The Uardvallin
The Callair Forest is not a natural place. Within its borders, beneath the eaves of trees that have stood for thousands of years, one quickly comes to realise the forest is alive in a far more immediate sense than any mundane wood. One can never quite shake the sense that they are being watched. Light and darkness play around each other in unnatural ways, while blurred and hazy images flit in the half-light as it filters through the canopies overhead. Time and space twist and bend within its borders. One can walk for what seems like days on end, only to discover they are walking in circles. At other times, after only an hour of travelling one finds they have traveled leagues. The natural cycle of the world also holds a tenuous grip on the Callair. One can pass through glades caught in the full bloom of spring, and within a day enter into a wood buried in banks of snow and the icy mists of midwinter.
Many are the strange, fey creatures that reside within the Callair Forest, alongside the wood elves, forest gnomes and satyrs. Some are benign, curious, helpful, impish or benevolent. Many and more however are spiteful, cruel, monstrous and territorial. The forest itself seems to display a malevolent sentience. One who sleeps in the shade of the wrong tree may awaken to find roots encasing their limbs and chest, binding them fast to slowly die and have their bones claimed by the malicious tree.
The Uardvallin are a sacred order among the denizens of the Callair. They a something akin to a priesthood, though it is the Callair itself that they venerate. The duty of their order is that of the shepherd, to guard and nurture the fey spirits that reside within, as well as protect the mortals that live within and around its borders. Those of the Uardvallin are able to navigate the wending, twisting paths of the forest better than most, their kinship with the spirit of the forest guiding their passage, though they must never grow complacent, for the Callair is not truly safe for any being.
Goals
Uardvallin can be encountered in many places throughout the Callair, most often keeping enclaves in places of significant power and significance. The Eternal Falls, the Echo Springs, the Oak of Winter, and dozens more are of great importance to the enigmatic power of the forest. Here the Uardvallin act as guardians and keepers, ensuring these sites remain pure and free of corruption, as well as protecting them from the devious and wicked entities that would take the power of these places and twist them to their own ends. Other Uardvallin make lives for themselves closer to the forests edge, for despite the deep and dark superstitions outsiders have for it, many still settle close by. While the ring of leystones keep many of the strongest and most dangerous entities of the forest contained, many lesser spites and puckish creatures are able to slip the net and menace those mortals who live close by. Those Uardvallin who live close-by to these neighbouring societies spend their time fashioning and peddling charms, tokens and wards that help keep them at bay. A secondary duty of the Uardvallin is close to that of a priest or cleric. They live closely with among the societies of elves, satyrs and gnomes, imparting their knowledge of some of the secrets of the forest in which they all live. Lessons, warnings, legends and cautionary tales are imparted to ensure all denizens of the forest hold a deeply rooted respect, reverence and indeed fear of it.Relationships
Few outside of the Callair Forest are even aware of the existence of the Uardvallin, or the role they play. Even those communities that a Uardvallin lives in close proximity to do not truly grasp the boon these solitary hermits provide them, or the misfortunes that would likely befall them were they not there. To the Children of the Callair though, the Uardvallin are afforded every respect. If it were not for the Uardvallin, who can truly say how long their people would survive before being lost or consumed by the sentient wood.Keep Safe the Bridges
Symbol
A bramble wreath surrounding a runic stone, carved with the druidic symbol for 'gate'
Type
Druidic Circle
Leader Title
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