Nature
History of the Church
There is only one mainstream religion in Arthea that survived The Great Disaster and that is the religion of the Druids, now widely known as the Church of Nature. Druids, the clerics of Nature, had worshipped the deities of the natural world for years uncounted, but amongst humans that worship all but ended when the Disaster happened. It was thanks to the elves that the religion endured, and human worshippers did not return to the church until long after the ice and snow that followed the destruction had receded.
It is widely believed across all the faiths of Arthea that humans have a greater aptitude for the rigours of life in the clergy, far more so than elves. Humanity seems blessed with a capacity for greater concentration upon their dedications, and seem more capable of the focus needed to pursue a religious calling. A human influence was needed to help re-establish the church of Nature widely among the surface races. Once human worshippers were once again recruited to the church of Nature post-Disaster, the religion expanded quickly.
The church was never a political organisation in the way that other faiths strove for. Nature continued to shape the lives and the people struggling to live in a bleak land, and it reached out to touch all the settlements of humans and elves. This influence is still felt, especially across the former Imperial lands across the south of Arthea where most have a druid grove close by.
Teachings and Beliefs
The church aligns itself closely with the natural order, the flow of the seasons and the passing of the years. While many other religions worship groups of gods because of their lack of power following The Disaster, the druids still pay homage to many aspects of the natural environment. These are the gods and demigods that are glorified by the many festivals of the church; the sun, the moon, the land, morning and evening, the seasons and many of the stars. Each of the gods have their own celebration, some are days or more of revelry, while others are simple prayers.
Observations and Festivals
The observation of the church reflect the passage of time and the way that the lives of church members fit into this natural cycle. Daily prayers are said to greet the arrival of the sun in the morning, and the first sight of the moon or the first twinkle of a star at the closing of the day. There are also prayers that are used to greet each meal, a thanks to nature for providing the provisions consumed that differs slightly depending on the meal to be eaten.
The holy days of the seasons are held on 1st Bara (winter), 1st Siphus (spring), 1st of Semot (summer) and 1st of Escuada (Autumn). Night time festivals are held for the full moon which is when mistletoe is traditionally cut and for the new moon which celebrates the darkness of the night, sometimes these festivals collide, and provide an opportunity for a full celebration.
The druids also celebrate what is known as the 'Plant-in' or the 'Seeding' which is the commencement of the spring time planting season, which in the southern kingdoms is now one week after the spring festival. In the northern kingdoms, it normally takes place a week later (due to the colder conditions). The festival itself lasts four or five days, but the planting time can go on for a month depending on the crops being sown. After this, in mid Escuada comes the Harvestime festival, which is a celebration of the crop harvest. In reality the harvest can drag on sometimes, but that never interferes with the celebration.
There are several, more obscure festivals that are celebrated too - and some of these are region dependent. The biggest are the festival of Halloc Rising which is when the bright Halloc star pokes up above the horizon to the south (normally mid Ulunacon), and its equal festival of Halloc Blind when the star departs again for the winter (in mid Dusemot, four weeks and four days after the Rising). There is also the Umbra, which is a festival to celebrate solar eclipses, which may happen once in a priest's lifetime, and the more common Grey Moon, which is a lunar eclipse festival which happen every couple of years or so.
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Clerics of Nature believe that neither good nor evil should have hold over the other, but that there should be balance between them. Good seeks to preserve life, to defend those that suffer. Yet there are many that die as part of the natural order, the life of one species is the food of another. This is the natural order. Evil seeks to mar or destroy, yet in cycle of life wild beasts do not kill to excess or more than is needed for their food. If good should finally overcome evil, or evil finally overcome good, then even the victor should cease to exist, for black without white has no shade to measure itself against.
In the same way Nature also strives for a balance between order and chaos, the world is a wild place, but within it many growing things do so according to their own rules. All life is born, grows and dies in its turn, its order fulfilled until reborn in its new form. The order of nature is that rains shall fall and bring water to the lifes of all things. Yet among this order arrives chaos; that rain may bring thunder and lightning, floods and hurricanes.
The balance sought between good and evil is different to the balance sought between order and chaos. Nature seeks to exist between good and evil, while it exists in both order and chaos.
Druids use the natural beauty of plant life as a source and a focus of power. Other sources they draw upon are the world itself, and the sun and the moon, which are linked. Each give some power to the Druid, but the most power comes from the moon which acts as a store of energy created by the world.
To help maintain the natural order, the Druid is allowed to wear only armour made of substances occurring naturally in his surroundings. Metal is not allowed as this interferes with the Druids power. This also restricts the weapons the Druid may select. Nature allows the Druid to act in defence, but not to kill without reason as this works against nature, who deems that all things will die when their time is up.
Druids have a particular hatred of Undead. These magically animated creatures exist outside of the natural cycle of birth-growth-death-rebirth. They have no place in nature, and so the druid has no control over them - they cannot turn undead the way other clerics of other religions may. Whenever undead are encountered by a druid, they are duty-bound to return the body of the dead to its natural rest.
Druids do not worship at temples, as other gods require of their clerics. The druids establish shrines in natural locations, usually in woodland, but occasionally they do this in the open. These places of worship are known as groves, and are sacred to Druids; no undead may enter a grove. It is said that natural growth will never cease where a Druid has established his grove.
Holy Symbols
The holy symbol of the druid is mistletoe, a natural plant, unlike all other religions which rely up on meaningless carved or cast forms, but are all made to copy some aspect of nature. To be effective, fresh mistletoe must be cut when the moon is full, with a ceremonial sickle made from silver (representing the moon) or gold (representing the sun).
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