Glamourie Apple Dryad
If you find yourself in the Lockport area during apple season, make sure to try a Glamourie Apple. They combine a remarkably sweet flavor with a hint of spice. Words don't do them justice, without going to poetic extremes, for biting into one, it feels as though you are tasting every beam of sunlight that shone upon it, and every drop of rain that fell upon it.
The Glamourie variety of apple tree only grows in a small region around the small city and town of Lockport. Outside the county, the apple is unheard of, except by apple enthusiast who lament the fact that unlike normal apples, the Glamourie apples do not travel well. Within the county, everyone knows of them, and most look forward to the very end of August, when a festival marks the beginning of the harvest of these apples.
What most don't know is that these apples are not actually a different species of apple, but are a byproduct of the apple tree having formed a bond with a Glamourie Apple Dryad.
The Glamourie Apple Dryads have a unique way of obtaining Glamour, which is necessary for all fae to survive. They bond with apple trees, providing them with care and enhancing their health with magic, and just before the harvest, they preform a ritual that adds a touch of glamour to each apple harvested from the trees they have bonded with. This touch of glamour greatly enhances the flavor of the apples, and changes them into Glamourie Apples. The Glamourie Apple Dryads are able to absorb a portion of the energy generated by the joy of those who eat any of the apples harvested from a tree they are bonded with, and transform that energy into glamour.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Glamourie Apple Dryads generally use glamour to appear human, and truthfully, the differences in their anatomy are not particularly dramatic, so unless the observer knew what they were looking for, they would not realize they were fae.
Their primary differencesare pointed ears, and skin that has a slight hint of a green undertone, although their eyes almost seem to glow with the golden green of sunlight traveling through the leaves of a tree. Glamourie Apple Dryads tend to be tall and have lithe frames, their limbs seeming almost too long for their bodies.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Glamorie Apple Dryads are found only with in a small radius of the town of Lockport. They could flourish anywhere apple trees grow, but they are limited in number, and see no reason to expand their territory until their numbers are such that it becomes necessary.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Like all fae, Glamourie Apple Dryads are able to absorb and use glamour to fuel their instinctive magic. The term 'glamour' is also used to describe the illusion they cast to appear human.
Glamourie Apple Dryad's magical ablilities primarily center around nature and plants, more specifically trees. They sense illness in trees, and know what the tree needs to flourish, and can heal trees they have bonded with.
The Dryads can sense magic of all kinds, but have very little ability to use any magic unless they are near their trees.
Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms
Glamourie Apple Dryads form symbiotic bonds with apple trees. They bond with the trees in their personal orchard, and provide physical as well as magical care for the trees, and in return, by way of the bond formed, they are able to feed on the glamour generated by the joy of those eating the fruit harvested from their orchard.
Civilization and Culture
Major Organizations
The Lockport Apple Orchard Society was formed by the original five families of Glamourie Apple Dryads who emigrated to the mortal realm.
History
The Glamourie Apple Dryads are descended from a clan of fae closely tied to the natural world that immigrated to the area in the early part of the sixteenth century. They came from many parts of Europe, and they fled the continued wars between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. They wanted no part of either court, and it was becoming increasingly impossible to remain neutral without being seen as an enemy by both sides. As more and more European fae began to immigrate to the areas of Faerie nearest to the Americas, it became clear that they were forming into Seelie and Unseelie factions again, and the clan decided they would leave faerie, and hide from all other fae courts. They left faerie in the early eighteenth century, taking care to establish identities in the mortal world. They settled in the area around Lockport, because at the time it was on the edge of where the mortals whose culture matched what they were familiar with had settled on the east coast of North America, and the area around Lockport was ideal for apple orchards.
The Glamourie Apple Dryads have interbred with mortals, however, they use their magic to ensure that their children are still dryads. Any mortal that becomes a part of a dryad family is bound by geas to keep their secrets secret.
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