Druids and Tribes

*"Without them, The Wild will come and claim us all. It's out there, you know? It wants us to come home to it, to return to the forest that we all came from. But, we have to resist it because it'll change us. Make us not human. And the only way that's not going to happen is with them. So, I don't care if they make you nervous, and I don't care if you don't understand them. They are wise. They will teach us. More importantly, they will protect us."*

Druids are the most revered and most important figure within a Tribe. They are the protectors of the village, and without them, The Wild may very well consume the whole village. As such, Druids command utmost respect, and it almost never occurs that a Druid and his or her Tribe have any sort of falling out. Druids, however, do not wield individual political power within a Tribe but almost always sit on the Elder Council within a village. The role of a Druid is seen as a spiritual one and also as a teacher and protector. As Druids are often trained to read and are well educated during their apprenticeship, they are also a valuable source of learning, science, and wisdom for the Tribe and all of its people. In this regard, they are very similar to a pastor in their role among their people.

## Spell Casters

Druids are also attuned to magic, and as such, they are powerful spell casters. The most common types of spells Druids learn are based in Wild Magic. Because the Great Forest is so inundated in magic energy, it is quite easy for Druids to gather energy and wield very powerful spells. Thus, Wild Magic is often defined as spells which harness lots of energy and as a result can sometimes have unpredictable results. When it works properly, however, the outcome of their spells is often quite dramatic. For example, most Druids have mastered Geomancy as a discipline, and as such have been know to use tremendous amounts of magic energy to construct small land formations or to cause the very terrain to grow and transform around them.

## Controlling The Wild

The primary purpose of a Druid within a Tribe is to control The Wild. In a literal sense, this means that Druids have been trained on how to pull magic energy together, through the use of Mental Energy, and as such, cause it to reach a critical mass with other energy and disappear back into the Spirit. Druids don't directly understand the inner workings of this process, but what they do understand is that when they can detect pockets of energy in their village, they can draw it together and cause it to dissipate. This task is a daily one for a Druid and extremely important as the dissipation of high amounts of magic energy therefore prevents it from embedding itself into the bodies of villagers, and as a result, prevents them from succumbing to The Wild. Using a similar technique, Druids can also draw the magic out of the body of a villager to halt the transformation of The Wild provided they can get to the person soon enough.

## As a Spiritual Leader

Because Druids are so attuned to magic and act as the protectors from it, Tribesfolk often see their Druids as being somewhat divine in nature. It is easy to understand that if a person can seem to control nature that they must somehow been in touch with the divine presence which governs nature. Therefore, it is not uncommon for the Tribesfolk to seek out the advice and wisdom of a Druid especially in the spiritual sense. Often, Druids provide teachings which explain how The Wild works or how nature grows. These types of teachings vary from Druid to Druid as they are very rarely based on science but instead on the feelings of the specific Druid. Some Druids have created near religions around their beliefs and teach that the forest is divine. Others do not do so at all and instead teach that magic is a natural force and no more divine than the air they breathe.

## As a Wise Man

Part of the upbringing of a Druid is to become educated and literate. Therefore, Druids are most often the most educated and well informed individuals in a village. This access to education and wisdom of the ages then creates a mystique around Druids as being the people to ask should you have questions about anything. Druids may be sought out to determine the best way to grow crops. They may be sought out for medical advice such as how to cure an illness or to provide medical treatment. They may be sought out to simply read a message or note. Druids are kept quite busy in this regard. Further, some Druids may opt to teach classes similar to schooling for adults and children alike. All of this varies from Tribe to Tribe.

## Apprenticeship

As with all children, at the age of 8, the Tribe selects the role that it requires of an individual. Apprentice Druids are also selected at this age. As users of magic, Druids can detect a similar skill in others, and as such, they will select children from the village to become their apprentice. A Druid may often have several apprentices. This is very important for the Tribe as having only one apprentice Druid can spell disaster if something should happen to him or her or the Druid. During apprenticeship, Druids are educated, taught to read, and most importantly, taught spells and how to control magic. The apprenticeship can last many years for those who lack natural talent, but for others, it could be even as short as 4 to 5 years.

Once an apprentice, a person already starts to gain some of the respect of their Tribe. Although not yet a full Druid, such an apprentice may still be called upon by a Druid to help in the day to day tasks such as with educating the Tribe, controlling The Wild, providing medical support, or as a spiritual guide. Once an apprentice is deemed ready to fill such a role, the Druid announces this to the Tribe so that the Tribesfolk know that the apprentice is to be treated with that respect.

Once a Druid is satisfied that his or her apprentice is ready, the apprentice is presented to the Tribe in a ceremony as a new Druid. From there, the old Druid may continue his or her role, but she may also decide there to retire.

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--Neil (talk) 19:35, 18 October 2016 (AST)