This story is intended to be fairly wholesome and for most viewers. However…
*This story contains LGBTQ characters and concepts.
*This story contains a vague but stated affirming transgender transformation.

Book of the Dryads – Chapter 4
The Past and the Future

Lilac was looking over Emily’s writings and drawings on the dryads in her sanctuary. Emily was sitting there, nervous of what the dryad elder – at least hundreds of years her senior – would think.

“First off, Emily, you draw very well…”

“Th-thank you…” Emily stammered, her nerves getting to her.

Lilac closed the book and handed it to her. She was smiling. “You don’t need to be afraid. Keep doing what you’re doing! I couldn’t find any problems with your work. It was very respectful.”

“Thank you!”

“No, I should be thanking you. You have been a catalyst for change in your short time here. Unintentional, perhaps, but all the same. We need to change…”

“I think you made that clear already, but what got you afraid of humans in the first place?”

“I was hoping you would ask… If you could, get out that writing utensil of yours, and be ready… This will be a long tale…”

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We dryads have been around for as long as humans. We were blessed to be guardians of lands filled with life, given special magic to tend to our lands… Although our bodies are of plant life, we shared many similarities with human bodies, to the point we are sometimes near indistinguishable from them. This allows us to travel to human lands to help tend to their needs as well.

In these lands, for thousands of years, we dryads worked peacefully with our human neighbors. They respected us as much as their own lands. At times, we would celebrate the same holidays as they did, and they would celebrate ours in kind. They respected the balance of nature…

But, a thousand years ago, we started to get worrying signs from lands beyond the oceans. Dryads from beyond told of wars with humans. The one-sided battles had humans wielding fire and weapons of great power against them. In the end, even those who knew how to wield our dryad magic as a weapon could not stand against them. Human ingenuity was too strong. We took the survivors in and gave them a new home in our groves.

We should have heeded their warnings. For just as they traveled to our lands across the oceans, so did the humans who warred with them. They were blissfully unaware of the damage they had caused, and they did not seem to remember the dryads they had encountered before. But the reasons they once again warred with us had changed. Before, they sought more space for their own kind, sacred forests be damned. They still did, but now, they sought rumors of a “fountain of youth,” a place or thing that could stop aging and allow humans to become immortal, youthful forever. They believed it lied somewhere in the lands that were new to them…

Once they knew who we were again, they came to us, seeking this fabled thing. We tried to explain to them it didn’t exist as they thought, but they would not take no for an answer. They burned down our forests as they did in their land, seeking the source of immortality. In their obsession, they would never find it… They lost it long before they started searching for it, too impatient and too stubborn to listen.

They kept pushing, and our lands were decimated. Many did not escape. Those that did were scarred in more ways than one can see. It became imperative we find some way to hide from the onslaught. But often, our lands were places we did not choose. They are sacred places, and it is not easy to replicate what makes them special.

But here, this grove gave us the cover we needed. For hundreds of years, we have used the natural cover of the mountains and the river to keep us safe. But we knew one day, humans would start finding us again. They’re too powerful and ingenuitive, and they clearly need more land as their species grows… Now, we smell just how powerful they’ve become, the technology they wield touches the very air.

We’re now left with two options: stay hidden, and hope we either outlive humanity or at least stay hidden, or we can try to interact with them again and hope our words reach willing ears…

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“And that’s why you chose the latter, isn’t it?”

Lilac nodded. “You, Amy and Skyla have all shown a willingness to hear us out – even if two of you have joined us as dryads since. I have to believe that there are more out there, enough that we can live in the world to come without fear. I have come to believe we will be extinguished if we don’t make our voices heard. Humans don’t realize how powerful they’ve become. The changes they’re making might kill us off before they even realize we exist…”

“I… I had no idea you were that concerned.”

“With any luck, you are about to chronicle a turning point for our kind, Emily. Whatever happens, I’m grateful for you coming to us…”

“And I’m grateful for you letting me in and seeing this wonderful place for myself… And helping Skyla.”

The two smiled.

Maybe she’s worthy of knowing the truth of why this place is special… No, not yet. There are more important matters to attend to right now… Lilac thought.

=== Several hours later, the outpost. ===

A man burst into the shop. “Brice! Get out here! You need to see this!” he exclaimed.

Brice rose calmly from his chair. He had a pretty good idea what was going on. There was no need to panic.

“Why are you so calm about this?!”

“I survived bears and an opportunistic mountain lion, young man. It gives you perspective. And given the events of the last day, I’m pretty sure I know what’s going on. There’s no need to be afraid.”

“I-if you say so…”

Brice followed the man outside. The people of the small outpost were talking quietly as everyone watched a band of mysterious people – some with truly baffling skin and hair colors – approach their small community from the road.

“Who are they?”
“WHAT are they?!”
“Is that lady in front green?”

Brice instantly recognized two of them, Emily and Skyla from the other day. He walked out in front of the people of the outpost. He knew they would let him speak for all of them. He was well respected for being level-headed in the face of danger and absurdity.

Before him was a group of about 15. Among them was a green skinned woman taking the lead, her youthful appearance betrayed by a composure Brice was sure had seen more time on this earth than him. She was flanked by a couple of guards, one with bark armor, both with well-crafted weapons of highly sharp wood. No doubt, they were there in case things went wrong. And then there was yesterday’s visitors, Emily and Skyla. Emily was putting that book to good use, constantly scribbling things down in it.

