A being living in the community of Grove, in Albie Drift, the Oak Sage is a rare sapient plant changeling. It holds a seat on the Grange council that governs the communities of the Drift. Travelers also come from far and wide to consult with the Sage on matters ranging from agriculture to jurisprudence - its voracious appetite for information, prodigious memory, decades of experience and native good sense makes it a valuable asset to the region.
Physically, the Oak Sage resembles a shattered tree-trunk. It's body is about 90cm in diameter and 4.5 meters tall and covered in leathery, scaling bark-skin. A dozen or so limbs 10-20cm in diameter extend from its top, bearing a thin spread of foliage that catches sunlight. Another dozen or so lesser limbs extend from the body at various angles, and the Sage uses these to manipulate objects before its eyes. All the Sage's limbs can move, but the thicker ones are rarely used - the slender limbs move with more dexterity, even if their brittle nature means they break more easily than the thicker ones. Emerging from the bottom of the trunk are a dozen or so gnarled roots which the Sage drives into the soil to draw water, and carry food to its mouth on the rare occasions that it eats. The Sage can also "walk" slowly when it must, picking its footing carefully and moving at no more than a slow amble. It prefers not to move if neccessary, and its dwelling is arranged so the household revolves around the courtyard where the Sage spends most of its time.
This being is a remarkable sport. It's hard to say what it's progenitor species even was - its leaves and body don't resemble the only other motile plant endemic to the region, the whip willow, and there are no oak trees for hundreds of kilometers. The Sage cannot recall its youth, having come only slowly into its self-awareness. The community of Grove formed around the Sage, and its long adulthood - more than one hundred years by its own reckoning - has spanned the entire modern period. The Sage is pleased to receive whatever visitors come to town - it delights to see new people, hear new tales and receive information from far-off places. It can even sometimes pay for information, using money and goods it receives for various services it performs for the community. Folk in this region seek out the Sage to settle disputes, register contracts, declare oaths and curses and marriages, and submit disputes for arbitration. The Sage's long and perfect memory and immense reputation mean its decisions are rarely disputed.
