The Grand Stave
"Karashiel writes the score, we merely play it for her."
When it comes to the Theocracy of Ordina, those outside will have their eyes naturally drawn to the towering ‘structure’ of the Chorus of Harmony. Indeed, the Chorus is a facet of almost every part of life within Ordina. It is difficult to not encounter it in one form or other, and as such many who do not live there day after day find it hard to conceive that there is anything but the Chorus at the heart of Ordinian society. There is more there, so much more in fact, and nowhere is it more apparent than in the existence of The Grand Stave. The Grand Stave is largely a secular organization, and though it has strong religious underpinnings it is separate and distinct from the Chorus of Harmony. The Stave, in fact, does not answer to the Chorus at all, and efforts to bring them under the aegis of the Chorus have proven ineffective. Some based on the merits of the attempts themselves, while several have quashed from the higher ups within the Chorus itself.
History
After the Breaking of the World when enough of the chaos had abated that people were able to find a somewhat stable place to begin to try and build a life for themselves again…the druids came. Ordina was no exception to this, for in the earliest of days there was no Chorus, there was no ordered society, there was only survival. The druids went to all places in the world and used their magic and their knowledge of nature to help repair the land and the damage caused by the chaos storm. The land where Ordina would be needed more than most, for there was a strong connection within the land to The Eternal Spires, the elemental plane of earth. The land was fertile and vibrant but also geologically active and prone to shifts. The aftereffects of the chaos storm had also left their mark on the plants and animals. They were unmanageable, defying expectations at every turn. The animals bred quickly, too quickly in fact, and thus if left unchecked would prove a detriment to the plant life and to other animal life should they be a predator. The plant life, however, also grew quickly, spreading its seeds widely or its root system growing and undermining other plant life. Many plants which would normally be safe to eat would suddenly become poisonous and be deadly with no outward change in appearance to indicate this danger.
During those days survival was a battle against the very land, but slowly and surely the people made progress and the work of the Stave was instrumental. The druid numbers grew, and they taught others how to know nature, men and women who became rangers and could scout for the druids, seek out troubled spots and let them know. Perhaps had things progressed differently the Stave may have ended up running things, but Yshirea spoke to a young boy, pale of skin, and blessed him with power. He spoke with the passion of a true believer and sometimes spoke with the voice of Yshirea himself. Men and women quickly drew to his presence for the demonstrations of his power and its effect on the land were nothing short of miraculous. The power of Yshirea imposed order on the land and allowed villages to become towns and cities. Those who learned from the Divo became the beginning, the clerics and the paladins of the Chorus and they channeled their magic through song, working in harmony to create more powerful and pronounced effects. This became the origin of the Chorus’ name, yet despite their growing power, the Stave remained and grew alongside them, continuing to do what they did, their focus merely transitioned to beyond the boundaries of the cities and towns. The Chorus could impose order on the places where people lived, but out in the wilderness, in the fields where food was grown and livestock tended to, was another matter. The Stave handed this and as time passed and Ordina was solidified as a theocracy, the Chorus fully seized power, the Stave continued to exist and do the job they had taken on themselves. Quietly, calmly and without need of reward or accolades.
They were not always in favor, for there were several moments when the Chorus saw the Stave’s reverence in the Goddess of Nature as a challenge to their authority. Was this not Ordina, did not Yshirea, God of Order hold sway here? Why should the other gods be allowed in such a land? It rose to a point that the Chorus as a whole had to act and thus the Third Grand Oratorio was called. It was a meeting with the highest members of the Chorus and those within Ordina who worships other gods. It was a long discussion that lasted for many months as both sides worked to figure out just how chaotic were the other gods. The very future of their worship was on the line and so those priests and clerics and paladins of the other gods argued their cases passionately. Of course, there were no clerics of Berana to ask and as he was the God of Chaos it was considered a moot point to even include him as part of the discussions. When it came to the Stave and their worship of Karashiel things got very heated indeed. In her current state and the effect this state could have on her followers, the Chorus maintained that she was too chaotic. The Stave argued that you could not have nature without chaos, that the order which underlies nature is born of the interacting of all of the chaos inherent in it. The chaos of nature is always on the micro level whereas the order of nature is always on the macro level and thus nature is more ordered than it is chaotic.
