Sacred grove
The sacred groves of the druids are known to them as Nemetae. Although the druids hold various different natural wonders to be sacred, such as waterfalls, caves cliffs and such like. None are held in such high esteem as the sacred wooded groves or Nemetae.
These wooded groves are typically found deep within a forest, where a clearing or glade can be found big enough to form a gathering place to accommodate large crowds that would participate in the various ceremonies held within the grove. The most notable of these scared precincts have trees planted in an avenue forming a long natural corridor sheltered beneath the canopy above. this natural colonnade terminates with a large circle of towering trees forming the grove. Typically these groves can be of any tree species more often than not they are of oak but the oldest are those made of the sacred Yew. The age of these trees testament to the great age of some of these archaic places. For it is known that the yew is the longest lived and slowest growing of all trees, some of these sacred groves are ringed by ancient yew trees thousands of years old.
These sacred groves are the favoured place for a number of sacred ceremonies of the people held by the druids, such as the Aonach where kings and chiefs are selected through old tradition of tanistry. Common folk may only enter the grove when under the supervision of the druids and hunting or felling timber is forbidden in these parts, none dare defy these laws less they be excluded from the sacrifices and fall out of favour with the spirits that they believe reside here.
The druids hold their own ceremonies here in which the common folk do not partake. Diverse are the rituals of the druid and no place affords such privacy for these practices as the thick shade of these groves. Here they hold sacrifices to appease their gods, often taking young men of noble blood as their victims. If the victim has committed a crime their mutilated cadaver is hung from the trees to be picked apart by carrion, acting as an offering to the spirits and a deterrent to the common folk who lay eyes on them and bare witness to their demise.
Such is the tone of the scared groves of the druids that little wonder the folk dare not venture into these parts unsupervised.
Type
Grove
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