Anthropos Dentros, or Tree Nymphs (Ann-throw-pose dent-rose)
Based primarily on Slavic and Greek nature spirits with some reference to Eastern indigenous peoples of the Americas, they especially like to reside in the sturdiest trees in the most heavily forested regions. Prehistoric forests are your best bet for finding them - if you dare to find them. They hate littering. They might overlook your trespassing if you do them a good turn. They evolved into being at the same time as homo sapiens, around 300,000 years before present, and began their march towards civilization with herding, gathering, hunting, and a nomadic life.
They lack the allergy to iron, much to the dismay of winged fairies and merfolk everywhere. bit kept the allergy to steel. They have a high tolerance for plant-based poisons but a low tolerance for bacterial invaders. Various fungi are a toss-up - depends if they're specifically native to the area. (If they are native, then they're fine) Nymphs are also usually not shy, by nature. This means that they might be terrible at keeping a low profile - to their detriment. They are native to the planet though, so technically you are on their land and in their business, not the other way around.
Anthropos empyrea, or Empyreans, fairies, or flighted fey, look down on this species for not easily falling under Empyrean societal conventions as well as just "being here first". You can find many words in usage in flighted fairy lands - "nymph's pox", "multiplying like tree nymphs," "savage like wind nymphs," "barbaric like water nymphs. If the flighted folk don't want to be associated with it, chances are they will blame the nymphs.
Basic Information
Anatomy
They tend to take on the comparable look to the plant life they are protecting. Tall forests have tall nymphs, short brush has short nymphs. The nymphs tend to reach their maximum height in their teens, but they can live anywhere from 500 to 1500 years.
Genetics and Reproduction
fertilization occurs primarily in the spring or summer with births in the autumn. They most likely have origins from before the evolution of anthropos empyrea maxima (the dominant species), given they find they are the most attuned to the planet's natural flora and fauna.
Growth Rate & Stages
Gestation: 13 or 14 months. Baby nymphs are usually removed to grow the rest of the way in a pod at 6 or 7 months, as the baby's head and body are considered too big to risk the mother. By the time they come out, they can lift their own head and do some drunk-esque crawling. The mother produces milk for both the pod and then the baby for a year or so. Childhood is 230 years, with ages 140-230 being marked as adolescence. 300 is the typical age to have a baby at. 600 is considered too old for that, but regardless 300 is also usually the age at which fairies and nymphs alike pick a career path and that usually is what they are focused on.
Ecology and Habitats
forests. All the forests. Woe to you if you try to completely deforest an area because while a single nymph may go down with their tree out of sentimentality, their brethren are coming for you.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Pretty much omnivores. Trees can devour a steak within 24 hours. A humanoid can devour it quicker, obviously. Undercooked-ness is of little concern although yeah, cooked meat is nice.
Behaviour
Harmony with nature does not mean they won't mess with anything. it's about encouraging the maximum amount of biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem so that you can support your people.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Green thumb, ability to understand animal body language if the animal is native and local. They believe their ancestors are the most important spirits to look to for guidance. In accordance with many myths from Polynesia, they have extrasensory powers to see ghosts. In accordance with mythology from all over, they can shape-shift usually into an animal - but only one kind of animal per person. A werewolf cannot choose to become a bunny. A bunny cannot choose to become a bear.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Names with two or more vowels next to each other - Zoe, Mia, Uzoamaka, Dion, Kian - are favorites of most nymphs.
Beauty Ideals
Tattoos are a rite of passage. The more tattoos on a person, the longer you know they have lived and the more honor they have earned.
Gender Ideals
Gender is rather fluid. Though many have "boy" and "girl" genders, some are both, neither or jump back and forth.
Courtship Ideals
Marriage rites aren't that big of a deal, but once a couple has moved in together, it is assumed they are wed, and any children produced cannot be abandoned. Abandoning children is considered shameful. This is also why cross-species children (usually human-nymph hybrids) are a sore spot, because a human cannot easily live or grow easily in the "wild" and a nymph cannot easily blend into society.
Average Technological Level
Emphasis on green technology - wind power, solar power, and waterpower are preferred. There just also might be a lot of magic involved - vines charmed to hold up a roof or roads made entirely of exposed roots.
History
This is the species that eventually created humans. They met the Empyrean species around -40,000. Their specific powers tend to be about manipulating their home element - water nymphs can move earth underwater, causing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, as well as moving water itself. A Tree nymph can manipulate plant life and may pass it on to their children. Humans with a green thumb are said to be blessed by nymphs if said human is living in a non-nymphobic society. Some children may come out with powers similar to a were-person - colorblindness or extra color vision, superspeed, super swimming, or whole shape-shifting abilities.
Over time, they have been staunch defenders of nature's resources. They have shown they are willing to go to war when the Empyreans mine an area for metal and destroy the land in the process. They will topple kingdoms and empires with nary a thought for human lives if there has been too much deforestation. They are more likely to befriend small prey species in danger than their Empyrean counterparts, who choose to side with birds of prey, mammals, and dragons more often than not. There are two key cultures in the fairy world that they have clearly influenced: mound-dwellers and the Daoine Sidhe.
Inspirations for the first evolution of the tree nymphs in their original form include the yosei, koro-pok-guru, and Kijimura of the Japanese islands, the pukwudgie of the Wampanoag and Jogah of the Iroquois in northeastern North America, the little people of the mound of the Southeastern United States, the Vila of Slavic myth, Yumboes in Wolof myth, the menehune of the Polynesian islands, dwarves and elves from Scandinavian and Celtic myth, and the curupira of the Tupi-Guarani myth. Because of the similarities between all these influences, the nymphs of this world are also found in those places.
The second evolution of the nymphs created more varieties of them, this time focused on their capacity as tricksters for and against the humans: pari-pari from Malaysia, the peri from Persia, the Alux, Chaneque, and Dwende from Latin American myth, the clurichaun and leprechauns of Ireland, and the kikimora and like fairy types from the Slavic lands. An offshoot of these groups are the flighted fairy folk (anthropos empyrea)
Genetic Descendants
Scientific Name
Anthropos dentros
Origin/Ancestry
Slavic, Greek, Polynesian, Eastern Native Americas (North, Central, and South Americans), Celtic
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Tend to be more olive-skinned than other humanoid (but not human) species. May come out entirely green if raised in isolation i.e., away from humans for long enough. A variety of plant-based tattoos may be earned, ceremonially, as the nymph ages.
Related Ethnicities
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