Ugh! It chills me just to think about it! Obviously, the Smotherer is an enemy of dryads and one we wish to eradicate. So wretched is this plant, that it is said to be one of the evils unleashed with the death of the World Tree, forever tormenting dryadkind. As it seeks to eat us, we seek to be rid of it. Infestations near our settlements will be dealt with quickly and thoroughly, as we know what will happen if it is left unchecked. The wandering mounds should be reported to others whenever spotted, so a trained team can track it down and eradicate it. However, killing Smotherers is not so easy. As I said, shredding them with blades doesn't work, and only spreads its kind further. Poison can work, but the amount needed to thoroughly kill a large infestation is both hard to get and dangerous for the rest of the environment. It does us no good if slaying the vine also leaves the land around it barren. So what usually has to happen is the careful cutting of vine masses and the followup application of poison. Essentially breaking it down into manageable bits, then thoroughly infecting the wounds with a special concoction that will burn through the small patch of vines. If the mass is too big, the poison is heavily diluted and is spread so thin it only weakens. It is slow and tedious work, but its our best weapon.

I know already that there is someone reading this yelling "Fire! Use fire! Fire will solve your problem real fast!" To them I say: your suggestion has been noted and promptly thrown in the trash. Indeed, fire will certainly burn the patch of vines into nothingness, but that also includes anything trapped within and probably everything else around it. You want to set a whole coated forest on fire? You got any idea how to keep those flames in check and make sure it doesn't take the rest of the land with it? And I also went into great detail to say that there are probably dryads under there, either dead or dying. You wish to turn them to ash? Condemn their spirit and leave their loved ones with nothing to bury? Unacceptable, foolish and outright cruel! You see someone suffer a horrible fate and decide to make it worse for them? That isn't how we do things here! There is a chance a dryad beneath all that might still be alive and could be saved from its clutches. Yes, they may be greatly weakened and wounded, with no guarantee of their recovery, but that is something we cannot ignore. Even if it is just an infested pile of corpses, we need to recover the bodies, that way they may be laid to rest. Once freed from the mass, the body can be thoroughly cleansed and blessed to remove the lingering seeds, then properly buried so that they can move on. It is a peace the victims deserve and needed closure for the grieving families. This is why burning Smotherers is not an option in a dryad's book and also why humans who set a torch to these infestations will find their dryad neighbor turning on them in an instant. Unfortunately, I believe that is why some folk think we created and spread this plant, as they hear about a farming community trying to burn down a smothering patch to only be attacked by "crazed" dryads.

Listen, if you want to help, either follow our techniques or notify one of us so we can come and take care of it. If you don't got the time, try a potent spray of briny water to weaken the vines and then let your livestock eat to their hearts content. It is a slow method, but it can stave off the spread pretty well. And thankfully cows aren't so good at eating a full dryad corpse, so there will be something left to bury at the end of it. Families don't care too much if the body is a little chewed, as long as they have remains to return to the earth.

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

------------------------------------------------------

We got dryad vampires, werewolves and zombies, now for something Blob-like! The inspiration behind this one should be pretty obvious. Kudzu is its own beast in our own world as is!

Description

There is the thought that dryads want everything green, all the time. Other species think we want nothing more than to blanket the entire landscape with greenery. The more plants the better, right? Well, I am sure in many cases that would be fine. There is also no denying that we dryads like our plants and having lots of them, but everything needs moderation. Not every ecosystem is filled to bursting with plant life, and doing so would actually be detrimental! It is why we are careful with what we plant and how much space we take up with it. If we let our gardens run rampant, the natural environment would be impacted by it, including the native flora and fauna. Just because it is green doesn't mean it is good. The subject brings to mind a particular species, one that would create a lush land of green that dryads would be terrified of.

