Druid

Holding high a gnarled staff wreathed with holly, an elf summons the fury of the storm and calls down explosive bolts of lightning to smite the torch-carrying orcs who threaten her forest. Crouching out of sight on a high tree branch in the form of a leopard, a human peers out of the jungle at the strange construction of a temple of evil elemental air, keeping a close eye on the cultists’ activities. Swinging a blade formed of pure fire, a half-elf charges into a mass of skeletal soldiers, sundering the unnatural magic that gives the foul creatures the mocking semblance of life.
Whether calling on the elemental forces of nature or emulating the creatures of the animal world, druids are an embodiment of nature’s resilience, cunning, and fury. They claim no mastery over nature. Instead, they see themselves as extensions of nature’s indomitable will.

The Art of The Druid

Druids revere nature above all, gaining their spells and other magical powers either from the force of nature itself or from a nature deity, most often the goddess Eyr or the archfey of the feywilds. Many druids however, although most respect Eyr and the fey, pursue a mystic spirituality of transcendent union with nature rather than devotion to a divine entity, while others still serve gods of wild nature, animals, or elemental forces. The ancient druidic traditions are sometimes called feyworship, in contrast to the worship of the gods of the fate in temples and shrines. Druid spells are oriented toward nature, animals, and somtimes, elemental forces of the world—the power of tooth and claw, of sun and moon, of fire and storm. Druids also gain the ability to take on animal forms, and some druids make a particular study of this practice, even to the point where they prefer animal form to their natural form. Druids are often found guarding sacred sites or watching over regions of unspoiled nature. But when a significant danger arises, threatening nature’s balance or the lands they protect, druids take on a more active role in combating the threat, as adventurers.
Druidic magick is similar to the magick that wizards wield, most often learned by communing with ature and through meditative exercises. Like other mages and spellcasters at large, druids have an innate knowledge and "feeling" of the weave, and through this knowledge they are able to alter and control it to create magical effects. Where wizards and sorcerers rely on the weave and their own mana as a catalyst however, which can create averse effects in the world, druids, although they are familiar with the weave, prefer to use the existing aether of the world. They syphon and redirect it to create magick, and they are very aware of their effect on the enviroment. 
For druids, nature exists in a precarious balance. The four elements that make up a world—air, earth, fire, and water—must remain in equilibrium, lest the material plane be plunged into another elemental chaos like the one seen when the mother of gods; Anthea, first found the world. If one element were to gain power over the others, the world could be destroyed, drawn into one of the elemental planes and broken apart into its component elements. Thus, druids oppose cults of the primordial gods and others who promote one element to the exclusion of others.

The Circle of The Land

The Circle of the Land is made up of mystics and sages who safeguard ancient knowledge and rites through a vast oral tradition. These druids meet within sacred circles of trees or standing stones to whisper primal secrets in Druidic. The circle's wisest members preside as the chief priests of communities that hold to the practice of fey-worship and serve as advisors to the rulers of those folk. As a member of this circle, your magic is influenced by the land where you were initiated into the circle's mysterious rites.

The Circle of The Moon

Druids of the Circle of the Moon are fierce guardians of the wilds. Their order gathers under the full moon to share news and trade warnings. They haunt the deepest parts of the wilderness, where they might go for weeks on end before crossing paths with another humanoid creature, let alone another druid. Changeable as the moon, a druid of this circle might prowl as a great cat one night, soar over the treetops as an eagle the next day, and crash through the undergrowth in bear form to drive off a trespassing monster. The wild is in the druid's blood. Druids of the moon worship Selune, in addition to Eyr and the natural world. Ever since the lunar cataclysm, these druids have worked hard to restore Selune and the moon of which their circle takes its name.

The Circle of Dreams

Druids who are members of the Circle of Dreams hail from regions that have strong ties to the Feywild and its dreamlike realms. The druids’ guardianship of the natural world makes for a natural alliance between them and good-aligned fey, and although all druids are familiar with the fey, these druids have the strongest tie to the courts. These druids seek to fill the world with dreamy wonder. Their magic mends wounds and brings joy to downcast hearts, and the realms they protect are gleaming, fruitful places, where dream and reality blur together and where the weary can find rest.