“Hello there!” Brice greeted with his signature gravelly voice. “Skyla, Emily, it is nice to see you again so soon.”

“Likewise, Brice!” Emily said, smiling.

“And you in the front… You must be the ‘elder’ of these people. It is a pleasure to meet you, miss…?”

“Lilac,” she responded.

“It’s a pretty name. I’m Brice Drakeson. Our little nameless outpost doesn’t have any formal leader. Most turn to me to make decisions around here.”

“It seems the passage of time has left its mark on you…” Lilac noted.

“I’m too stubborn to politely die,” Brice joked, getting people on both sides to chuckle.

“I admit, time has left marks upon me, too. They’re just not as visible. Trusting humans has not come easy…”

“I don’t blame you. Plenty of us are an awful bunch…”

“But here we are. We’re not fighting. We’re talking to one another. And I can tell you have no weapon of your own…”

“Since my time here, I’ve been mauled by bears and had to fight off a mountain lion that wanted to finish the job. You see what’s important, what you have to fight to survive, and what fights don’t matter. After the events of the other day, including my offer to talk, I knew that’s what you were coming here for. If I’m wrong, so be it.”

“You’re not wrong. When the people here defended one of mine and her daughter from harm, I felt like I could trust the offer. You have good people among you. And I admit against my own dryad pride that we need the help of humans that are willing to defend us. We are… Fragile flowers in the face of humans’ knowledge and power.”

“I can tell it hurt to admit that, but sometimes we just have to ask for help.” Brice turned to the people of the outpost. “What do you all think?”

“They do seem pretty friendly…” one of the admitted.

“They’re a little strange, but I don’t see them being scary. Well, other than the warriors…”

Lilac turned to her guards and nodded. They put their weapons away. “Sorry, I didn’t know how this would go…”

“So, what would you like from us?” Brice asked Lilac.

“Connection. Humans and dryads working together for a change. I know some of my people have toyed with the idea of trying to join human society, and we will no doubt need to lean on humans as things change for our own survival. Working together… I think we could create something beautiful here.”

“We could always use fresh hands around here. Slowly, our community grows. We’ll probably need a name before long…”

“We can help your community grow as ours grows in the grove in the mountains. Some of my people can help, with our knowledge of plants and our signature magic.”

“A grove in the mountains, eh?” Brice asked.

“Can I?” Skyla asked Lilac.

“Go ahead. We know where they are, so it’s only fair,” she responded.

“Down the path we came from is a bridge, one that’s pretty ramshackle and disorderly, built to do the job of crossing the river, but it wound up being sturdy enough to survive for 30 years…”

“Ah, yes, I know the eyesore you speak of,” Brice said, nodding.

“Down that river lies the dryad’s grove in which we live. There’s a hidden path that allows access to the grove along the river, on some nearby cliffs. The river is treacherous, but the path is smooth and safe. Well, as safe as a natural path can be, anyway… It’s about a three-hour trip to get from the grove to here.”

“That explains why you chose to come here. We’re very close to your domain.”

“Well, you’re not wrong,” Lilac replied. “It’s the only safe way in and out at this time…”

“Perhaps, then, we can be your shield, your wall between the safety of your grove and the people who’d want to harm you?”

“Yes, I think we would like that!” Lilac responded, smiling.

Emily had been jotting it all down, but she suddenly had a thought. “If I may, you said you needed a name here? As far as I’m aware, the grove has no name…”

“The grove has no name that we’ve given it,” Lilac confirmed.

“… And you just said you could act as a shield or a wall. How about ‘Grovewall?’”

Brice looked behind him, hearing the pleased whispers of the outpost’s residents. “It has a nice ring to it. Alright. I think we’ve officially established the town of Grovewall – a place for humans, dryads, and anyone seeking freedom to live in peace. Does that sound good?”

Cheers came from both sides. Brice and Lilac smiled as they walked up to each other. Lilac bowed to him. He held out his hand.

“Are you familiar with a handshake?”

Lilac looked at his scarred and frankly huge hand, open and ready for her hand. She was not familiar with a ‘handshake,’ but she had a pretty good idea how it worked right away. She reached out and grabbed his hand, and they clasped together. She felt him guiding her hand up and down. She followed suit.

At that moment, history was being made. And Emily was there to witness it and record it for the world to see one day.

Brice and Lilac decided it would be best to let their people mingle for a while before the dryads had to make the long trek home, let them get to know each other more. After an hour, Lilac suggested that they should start heading back if they so wanted to before night fell. To her surprise, two of her people were already comfortable enough that they were willing to spend the night at Grovewall. She respected their decision and let them stay.

As the days went on, more dryads came to the outpost, some deciding to stay as residents of the growing town. Between human tools and dryad magic, the town was more than capable of growing at the pace needed to accommodate the unprecedented population growth.

Meanwhile, it seems a couple of the outpost’s residents were willing to come to the grove and see the dryads for themselves, Brice among them. They saw first-hand the dryads’ unique culture born from their connection to the world around them, mostly untouched by the ideals they grew up with in human society…

And one… One saw themselves in a new light, awakened to something they had been hiding all along. Hearing about Skyla’s tale opened their heart to their true self. Suffice to say, by the end of that day, a new dryad man had been born, from a woman who had been living at the outpost for many years. When both the dryads and the people of the outpost saw him glow over his new body, they knew this had been the right decision all along.

There was no going back to the secrecy and separation of their people. From this point forward, they were one!

CHAPTER 4 END

By CrystalSeaDragon44