When other species spot an outbreak of this plant, they tend to think we are the culprits. They see a patch of forest or a chunk of land blanketed in vines and assume the dryads had been at work. The more paranoid would claim this was our attempt at an invasion, trying to bury their towns and homes in leaves. Let me tell you, dryads did not plant these seeds and they have no love for what has grown there. Take one look at an infestation of this vine, and you will understand why it is called the Smotherer. In small patches, it is just a tangle of vines and leaves, nothing too strange or fascinating. In this shape, people would hardly recognize it, thinking it is another part of the scenery. The problem, you see, is that this particular plant grows quite fast and it is not kind to its neighbors. The vine spreads at an astonishing rate, crawling and growing over the other species around it. The thick leaves that sprout from this vine create an impenetrable blanket that steals the sunlight and buries the other plants in darkness. What's worse is its invasive tendrils that constrict those trapped within it, draining them of nutrients until they wither into nothing. It is an extremely invasive plant, one capable of covering an entire field in a few weeks. Its growth rate is so fast that you could actually watch it spread before your very eyes, seeing its vines slowly slither and devour everything before it. Though I try to make this sound scary, many non-dryads aren't bothered. All they think is "it's only a plant. Just chop it up and be done with it." Well, it isn't so simple and it isn't just any plant.

To go with its incredible growth rate is its sheer determination and hardiness. You could take a scythe to an entire field's worth and turn it to mulch, but you wouldn't have bothered it in the slightest. Small fragments and bundles of this vine can survive cutting, able to regrow its parts and continue its spread. In many cases, chopping the vine up actually makes things worse, as the wind blows these fragments about, further seeding the landscape with them. Some folk have taken carts of shredded vine and hauled it to their farms to feed their livestock, unknowingly spreading the vine further when bits and pieces fall out. It is a nasty species, but it only gets worse when infestations reach a critical level.

Smotherers look to cover and feed off of other plants, and unfortunately they have found some enticing hosts. Most other plants can only stay rooted in place and watch as the infestation buries them alive, but us dryads are a bit more mobile. That means we can flee from this vine, but it also means that we offer something unique to this ravenous parasite. They can crawl and slither, but what if they could walk? What if there was a way to speed up their infestation and cover more ground? This species doesn't have to wonder anymore, because the answer can be found by devouring dryads. The thick tangling sheet of growth will engulf a dryad victim and its many tendrils will hold them fast. In short time, they will bore into their rind and begin to feed off its prey. Food is good, but the vines dig in deeper for something more. They burrow through the body and limbs in order to hijack them, essentially puppeteering the dryad from within. The outer coating of vines also assist in moving the body, working in tandem to make the arms and legs function. The victim will perish from the choking mass and constant leeching, but this end doesn't come quickly. They often are still alive for a few days, in an emaciated, delirious state. They are too weak to fight off the vines, and can only wait for death to come to their starved body. Though they may pass, the corpse is still useful to the Smotherer. The limbs can still be worked and the marching can continue without pause.

The end result of such parasitism is a dryad covered in a shawl of smothering leaves and groping vines. The growth is so thick, that usually you only see the roots and the occasional arm emerging from the green. Their movements are slow and awkward, as if they were sleepwalking. All the while, the vines covering them reach and claw at anything around them, seeking more nourishment and more chances to spread. Seeds will be dispersed as the corpse shambles about, but it also seeks for more victims to join its puppet show. An infested dryad will seek out other dryads, looking to consume them and add them to the mass. To do this, the Smotherer grows special vines that are longer and thicker than usual. Grasping leaves tip these appendages, and they move like snakes seeking prey. When movement is detected, they lash out with blinding speed. The "hands" grab hold and the rest of the vine moves to tangle the victim and constrict them. All it needs to do is slow them down and keep them from fleeing, buying enough time for the other vines to coil its prey. Once held fast, the rest of its mass will swallow them, and the tendrils will go it work. Eventually, they will become another husk for the vine, creating an ever growing mound of corpses to carry this ravenous vine across the land. A Smotherer with just one dryad is young and new, the older ones start to amass more. It has been said that there are rare old infestations that have over a dozen buried beneath its vines, a crawling graveyard of green.

