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MrNobody13
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PostSubject: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeThu Oct 21, 2010 5:58 am

I read the Negav Library wiki entry and was intrigued by the "might be able to find dryads if you went deep enough". I thought up a possible new species based on that. Tell me what you think.

Paper dryad

Size: 110 to 150 feet

Description: Paper dryads are an unusual subspecies of dryad that live exclusively in the deepest and most unstable sections of the Negav Library. They have adapted to life amid the mountains of books and articles perfectly.

Paper dryads are generally smaller than other dryads, their growth limited by the library's ceiling. Their physical appearance is also different. They have very smooth skin and bark that matches the color and consistency of the bookshelves in their particular section of the library, making it hard to find one even if you were foolish enough to go in deep enough to be in their territory. They use illusion magic much like other dryads, disguising themselves as bookshelves or one of the mountains of books that are scattered about the deeper library areas.

Paper dryad do not grow leaves for hair, but instead they grow sheets of plain paper. These papers are always increasing in number as the dryad grows. An astounding phenomenon, the papers record everything a paper dryad has ever done, said, or experienced, so the dryad will continually grow more papers as they get older. Some of the oldest paper dryads have so many entries that they are completely hidden in their own autobiographies. An interesting fact, if a page is burned or otherwise destroyed, the dryad will be completely unable to recall anything that they said, did, or thought that had been recorded on that page, leading some to believe that these pages may actually be literal memories. However, the pages can grow back after a few days, the gap filled back in from comparison to the surrounding memories. A major loss, however, of many pages, can result in permanent amnesia in that timespan.

A peculiar exception to the rule of text not translating in Felarya as with speech, people will always see the information as being written in their own language. This may not help, however, because the information is very jumbled and as fluid as thought itself. It would take at least a few hours to decipher even one page, and a single dryad can have thousands of entries. If you think you can steal a peek at some pages and glean information, you will probably only be asking for a headache, not to mention the wrath of a wronged dryad.

Perhaps because of the Isolon Eye, perhaps because of being in the odd dimensional flux of the library, paper dryads are incapable of connecting to dryads on the 'outside', and connecting to the rare others of their kind in different sections of the Library is fairly draining. Similarly, their deep root system means they have an extremely difficult time uprooting themselves. As such, they are often rather lonely beings, and offering to get them books out of their reach or a bit of quiet conversation -should you manage to find one and see past the illusions- may help you go uneaten and perhaps even aided in your search for either a particular book or a way out into the safe areas of the library should you be lost. Don't expect them to initiate contact, though, because they tend to be rather shy and retiring creatures, avoiding notice by both the odd inhabitants of the deep sectors and the occasional visitor.

Diet: Paper dryads are not nearly as voracious as most Felaryan beings. They don't get nearly as much sunlight as their outdoors cousins, but their root systems are very complex, going deep underground to draw up water and nutrients. They even have small mouths in their root systems to catch any burrowing animals! Their main foodsource, however, is bookwyrms, mice, and other creatures that damage books in their area of the library. They are bibliophiles and will eat anything or anyone foolish enough to harm a book in their territory.

Their roots are extremely sensitive to vibration, both under and above the ground, so it is very hard to approach one unnoticed, unless you happen to be able to fly or can keep your feet off of the ground. As the root system can spread out a very long way, often several hundred feet, these dryads can detect footfalls and digging from quite a distance.

They are not above eating humans and other similar being WITHOUT provocation, though, so even if you don't harm any books, it is best to watch your step in the deeper areas of the Library. They operate in a similar manner to other dryads in terms of hunting, waiting and grabbing. They are very intelligent, living in the library so long and surrounded by knowledge, so it is very hard to outsmart one. The best option would be to run, provided you aren't snared by surprise. Which, given their perfect camouflage, is highly likely.


Last edited by MrNobody13 on Wed Jan 26, 2011 7:49 pm; edited 5 times in total
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeThu Oct 21, 2010 8:59 am

By the way, if you check on the credits on that page you'll notice that the Venmys-Pieaug Library is property of Terra, aka http://moonlight-pendent13.deviantart.com/. I'm not sure what her stance is on people trying to add to her idea, but you should ask her. I can't really comment on this until then.

About the ownership thing when it comes to the wiki:
Characters are always property of their creator/owner.
Ideas that are credited are disclaimed, as such they are considered the property of Felarya
Ideas with dark red titles in the wiki and listed as "belonging to" someone are not disclaimed and are property of their creator.
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MrNobody13
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PostSubject: My bad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeThu Oct 21, 2010 10:46 am

Right, I'll ask. Sorry about that.
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeThu Dec 02, 2010 2:08 am

That's a really nice description of them Razz
I especially liked that trait of paper leaves writting page of their life ^^
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MrNobody13
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeMon Jan 24, 2011 7:49 pm

Edit: I got permission from Moonlightpendent13, so it is okay in terms of viability.

