Circle of Ashen Rebirth
The druidic Circle of Ashen Rebirth have but one goal: To study the Forest of Colorless Flame and discover what the Colorless Flame actually is: a weapon, an entity, or simply a phenomenon born of the interaction of magic and nature. Created centuries in the past, this druidic circle has several groves situated around the Forest, where their members spend their time studying and researching the Colorless Flame.
They teach that this Forest and its black flame are a lesson in the circle of life: birth, death, and rebirth; however, this lesson is often seen in real time as the fire burns out and the forest regrows overnight. Druidic neophytes on Halirune make pilgrimages to the Forest to learn from the Ashen Rebirth druids, and come away wiser for it.
Culture
Druids of the Ashen Circle believe in the circle of life, and there are few places on Thyr where it plays out as rapidly as it does in the Forest of Colorless Fire. They feel it is there solemn duty to learn what the Forest is trying to teach them and impart it to other Druidic Circles and those scholars and sages. Many take this duty very seriously, and others can take it to the point where they feel ownership of the forest, and jealously guard their knowledge and dispense it to those they deem worthy. As of late, this belief has started to take firmer hold within the Circle.
History
Created shortly after the end of the Age of Agony, a druid by the name of Aquelen Stoneblood was travelling the northern reaches of Halirune, communing with nature and trying to find his place in the world. As he crested over a hill, he was equal parts awestruck and horrified as he saw a large expanse of forest before him, and most of what he could see was engulfed in black flames. He hurriedly made his way to the forest, but the fire went out on its own well before he reached the edge of it. He decided to make camp, and survey the damage and try to ascertain what caused it, but when he woke up in the morning, he was surprised to see the forest was as good as new, and completely untouched by flame. The second thing he noticed was that he didn't even hear crickets, the entire forest was silent save for the wind through its branches.
Aquelen decided to explore the forest, and see what he could find; he was able to do so for several days, but one day woke up in the middle of a conflagration that was quickly spreading. He was able to escape, but he suffered some serious burns to his right arm and back. Leaving the forest to convalesce, he watched as the fire continued to burn over the next several days, and then it finally went out. That night, he stayed awake to watch the forest, as he knew there was something amiss; to his astonishment, the forest began to grow back right before his eyes in the space of a couple of hours.
Aquelen shared this information with some of his fellow druids, and the word spread; druids travelled to the forest to study the phenomenon, and within a year, Aquelen found himself named Heirophant of the Circle of Ashen Rebirth.
From the ashes, rebirth.
Type
Religious, Druidic Circle
Alternative Names
Derogatory: Ash Collectors
Leader
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Location
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