It should be noted that dryads aren't the only victims to this plant, as it strikes any living thing that moves. Meaty prey will still be smothered and invaded by the tendrils, but the squishy flesh doesn't last as long. Once drained dry and time takes its course, the fleshy body tends to fall apart, making it a poor puppet. This doesn't stop the Smotherer from feeding on meat, it just means that the bodies won't be preserved and used for moving. Tear off the leaves from one of these shambling mounds and you will find quite the collection of bones scattered amongst the tendrils.

As you can imagine, this is a horrific fate. To be crushed beneath a writhing pile of vines and your body invaded in such a vile way. Then left to slowly be bled dry as your limbs move without you, knowing your inevitable corpse will be used to hunt others. Ugh! It chills me just to think about it! Obviously, the Smotherer is an enemy of dryads and one we wish to eradicate. So wretched is this plant, that it is said to be one of the evils unleashed with the death of the World Tree, forever tormenting dryadkind. As it seeks to eat us, we seek to be rid of it. Infestations near our settlements will be dealt with quickly and thoroughly, as we know what will happen if it is left unchecked. The wandering mounds should be reported to others whenever spotted, so a trained team can track it down and eradicate it. However, killing Smotherers is not so easy. As I said, shredding them with blades doesn't work, and only spreads its kind further. Poison can work, but the amount needed to thoroughly kill a large infestation is both hard to get and dangerous for the rest of the environment. It does us no good if slaying the vine also leaves the land around it barren. So what usually has to happen is the careful cutting of vine masses and the followup application of poison. Essentially breaking it down into manageable bits, then thoroughly infecting the wounds with a special concoction that will burn through the small patch of vines. If the mass is too big, the poison is heavily diluted and is spread so thin it only weakens. It is slow and tedious work, but its our best weapon.

I know already that there is someone reading this yelling "Fire! Use fire! Fire will solve your problem real fast!" To them I say: your suggestion has been noted and promptly thrown in the trash. Indeed, fire will certainly burn the patch of vines into nothingness, but that also includes anything trapped within and probably everything else around it. You want to set a whole coated forest on fire? You got any idea how to keep those flames in check and make sure it doesn't take the rest of the land with it? And I also went into great detail to say that there are probably dryads under there, either dead or dying. You wish to turn them to ash? Condemn their spirit and leave their loved ones with nothing to bury? Unacceptable, foolish and outright cruel! You see someone suffer a horrible fate and decide to make it worse for them? That isn't how we do things here! There is a chance a dryad beneath all that might still be alive and could be saved from its clutches. Yes, they may be greatly weakened and wounded, with no guarantee of their recovery, but that is something we cannot ignore. Even if it is just an infested pile of corpses, we need to recover the bodies, that way they may be laid to rest. Once freed from the mass, the body can be thoroughly cleansed and blessed to remove the lingering seeds, then properly buried so that they can move on. It is a peace the victims deserve and needed closure for the grieving families. This is why burning Smotherers is not an option in a dryad's book and also why humans who set a torch to these infestations will find their dryad neighbor turning on them in an instant. Unfortunately, I believe that is why some folk think we created and spread this plant, as they hear about a farming community trying to burn down a smothering patch to only be attacked by "crazed" dryads.

Listen, if you want to help, either follow our techniques or notify one of us so we can come and take care of it. If you don't got the time, try a potent spray of briny water to weaken the vines and then let your livestock eat to their hearts content. It is a slow method, but it can stave off the spread pretty well. And thankfully cows aren't so good at eating a full dryad corpse, so there will be something left to bury at the end of it. Families don't care too much if the body is a little chewed, as long as they have remains to return to the earth.

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

------------------------------------------------------

We got dryad vampires, werewolves and zombies, now for something Blob-like! The inspiration behind this one should be pretty obvious. Kudzu is its own beast in our own world as is!