#askpyriad

The different types of nymphs all have complex relationships with eachother, just like the relationships between their respective elements in nature.

Most other nymphs fear pyriads because they're susceptible to fire (limniads, dryads, isanae, etc.)

Oreads and pleiadae are flame-resistant, so they don't care about them as much.

Pyriads fear aurae and hydriads because these nymphs can extinguish them with rain and hydromancy.

It's an unfortunate fact that pyriads have to consume flammable materials to survive. They love to munch on the wood and plants in forests and might start fires in their wake. They're not trying to be mean, they're just doing what's in their nature.

But many of their sisters obviously have a problem with this--namely the limniads, dryads, and faunae. These nymphs may call for help from aurae and hydriads to chase the pyriads away.

However, there are certain situations where limniads, dryads, and other flammable nymphs will actually ally with pyriads to accomplish a goal. For example...

In the story "Red Orchid", a limniad named Flora is struggling to save her territory from an invasive worm species. She dutifully picks these worms off her plants one by one each day, and she knows that the only way to get rid of them for good is to burn down the forest and start over. She doesn't want to burn the forest down because there is a village there that she cares about. But in a future story, a wildfire rips through and burns it all down anyway. This leads to heartache for the villagers, but it does successfully eliminate the worms.

Most nymphs don't care about peoples like Flora does, so they'd be more willing to do a controlled burn to keep nature in balance. They often recruit pyriads to help them with this. The pyriads benefit by getting a huge meal and the limniads benefit by eliminating harmful species/disease, so it's a win-win situation.

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Questions/Comments?

Pyriads are awesome. Unfortunately they haven't played much of a role in the series beyond being Disgrace's minions, but I plan on featuring more of them in the future! There was one pyrophasma in "Trial of Titans" but I can't think of anywhere else they've appeared otherwise.

Pyriads have it rough because they actually NEED to destroy things to survive. If their flames die out, they're done. So they just kinda run around, desperately chomping on wood or paper or anything combustible to stay alive, and predictably, most people aren't cool with that. But most of them don't mean any harm.

I haven't finalized the concept for Zygrow's CEO, but here are my ideas so far:

-They are probably a vat-grown person themselves.

-They have an obsessive need for physical perfection, and this has led them to get monstrous amounts of plastic surgery and body augmentations. Ironically every procedure just makes them look more freakish and further from perfection.

-They are quite nasty and have low empathy for others. But this is the result of a vain and really messed up childhood being raised by people who are just as obsessed with perfection as they are.

-They are probably human, and they have an inferiority complex about it because humans are considered the squishiest and weakest of all commoners. Alternatively, they could be a dworf, a Dami elf, or a faun. I haven't decided.

As for the Zygrow nymphs...

I talked a little about them in this post. Zygrow has been experimenting with creating new races of nymphs with unique properties, in an attempt to solve some of the issues that Zareen Empire faces (pollution, trash disposal, resource shortages, etc.)

For example, they created a new race of pyriads called "whiteflames". As their name suggests, these pyriads burn white-hot, much hotter than their sisters, and require massive amounts of high-octane fuel to stay alive. These nymphs were "employed" (more like enslaved...) to power plants and used to incinerate objects that were difficult to dispose of, like tires and old fuel.

These nymphs are good at burning stuff very quickly. However, they produce toxic gases when they do so. Unlike other nymphs who instinctively seek natural materials like wood and straw to eat, whiteflames act like addicts with a desperate craving for more potent fuel sources...all of which are synthetic and highly toxic. They love jet fuel, plastic, coal, and rubber in particular.

Some of these nymphs once escaped captivity and wreaked absolute havoc across the empire. They made beelines for fuel storage warehouses, airports, tire shops, and more, committing a string of arsons and massive explosions in their wake. They ran amok for quite some time because they were so dangerous, there was no simple way to capture them. They burned so hot that throwing water on them did not extinguish them like normal pyriads, they just kept burning like a tire fire. They lobbed explosive fireballs that took out entire buildings. It took the Zareenite military weeks of time and billions of Z-credits to round them all up and neutralize them.

Zygrow denied any involvement with their creation.

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Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Don't worry, these are totally legit questions! Unfortunately the answer isn't a simple yes or no. Let me explain...

So, it's true that pyriads are very hot to the touch. Conversely, isanae are very cold. As in, touching them can potentially cause burns and frostbite respectively.

However, not all species will be affected by this the same way. Humans are particularly squishy and have smooth, thin skin compared to many other peoples, so they probably couldn't touch these nymphs without some kind of protective gear. But ogres, for example, have tough leathery skin that can resist extreme temperatures better. Magic can also be used to counter the nymphs' flame and freeze effects.

Red elves are naturally fireproof. Even standing in a campfire would do nothing to them, so they could safely touch a pyriad. They're still susceptible to frostbite though, so they'd have to watch themselves around isanae.

Also worth mentioning, both pyriads and isanae can adjust their own temperatures to an extent. Pyriads can lower their internal temperature quite a bit--still uncomfortable for a human to touch, but won't result in a burn right away. Isanae can do the opposite by raising theirs. Neither of them should remain at these temperatures for too long though.

Likewise, pyriads can temporarily spike their temperatures super high, so anything that touches them will burst into flame. They typically do this as a defense mechanism, and Isanae can do the same except anything that touches them will turn to ice.

TL;DR: humans generally can't touch these nymphs without getting burned or frozen, but many other species can, either by way of natural temperature resistance or magic spells.

So I would say if you're a human looking to pursue a sexual relationship with one of these nymphs, well...your best bet is to put on some protective gear and get creative. Forget lingerie--bust out the welding mask and fire-retardant gloves!

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Questions/Comments?

Every nymph is an individual with her own experiences, thoughts, and feelings. No two are the same. That said, pyriads (fire nymphs) face more prejudice from other species than other types of nymph, simply because of the destructive way they feed themselves.

Now, pyriads are not usually destructive out of malice. They have a fiery core that keeps them alive, and they will die if they let this fire go out. So they have to eat a steady diet of flammable materials like wood, grass, and yes...sometimes people and animals if they're desperate. Anything that can burn is edible to a pyriad.

To answer your question: yes, you could totally be friends with a pyriad. It's just that most people can't overcome their fear enough to try, because they have all kinds of assumptions, believing they're just murder-crazy flame-lobbers who burn everything in sight.

Some pyriads won't be interested in friendship, but plenty will if they're just given a chance. They tend to be distrustful of peoples because of how they're usually treated (people throw water and dirt at them, yell at them, chase them away from towns, etc.)

A bundle of dry firewood would be a good peace offering to get your foot in the door. You would really have to show them that you mean no harm, because they will likely not trust you right away. No sane pyriad would randomly burn people she cared about, even if her flame core was dying.

Same principle as a hungry person. Most people wouldn't cannibalize their friends, even if they were starving to death. So I imagine a pyriad wouldn't either.

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Questions/Comments?