They speak using the gusts of wind blowing through their canopies.Īrthur Spiderwick once encountered a red maple, whose spirit manifested in the form of a female child who never left the shadow of the tree. Treefolk can separate themselves from their trees and assume a faerie/human-like form. Sleeping under an apple tree is a dangerous business, however, as one risks being carried away by faeries. Likewise, apple treefolk are thought to give power and youth to those who eat their apples. Even eating the flesh of an animal who has eaten hazel nuts from a sentient tree is enough to gain wisdom. Hazel treefolk are thought to be very wise and can impart wisdom to those eating their nuts. If blood-like sap seeps from their wood when it is cut, it is thought to be proof of their sentience. Although elder trees are thought to be protective, their treefolk behave ambivalently. Also considered dangerous are hawthorn treefolk occurring in groups of three or more. The holly treeman, by contrast, is considered malevolent. Treefolk of these types are the most likely to be friendly in nature. It may be considered so protective because of its red berries, which the female holly shares. Of the protective treefolk, the most powerful is the mountain ash, also known as rowan. Oak trees are particularly sacred to faeries and have the greatest likelihood of sentience. Oak, ash, single thorn, and female holly treefolk are thought to be protective. Treefolk will die if they are cut down, although some linger on as spirits to haunt those who caused their demise. Treefolk are likely to grow at the center of a faerie ring, to be a lone tree on a hillside or the oldest tree in a grove, to be beside a welling spring, or to be one of two intertwined trees. Lastly look for loose dirt and overturned moss. Also check around prominent trees for roots above the ground. Obvious expression on the tree, composed of knotholes and strange permutations of the bark, is a sign the tree may contain a spirit. In their humanoid form, treefolk are often described as resembling their tree, so that an apple treewoman might have green hair and brownish skin while an elder treeman might have eyes as purply black as berries. Treefolk can take on a humanoid shape and move a short distance from their tree, or, in extreme cases, uproot the entire tree and use the roots as a shuffling form of locomotion. Although all trees are magical and many sacred to faeries, only a few trees are sentient.
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