56 Cosechian Teachings (1/2)
I selected a place for the dryad to spawn that was directly in front of us but that was also far enough from us so that we'd be unable to see the spirit when it came to life. I could still see it, as the thing was easily within my particular line of sight, but that was fine. It was gonna come to life well over five kilometers away.
[Spawning point selected... Spawning point approved. Formatting information about dryads...
Dryad: A dryad is a tree and forest spirit, all of which are women. There are two types of dryads: unbound dryads who are weaker yet also freer to travel than hamadryads, and hamadryads who choose to forgo freedom in exchange for stability, power, and responsibility.
Both kinds of dryads are among the spiritual entities that persist in the multiverse even after the apocalyptic battle that extinguished all higher beings. Most kinds of spirits survived that battle and it is through them that mortals everywhere have some vague idea of how to worship, as some of the surviving spirits became the strongest beings in existence, until you came around that is.
Unbound dryads are mobile forest guardians and in the ancient past were the servants, priestesses, wives or lovers of forest gods. Unbound dryads can choose to become hamadryads if they wish, though many prefer to live full, free lives before committing to that.
Hamadryads are more mature dryads who live in a single tree and die only when that tree dies. They provide their arboreal homes with a limited form of immortality and draw strength from nearby woods.
Hamadryads are often leaders of forest-dwelling fair-folks, another name for the fey, and tend to dislike the so-called ”civilized races”. These dryads tended to be among the greatest servants or closest friends of ancient forest gods.
Both kinds of dryads are powerful in their own right, even if they are weak in comparison to many other kinds of spirits. Dryads tend to eschew clothing, though some wear outfits of leaves or other plant-life. Dryads defend themselves using potent nature magic, magic that they can wield naturally but in the past often augmented through worshipping and serving gods of nature.
Finalizing preparation to create an unbound dryad. What would you like to name her?]
After giving me a sorely needed explanation as to what dryads were, I was asked to name the spirit I was about to create. I felt a word immediately call out to me, powerfully coming into being in my mind. Raiz.
I informed the system of my choice and then was greeted by a whole new screen.
[Welcome to the lifeform creation menu. By creating a true spirit you are creating life. This is something you've yet to do, so we're gonna take you through it step by step.] The system declared in my mind. Hearing such a declaration brought a smile to my face.
[First things first, the entity you're creating will be lacking a soul for the moment. This is fine, for a creature like a dryad that's not that big of a deal, but we advise that you complete the quest to gain the first tier of influence over the soul domain so you can grant her a soul.] The system informed me. It didn't explain exactly how that was bad, just that it was, which wasn't hugely helpful.
The new screen in front of me was a strange one. In the middle of it there was a shadowy outline of a person, a regular, human-sized and shaped person.
On the left, there were a bunch of words like ”Stats” and ”Special qualities” each of which had several options and words underneath them. On the right, there were words about physical qualities like ”Hair color” ”Skin color” ”Height and width”.
[Spirits you create will automatically worship and serve you. They gain more freedom as they grow older, but for a spirit to turn against a god who directly created it was rare in the mythic age. The menu before you depicts the stat block of the dryad and the physical appearance of the thing. Experiment with both to create the sort of dryad you wish to create.] The system explained.
I spent the next few moments pouring over the words on both sides. When I tapped them they showed me what I could give my creation, and how I could modify her even before she was created. I ended up giving my dryad only some strength but gifting her high charisma, wisdom, and intelligence. I made her a short, pale-skinned beauty with hair the color of a Winesap apple.
I was delighted to see a number of special qualities pop up when I tapped on that word as if part of some strange drop-down menu. Among other things, I could give her ”Omnilingualism” which was the name for my ability to understand and speak all languages, select her class and levels, and grant her the ability to generate light.
Upon completely filling out this screen I was asked to review what I had entered. I quickly did so, and then was asked one final question.
[Would you like to give Raiz classes and class levels? With your current overall strength, you can grant her up to two classes, and cause her to come into being with an overall total level of three.] My companion asked me, quietly doing so with an unusual solemnness. I could tell this was a serious moment.
”Can I make her a level two druid and a level one cleric?” I asked, curiously. I received an immediate response.
[Absolutely! That is well within your capabilities. However, if you wish to do that there are a few religion-based things you must do first. Are you willing and ready to do those things right now?] The system asked, curiously. I did the mental version of a nod and heard an excited laugh escape the metaphysical lips of the system.
[Come up with three teachings of the Cosechian faith. These need not be profound, but there absolutely must be three.] My companion told me. I thought for a second about what three teachings would be the most relevant to my agricultural and civilization-based cult. And then I came up with a single teaching.
”Through Cosecha starvation is either a choice or a consequence of pride. Pray to Cosecha and it will always provide you with food to eat and water to drink.” I informed the system, feeling quite satisfied with that particular teaching.
As I informed the system about the teaching I quietly realized that the teaching could also eventually be used to link Cosechians to the sins of sloth and gluttony, which brought a smile to my face. That'd be handy in the near future when I focused on getting to the next tier of influence over the corruption subdomain. That was when I came up with my second teaching.