Selvans

Somewhere slightly to the west of Felhallow lies a clearing in the forest. In that clearing, sits a temple. Or rather, the remains of one. Ivy crawls over the tumbled down walls and curls round window panes with no glass in them. It’s the same inside. Tree roots and trailing vines threaten to trip any curious visitors or (possible) thieves. Not that there’s much left to steal. Everything of value (or not) was taken years ago.

The statues are worn and crumbling, battered by the elements. There is something different though. In what used to be the heart of the temple stands a figure. At first it could be taken to be just another statue, carved out of what appears to be some type of green stone, but take a closer look. The head twitches as a butterfly lands on the muzzle of what is clearly an Imperial. Or something in the form of one, perhaps. Eyes aglow, he watches the insect take off again, following its flight path back up into the sky.

Selvans is…old. He doesn’t remember how long he’s been around, but then, it doesn’t really matter. As a forest spirit, he chose to guard this place, and that is what he does. Decades ago, he roamed the forest, protecting the life that flourished within it. Every so often there’d be a few dragons who ventured into the forest, and he’d watch them curiously. They never really stayed long, however, until one day when a small number of them found the remains of a city and began to rebuild. Again, Selvans watched them, sometimes creeping into the city at night in order to explore. He didn’t directly interact with any of them. Not at first. Again, there was a lot of upheaval, with various dragons either leaving, or new ones coming in. Selvans wasn’t sure who he could trust.

Eventually, it was one of the residents who stumbled across Selvans in the temple he calls home. Acanthus had been out collecting flowers to sell in her shop, and had certainly not expected to find an inquisitive nature spirit. Though afraid at first, she soon realised that he wasn’t interested in hurting her. He simply wanted to know about the inhabitants of the city — who they were and why they were there. Information that Acanthus readily gave. Over the course of the year she bought others to the temple. Selvans enjoyed meeting all of them. He’d actually been feeling rather lonely. Playing with the animals and insects of the forest was all very well, but having a conversation with someone was…fun.

It was Acanthus who noticed the vines running the length of Selvans body. At first she cut them off, thinking that maybe they wouldn’t grow back. But they did. Bright purple flowers bloomed along his sides and wingtips. Ivy is entangled in his mane, all the way down to his tail tip. None of the plants bother him much. Occasionally there’s a very vague sense of itching, but that soon goes away. He’s aware that eventually the plants will take over, rooting him to the ground until there’s nothing left of him. But…he hopes that won’t be for a while yet. Hopes he can watch the butterflies that are attracted to his flowers a bit longer. And, above all, he hopes he can watch over the dragons who’ve become his friends (and maybe their descendants) for a while longer. That’s all he really wishes for.