Wolf Druid Ouity

How much of the world do normal players get to interact with while these guys get to fly around in creative and build whatever they want?

I- Blessing When a Druid is attuned, he is partially made new. Just as the blade of the scythe is made sharp, or the grime is wiped from the head of a spade, so too are the aberrations of civilization wiped from the soul of the Druid. However, rust still adorns these newly furbished tools. When the Druid steps from the attunement pool, his mind still festers with the refuse of civilization. For a Druid to truly flourish, he must take it upon himself to wipe away all that civilization has left him with, to scour the rust from his own steel and to make himself truly new. In his dedicancy, he is taught the methods by which this might be done, but only through his own action can he truly be a servant of the Aspects. A Druid might “serve” for decades, even centuries without realizing their corruption. It is these that deserve our pity, for they do not understand their sins against the Aspects. II- Piety A Druid’s first and only duty is to the Aspects, for the Aspects are the impetus by which we receive our blessings. It is vital that every Druid understands the relationship between Nature and the Aspects -- important that he understands that there is none, for to speak of one is to speak of the other. The Aspects are the only deities whose existence stems from the mortal realm; for where in the Nether or the Seven Skies does a tree grow, or a bird fly? Here in our realm do the Aspects originate, as herds of deer, packs of wolves, and every blade of grass beneath their feet. Theirs is a greatness beyond the scope of even other divinities, for the vast presence of the Aspects blankets the entire realm of man, beast, and their own great plane of the Eternal Forest. III- Service A true and righteous Druid is measured by his service to nature, for nature is the true identity of the Aspects. To serve nature is to serve the Aspects. To go against one is to go against the other. When a Druid fulfills his obligation to both, he upholds the balance. Meditation, prayer, and academic study of Nature all have their place in a Druid’s life. Indeed, a Druid must understand that which he serves or he will be lead asunder by his own mortal impulses. A Druid must not, however, allow his meditations to detract from his duties to the realm. It is these duties-- maintaining balance and serving the Aspects-- to which every Druid must be put to task. Some generations before have scorned their duties, choosing the safety of tame groves over the wild beyond our gates. It is these Druids who have come closer than any others to reaping the destruction of the Order, these peaceful few who have lead us closer to our end than even the most bloodthirsty of our kind. IV- Intent A Druid is tested in two parts- by his intentions and by his actions. A poor Druid might intend to serve the Aspects or the balance of nature itself, but in his actions compromise one, the other, or both. In contrast, a Druid might attempt the inverse, and where they may intend to cause harm, they instead bring balance. While we often speak of nature and balance interchangeably, here it must be noted that one can be affected negatively by the other. For example, a wild and unwise Druid might think to use his gifts constantly to build up a brave and untamable wild. While this indisputably “helps” nature, it disrupts the balance, for a rampant nature is just as bad as a repressed nature. A garden choked with weeds will not bear good fruit, and it must be remembered that great feats of Druidism bear their own “unnatural” connotations. A Druid must exercise a steady hand in his use of his gifts, and never use them outside a situation in which the Aspects’ will is being done. It is in this way, with careful measure and a clear focus on the Aspects' will that all Druids must exercise the might of Nature. V- Justice Society instills in its young a desire to do good and to battle its inverse, evil. This is the foundation upon which civilization was built millennia ago, and which continues to support every Descendant empire. From the Elves in their tranquil forests, to the Dwarves in their harsh mountains, the battle of good and evil dominates the hearts of man. Even the Aenguls and Daemons on high have followed this tarnished philosophy, to the end of great destruction in our own realm. This, Brothers and Sisters, is the true nature of our struggle as Druids. This foundation is a rotten one -- one where balance cannot truly be achieved. Always, great swings will occur. Evil will rise, wreaking havoc on the world, only to be trumped by good. Populations rise, cities grow, and the festering sprawl of brick and mortar spreads across the land. Good, evil, these are poisonous seeds that the Descendants reap to their destruction. It is this struggle of good and evil, not magic, that lead to the Great War, and thus, to the first Druid. The true Druid, the one who rises above even his own brothers, is the one who discards utterly all Descendant constructs that weigh down his shoulders leaving only, truly, himself. Wolf Druid Ouity Deathsbane Heirophant The Atlas Grove 9th of the First Seed, 1650

