The Encyclopedia

So you just found a balsa wyrm egg in the forest and aren’t sure what to do with it. For most species, this would be bad either for you or for the egg, but balsa wyrms aren't exactly parent-of-the-year material. Chances are the egg is perfectly fine, but here's how you can be sure. Incidentally, while you've most likely picked up a balsa wyrm egg, you care for a balsa drake in exactly the same way.

If the egg has any sign of a glowing green aura, then it's strong enough to survive the trip back to the castle, even if there are some mild structural problems. Otherwise, lift it up to get a feel for the weight. The egg should feel like it weighs about as much as an equivalent chunk of wood. Balsa eggs are naturally slightly hollow, but if it feels much too light, set it down and walk away. There's nothing you can do if the egg has been eaten away that badly.

If the egg feels like the right weight, you'll still want to examine it closely. There shouldn't be any large discolorations, gashes, or missing chunks. You do get a little natural color variation in an egg, but there shouldn't be any large patches, especially if they’re a different texture from the rest of the wood. Minor scratches are also fine, as long as they're about as deep as you would get if you scratched the egg with your fingernail. Soft spots are a very bad sign, as is crumbling wood.

If everything seems fine, bring the egg back to the castle. Otherwise, leave the egg where you found it and let nature take its course. Once the egg is safely in your possession, check it at least three times a day for irregularities. Balsa wyrms are hard to treat at any age, but there's a chance to at least stop damage if you catch it early enough.

After the first trace of green aura appears, the egg will be more stable and will only need checking once a day. Once the green aura has almost completely covered the egg, the wood will soften considerably. This is perfectly normal and a sign that the egg is about to hatch.

So, let's say you had a perfectly healthy egg that hatched normally. Now, you have an animate chunk of wood to care for. Balsa wyrms don't eat, but that doesn't make a hatchling easy to care for, even when small. Their body language is hard to read even for experts, often making it difficult to tell if they're in pain. They can carry around full termite infestations without seeming to notice. As a result, they need to be checked daily for signs of termites, wood rot, and so forth. Unless you want to spend all your time pinning down a restless temperamental hatchling, you'll want to recruit a few sprite midges to help out. If you can't find a leafsprite that you trust to heal the hatchling instead of making it grow to a ridiculous size, holly pygmies are surprisingly helpful.

Now is a good time to get your hatchling used to periodic light (very light) pruning, as the trailing tendrils will otherwise grow to the point where they knock into things. The very tips of the wood will be dead, so if done properly trimming them is like trimming fingernails. Balsa wyrms hate being trimmed, though, so you do want to start while they're still small enough that you have some chance of controlling them. You'll know you've taken off too much if sap starts oozing out. A drop or two is fine, but a steady oozing is a sign that you cut too deeply. The bits you trim off should be saved, as they contain magic and have many uses.

Don't expect too much from your hatchling. At most, you'll get one that grudgingly tolerates you and may choose to occasionally spend time in your company. They're animate trees, after all, and trees aren't exactly known for being social. On the bright side, they aren't prone to mischief. If you can, start training your hatchling to tolerate being touched, as this will make treating your adult balsa wyrm much easier. With enough patience, you’ll also be able to collect sap “tears,” which are worth their weight in reactor stones both because of their usefulness in alchemy and because only the very brave or foolhardy will willingly get that close to a balsa drake’s face. The “tears” have nothing to do with injury and emotional state and are most likely a way of removing minor irritants from around the eye sockets.

Once your hatchling starts smelling like freshly-cut wood, it's close to becoming an adult. You probably won't see much of it from now on, so it's just as well that it’s hardier now and better able to take care of itself. You'll still want to check for splinters when you can. Though not necessarily a sign of ill health, they could mean that your balsa wyrm is getting dangerously aggressive. Balsa wyrms don't tend to react unless something starts chewing on them, but as their claws and teeth carry a mild venom, an aggressive balsa wyrm can be a serious threat to you or to others.

Grown balsa wyrms are pretty much self-sufficient. If you had what passes for a strong relationship with your hatchling, then you may be able to turn your adult into a decent battle champion, though there are better - and safer - choices. Do not try to ride your balsa wyrm. Though they are strong enough to support your weight, they aren't really built to carry riders. Also, they often suddenly take strong objection to having passengers, even if they seemed fine with it at first. They tend to fly quite high. It isn't worth the risk. Balsa wyrms aren't the most rewarding companions, but there is something reassuring about having a giant animated tree limb that might come to your rescue in the event of a demon attack.

Balsa wyrms raised at the castle aren't any better parents than those living in the wild, so if you for some reason want to repeat the process, you can acquire any eggs your balsa wyrm lays without worrying about it getting mad at you. Once seems to be enough for most mages, but a few have tried to build a balsa dragon flock (or perhaps that should be forest).