Also added a bit more detail, and a bit more uniqueness to them. They are in an unusual place for dryads, so I guessed they would probably be rather different than most of their kin.
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeTue Jan 25, 2011 1:09 pm

Really cool, but how does the paper work? Can it just simply be read, the words magically appearing, or is each page sort of like a tiny secondary brain, filled with a nearly 2D network of organic memory space that only a telepath or skilled mage would be able to decipher?
Dryads are telepathic, anyways, so communicating with their own backup brains would make sense.
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MrNobody13
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeTue Jan 25, 2011 2:18 pm

I can be read as if it were normal paper.

The words appear as the dryad experiences the things and speaks, excetra. Basically as if someone were writing down their speech and sensation as it happened. For example, if one said "I'm hungry.", the words would show up right as she said them, as well as her thoughts, what was happening in her sensory range, what she is seeing, hearing, smelling, even tasting. It would even describe her belly growling, if that were the case.

It would be enormously hard to read though. If you think about how complicated a memory is, all the tiny details and how fast and vague the process of thought is, you have a basic idea of how hard it would be to read all that, and how jumbled it would be to anybody but the dryad herself. Even one page would take some time and a lot of concentration to work out.
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeWed Jan 26, 2011 6:47 pm

Sounds reasonable, but I'm going to keep pressing here.
So is the paper written in the dryad's native language (a yes would raise the question of what happens to memories gained before the dryad learns her language)? Or is it still psychic, but in a manner that any organism can read (like in Dr. Who)?
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MrNobody13
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeWed Jan 26, 2011 7:40 pm

The paper is not actually in any language. While the words do show up, it is a basic template of information. Regardless of who is looking at it, they would see the words as being in their own language. The information is there and physical, but there is a psychic component that lets it be projected in the mind in a way that it can understand.

Any other questions? Being able to polish things a bit is one of the things I love.
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeWed Jan 26, 2011 7:46 pm

I know the feeling.
So what puts the ink there? Is there a sort of vein system in the pages that secretes ink from inside? Really, how complex are they on the inside? Are they just simple leaflets of a psychic material, or does it go all the way to secondary neurological networks in each one accompanied by ink pockets?
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MrNobody13
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeWed Jan 26, 2011 7:59 pm

There are no ink pockets. There isn't actually any ink, either. The sheets are just plain paper, and the words are translated material from the psyche of the dryad. They are there, but as manifested psychic material that forms visible words. How they do this isn't known.
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeWed Jan 26, 2011 8:02 pm

So the thought patterns of the pages' owners induces a colour shift. Sort of like how UV light makes lemon juice writing visible. There's nothing ON the pages, the pages just aren't entirely white, right?
Are there ever pictures on the pages?
Does it still record and in the same text when the dryad's asleep?

Aww, I liked being a tasty morsel. Being helpless sucks.
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeWed Jan 26, 2011 8:26 pm

In a way.

You're looking at it a little too . . . scientifically, maybe. You are right in the most part. There's nothing on the page, no actual material like ink or pencil or anything, but it IS there, physically and visibly. So yes, there is nothing actually on the page, no ink or anything, but the words ARE there. An interesting fact, the dryad can't influence what appears on the page: What she thinks, says, or feels, it all shows up. The only way one could avoid something showing up that she didn't want there would be to never think about it.

In a sleeping state, the text would still record and still be readable, but it would be in a different tone and style, because how the unconscious works is very different than how the conscious works. It would be like two different authors; each can be identified and separated by how they write. It would be almost impossible to make sense of the unconscious entries, though, because they would be very fluid and vague. Dream information would be recorded, as well.

As for pictures, there are some. They only appear rarely, though, and are very intricate snapshots of what a dryad has seen. Pictures only form when they see something that makes a very strong emotional impact, and only the first time with it. If a paper dryad was suddenly attacked very seriously, she would probably form a picture of what or who attacked her. Same goes for someone they loved or was in some way very important to them.
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeWed Jan 26, 2011 8:41 pm

I'm just one of those guys. Everything has to assemble scientifically, and if you ever say "it is because it is", you've just reached the end of your willingness or capability to venture further. I hope that's okay.

Does this mean that if one had a secret and didn't want someone close enough reading it, she'd have to pluck off that page and hide it somewhere? That'd make me keep to myself...

