Green Order
While not an established, official religion, the Green Order is a moniker used by those who venerate Ygg, nature, and plants over all else. Druids who are not the tied directly to any one deity are all considered members of the Green Order, and many Briarhearts are considered by default to be members of the Green Order due to their connection with nature.
Public Agenda
The Green Order's main agenda is simply the protection and cultivation of nature, and they range from the upkeep of small gardens in cities, to the protection of ancient forests.
Foreign Relations
The Green Order often works very closely with the Order of the Beast, the followers of Alpha, the First Beast, as they both venerate two major parts of nature, plant life and animal life. Many outsiders even struggle to identify any differences to the two. The Green Order also work closely with nearly all other druid orders, but they have a special rapport with the Wild Order, the followers of Vohmana, who also have a special affinity for plants. Some may also work closely with the members of the Fey Courts, at least those ones that work with plant-life, such as worshippers of the Kudzu Knight.
Infrastructure
Druids of the Green Order don't usually build or worship in traditional buildings, instead crafting small gardens inside existing vegetations, such as downed trees, bramble groves, or stone circles. These constructions are known as Temple Gardens, and are lead and maintained by the High Druid. Normal druids usually live solitary lives on their own in the woods, congregating at Temple Gardens for annual meetings or when a urgent need arrives. Members of the Green Order who dwell in cities often cultivate actual gardens, often giving horticultural advice and working as an apothecary.
Divine Origins
The Green Order has been around since the beginning of mortal life, as mortals look upon nature and saw its power and impact. These early mortals strove to master the powers of nature, and to protect it from those who would despoil it or bring it harm.
Cosmological Views
The Green Order states that nature and life sprang from Ygg, and so that the natural world must be maintained and protected for life to continue.
Tenets of Faith
Tenets of the Green Order vary by region, but all follow a code similar to the following:
- Life stems from nature, and so I will protect nature with the life it has granted me.
- I recognize that nature can be cruel, but it is all part of a greater cycle, and that I will only interfere to protect the greater cycle.
- Just as animals live and breath, so do the plants of the world. I will never inflict unnecessary pain on the green kin of the world.
- I will work to ensure that civilization doesn't forget its roots in nature, and to protect nature from the exploitations of others.
- As the leaves fall to change and renew, I will ensure that I am flexible in my mind; change is part of nature, so I too must be able to change with it.
- All things stem from Ygg, and thus I will work for the betterment of all life in the world.
Ethics
Most members of the Green Order simply wish to be left alone to appreciate and cultivate nature, and thus don't place much debate on ethics and alignment. Many are druids, and thus mostly remain neutral, but they tend more towards good alignments and ethics than evil, preferring to build up nature rather than tear down civilization. However, some of the Green Order, especially those who wittiness acts of cruelty and destruction to nature, will work to inflict horrifying and twisted revenge on those who they view have abused the nature.
Worship
Worship of the Green Order often takes the form of the caretaking of plants, either planting new ones in barren areas, or working on an existing garden while contemplating how all life stems back to Ygg and offering it prayers. However, no strict rules of worship exists, and thus anyone can worship nature in whatever way the see fit.
Priesthood
While the various sects have their own rules about leadership and succession, most druid circles of the Green Order are led by a High Druid. These High Druids are responsible for the upkeep of the Temple Gardens, and for leading the rare meetings of various druids.
Granted Divine Powers
Members of the Green Order often gain the ability to commune with plant creatures or even plants themselves. More devout members the ability to channel the energy of different Materils at once, gain protection from the different energy of the Materils, and even release large blasts of combined Materil energy. Powerful members can summon treants, imbue animals with the powers of plants, grow plants with just a touch, and even command the trees of a forest attack others in various ways.
Political Influence & Intrigue
The Green Order's political influence varies greatly by realm and country; in the more primal realms like Ixuil and Usoram, the Green Order has heavy sway, while in areas where technology is advancing, such as Kirru and the city of Nenu-lan, the Green Order has little influence and often must resort to acts of defiance and ecoterrorism.
Sects
Due to the vast scope of the Green Order and its unorganized nature, nearly every sect of it is different. Most simply wish to be left alone to tend to ancient forests, but some sects take on a more active role, helping with the upkeep of city parks, or even a destructive role, striking back at organizations that they believe have damaged nature.
"Life Grows From a Single Seed"
Type
Religious, Druidic Circle
Demonym
Greenlings
Deities
Divines
Notable Members
Related Species
Comments