The Dryads
"The feast our lords threw to celebrate their victory over the thunderbird began early and lasted late; we had a lot to celebrate and the wine overfilled our cups. As the evening stretched on into night, my sisters and brothers at arms and I stumbled happily away from table, arm in arm, uncorked bottles in our hands. We sang lusty songs into the night, and the night replied with light laughter.
"Two ladies, dressed in thin gauze chiton, stepped away from the trees on either side of Lord River's great hall, whispering to each other and laughing still. They were grown from the same seed, each a copy of the other, with ash-pale skin, green, leafy hair and the most startling emerald eyes I'd ever seen. I don't know how long we stared, enchanted, before Pu Lao spoke. 'Ladies, who are you?'
"'Meliae,' said one and she pressed her berry-red lips together. 'Catkin,' said the other. 'We speak for the trees.' They stepped towards us, then, running their fingers across our cheeks, and I lost track of which was which. 'Some of them are pretty, sister,' one said. 'What do you think?' The other traced her hand down the length of my arm. 'I want this one, and this. Will you take those?'
"They lead some of us, too enspelled by their beauty to resist, towards their trees. I don't remember details after that; only that my joy seemed to last forever. I woke at the next noon, under one of the great oaks and curled into Ami Kang's arm. We looked at each other and then away, and we saw Nakago Jin and Bi Xi do the same under the other oak.
"We don't talk about that night much, but I've caught everyone in the Alliance pour sweet water onto the oaks' roots from time to time, or kiss their hands to the trunks; simple prayers for the beautiful ladies. Because we all hope they'll remember and find us again."
-- Chi Wen, of The Qinglong Alliance
