Awen and its Nature

Never underestimate the Awen, for it is of the Fae and even when harnessed by men, it remains wild and unpredictable. During the Faen war, when The Druids and bards found them harnessing the Awen to protect against the Summer Queen, things occurred beyond mortal ken. Mountains were raised at the cost of a hundred druids' lives. Rivers were stopped up and turned into lakes that overran their banks to wash away entire enemy hosts.
Once, as our warband stood surrounded, our bard plucked a leaf from the ground, whispered a song so that only the plant could hear, tossed it into the air, and a grove of ancient oaks sprang into existence, fully formed, which allowed us the chance to escape. As the enemy began to surround him, he let out a high piercing whistle and transformed into a hawk so that he could fly away.

— Owain, King of Gwent

Manifestation

The Natural World

Awen is the essence of the natural world. As such, its power and nature are focused on shaping the way that the natural world works, utilizing what already happens. Rarely does the Awen itself manifest directly, but for those with Fae-blood, they can sense the Awen in a location as a form of sixth sense that manifests as a feeling of tingling along the back of the neck.

Shape the Elements

The Druids are caretakers of the archipelago and its peoples. As such, their primary role is that of mediators between the archipelago's natural elements, its mortal inhabitants, and sometimes the Fae. Very well educated in the customs, laws, and traditions, they serve as judges and diplomats. Druids only really exhibit their power times of weather-crisis, like flooding and drought. In fact, these are when they are most called upon, to help bring rain or send rainfall elsewhere. As controlling the natural world, very experienced druids can assume the shape of natural creatures, but they risk getting stuck in that form if they spend too much time in animal form. This school is referred to as Grammarie.

Change Perceptions

While it is not the druid's primary role, they can also use the Awen to change what-is, with grammarie, they can change what others see. This school is referred to as Glamour and is the focus of the bards. It creates illusions and affects the feelings of others. This can redirect foes to attack another target or be used to entertain at a feast.

Localization

Origin

The Awen originates in the Fey and is the underlying element that underlies and shapes the Fey. Within the mortal world, it can bleed through where the veil between the two is weak. For the most part, that means the strongest presence of Awen within the mortal world is the Laeonesse archipelago, due to the long history of the Fae dwelling within the isles. It does exist in other parts of the world but is far more limited in its use and recognition. That has made the practitioners from other parts of the world very rare and very different from what the druids and bards.

Ancient Places

Even within Laeonesse, the power of the Awen varies depending on where it is. In places where the Fae once dwelt for a long time, the Awen has grown in strength. These places are remote from most of human society and deep in the wild places of the world, for the Fae delight in such places far more than humans do. Ancient groves, still pools, stone circles, and forgotten mounds are among the strongest places in the Awen. Adventurous druids seek these out to forge their connection to the Awen and it is from here that they draw their power.

Lands of Men

The Awen has so suffused the isles of Laeonesse that even where humans have a strong population, the Awen is still accessible and usable. However, in places where they have dwelt for ages and altered the landscape, it has begun to fade, and vanish. In the early eras of Laeonesse, the archipelago has not been settled long enough for this to begin to appear. Only in later eras, during the Aelithi occupation and afterward, does this begin to appear.

Type

Metaphysical, Supernatural