Meliades

Meliades (singular Meliad) are ash tree dryads that live primarily throughout Achaea, hiding themselves away from the society of men, though a few live in Northrim as well. In legend, they were said to have raised baby Zeus and fed him honey when the world was young.

Appearance

Ash tree dryads have fair skin and a variety of hair colors, including various hues of green and many shades of bright, golden yellow, though some have darker shades that look almost brown. Their eyes are generally some shade of green, but they are often more of a yellow-green than the earthier tones of their Drysades cousins. Some Meliades even have golden eyes, the color of honey.

Culture

In tales, Meliades are associated closely with honey, partially due to a substance ash trees secrete that can be fermented into a honey-like drink. Meliades have nothing to do with this, however, and instead create honey itself. Although Meliades do not have much of a culture in civilized terms, they pride themselves on the raising of bees. All dryads are close to nature, but Meliades have connected in particular with insects, and they enjoy watching over various kinds of bees and communicating with them on a daily basis. In winter, Meliades will let their bee companions hide away in the branches of their tree form.

Meliades are very curious by nature, and for this reason they occasionally wander into human society. In general, however, they quickly lose interest and return to their home in nature. If confronted, Meliades are not afraid to summon insects to their aid, and their foe will most likely suffer vicious attacks by the bees that Meliades so frequently befriend.

Religion

Meliades most often worship Artemis, but it is not uncommon for Meliades to follow Zeus as well. They also frequently worship other gods or goddesses associated with nature and fertility, such as Demeter.