Erita Aichi, as well as tales from the far East found their way over some time ago. Stories told of an individual just like her traveling across the land, visiting towns and humble abodes along her journey for respite and shelter. Wherever she went, a small gift was left behind, or trouble that plagued a town suddenly found itself resolved.

Struggling, isolated homesteads told a few days after the wayward soul's departure that their crops were suddenly resplendent with life, additionally having grown considerably within such a short span of time. Not only that, towns also regaled of brigands being apprehended - on top of nearby farms being visited by her and having their crops now flourishing with life, with those causing trouble being apprehended or maimed by nature itself. At the epicenter of it all was a figure often described as "feminine, but shrouded in a heavy cloak."

As the stories were passed along, one another another, she became a legend of the land - a living aspect of nature. Some even referred to her as "Mother Nature" herself. Erita however, never adopted the heavy mantle. Too much of a burden to bear, too much to live up to...

Even as she was seen as a legend by those she interacted with - her journey was a one way trip. Those that she affected and aided in times of hardship and trouble eagerly awaited her return, beyond a passing meet, and hoping to know who was behind the cloak, and who was the one who not only helped a struggling farm, but townships that had their own fair share of troubles. To this end, she was a legend that in time, became lost to the annals of history and culture.

Faded as it became however, Erita's own story hadn't yet found an ending.

Finally discovering a place to settle down, having seen enough of the world to keep her satisfied, the Qinling Panda had also adopted a new mantle some time after settling in. In living there for such a short period of time, Erita discovered that it wasn't a one-time deal that people suffered from major plights - be it at the mercy of nature or of society itself, help was needed. Countless before her had stepped up, being protectors, guardians, scholars and teachers, they all stood up courageously to look out for their ever growing home, and expansive city of Janus...

And Dryad herself had become a new face among them.

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The proper introduction for her starts below. Credits for the little blurb and otherwise will be further down the page.

Yes, this is in fact Panda Latch. Yes, this is her as a hero. Yes, I'm sure you've probably already seen a fair few heroes out there being made by folks. I'm just adding to the pile since this whole concept for this sort of hero stretched as far back as 2017 for me, realized fully only now.

To the brunt of this:

Dryad has the ability to control the plants at will, so long as she's in direct contact with - physically touching - a plant. Some certain types of clothing, or layered types of clothing can be a hindrance for her. So long as she cannot properly physically touch a plant, she is limited in her abilities to control it, if being able to at all. Ranged control of plants is possible for her, requiring both focus, and a lot of energy. More on that below.

Energy in, energy out.

Her ability is a unique mix that ties directly to Erita herself; energy must come in, and energy must go out. Her energy in this case can be used as a means to physically heal herself, grant her a steroid in the form of sudden strength, endurance, or agility, and to force plants into her control and alter them as she sees fit. Said energy comes from the life force of nature itself, to which she can readily take within her own body, absorbing and storing it for a variety of uses. Plants that have their life force taken start to wither and die, crumbling into dust if their life energy reaches absolute zero. Should she ever use anything besides nature as a source, her own life becomes at stake as she's at the risk of accidentally killing herself from exhaustion from burning her own life force to strengthen nature.

For her to use ranged control of plants however, it requires an inefficient burning of the energy she takes in, and as a result, is unreliable and harder to control as opposed to being physically in touch with the flora.

A well trained individual.

Hailing from an Eastern territory, Erita is no stranger to martial arts experience. Showing startling proficiency with a Jian, including pole arms and hand to hand combat, she's far from helpless when without plants, or being caught off guard. A battle of endurance however, is something she may not last in for far too long before she starts feeling exhaustion set in. Ranged attacks are also quite an effective means to keep her at bay, as her own ranged options are limited, and are hap-hazard at best.

A focus on agility.

Being well trained doesn't mean that she's willing to lumber around in a suit of armor so readily, much of her clothing and armor is in fact lightweight to allow increased maneuverability with minimal downsides. However, as a drawback to this focus on mobility, the armored and reinforced pieces aren't exactly durable, save for the bottoms of her boots. Even the barest bits of metal she wears on her arms and shins can only sustain glancing blows before they start denting.

An elegantly decorated mask.

While not much to write home about, Erita used to be the one to paint the masks herself as she found them to be a creative use of her small, artistic talent. Not only that, it gives people something to recognize her by beyond the red hair, rounded ears, and imposing figure. The masks themselves however, were never crafted by her. Once they were hard plastic, but she found those to break too easily, now they're either painted carbon fiber masks, or something a bit more futuristic... Much to her chagrin.

Struggling to embrace the future.

She is no stranger to technology. Embracing and adapting to its rapid change however, is something quite difficult for her to grasp. While still having basic levels of experience, and understanding the importance of having something electronic with her, her own electronic footprint is quite minimal at best, and next to none at worst. Still, this doesn't stop her from occasionally floundering with more intricate aspects of technology that exist in her world.

Credits.

An important special thanks to  ryono for designing this fantastic ensemble for Dryad/Erita.

Dryad/Erita Aichi belongs to me (  feyro )