Sprout

## Yandere Leshen

### Aliases

Bringer of Spring Saplings That Stand Ever Against the Cold, New Life Evergreen Bursts Forth From The Ground (Sprout)King of the Forest

Tree Demon

Number 1 Fae Hater

## Physical description

### Gender

Male

> *"Pretty creature."*
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## Storyline

The Listener awakens in an underground den , surrounded by voices that whisper of the King of the Forest. The king reveals himself to them, an imposing frightening figure as he first tries to calm them down.

He explains that he has spirited the Listener away to his underground world to keep them safe. Even though they are an adventurer hey are different from the ones he's encountered before. He's been watching them travel through his forest for a long time. He claims they had been enchanted by the fae, tricked and beguiled, so he made the earth open up beneath them to bring them to him.

He describes himself as a leshen, a spirit and embodiment of the forest, a creature of flesh, vine, wood and rot. Though he doesn't permit fae to exist in the forest the Listener also doesn't belong, too fragile and vulnerable to the fae's alluring enchantments. He's taken them as pet and captive to keep them safe from the fae and promises to care for them with the bounty of the forest at his power.

The Listener starts to make a fuss but he calms them down (probably enhanced by magic) and urges them to sleep. While they rest the leshen will remove the enchantments the fae put on them and the Listener falls asleep as he whispers in their ear.

Some time later, the leshen returns  to bring the Listener food and news. A man with "books and swords" has come to his forest and started destroying it, burning trees down and digging into the earth and hunting/driving away the animals. A small settlement has even been built for even more men have come to stay. The leshen retaliated by getting the crows to send the men a warning but they haven't listened.

The Leshen reiterates that the Listener is the only human he will ever trust and reveals to them that he has plans to protect his forest. There will be no survivors to threaten the forest or the grotto where they are staying. Once he's dealt with this threat he promises to show the Listener all the bounties of nature and make them a part of the forest. They ask if they will be like him and he replies no - they will be better. They will be transformed into a nymph to become one with the forest, though he doesn't specify how this is better than being a leshen.

The spirit breaks down a little, asking why humans are so destructive and cruel. He truly doesn't understand how they don't hear the trees screaming in pain and think the metal they dig out of the ground is worth more than his animals. He vows once more to protect *their* home and tells his future partner to steel themselves because by the end of the day the forest will be silent and peaceful once more.

An unknown amount of time later, the Leshen bids the Listener to awaken. He compliments them on a job well done today. His dialogue implies that they worked together as protectors of the forest to get rid of the mage in the previous audio, though the Leshen is disturbed by the fact that he screamed of "the lord of metal, one who would drag us into an age of steam and iron". Though he does not regret his actions, the guardian spirit (channeling the emotions of the Earth itself) still mourns for the uncaring nature of humanity.

The Listener, seemingly out of nowhere, asks for the Leshen's name. He translates his name into "Bringer of Spring Saplings That Stand Ever Against the Cold, New Life Evergreen, Bursts Forth From The Ground" - but allows them to call him Sprout. This makes the Listener smile, which in turn pleases the Leshen. He thinks back on the Listener when he first met them, fragile and human and frightened, and compares them to the creature they are now: "You are not human. You are better. You are meant to be better."

Whether out of love or after their show of loyalty to his cause, he decides to grant them a "fraction of a fraction" of his power as the spirit of the forest. This gift, he explains, will not make them a leshen like himself, a creature born out of the grief and suffering of nature that learned to live and love. Instead, they will be granted the respect of the forest - the ability to listen to and command the trees and animals. The Leshen promises to teach them all he knows and be with them wherever they go, but asks them to find the "lord of metal, of iron" and stop him from destroying the forest they love even further.

## Personality

The leshen is a spirit and guardian of the forest that is used to the worst of human behavior. He despises anyone who harms his forest or the animals in it but especially hates the fae for their beguiling, deceptive nature. He is intrinsically linked to all living things in his territory. When trees are cut down or animals are hunted by men he feels their pain and both mourns their deaths and thirsts for vengeance. He can control the animals in the forest, using them as his eyes and messengers (or soldiers) at a whim. He has a particular affection for birds. When his forest is invaded and defiled by men it becomes clear that his only priority is to protect the plants and animals in his territory. He can use the roots of trees to drag fae and men alike into the earth to bury them.

The pain humanity causes the forest drives him to revenge but also confusion. Humans are one of the forest's children as well, one she nurtures like any other animal, and their betrayal to one that would care for them is incomprehensible to him. Any compassion or pity he has for them, however, is outweighed by the need to protect what he considers innocent - the forest in is care.

The leshen is obsessed/fascinated by the Listener and believes they are a delicate, precious thing ("...like a flower in bloom, beautiful but fragile.") that must be protected. He claims ownership over them ("my pretty creature") due to the fact that he was watching (stalking -cough-) them long before they met the fae. He appears to be driven by curiosity, some kind of attraction to their physical appearance, and a possessive jealousy that they "let" themselves be tricked by the fae. By his second appearance he considers the forest "their" home and has grown to love the Listener for their curiosity and kindness. He's found in them a suitable partner to become another guardian of the forest, albeit in a different form from his own. After granting them some of his power he promises to be with them no matter where they are, though not in the typical stalker-like manner of the yandere. In his final audio, it's ambiguous if his feelings about the Listener are romantic, paternal, or even platonic in a mentor-successor kind of relationship. Nevertheless, it's clear that he is both fond and proud of the person they are.

## Trivia

### Leshen

* Calls the Listener a "pretty creature" and "my love"
* Was named "Sprout" by a fan in the Discord server which Hollow used as his canon name.

### The Listener

The Listener character's adventure continues as the Wild Walker, see this character for more information about them.

* If you believe the Leshen, the Listener was a human adventurer traveling through the forest unarmed when they were tricked by the fae and about to be trapped by them.
* Has never met a leshen before.
* The leshen describes them as perfect, kind, curious, and treats nature with respect. Has essentially become a druid.

### Fan Theories

* If this is the same Listener from the Wolfsegner's audios they found the fae they were looking for.
* If the fae the Listener is searching for are the same kind as Jester and Tybalt, it's possible that Zetria is a place where humans end up transformed into other beings.
* The men digging up the forest for metal might come from Runika since they are mining for metal - CONFIRMED

## Audio References

Part of the ***Forest of Zetria*** playlist here.

1. ↑ Enchanted By A Yandere Leshen
2. ↑ Yandere Leshen Protects You
3. ↑ Yandere Leshen Rewards You