Druids are protectors of life, friends to all nature, be it olvar or kelvar, plant or beast or man. Many Druids prefer to live in the sacred forests, logs, or stone buildings. Others will also inhabit clustered congregations of primitive dwellings in woodlands or similar natural surroundings. Still others of the profession may choose to make their homes in cities, forging more transient and mortal allegiances. All honour the sanctity of life above other mortal concerns, though they may choose their own path to serve this end.
The intimate connection between the Druids and the forest is the source of all their powers. By understanding this symbiosis, a Druid's being is joined with the forest, and so becomes aware of all that transpires within that realm. A Druid then is a kind of mystic. Go into the woods, and listen. The voices of the Gods are not silent. Their language is as soft as the fresh morning breeze as it sweeps across Avalon, whispering the secrets of the land through the soughing branches of thousand-year old trees. They guide the woodland forces, the ever-nourishing forest canopy under which all may seek shelter; protecting the innocent and the needy, thwarting the cruel and the destructive.
The Druids guild remains non-partisan as a whole, and although individual members may choose their own loyalties - dealing with the consequences of their actions - the guild itself is a home to those of varied outlooks and alignments. Steadfast in their independence, those who would try to dictate and stamp out the true 'path of the druid' from the outside will find themselves shunned.
Druids, however, are not inclined to falsehoods. They are knowledgeable, and speak only truth when they choose to impart their knowledge. Druids avoid killing wild or even domestic animals, except for self-preservation and sustenance. Druids are also adamantly against the taking of life for pleasure or sport. Those that attack flora or fauna before a druid risk the anger of not only the druid, but the immense forces of nature at their command.
The Druids derive their enchantment and naturalist skills from the well-springs of the forestland, blended symbiotically with a strong, healthy awareness of Nature and the Self - a heightened perception of the intertwined, interdependant forces whose ebb and flow defines life in all its myriad colours. They are skilled in naturalism, herbalism and some poison lore, the ways of the spiritualist (an elemental calling) and attain, by dint of their empathic altruism, complete mastery of the healing hands.
The Druids share the skills and specialisations of the profession with the Animists guild. But where the Animists tend to be more withdrawn from the land, relying on good-will and diplomacy to make their way, the Druids do not use their pacifism as an excuse, instead relishing the cut-and-thrust of Avalon's daily life - making their own way, but knowing that their actions have consequences and dealing with the fallout from their own decisions. Their God-given skills are indeed mighty, and the Druids choose how to apply their skills and which to select - answering ultimately only to the God of Life.
May the blessing of the Druids and the ancient woodlands be upon you.
