Oma'Oma'O

Serena as a culture is known for strong ties to their land. However, while the average Serenian citizen has a close relationship with their home, not everyone’s connection holds the same depth. There are those who know nature at its heart, who draw from its soul, who guard it’s very core; they are the Oma’oma’o.

## **Ancient and revered**

The roots of the Oma’oma’o are said to be older than Serena itself. Thus, it holds traditions and secrets that have been guarded for millennia. Mentors pass on these teachings to their apprentices, and through generations, the teachings persist. Some of the most powerful Oma’oma’o live far beyond the average of their lifespan, and it is because of the presence of these ancient figures that so much is passed down in full. Because of this wisdom, and their cultural importance, The Oma’oma’o are respected to the point of reverence. They are often sought out for their knowledge and aid, and they are deferred to by those around them. They hold no small amount of social and political influence within Serena, as the word of an Oma’oma’o, let alone the council, is never taken lightly.

## **Balance and protection**

While each individual sect of the Oma’oma’o holds it’s own set of beliefs, the philosophy that they all hold in common is preservation and balance. The maintenance and protection of their homeworld is of the utmost importance. They believe the primal forces must be kept in balance in order for nature and their community to thrive.  Together, they dedicate themselves to the cycles that make up their environment, ensuring that the elements of their world remain in harmony.

## **Many paths**

The Oma’oma’o comprises primarily of nine sects. These circles and conclaves come together for the sake of greater understanding and strength, as their unity transforms 9 bands into one great legion.

### *Sodality of Incarnation*

Those in this sect seek to connect to nature by embodying one of it’s aspects, taking on characteristics of the entity or beast that they’ve selected, or in some cases copying their form entirely. It is in this primal transformation that they find the true realization of the self.

### *Sodality of the Scourers*

Rather than a core philosophy, the scourers form around a grim purpose. The protection of their home is of the utmost importance, so when something threatens to imbalance or infect their home, they task themselves with eliminating it.

### *Sodality of Stars*

Before the time of spelljamming, these sages looked to the sky and understood the vastness of its mystery and power. Now they are even more immersed in the celestial bodies that make up their home, ever closer to the power they harness.

### *Sodality of the Terrene*

The terrene root themselves to the heart of their planet, harnessing and maintaining the ecosystem that surrounds them. Guardians of grooves and island jungles, walkers of the seafloor, mountain mystics and those who draw upon the ocean itself, all conduits of the environment in which they reside.

### *Sodality of Decay*

Nature knows how to let go. How to replenish itself, and use that which it has lost. The sodality of decay knows this too. Death is an inevitable part of life, and as the soul’s time on the material is temporary, so is the body’s. The member of this sodality look to the creatures in nature that reabsorb the spoils of death, and in their communion understand this state in it’s own strange vibrance.

### *Sodality of the Depths*

It’s no secret that the abyssal waters of the sea are often unforgiving. Originally inhabitants of these waters who made an art of their survival, the sodality of the depths is now full of individuals who hold respect and admiration for nature at her darkest current. They use their skills for the protection of their brethren and often serve as guides through their namesake waters.

### *Sodality of Consonance*

The followers of this practice maintain that the need for community is as intrinsic to us as the need for food, water or shelter. They look to social animals as examples of community in nature and seek to foster, emulate, and protect that unity.

### *Sodality of Beasts*

Those in the sodality of beasts bind themselves to a companion that chooses them. They believe that their souls entwine, and through the bond they share they come to an understanding of themselves and their place in nature.

### *Sodality of the realm watcher*

It’s no secret there are many planes that influence the material. The feywild and elemental planes have long frayed at the boundaries with ours. The realm watchers familiarize themselves with these, both drawing from the forces that leak onto our world and protecting their home plane from that which seeks to disrupt it.

## **Strong roots**

Due to the intense attunement with their home sphere, the Oma’oma’o rarely leave it. For that matter, not many deign to leave their planet at all. If a member of the Oma’oma’o is found outside the sphere, it is usually for some important task or mission.