Weeping Dryad

Carved from a single block of marble that seems to be polished to be as smooth as a mirror, the statue of the Weeping Dryad depicts a dryad in a state of eternal sorrow, with large tears streaming down her delicate face. Her detailed eyes stare into the pond in the Whispering Garden and seem to reflect a profound sadness, as if mourning an irreversible loss. Its mournful presence is a singular silent witness to the multitude of conspiracies and confidential discussions held within the garden.   Legend has it that the dryad represented by the statue was once a living guardian of the woods that surrounded Thornspire Castle long ago. She fell deeply in love with a human hunter who hunted deer in the woods. In a series of tragic events while hunting deer, the man fell slipped and fell from the edge of a cliff into a like in which he drowned. According to the legend, when she found the drowned hunter, the dryad's grief was so profound that she slowly turned to stone. Some say the statue is in fact that dryad, but it is more likely that it is an artistic representation of that legend. No matter what the actual truth is, the statue is said by many to be cursed. Some claim to feel a sense of overwhelming empathy when near the statue, even going as far as saying they can hear a faint weeping in the stillness of the night, as if the dryad's grief transcends the boundary between stone and flesh. Other people even warn visitors of the castle not to touch the statue with tales of individuals who have turned to stone when they came into contact with the weeping dryad.