[center][h3]Wardens of the Crimson Woods[/h3][/center]
“Run. Run!” Brunai shouted at Venar. The young boy did as he was told. He started running through the bushes and in between the trees. He heard his friend shout at something behind him. He could hear the whooshing of a very large branch. Brunai was fighting something off, he knew it. Then there was a gust of wind and everything fell silent. He stopped and turned around. He saw nothing. Burani was gone. Not dead, just completely gone. Just like the others. An hour ago, at sundown, he would’ve run back to check upon her.

Now he just kept on running. The forest was impossibly huge though and he had no idea in what direction to run. So he just kept going in one direction hoping he would finally find the edge of the forest. There was a chill on his back though. He felt as if he was being watched from somewhere above and behind him. Like some great bird would snatch him up at any moment. So he kept running and running. Until he suddenly saw the light of a clearing poured through the trees in a distance. He was nearly there. Just a little further. Just a little further.

And then he tripped over a branch he hadn’t seen. He looked up. His face was caked in mud and leaves. It was right there. Something wrapped around his legs. “No! NO!” He tried to crawl but whatever wound around his legs suddenly pulled him back and then there was only blackness.

[center]~[/center]
“Sycrae!”

Sycrae slowly opened her eyes. She was lounging in the sun near a clearing, on a stone with a creek running around it giving her plenty of water to drink. Those were the only things she needed in life. Before her stood four of dryad nymphs. They all looked like humans with light green skin and dark green hair. Huge leaves and flower petals were wrapped around them as clothes. “What is it?” She asked. The dream was already fading.

“You have to come! Quickly!” One of them insisted. Whitoa, a nymph who had already wrapped herself in the native red leaves of the area. Tears were streaming from her eyes as she was tugging Sycrae’s arm. Which caused the dryad sentinel to jump up immediately and follow the group of nymphs. Unlike them, she looked more as if she was armored: her skin was mostly bark now and her hair looked more like a tangle of vines. Branches grew through her hair as if she was crowned.

Only a moment later and the group of nymphs with Sycrae in tow arrived near two more nymphs hunched over something. “Out of my way,” Sycrae said. The younger nymphs were quick to obey her. When she finally reached what they were hunched over, she saw what caused so much worry: a fox. A regular, wounded fox. An eagle or some other predator had probably attacked it. The fox seemed to have gotten away but the wounds were too deep. He would die.

“We have to help him!” Whitoa yelled as she kneeled down next to the fox. “Please! How?” She was pleading with Sycrae. The sentinel wasn’t moved, though. She stroked the fox along its back a bit. “We can’t help him. He’s already at the brink of death.” She said calmly.

“Well can’t you pull him back!?” Whitoa yelled.

“We shouldn’t.” She carefully said. “He is dying, it’s his time.” More nymphs were breaking down in tears around her. They weren’t hardened yet like the rest of the sentinels. With time that would come. Though she envied their hearts. Sycrae was born as a sentinel. She and Whitoa were equally old. Yet there was still a youthfulness in Whitoa that Sycrae never had. Despite their heart and insistence, they wouldn’t dare cross Sycrae though.

But the sadness they felt now should not cause them to be consumed by hopelessness. “Who here is a beastspeaker?” She asked. Whitoa actually raised her hand. Sycrae didn’t know that about her, but apparently, fate was at her side today. “Come here, kneel down.” Sycrae said. The young nymph did as she was commanded. “I want you to stroke him like I did, and I want you to tell that the pain will soon end.”

Whitoa sobbed for a second but did as she was told. She spoke some ethereal words that nobody present could understand as she stroked the fox. Meanwhile, Sycrae carefully took the fox by its neck. First gently as to not stress it out. Whitoa saw her sister's hands and kept on talking. Sycrae wasn’t a beastspeaker but she could guess that Whitoa continued to comfort the poor animal. The sentinel had her hands ready, and gave a small nod to the nymph. Who swallowed her sorrow for a second, gave a nod, and told the fox some parting words. With one quick move Sycrae twisted its neck. It yelped for a second, and then the animal went limp in their hands.

“It’s over, you did well.” Sycrae said. Whitoa lifted up the fox in her arms. It was dead. Sycrae put a hand on her shoulder. “Listen, you helped end its suffering. That’s the most we can do. You understand that right?” The nymph gave a small nod but then walked away. She would probably cry some more with the fox’s body in her arms, but eventually, she’d surrender it to nature. Sycrae followed her for a moment with her eyes, and then turned away and looked the other way. There were more important things to watch here. The dryads of Ailorn, the name chosen by the Green Mother as she found the original name: Kel-Phelena displeasing, were tasked with watching the strange goddess Homura. So far Sycrae had never watched the pox mark upon the world by the name of Keltra from a distance. “I need to get closer.” She whispered to herself.

[hider=Summary]First we see a bunch of humans getting abducted by something in the forest.

Then we skip to Sycrae, a newly made dryad who dreamt about the human kidnapping. She is a dryad sentinel lounging in the light of the sun when a group of nymphs wake her up. They need her help with something urgent that got some of them in tears. Sycrae becomes worried and follows, only to realize that they're crying about a dying fox.

Sycrae explains that she can't help the animal but they can shorten its suffering. Whitoa, a beastspeaker, tries to comfort and calm the fox as Sycrae kills it off as quickly as possible.

Then the dryad sentinel ponders on her true purpose in the crimson woods.[/hider]

[hider=Vigor]
Phelenia starting Vigor: 5
- 3 vigor: Enhancing some humans (that she kidnapped) to create Dryads: Dryads have several perks. First off, dryads have three stages in life: 

The first is the Nymph stage. In this stage, they appear as (supernaturally) beautiful, slightly green maidens with flowers and leaves wrapped around their bodies like clothes. They are playful, joyful, and endlessly curious. At about 100 years old they begin their slow transformation between nymph and sentinel.

After about 120 years old a dryad is a sentinel. Their skin is made of bark and rougher vines, while their hair looks more like actual vegetation. They often take more time (days) to lounge in the sun after having drunk a lot of water. Still, they can have great bursts of speed and generally have a closer bond with the forest around them. However, they generally stay in the same area if they can help it.

After about 200 to 220 years old a dryad will start to become rooted in the one place they often stay at and turn into a sage. A sage is more akin to a tree than a dryad really. They harbor great wisdom and knowledge but rarely if ever walk again. After about 3OO years they finally die off.

Amongst the dryads there is a separation of skill. All dryads can manipulate the forest in some small way. However, there are dryads who can speak (and as sentinels generally even command) animals with seemingly ethereal tones and words. These are called beastspeakers. Other dryads can have a gift with the forest itself, allowing them to naturally manipulate the forest or talk to the trees. These two gifts are entirely exclusive: a beastspeaker cannot have the talent to work with plants or vice versa.

They subsist on water and light (and mana).

- 1 vigor: to teleport some of the dryads from Orsus to Kel-Phelena/Ailorn. Phelenia originally grabbed some humans from the northern part of Orsus that Tuku put there.

- 1 vigor: turn Sycrae into a champion and tell her to watch Keltra and Homura.

Phelenia end vigor: 0
[/hider]

[hider=Spirit]
Sycrae spirit start: 0
+ 1 spirit: in a post
+ 1 spirit: focus of a post
Sycrae spirit end: 1
[/hider]