Child of Yggdrasil

The children of Yggdrasil are sentient parts of the World Tree, saplings with long “hair” of ash leaves and radial symmetry. A child of Yggdrasil’s four legs are rootlike and often planted in the ground. Its eyes sit at the center of flowers, and its “hands” resemble tentacles, though with twiggy branches rather than fingers.

Cliff-Lovers
The children of Yggdrasil climb vertical cliffs and steep slopes in search of warmth and sunlight, roosting in these places until thirst drives them to climb down to a stream or pond. They often devour bird eggs on cliffs and can catch unwary climbers by surprise.

Whispering Serpent Egg Horrors
Legends say the children of Yggdrasil came from a dragon’s egg laid on the World Tree, which hatched a huge mass of serpents, each of them infused with the sap and cold wisdom of the World Tree itself. These larval forms of the children of Yggdrasil resemble a ball of serpents intertwined with leaves, and they feed on squirrels and mice until they grow large enough to lure bigger prey.

Hissing Wind
The snakelike tongues and forked leaves of a child of Yggdrasil are always in motion; they are never entirely silent. In groups of three or more, the sound of their hissing resembles an ill, disquieting wind.

Grove Gatherings
At night they come down from cliffs and hills and gather near streams to hiss, whisper, mate, and devour sacrifices left to them by druids or giants. At times like this, up to a dozen children of Yggdrasil may gather in one place, fusing their limbs and branches until shortly before dawn, when they go their separate ways.