Baird's Entry - Living Wood (Patreon)

Ode to the Living Wood

Brambles thick with twisted vines  

Thorny, weaving, bleak, unkind  

Neither rustic forest, nor noble trees  

These trunks hold tales within their leaves  

The living wood birth dryad sylphs

Sown by beithirs’ wooden horns

Saplings grow, bearing leathered fruit

Appearing charred and fallen, shorn

Alive they be, with flick’ring soot

From husks emerge the wood nymphs, born

Where dragons and their secrets sleep

Be wary of them— cautious, fair— 

And they will guide you through their lair

Out amongst the clearings, steep

Interlopers dare breathe shared air

Dare not burn the living wood,

Its smoke a deadly fire

Ne’er slice the branch, nary a twig

Its sap will spill, a singeing ire

All you see is trembling overgrowth,

So close the Corryvrecken whirl,

Grown of fire, no man knoweth

Those roots that run deeper and deeper still

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Our sixth Baird's entry is sturdy and magic-imbued living wood! You never know what you may stumble on whilst foraging in the forest on a foggy evening.

Month by month, we'll keep filling out the compendium with new and  mysterious creatures voted on by you. Sponsors can vote on next month's  entry here:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/43121483 

Our author thought to mix it up this time by writing the passage in the form of an ode. Did you enjoy it? Should we add some variety to Baird's posts by departing from prose every so often? Let us know what you think in the comments!