So can a dryad still completely recall a dream from its page, or is it like trying to read an archaic language? They can gather bits and pieces, but some of it is just illegible to them?

So a picture IS worth a thousand words...
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeWed Jan 26, 2011 8:59 pm

It's perfectly fine to think that way.

I would have to say that, on the matter of secrets, it would be unlikely to be a problem. You have to remember that they live in the deep, dimly-lit places of the Negav Venmys-Pieaug Library. It would be unlikely anybody would show up there, it would be hard for them to read (as the dryad's head [and therefore the entries which make up her 'hair'] is some hundred feet off the ground and the words are standard size for a dictionary [ever try to read a dictionary from a hundred feet away?]). There's also the fact that the pages are not in any kind of order, so it would be next to impossible to find her secret in the middle of all that. Like taking a six-inch-thick textbook, ripping out the pages, throwing them around randomly, and then trying to find one particular sentence on one page.

The dryad, though, can find any specific page right away, much like how you know where your own fingers are even in the dark. If you asked "what did you do yesterday at five o' clock?", she could instantly know where that page was in her hair and find it.

If she were very shy about it, then I suppose she could. Even if the pages are plucked, she can still recall the information as long as it isn't destroyed, no matter how far away it is. She could hide that page somewhere nearby, or tuck it behind her ear, ect.

Dreams can be recalled, but it is about as hard for the dryad to read as one of her regular entries would be for someone else. Reading the page would be much like remembering a dream: rather hazy but still viable. Most dreams can be read and recalled completely, but some are a bit more vague. But in all cases she would know that she had a dream and the gist of it. They can remember dreams without reading the pages, as well, but if the forget the dream as they wake up like many people do, they will know they had one and would be able to find that page to read and affirm what the dream was about.
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeWed Jan 26, 2011 9:07 pm

Right, I forgot that the pages grew exclusively as hair. A very observant and nosy fairy could conceivably see which page was being written, but that's about the only threat.

I guess that's about all of the questions I can think of, then. Except for wondering if some of them give themselves haircuts.
"The ripped do looks fantastic!"
"What colour is the sky?"
"What's a sky?"

"I'm finally writing a book!"
"No, you're cramming your hair into some binding you found lying around. Stop cheating."
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeThu Jan 27, 2011 4:46 am

Indeed. But the only fey that could get to the library would be dusk nymphs because of the Isolon Eye. So a nosy, sneaky dusk nymph could, yes, check out some stuff, if she could stay unobserved long enough (a few hours) to read and decipher it. Probably not hard for one of those guys, though.

They wouldn't be able to take things though, pluck pages, ect. The dryad would know right away if one of her entries got plucked. As for hairdos, I don't think a dryad would want to do much more than pluck some pages and put them somewhere aside and safe to make her hair shorter. Ripping sheets up (destroying them) would destroy those memories until she could grow them back.
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeThu Jan 27, 2011 7:59 am

Okay, I thought of more. Where would they put plucked pages that's safe?
If one of their pages was only ripped in half, would it still count as destroyed, even if taped back together? Would the paper simply "heal" taped, allowing pages to be cloned?
And they read the books in the library, right? How can they get them off the shelves and close enough to their eyes?
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PostSubject: Re: Library Dryad   Library Dryad Icon_minitimeThu Jan 27, 2011 9:35 am

Well, they could put the page in a favorite book, tuck it away somewhere on their person, like behind their ear or such, or similar methods. They could also pluck it and then put in under other entries, allowing it to take again. Remember that these pages are numerous, and plenty will be hidden under the rest of the papers where you can't see them. They can rearrange their hair like this, picking pages and putting them elsewhere to grow back into the entries its been put amongst. They usually put important things close to their ears, within easy reach.

As for pages that are ripped, any direct damage to the words would destroy the memory. Even if taped, ect., the paper would simply shrivel away, then grow back on the dryad as per previous rules. Pages don't heal. If one were badly torn, even if it was still readable, then it would die and regrow. Only very minor things like small rips or nicks can fix themselves. Clones of pages are not viable; only one can be in existence at a time.

As for reading, the dryads (and this is from my own knowledge gleaned from both other authors and Moonlight-pendent13, the owner of the library idea) stand basically between or among the shelves, within easy reach of a great many books. Having arms fifty feet long means they can get to many books at any time. As for getting it close enough to their eyes, I imagine they simply lean in very close. It's rather dim in the library, though there is a bit of light, but the dryads usually will grow some bioluminescent flowers close by to use as light for reading.

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