The Circle of The Sheperd

Druids of the Circle of the Shepherd commune with the spirits of nature, especially the spirits of beasts and the fey, and call to those spirits for aid. These druids recognize that all living things play a role in the natural world, yet they focus on protecting animals and fey creatures that have difficulty defending themselves. Shepherds, as they are known, see such creatures as their charges. They ward off monsters that threaten them, rebuke hunters who kill more prey than necessary, and prevent civilization from encroaching on rare animal habitats and on sites sacred to the fey. Many of these druids are happiest far from cities and towns, content to spend their days in the company of animals and the fey creatures of the wilds. Members of this circle become adventurers to oppose forces that threaten their charges or to seek knowledge and power that will help them safeguard their charges better. Wherever these druids go, the spirits of the wilderness are with them.

The Circle of Spores

Druids of the Circle of Spores find beauty in decay. They see within mold and other fungi the ability to transform lifeless material into abundant, albeit somewhat strange, life. These druids believe that life and death are parts of a grand cycle, with one leading to the other and then back again. Death isn't the end of life, but instead a change of state that sees life shift into a new form, and many respect Nave as a protector of the cycle of life and death. Druids of this circle have a complex relationship with the undead. They see nothing inherently wrong with undeath, which they consider to be a companion to life and death. But these druids believe that the natural cycle is healthiest when each segment of it is vibrant and changing. Undead that seek to replace all life with undeath, or that try to avoid passing to a final rest, violate the cycle and must be thwarted.

The Circle of Stars 

The Circle of Stars allows druids to draw on the power of starlight. These druids have tracked heavenly patterns since time immemorial, discovering secrets hidden amid the constellations, and many follow the faith of astrology. By revealing and understanding these secrets, the Circle of the Stars seeks to harness the powers of the cosmos. Many druids of this circle keep records of the constellations and the stars' effects on the world. Some groups document these observations at megalithic sites, which serve as enigmatic libraries of lore. These repositories might take the form of stone circles, pyramids, petroglyphs, and underground temples; any construction durable enough to protect the circle's sacred knowledge even against a great cataclysm. In the south, and especially among the ranks of the Kath'Rakhi and the Vulpin, these druids are common.

The Circle of Wildfire

Druids within the Circle of Wildfire understand that destruction is sometimes the precursor of creation, such as when a forest fire promotes later growth. These druids bond with a primal elemental spirit that harbors both destructive and creative power, allowing the druids to create controlled flames that burn away one thing but give life to another. These druids are sometimes shunned by members of other circles, due to their connection with elementals, and are generally quite rare. 

The Circle of Twilight

The Circle of Twilight seeks to exterminate undead creatures and preserve the natural cycle of life and death that rules over the cosmos. Their magic allows them to manipulate the boundary between life and death, sending their foes to their final rest while keeping their allies from that fate. Many are devout followers of both Eyr and Nave, and they deeply respect the cycle that these gods represent. These druids seek out lands that have been tainted by undeath. Such places are grim and foreboding. Once vibrant forests become gloomy, haunted places devoid of animals and filled with plants dying a slow, lingering death. The Circle of Twilight goes to such places to banish undeath and restore life.

