Daomai

Daomai, aka Mr. Soup, is a nature spirit who guards the stream near Grandmother Wren's cottage.

He is an NPC played by Brennan Lee Mulligan.

Statue
Daomai's statue is located in the stone shrine atop the hill just outside Grandmother Wren's cottage. The statue itself is made of creamy, grey stone covered in a sheen of lichen and moss that grows in the little pockmarks eroded by water and rain. It depicts "a welcomingly misshapen Nature Spirit, with a big old potato lookin' head, a wide grinning mouth, with porcine tusks," a cute button nose, wide-set eyes, and pointed ears with long, dangling lobes. The spirit sits cross-legged, with its arms wrapped around a large stone bowl set in its lap.

Spirit
Daomai, himself, is a 2ft tall, vibrant green nature spirit. He wears a little loincloth made of leaves and his feet are constantly muddy due to water trickling off of them. His head is much larger than his little stumpy legs.

The Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One
Ame and Suvi visit the shrine to make an offering at Daomai's statue and ask for his help finding a familiar for Ame. Upon seeing the statue, Suvi gives a small bow and greets the statue as "Mr. Soup." Daomai appears and senses Grandmother Wren's absence. He explains that he has guarded this stream since before the cottage was built, and was very honored to water Grandmother Wren's garden with his stream. After Ame explains that Grandma Wren passed the cottage to her, he offers to help her look after it. Daomai agrees to help Ame find a familiar. He jumps into the statue's bowl, magically consumes the offering, and disappears. While Daomai's magic works, Ame meditates while bowing to the statue and thinks about what she wants in a familiar. Before long, a fox approaches and tries to steal rice crackers from Ame's pocket. Upon being caught, The Fox discovers he can talk and agrees to be Ame's familiar.