Thousands of years ago, a terrible war broke out between the two mighty guilds of mages - one good and one evil - that controlled great empires. Mages on both sides vowed to fight until they were utterly triumphant, seeking to purge their rivals from the earth. With fearsome magic and dragon armies they battled for centuries, neither side winning a final victory. In the process of their warfare, the magess wrought vast devastation on the world. Forests caught fire and blazed til gone, islands sank into the sea, and entire races became extinct. Eventually, the great Goddess of Nature awakened from her sleep to witness the savage conflict. Shocked by the destruction, the Goddess sent a vision to a single human; the woman who would become the first Grand Druid. Through the vision, this chosen figure saw that she must found a body of Druids to preserve the fragile remains of her world's ecology. With the guidance of her Goddess, the order grew in strength until it finally had the power to intervene in the mages' war. The force of young Druids pooled their powers and together vanquished the members of both battling guilds, transforming the combatants into innocent wild beasts. Once the former mages - now unable to fathom the concept of good versus evil - slithered, bounded, loped, and crawled off into their ruined habitats, the order began to heal the world. Since then, the Druids continually work to prevent such destruction from ever occurring again. Druids pledge to make sure the wards of good and evil no longer mar the precious earth. But, they also have bitter enemies in the ancient remnants of the guilds of warring mages; those good and evil mages who luckily escaped the fate of their fellows. Each guild claims it had been on the verge of victory and would have won, had Druids not interfered. As recounted by Hierophant Pulver, Master of Dungeons.

Neo-Druidism This tome was originally created by Petyr Brandybuck. With some modern druidic practices wandering astray, it has been necessary for me to scribe another text - that of Neo-Druidism. Throughout my travels and my meditative studies, I have had revelations unknown to others. It is important to understand that there is a special type of balance that druids themselves remember to study - action and non-action. Let me clarify. Action is motion, the motion of restoring balance, and of being the hand of Nature. Non-action is meditation and silence; invisible motion. You see, this is the only Way to truly understand Nature, the Universe, the "It". For, through non-action you may feel "It", and through action you may be "It". Call this "It" what you want; most druids will call it Nature. What is important is to understand what Nature truly is, and how it relates to you. To reveal this is the goal of this tome. Section 1 - The Unity of Nature *** The first fault in thinking is to make distinctions - those between you and Nature, between life and death, between good and evil. Everything is Nature, despite what any given piece believes. A druid does not use nature: a druid is merely a piece who realizes the profound truth. Through non-action, one may truly understand this concept and feel it course through them. However, while meditating in non-action, one also separates themselves from the flow; the Way, the path that Nature chooses for its pieces. To rejoin with Nature, one must practice action. *** Section 2 - The Way of Nature *** Nature does what it will, and while we realize this while meditating, sometimes we forget in action. We are merely moving along the river of life, the tides of balance. While we believe that we are restoring the balance, it is balance restoring itself in an everlasting self-conflict. Thus, through action, we are the hands of Nature, of balance, of the Way. One must not think of "using" Nature while playing their part, but of "being" Nature. This is a common mistake as well among young druids and non-druids. They think to restore the world by planting lots of trees... but that is not balance, nor is it even the way to achieve balance. Action alone is not the Way, for one forgets the purpose of action. Only with the mix of action and non-action can one achieve the goal: to have your cake and eat it, too. Section 3 - The Druid *** So as we can now see, the Druid is simply the most important hand, the piece Nature uses to govern itself. To truly try to understand is a task that lies within meditation and non-action. However, there is a limit to the mental reach of the pieces, for as no one truly knows all of themselves, Nature does not know all of itself. This is a fairly important observation: that even though Nature is unified, the unification is marked by threadlines of dubiousness and doubt. The Neo-Druid should not fret, however. There are uneven surfaces in every river. No tree has identical leaves. Just so, nothing, no "It", can be the symmetrical perfection one would like to see. Randomness and uniqueness are inherent in Nature, as defining as the unity itself. Paradoxical though it may seem, through balance of action and non-action, it shall be revealed to you, and only then will you understand the phrase.... "All is One"

Yes.