Learned Through:

Druids are most often taught by one or several mentors, in a society known as a druidic circle. Though their organization is invisible to most outsiders, druids are part of a societies that spans the land, ignoring political borders. All druids are nominally members of this druidic society, though some individuals are so isolated that they have never seen any high-ranking members of the society or participated in druidic gatherings. Druids recognize each other as brothers and sisters. Like creatures of the wilderness, however, druids sometimes compete with or even prey on each other. At a local scale, druids are organized into circles that share certain perspectives on nature, balance, and the way of the druid, and it is in such circles that most druids have learned their magick. 
Many druidic circles exist in Calen, where the land is especially lush and fertile due to a thinning veil between the material plane and the feywilds. As such, a lot of druids are wood elves, who culturally align well with the ideas of druidism. Elfin of the forest are also adept and dedicated druids a lot of the time, and so are other creatures of both the north and the south who dwell in the deep forests of Gaea. Individuals from all races can become adept druids however, with enough dedication to the preservation of the natural world. In the forests accross the entire continent are druidic circles that commune with nature, and many of these circles are connected with one another through the druidic society, where they maintain regular communications. 

History

Druids have historically always been concerned with the delicate ecological balance that sustains plant and animal life, and the need for civilized folk to live in harmony with nature, not in opposition to it. Druids accept that which is cruel in nature, and they hate that which is unnatural, including aberrations (such as beholders and mind flayers) and undead (such as zombies and vampires). Druids sometimes lead raids against such creatures, especially when the monsters encroach on the druids’ territory.
Historically, races like the centaur, the elfin and the wood elves were the first to fully grasp the art of druidry. Learned through their patron goddess; Eyr, theses early druids were taught the secrets of the natural world, and of shapechanging, and they were tasked with becoming wardens of the natural world. Since then, druidic societies have taken their role in the preservation of the material plane very seriously. Eyr and her creations; the fey, are often on very good terms with druids, and sometimes a particularily powerful archfey might grant boons to druids they like. Many druids also visit the feywilds fairly often, despite the dangers. Here they learn how to better commune with and channel nature, and many also find familiars in the fey of the plane. 

Demography

All races who embrace nature and the teachings of Eyr can become druids, in theory, although it usually takes a lot of self-control and intuition. A druid needs to be able to put their personal feelings aside to attain an open mind that can attune to nature, and this process can be long and difficult for those who have relied heavily on their emotions before. Most druids today are wood elves, jotnar and elfin due to their more primitive lifestyles. The fey are curious creatures however, and are often interested in teaching any who would listen about the feywilds and the art of druidry however, and many druids are also open to taking apprentices who are pure of heart and mind. 
Druids do not tend to frequenc the large cities of the kingdoms of men, but rather they prefer the deep forests, the tall mountains and the quiet lakes where there are no distractions from their studies of nature and the elements. Because of this, druids are not often seen by commonfolk, although they are definitely not rare. A lot of druids live and thrive in Calen, both in the cities, the villages and the wilds of the land, where they can practice their magicks safely, without the scrutiny of city-folk who do not understand their practices. 

Appearance

Druids tend to wear cloth and light leather armours. Many of their spells are defensive in nature, and as such they larely have need of large, heavy armours. In the same way their weapons tend to be fairly primitive; a wooden staff, the branch of a tree acting as a wand, a book with notes about the natural world, or a gnarly staff made from a lightning-struck tree.   Those who practice druidry are known to live longer than the average person, their innate knowledge of and their connection to the natural world extending their vitality beyond what is normal for mortals. In addition to this, some of those who practice the art become so attuned with nature, that they start growing leaves, moss and flowers in their hair or on their bodies. Due to all this, druids tend to look eccentric and wild. They often do not care about the cleanliness that those who live in large cities are concerned with, but instead focus on becoming as close to the natural world as possible.

Creating a Druid

When making a druid, consider why your character has such a close bond with nature. Perhaps your character lives in a society where fey-worship still thrives, or was raised by a druid after being abandoned in the depths of a forest. Perhaps your character had a dramatic encounter with the spirits of nature, coming face to face with a giant eagle or dire wolf and surviving the experience. Maybe your character was born during an epic storm or a volcanic eruption, which was interpreted as a sign that becoming a druid was part of your character’s destiny.
Have you always been an adventurer as part of your druidic calling, or did you first spend time as a caretaker of a sacred grove or spring? Perhaps your homeland was befouled by evil, and you took up an adventuring life in hopes of finding a new home or purpose.