The Chorus held their ground and rather than continuing to argue the Stave merely told the Chorus that, rather than holding up proceedings they would cease all of their actions and rituals which revere and worship their Goddess immediately. The Chorus agreed to this and moved on to other Gods. It was less than a month later and far before the Third Grand Oratorio ended that the Stave found themselves called to center stage once more to ask why it had stopped protecting the people and ensuring the land was safe. Their arrogance had led the Chorus into the trap the Stave had set for them. They were not clerics, after all, they were druids. Their worship of their Goddess was not prayer and offerings, it was tending to the land, healing it, calming it…everything that Ordina relied upon to largely function, was how the Stave worshipped Karashiel. The end result was that the Chorus agreed with the Stave that Karashiel was not chaotic, and this ruling made it easier for others to make similar such distinctions. There of course were outliers, N’avrio, being known as Worldbreaker, was not allowed to be worshipped in Ordina, neither was B’erysh for war caused too much chaos. Since then, the issue of the Stave, when it is raised within the Chorus, is very quickly set aside, for the Chorus does learn from its mistakes.
Values
The values of The Grand Stave are simple in concept, but complex in execution. As an organization they exist to help heal the land, which include all plants and animals and even people who live there. They also ensure that nature is not being overrun in any way, either by people or by itself, and when they come across the influence of The Eater in any form, they will do their best to stamp it out. This has not been an easy task in a world still within the grip of an age of chaos. The land of Ordina, with its unique peculiarities, have also made this difficult. The growth of plant life is often accelerated and left unchecked would interfere with each other and less tenacious plant life such as food. Many of the animals who live within Ordina suffer the same sort of accelerated growth, though for them is involves larger numbers of children being birthed. Unless policed their populations would explode to the point, they would overrun everything else.
To some it may seem cruel for they are advocates for killing large numbers of animals, but their goal is not the benefit of one species, but the benefit of all species. Nature is a vast and beautiful tapestry of many colors, and it is this variety of colors which make it beautiful. The Grand Stave will not allow the part of the tapestry they watch over to be stained with a singular shade. Some have questioned whether these values mean they would turn their blades upon people, should they prove a problem towards Nature as a whole. A few brave souls have directly asked and gotten an answer of “People aren’t a problem yet” in a very matter of fact tone. There are some who have valid worries about this for the Stave has been keeping a close eye on the people of Ordina. It has been noticed that, perhaps because of the influence of Yshirea over the populace at large, the majority of the people of Ordina are unaware of the presence of Liesa. They know all of the other aspects of Karashiel, but Liesa seems to slip away from their memories. Perhaps this is intentional deceit on the part of Liesa, but none seem willing to ask her.
Members
Those who belong to and work for the Grand Stave fall into one of four categories: druids, rangers, priests, and heralds. Druids make up slightly less than a third of the whole organization and like all druids within the world can often be subject to the whims of Karashiel’s emotions. As is often the case with those who deal with druids on a regular basis, outbursts and things said in the heat of the moment are paid little note. These men and women travel alone or in small groups, keeping watch over the plants in both the wilderness and farmland. All it takes is a few seeds carried o the wind to start trouble in a ‘safe’ area. A little over a third of the organization are made up of rangers, men and women who hunt the wilderness and help to keep the animal population in check and provide fresh meat for settlements. The remaining third is made up of priests and heralds. The priests act as liaisons to the Chorus and the people as well as clerks, compiling information provided by the rangers and druids to accurately map the state of nature upon the land. The heralds are less active members of the Stave, a few men and women near each settlement often in locations where they will see problems encroaching and thus can provide warning earlier. These men and women often report in daily to the nearest priest, or druid or ranger.
Structure
The Grand Stave has a large central headquarters located in the Capital of Ordina and it is from here that the most accurate and up to date map on the whole of Ordina can be found, with regards to the state of nature within the land. Older druids and rangers will often be found working here, and it is considered a temple to Karashiel. There will often be a temple, or varying size, in other settlements throughout Ordina. In the very small villages, there may not be a temple to Karashiel but instead a home belonging to the local druid or ranger who lives there. Due to the danger the Stave protects against, the loss of a druid or ranger is quickly worked to replace or supplement until a replacement can be gotten. The Stave does not have a traditional hierarchy, nor is it strictly organized. All members of the Stave know what their goals are and what they must do to achieve them. The elders are often deferred to because of their years of experience, but the young are not ignored. The Stave works as a cohesive whole, everyone separately working towards the same goal. It is this which allows them to act swifter than the bureaucratic Chorus.
Affiliations
They are of course affiliated with the Chorus of Harmony and the two organizations have long had a generally frictionless relationship. The Stave is also deeply associated with Karashiel and all of her aspects. The Stave maintains good relations with the Pathfinder’s Society and has often sought their aid in the past when needing temporary replacements in some areas. The Madrigals, spies which report directly to the Impresario, ensure that they have a good relationship with their local druid and ranger though they aren’t often direct about their true work. Those who grow food or raise livestock have close ties to the Stave and by direct consequence of this so too do merchants and factors, often being generous to the needs of the Stave when a crisis arises.
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