Fruit Druid | Dryad [Epimeliad] | Vrador - Keep
Tags: Everyone
- Her trees, they screamed. Their cries for help, though distant, formed a constant roar that engulfed her every instinct. With a shuddering breath, Corinna willed her thoughts elsewhere. The steady thud of giant goat’s hooves grounded her in the present. She urged Meadowsweet onward, toward Vrador’s capital. Each step away from the forsaken wood seemed a betrayal of her sworn duty. But though she turned her back now, she would soon return with a band of heroes to end the dragon’s wrath.
Entering the capital was like passing a threshold. Alive with color, with sound, with joy, the streets bustled with all the beauty of birds in springtime. After witnessing so much destruction, this life seemed all the more precious. Corinna shut away her anxieties, composing herself. She would not spoil their merriment. Meadowsweet stepped slowly forward, careful to not trod on any feet. With a haughty sniff, the cream-furred goat looked down upon the humans below, as if daring them to attack her guardian and friend. They’d meet horns. Corinna gave her a small pat of warning, reminding her to be civil. Since they passed patrols so often on the border, she had trained her companion to remain calm in the presence of others.
A dryad in the city was no common sight. While Corinna may not have been as shy as other dryads, she had never felt comfortable in cities, least of all a human one. The unnatural stone walls and wooden items sold in stalls enveloped her in unease. From afar she may have passed for human, but after they realized her flowers were no mere garlands their expressions changed. Curiosity turned to scorn for this crude creature clad in leaves. But the look of peace never left her face. Rather than anger or distrust, she felt a twinge of pity--- pity for these poor souls who made enemies of anyone different from them, then begged these same enemies to save them from a greater one. Holding so much hatred would only taint their beautiful joy. Her serene expression could very well have been chiseled out of wood, cold looks bouncing off like harmless raindrops. Yet perhaps that same rain could someday rot wood to its core.
Finally arriving at the Keep, she dismounted and walked up to the stony guards. Her kind served no major threat, especially when outside their forests. She offered the guards a soft smile, one they did not return, and procured a scroll from a snag within her branches. Paper felt strange to her fingers, almost irreverent. Some tree had given its life for this, but in exchange many more lives would be saved by the heroes these scrolls summoned. Granted entry without issue, Corinna entered the courtyard and surveyed the saviors who had answered the call. A great variety of heroes, tall to small, armed with axes and enchantment. Good. She struggled to imagine them amidst the blaze, a pang stabbing her chest. The orc seemed to be having an uproariously good time, at least. She passed her precious Sweet to a somewhat overwhelmed stablehand, tossing the goat an apple before she left. Putting on a smile, Corinna approached the group as the spellblade finished speaking. Clearly she had arrived late. The dryad listened respectfully to figure out what she had missed before she considered introducing herself.
