Druidism

Druids are ones who actively participate in the reverence and protection of Nature and the balance of it. Wielding powerful Life Magic through the medium of nature. They possess a deep connection attuning themselves with the world or the Emerald Dream (oftentimes both) and learn the capabilities of this deeper connection to the world itself. Druids harness the vast powers of nature to preserve balance and protect life. With experience, druids can unleash nature’s raw energy against their enemies. Druids can also direct this power to heal wounds and restore life to fallen allies. They are deeply in tune with the animal spirits of Azeroth. As master shapeshifters, druids can take on the forms of a variety of beasts, morphing into them with ease.

## Origins

The demigod Cenarius originally gave guidance to and lived amongst the nomadic yaungol in the grassy plains of central Kalimdor between the 12,000 and 11,900 Years ago. To them he taught the secrets of the wilds and of druidic magic. This later resulted in tauren mythology telling how they had been instructed themselves as the first druids by Cenarius, thought that was only a reinterpretation of what had happened to their ancestors.

With the rise of the night elves, a few of them learned in turn of Cenarius, and those left touched and changed, some even becoming so transformed by his teachings that they instead chose to join the demigod in the protection of his realm. Those were no longer elves, but woodland guardians physically altered forever. But of all these followers, none of them truly followed the path Cenarius had for them until Malfurion Stormrage. The young prodigy revealed himself to be the first with the possible aptitude and will to truly understand how to wield the forces inherent in all nature, to become the first real mortal druid on Azeroth and to walk the Emerald Dream. Others such as Valewalker Farodin had dabbled in nature magic before, but without being true druids themselves.

Malfurion would lead the night elves through the War of the Ancients and the long years that followed. With the creation of the World Tree Nordrassil, the kaldorei druids were bound to Ysera, and her realm, the Emerald Dream, in which they spent centuries of their immortal lives. The Cenarion Circle was eventually formed as the governing society of druids, based in sacred Moonglade.

Locked in slumber in their barrow dens for generations, the druids continue their training and vigilancce of nature through the Emerald Dream, remaining in the realm for centuries now until such a time as Azeroth needs them again.

The night elf druids were recently joined in the Cenarion Circle by the tauren druids. Tauren were taught by the night elves in tandem with Cenarius, coexisting peacefully within the Cenarion Circle.

The Gilnean druids were called harvest-witches and Celestine also refers to her druidic order as "keepers of the old ways". The harvest-witches would use their primitive druidic skills to cultivate crops but almost "died out" as Gilneas developed, though, when the nation fell into famine, it was the druids who, as Celestine claims, "called upon the earth's blessing and restored the harvest". When Kul Tiras was founded by Gilnean sailors, it is possible that some harvest-witches brought some of their teachings, but modern Kul Tiran druids claim only the Thornspeakers of the Drust vrykul Ulfar as the source of their Druidry, who says some of his people became part of human society and their descendants hear the "call of the wild".

Druids belong to many different organizations or sects including the Cenarion Circle, , Druids of the Claw, Druids of the Talon, Druids of the Fang, Druids of the Grove, Druids of the Antler and Druids of the Scythe.

It usually takes most druids a brief time to shapeshift, and rarely can it be done in a few seconds. Druids generally cannot speak while in their animal forms, but there are some exceptions. For example, Gaivan Shadewalker, Archdruid Glaidalis, and Arthur Tradewind are all able to speak while shapeshifted. This may be possible through alternative, magical means of communication, or true mastery of the animals form in tandem with maintaining balance while Wild Shaped.

## Organizations

Though Druids aren't always apart of a strict hierarchy, nearly all druids within Kalimdor are alligned and members of the Cenarion Circle, which encompasses all types of druids. However those within the Eastern Kingdoms who are isolated and ignorant of the Circles existence typically are found isolated or in small groups outside of the typical societies of the Human Kingdoms.

While all druids believe in the worship and protection of the natural world and the cycle of balance, many have differing philosophies on how to best defend the wilds and carry out this will. To that end, many druids follow and adopt the aspect of one or more wild gods calling upon the powers learned through their tutelage by the spirits of such animals.

The following are the many different orders of Druids and types of wielders of Druidic magic

* Cenarion Circle (Encompassing nearly all known Druidic societies)
* Dreamweavers (Druids tasked with maintaing and protecting the Emerald Dream)
* Ashen (Druids who revere the Wild God Ashenmane and typically take the forms of feline styled creatures)
* Druids of the Antler (Druids who take the form and teachings of the Stag and revere the Wild God Malorne)
* Druid of the Branch (Druids who revere and protect the plants of Azeroth and are able to wildshape/adopt aspects of Treants)
* Druid of the Claw (Druids who revere the Wild God Ursoc and typically take on the forms of Bears/Dire Bears)
* Druid of the Fang (Druids who embody the aspect of the Snake)
* Druid of the Fin (Druids who take the shape of Sea Lions alongside other aquatic life to protect the nature of Azeroth's oceans.)
* Druid of the Moon (Druids who study Druidism and also revere and call upon Elunes power granting them astral magic alongside the sacred Moonkin form)
* Druid of the Scythe (Druids who once studied and revered the Wild God Goldrinn adopting the pact form and becoming the first cursed Worgen.) (Now disbanded/Defunct)
* Druid of the Talon (Druids who take on the aspect of birds, typically Hawks, and worship the Wild God Aviana)
* Harvest Witches (Humans and other peoples who worship nature and call upon rudimentary nature magic. Typically found in Gilneas though still very rare.)
* Lun'alai (Heritic Trolls who revere Elune and follow her teachings. In turn they are also blessed with the Moonkin form)
* Raptari (Trolls blessed by the Loa Gonk, often seen in the form of a Raptor)
* Thornspeakers ( Druids who learned "the old ways" of the Drust from Drustvar, and now call upon Nature through their rituals, alongside also understanding the Spirit.)