The Dryad 4 Small Gifts

As I spread out my senses into the plants I purposely let my essence be felt. There was no way that Faun or another spirit would not notice. Any Elves in the eastern woods should also feel my presence. Humans would have a hard time noticing it however. To them it would just feel like the forest was full of life.

I felt no trace of Faun but I was able to determine which direction to head. The uneasiness from the plants was greater to the north. I turned north and started walking.

It had only been about ten minutes when I noticed that I was once again surrounded. Well, that was not quite correct. I let myself be surrounded, but I knew these fellows meant no harm. "You can come out, my children." I said. Slowly they crept out of their hiding places.

"Great mother. It has been many seasons since we have directly felt your presence. We could not resist the chance to see you again." A young man just the right size to stand on your palm flew out of the trees and did his best to hover before me. His wings were like crystalline red and black b.u.t.terfly wings. If you were to judge his looks by elves he would look around 50 or 60 years old. If I remembered correctly that should be the lower part of the twenties for humans, but Fairies were spirits and not animals like elves and humans. Once they reached the age of adulthood they would stop growing older. They were true immortals, however as you might expect given their small size they were not hardy creatures and could easily be killed. This fragile immortality led to their timid nature.

I held out my hand to let him rest since Fairy wings were not designed to hover. "It has been a long time, Rine. I have some questions I would like to ask you. First, have you felt Faun's presence in this area?"

"It has been a season since we last felt her. She was kind enough to let us know she was in our territory this spring but she did not let us find her to talk. She quickly hid herself from us and we have not noticed her since."

"Do you know which way she was heading?"

"For the few moments we could feel her she was moving to the north."

So I was on the right trail. She headed to the irregularity from this point. "Do you know what has been happening to the north?"

"We do not. We noticed something was different a year ago. We tried to find the source of it but we had no luck. Worst of all many that went to investigate did not return. Some of the younger children that wandered off in that direction have gone missing, as well. I have placed strict orders for none of my people to go near that place."

It was not just Faun that was missing? Why would someone want to kidnap Fairies? They were my kin and had some authority over plants, but their powers were very pale compared to mine. Like the glow of fireflies in the clear noon day sun. All they could really do was slightly speed up the growth of plants. "The elves should be following me. Please show them the way. I am going to be concealing my aura to the point that the elves will not be able to locate me. They will need your help to find me."

"Will they listen to us? In their eyes we are just little children and they rarely listen to us."

I could not help but sigh at Rine's words. He was right. The elves thought themselves so wise that they did not realize that the fairies' love for the simple and enjoyable things was not born out of childishness but out of the boredom that threatens immortals. "I will give you a gift. Show it to them and tell them that I sent you." I looked around to see what I could use to make a gift for the fairies that the elves would have to recognize.

Not too far there was a small stream. Near the stream there were some calla lilies growing in the shade of a willow tree. Using a little of my power I caused both to seed, then taking the seed of each in my hand, I walked over to a clearing along the stream. Another small nudge of power and the seeds were changed in my grasp. I bent to the ground and used my finger to make a small hole and placed what was now one seed in the hole. With my hands on the fresh dirt around the hole I channeled my power into the ground. Soon the seed sprouted and started to grow. After a few minutes it was the size of an eight year old tree. On its long drooping branches small white conical flowers of a calla lily were growing.

I could hear a gasp out of the fairies especially the females at the sight of the tree. I turned to them and said, "This is my gift to you. If you show the elves this they will know that I sent you."

Rine flew up to me and asked, "Is this really alright? This is such a marvelous gift. How could we possibly accept it?"

I smiled at him and said, "It is too late to reject it now. The tree is already grown."

Seeing my smile he responded, "We will make this tree our new home and treasure it dearly."

"I am glad that you like it. But be aware, it will take you much effort to keep this tree healthy. Without your efforts in just a few years this tree will die." I turned to the north and then said to them, "I am counting on you to tell the elves which way I went." I then handed them a simple maple seed. "If you find out anything about what is going on in the north, or about what happened to Faun, release the seed above the trees. The seed will find me and I will come as quick as I am able."

"We will heed your counsel and let you know if we learn anything to aid in your search. Am I correct in a.s.suming the issue with the tree's longevity has to do with the compatibility of the willow and lily plants and this being a forced hybridization?"

"That is correct. The compatibility of these plants is poor and without constant care the plant will die."

"We thank you again, mother, and may the strength of the forest go with you."

I waved to the fairies and quickly departed to make my way north. I smiled to myself at the fairies' traditional farewell. In most ways I was the strength of the forest, so I really hope that I am coming with me.

The further I went, the more the plants of the forest seemed to be in distress. All but the hardiest of plants had a blight that I had never seen before on their leaves. They seemed to be seeping a black slime that brought death to every part of the plant it touched. From time to time I would stop and let my senses spread through the surroundings to make sure I was still heading the right direction. This time, though, I kept it hidden from those less attuned than the fairies.

The state of the forest was depressing and I could not just let it rest as it was. I released my power much more than I have in many, many years. Quickly the blight began to fade and many of the plants began to shoot forth tender branches.

This act was not entirely out of mercy for the forest. Nature was where I got my strength. If I used my strength to fortify the plants around me I would have more strength available in my time of need. Obviously there was balance that needed to be maintained. I often thought of it like a pond with a stream feeding it. I would use the water from the pond to water the plants. The more water I took from the pond, the less I would have available. If I did not use the water to feed the plants it would just run off. I could get no more than my maximum, because the pond of my power was only so big. As I strengthened the nature around me the size of the pond and the tributary would increase. I would have more water and it would refill faster. However, if I was always using so much water that the pond was empty I would not be able to use any great power when I needed it.

It was my judgment that now was the time to use my power to strengthen my reserve. With the blight in the forest around me, it was like a whole bunch of branches and leaves were clogging the pond and stream, diminis.h.i.+ng the amount of power I had available. I did have my own personal reserve, but I was only a single ent.i.ty and could not compare to the power available from the great forest. I also received some power from the healthy parts of the forest where I lived, but it was like the light of a fire. The further you were from it, the more area the light had to be spread over and the less of it would get to you.

This would also serve as a trail for the elves to follow. There was no way that the elves would not notice the difference.

After walking a few more hours I was getting closer to the center of the disturbance in the forest. But I decided to stop for the day. The autumn sun was going to set before too long and I would lose much of my power when the plants that I borrow energy from go to sleep. I veered a little off track to find an inconspicuous color for my hair. I settled on resting under an old oak tree whose leaves have already turned brown. I most likely would run into humans tomorrow and I wanted to be able to blend in. Which would not work as well with green hair.