Druids (Guild)

The Druids are now a defunct guild, replaced by the Shamans after the loss of Metamorphosis.

The Viridian Order

The Druids Guild originated in a time long past, a result of experiments performed by the Ankyrean Conclave of Nature. A group of Ankyreans left Spinesreach to study various plants. They were gone for quite a long time, having limited contact with Spinesreach. Through their studies, the members of the Viridian Order discovered how to communicate with plantlife, as well as how to bond with animal spirits. The longer the Viridian Order was away from Spinesreach, the less the Ankyreans thought of them, and they were eventually a vague memory, completely forgotten for centuries when the Grand Artifice occurred.

Acorns to Oaks

The Druids Guild of the Midnight Age began with the tutelage of Jallah, Eldest of the Druids. Though it wasn't known for many years, Jallah was not only an Ankyrean, but one of the members of the Viridian Order. The only other still-living member of the Order was Seasone the Industrious. Jallah shared his knowledge out of kindness, while Seasone would not share her knowledge, only the fruits of it, and only for a price. As the years passed, many joined the Druids and sought to defend nature, though the specifics remained somewhat vague resulting in a great deal of in-fighting. Shifting over time, at some points the majority of the Druids supported Haern's ideals regarding nature, taking an aggressive approach to defending the wilds. At other times, the majority followed the tenets of Lleis or Slyphe.

Roots and Branches

The role of the Druids was primarily vigilance and defense, which they accomplished by listening to nature itself. The whispers of the trees or the chattering of a squirrel could be a call to respond to a threat to the natural world. To protect the wilds, the Druids originally employed the skills of Metamorphosis, Groves, and Concoctions. Concoctions eventually became a trade that could be learned by any living mortal and the Druids gained the ability of Conjuration to aid them. Metamorphosis allowed Druids and Sentinels to bond with animal spirits, gaining some of the natural abilities associated with the bonded animal spirit. The Groves skill allowed a Druid to bond with a place in a forest or jungle, granting them a powerful symbiotic relationship and the ability to call on the forest for aid while there. The skill of Grove Annihilation was devastating. It held all foes in ones grove still, unable to retaliate for a short time after which the Grove would overcharge itself with sunlight energy before detonating, killing everyone within and severing the bond the Druid and the Grove shared. Calling upon the forest to do this inflicted a heavy toll as the forests would shun the user for a year. Concoctions was the practice of safely harvesting plants and creating curative products such as salves and elixirs from them. Once this skill became common knowledge, the Druids took up Conjuration, allowing them to transmute materials into various sigils and magical effects that they could use in combat.

A Seed Sprouts From Compost

The Druid Guildhall just west of Delos was assaulted and Jallah was slain. The Druids took up residence within a tree near the Heartwood of Duiran. They resided there for some time, continuing their mission until the Corruption of Dendara. The link to the nature spirits the Druids had was broken, and their power waned. The Druids Guild ended shortly thereafter, but an ancient order re-emerged, and from the ashes of the Druids were born the Shamans, a contemporary group with similar goals, but a somewhat different history and methodology. Only a handful of Druids remain these days, most living in their own groves in isolated areas.