I- Power The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors - that which it loves, and also that which it fears. Thus, circumstances do not make the Druid; they only reveal him to himself. It means that blessedness, and not wealth, is the measure of right thought; misery, not poverty or lack of family is the measure of wrong thought. A Druid will find that as he alters his thoughts towards Nature and the Aspects, Nature and Aspects will alter towards him. For you will always draw near toward that which you, secretly, most love. The Races surge with uncontrolled passion, are tumultuous with ungoverned grief, and are blown about by anxiety, doubt, and the wars and wills of Aenguls and Daemons. Only the wise Druid, only he whose thoughts are controlled and purified, can make the winds and storms of the soul, and indeed the world, obey him. The greatest achievement was at first, and for a time only a dream. Just as the oak sleeps in the acorn, and the bird waits in the egg, so dreams are the seedlings of realities. Beware therefore of what you dream of. For some dreams are given by the Aspects to inspire us by what may yet be. Others are planted within us by others, foul seeds that we harvest to our destruction. II- Pride There is but one way to truly gain mastery over nature, and that is to realize you cannot truly master it at all. It masters you. When one attempts to force it, compel it, command it, or otherwise exercise dominion over it-the power flees like a timid bird. This is because the Aspects know our innermost thoughts. They know how we intend to use Nature’s Gift. Man may deceive other men. But one simply does not deceive the Aspects. If their will is sought, they will come. If we emulate the principles by which they thrive, they flourish in us. Pride is poison to them. In reality, there is perhaps not one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as our pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as you please. It is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself. You will see it perhaps, even with in the most sacred grottos of the realm. For even if I, the Arch Druid, could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility. A desire to be observed, considered, esteemed, praised, beloved, and admired by his fellows is one of the earliest, as well as the keenest dispositions discovered in the hearts of the Races. My advice to new Dedicants is to squelch it all their days, for those desires lead to ruin. III- Doubt Many Dedicants arrive at the Groves with passion already instilled in them. They yearn to learn, they carry drive, and zest, and youth, and curiosity. When they enter our great tree, they have nothing, and leave with everything. However, a few lose what they have. The rigorous trials of Dedicancy begin to take their toll on them, or they submit their thoughts to the subtle poison of doubt. No lesson, meditation, or intervention can cure it, for these students do harm to themselves. The mind, like the body, can be moved from sunshine into shade. They submit themselves to the slews of myriad ways of Aenguls, Daemons, and the trickery of man, and they yield before this great power to sway one’s faith in the Aspects’ might. For those of you who would stay and train inasmuch as you strip yourself from jealousies and fears, and humble yourself before the Aspects, for you are not sufficiently humble, the veil over your eyes shall be torn and you will see. See all their glory and power, and know you are beloved. A servant of the earth, and wild. Having received the blessing of their attunement, a Druid should mentally mark out a straight pathway to service, looking neither to the right nor left. Doubts and fears should be zealously starved. They are disintegrating elements which break up the straight path, rendering it crooked, ineffectual, and useless. Thoughts of doubt and fear can never accomplish anything. They always lead to failure. Purpose, energy, power to do, and all strong thoughts cease whenever doubt and fear creep in. The will to do springs from the knowledge that we can do. He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure in all his endeavors, both as a Druid, and a person. IV- Blight In every era there comes a moment when the collective thoughts, whims, and motivations of arcane delvers and scheming politicians become so self-absorbed, so malignant, so unheeding that nature itself revolts. Man scars the land such that it finals rebels against him. As thoughts can spread despair and death like seedlings of weeds strewn by the wind, so they must eventually draw the Druids to pluck them out. The vetches must be pulled, roots and all. When this happens, the Aspects cease to bless, and instead they curse. Instead of healing, they spew poison. It happens so swiftly and terribly. The ancients of the Wayward’s time gave it a name, this culling process that blackens the world. They named it after a wasting disease that occurs in once-healthy groves of trees. They called it the Blight, and the first of these, the Great War. I put this quill to paper here now so that others do not make the mistakes I did in my youth. Blinded by war and hate, my transgressions were many, and hard to earn penance for. Though I served the Aspects diligently for many lifetimes, I fear that in my heart, I have failed them. May the Aspects look kindly on me in the afterlife- Xal ussta stath xunde mir dosst elamshinae. -Wolf Druid Ouity Retired Arch Druid of the Order Elandriel Grove

No, but now that you mention it the parallel is pretty interesting. It was more a case of wanting to create an entity which would act on whim often. I would have just made him the Daemon of the Sky or something, but every single deity in LOTC has some sort of weird, abstract patronage like courage and I figured it safer to follow the trend. "Freedom" has a better ring than "whimsy" and it opens the door for people to interpret him in different ways IG (See: liberator or chaos inducer).

