Shielee

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Considered bad luck by many for always appearing in the midst of rot and ruin, the Shielee are quite meek and shy in contrast to the decaying landscapes they are found in. Along or in small groups, they’re quite rare, due to their short lifespans and specific reproduction patterns.

Appearance and Anatomy
Shielee are incredibly small, averaging around 4’ in height. The top of their head forms a mushroom cap, protecting their sensitive eyes from sunlight. Their skin is generally ivory white, with spots on their body mimicking that of their mushroom cap. Shielee skin is generally quite tough and leather-like.

In place of their feet, Shielee skin usually ends in a stump, with branches of root-like tendrils keeping a Shielee grounded within their home. If one wishes to move, then those tendrils will function like a series of legs, often giving those being approached by Shielee a frightening image. Alternatively, the tendrils can come back together, forming feet.

Root-like tendrils can be found anywhere on a Shielee body, however. These will often be implanted into the organisms that a Shielee will be feeding off. They can grow anywhere between a few centimetres up to several metres long. It is not recommended to touch these tendrils, as reports tell of a draining of energy from just a brush.

Reproduction and Children
In contrast to the other Dryad variants, Shielee do not reproduce through Seeding. Instead, Shielee spread spores throughout the Fall months, letting the wind carry them to new destinations. Most spores will never grow into a Shielee and will eventually dissolve after a few weeks. However, if a Shielee spore finds itself in an area of ample life-forms and/or rot, it will begin to spread its roots, forming a Shielee after a few years.

Sometimes, two Shielee spores can grow next to one another, and go through a process of Hyphic Grafting, where the two organisms fuse to become one. When this happens, Shielee typically grows larger than the average Shielee, with an exponentially larger appetite.

Diet
Any organic material can become food for a Shielee. The food first drains its nutrients through the Shielee’s feeding tendrils, then the rotting body is sometimes consumed through the Shielee’s mouth for maximum consumption. Shielee do not often eat cooked food, more so due to its rarity rather than being unable to eat it. Shielee typically have environmental preferences, depending on where they grow up.

Behaviour and Culture
Shielee are a very solitary people, with little connections, even to family. It is not unknown for a Shielee never to see another Dryad for all of its life, never to have a word leave its mouth. Sometimes, however, Shielee grow in small groups,  and they tend to keep their tendrils intertwined and share nutrients, similar to the Frostbound Meyderlie. In these groups, Shielee dances with one another on certain nights, circling the source of their nutrients.

These dances often occur during the Winter seasons, where the cold environment can leave a Shielee frozen for months before thawing back out in the Spring and Summer. It keeps the Shielee moving, preventing the frost from paralysing their bodies. Often during dance Shielee will take turns singing to one another, with melancholic tones echoing, often left unresolved.

Depending on where they grow, some Shielee never speak, whereas others have languages complex enough to rival the Leidrie. They are naturally shy, as some people consider them harbingers of death, omens of rot, and are driven out of some places for fear of their lives. These beliefs are merely superstitious, more based on coincidence and prejudice rather than fact.

Notable Historical/Mythical Shielee
Mother Mushroom: The alleged creator of the elusively hidden Mushroom Islands, Mother Mushroom was an Overgrowth Dryad who had set her sights on creating a sanctuary where Shielee could live and proliferate with no worry of food or persecution.She was a hulkingly large figure, towering over her children at a terrifying 14 feet.