Druidism in Artesia

Overview
The druids of Artesia are small, select groups of mostly nomadic priests of They Who Nurture, the deity of nature. While stationary groups exist, the directive of the druids is to safeguard the sanctity of the natural order and the balance of the world. As such, most druids take a neutral stance on many issues and resolve to stay unaffiliated with politics or the dispensing of justice. To safeguard the natural order is to perform blessings for forests, crop fields, and replant shorn trees where they have not been. Druids have been known to operate closely with followers of She Who Sows, the goddess of agriculture.

Some druids, specifically those more zealous, take up arms in defense of the natural order, namely to prevent overhunting. The most zealous, however, are the Druids that would seek the reclamation of land by nature, though they are small in number and shunned by most other circles.

A druid is by no means a mage. They are simply priests of They Who Nurture, and anyone can become one so long as they are recognized by a circle.

Druidic ‘Tells’
While mostly indistinguishable from common folk, druids have some minor qualities which set them apart from most. They are entirely clad in simple clothes, mostly either green or brown, with a large focus of pelts, hide, and furs. Some druids take to wearing flowers or other foliage in their hair, or as wrist and ankle adornments. The arrangements of these plants often tell a message, describing their wearer through color and species. The druids are known to be humble folk, and stray away from most vanity. As such, they have little to none metal jewelry, and refrain from wearing armor, unless leather.

Perhaps the most notable ‘tell’ of a druid is their totem. Each druid carries a wooden emblem, or statuette depicting an animal, plant, or object of their choice. A totem is a special item, one hand-crafted by each druid as part of their initiation into a circle.

Circles and Groves
Druids are not one large, group, but rather operate in smaller circles. Each circle operates under their own name, usually named for natural symbols. Notable circles include the Circle of Thorn and the Circle of Meadows. More malicious druids tend to live outside of circles, working by themselves on a task they call ‘Reclamation’. These druids are often mistaken for witches from Artesian folklore.

Circles operate on their own agendas for the most part, not often cooperating with others. Some focus on reclaiming the land by force and others are more take a much more peaceful and natural approach to protecting nature. Circles are simply a way for like-minded druids to congregate and work together, making their tasks much easier. The Circle of Thorns resides deeper in tall forests where the surroundings of their grove are full of dangerous, difficult to traverse terrain and thick bushes of briar and bramble.

The Circle of Meadows is a simple circle who find solace living among great fields of flowers. A typical ceremony for this circle is to plant varying flowers in a circle on the first day of spring, if all the flowers grow to bloom their first on the same day then it means a prosperous year ahead but if they do not it means there is a meadow elsewhere than needs the circle’s attention, leading them to pack up and find this meadow in distress.

Druidic Ceremonies
Druidic ceremonies are careful and meticulous, often involving sacrifice of blood, or worldly possessions and luxuries in which a adherent will cast off an object, like a ring or hand mirror, off into a brazier. Overall, however, ceremonies will differ with each circle. One tradition that all adherents partake in is known as ‘rebalancing’ in which a followers, likely a group of druids, will set out in search of an affront to the natural balance and repair it. Druids believe that everything operates as part of life’s cycle, and that everything which lives, human or not, possesses a soul and feels deeply.

The ceremony of establishing a grove is one important to every circle, and is relatively the same in each group. The birth of a grove begins with the planting of a single sapling, which will be known as the elder tree when grown. When the tree has reached adulthood, each druid in the circle will carve scripture and images into the trunk, littering it in intricate designs and words. The images carved will vary on the circle, but the tradition of the elder tree is one present in every circle. As more druids enter the fold of a circle, the tree will bear more carvings.