Valaen Daemon of Freedom Alignment: True Neutral ”What light is to the eyes - what air is to the lungs - what love is to the heart, liberty is to the soul of man.” Throughout the ages, freedom has been understood to be the highest form of good in the world. In the realms of the most valiant lords, protected by the greatest of warriors, and fostered by the wisest of minds, freedom has always found its root in Descendant society. Through this truth, the races have perhaps always misconstrued their liberty as inherently noble, and not simply a gift from the noble. After all, for every free society in this world, there is another that represses its denizens. Even in those nations that tote their tolerance, there are always those lurking in the shadows, waiting to steal it away. This is the way of the Descendents. Valaen’s regular intrusions into the lives of men are documented sporadically throughout history. Known to be a trickster, he is accredited to many strange happenings along the centuries, including a great many interdimensional chicken abductions, the destruction of several Anthosian villages, and the otherwise unexplainable appearance of several interesting and exotic species of bird. While his intentions and methods are not always clear, it is often clear enough when the Daemon has deemed to make himself present. If nothing else, he is a loud, personable figure. His mind and actions meander both often and extensively, and many of those who have witnessed him have gone on to describe his charismatic and bizarre interactions with them. Valaen, like his domain, is an airy, carefree soul, but while his intentions are often noble, he has been known to take malicious course against others when it suits him. Never does he do it of evil or hatred, but often in the aim of delivering freedom unto others, or to exercise his own. As is with most things Valaen does, these acts of aggression are often hard to read and difficult to understand. The simple fact is that by his nature, Valaen is prone to acts that are both random and pointless. Often considered to be one of the most unpredictable deities of the realm, Valaen often humors himself in ways which most self respecting Aenguldaemons would never dream of, for fear of either retribution or disgrace. Valaen regularly defies the codes of higher beings to mingle and interfere in the realms as it pleases him, for he is unshackled from the weight of responsibility and etiquette. While this behavior makes him something of an outcast among his fellows, the Daemon has no perceptible regard for his lowly position in his immortal society, nor for the salvation or destruction he leaves in his wake. Often, it is a mix of both. Although he has no true entitlement, Valaen claims the sky as his holding, citing the freedom of the sphere of flight-- the ability to go in any direction one pleases. Indeed, he holds a special fascination with the idea of flying creatures, looking with pity upon the races forced to live their lives trapped against the ground. Below, petty races build their walls, scribe their laws, and extort gold from their citizens. Valaen looks upon all such surface dwellers with discontent-- the structure and regiment of the world below saps away at the freedom of the people who live there, and Valaen would like nothing more to see it all crumble. With a lack of civilization, the world would know true and utter freedom. His chosen and final race of servants, the Harpies, have been known to carry out attacks aimed at high profile figures of authority, and if it could be said that the Daemon has a grand plan, it would be to grant mortals true freedom, Anarchy. While many have described such chaos as evil, Valaen sees himself as a hero to those below, and the last hope the Races have to acquire that which he desperately longs to give them. Development Log: It is my belief that to have a truly immersive universe, you must build not only an expansive universe, but an interactive one. With that in mind, it is my hope to expand upon the list of deities in LOTC, and to facilitate more in terms of player interaction with “core lore.” What are the deities of LOTC up to? Hardly any have ever even been played, and these are often custom-created by staff to suit the needs of this event or that. There are a great many who have never seen any real purpose other than as body paragraphs in the deities page on the wiki. By writing lore for active and involved gods -- such as one who revels in whimsy, and is as unpredictable as the wind, staff will be able to draw from a greater reservoir of resources in order to facilitate interesting and unique events. By tieing in Harpies and other flying creatures to this Daemon, we start to build a system around him which becomes known and characteristic of that entity. Events sponsoring him will, if doctored correctly, contain certain key elements that will allow players to place the identity of their ally or foe, and add a layer of depth to the scenario. In his lore, he is given the potential for both good and evil, making him a potential figure of controversy, and giving those who wish to run events around him great freedom in terms of how to structure said event. It is my belief that this character has the potential to be a great figure on LOTC. The purpose of this lore is to create a deity with which to easily conduct supernatural/high fantasy events and quests, and to establish framework for the Hemelytra lore. They are being submitted separately so that even in the circumstance that the Hemelytra are denied, this can still be of use to the server.

This is genuinely fascinating lore. As an ET member, I would often just 'port people who had died during mob fights or whatever back to the story. When a character dies, everything that led up to that moment is pointless. All the cool story, character growth, none of it is applied to what you do afterwards. It was one of my greatest struggles on the team. I genuinely love the trickster aspect to this. It rewards skilled roleplayers and is truly something unique. I think it's the "make" to the make or break of this lore. It's fascinating, it's different, and it's the first lore in a long, long time that's made me consider playing anything except a Druid. I would love to take a swing at this. Some small suggestions/misunderstandings: I think it's unlikely that a reasonable character would intentionally do this to themselves. Perhaps a way for the curse to spread besides through the mask? Is there a way, perhaps, that one of these creatures could pass on the curse through some other fashion, perhaps through some other form of trickery? I agree with everybody else that despite the continuity to Japanese lore, nine tails might be... polarizing, and lose you an audience among more immature members of our community. Are there any other numbers of interest? Preferably, one that doesn't call Naruto to mind. A genuine, heartfelt +1. Amazing potential in this lore. Haven't been this excited for "villainous" lore in a very, very long time PS make them allowed to be Druids and I'll never leave PSS I think that anything that gives drfate bad vibes should unequivocally be implemented to the server permanently.

Devil's advocate, there's not a whole lot the LT can actually do to stop it if the players want this to be canon. Not that I don't think there are some areas where the lore could improve a little. I agree that some aspects of the history should be a little smudgier. For example, the rationale and motive behind the wars fought. Was the Arch Druid really such a bad guy? etc etc. Leave a little room for controversy. :)

I would enjoy seeing some pre-established stuff near the end of the lore. For example, it's established that Laurilen was the first elven city to ever be established, and that High Prince Native grew it. That Respiren was the first Druid to ever be part of society as the descendants know it, and so on and so forth. I enjoy seeing players credited for being a part of the world's history.