Draoidh

Referred to as both Draoidh and Druidism, it is a Glamour originating from and embodied by Dryads, though other notable practitioners include the Æld'Norai and to a lesser extent, Dragons. To practice Druidism is to manipulate the Saol of flora and nature, cultivating growth and healing onto the living. Draoidh requires a Minor Merit to pursue.

Draoidh

History

While the precise origins of the magic aren’t known, its progenitor, the Dryad Queen of the Spring Court, Elphame, is largely believed to be its source. Druidism is an ancient, primordial form of magic with its history winding back millennia– but even so, it is still not quite as old as Grist. Now, however, it is primarily wielded by Dryads in the vibrant, arboreal wonderlands of Ælphyne. Like most Glamours, Druidism is rare and has few practitioners on Antarok, with the exception, in this case, being the Æld'Norai. Knowledge of it tends to elude those that aren't familiar with the Faefolk, though the ones that do know of it tend to respect and value the practice in particular for its healing abilities.

Acquisition

In order to Awaken– or initiate into– Druidism, one must first possess the verdure gland through which its spells may be channeled. As with other Glamours, the organ is typically passed from parent to child among Dryads.

Verdure Gland

The requisite gland is small, about the size of a walnut, and is nestled into the inner side of the sacrum within the pelvic region. Curiously, the gland is not wholly animalian, as it bears striking similarities to the pits of many fruits. The gland holds dense concentrations of Saol and thus suffuses the rest of the body with it, allowing the body to wield it akin to a Galsterei wielding Aether. The Saol it provides, however, is applicable only unto plantlife, wound healing, the purge of poisons and the cleansing of diseases.

Awakening

The Awakening of a new Draoidh is the process by which the verdure gland hybridizes the body into a combination of both flora and fauna.

Dryads

In the case of Dryads, they are all born with the verdure gland and for them, the Awakening thereof is part of their coming of age. At the onset of their puberty, they Awaken, and for them it blends seamlessly into the wild growth they naturally experience.

A young Dryad inherits two of their parents’ Florabound plants; one from the mother, one from the father. For a period of a few months after their Awakening, they will struggle to contain rapid and sporadic growth of one or both of these two plants all over their bodies and their casting can be somewhat unpredictable as their bodies adjust.

Æld'Norai

Æld'Norai Draoidhs are not born with their verdure gland like the Dryads. Theirs grows through the process of their Awakening– for them, it is Invigorated by Ældrassil. They Awaken naturally through their connection to the great tree at the tail end of their coming of age, generally, but this only occurs provided they are within the confines of the Myrkvior mountain basin. The exact timing of this process is hard to predict, with some being precocious and others late bloomers.

Unlike the Dryads, the Ælven Awakening takes place over the course of a week, and because of its more rapid onset, the process is often considered a fairly unpleasant one. The rapid shifting of aspects of their bodies from animalian to botanic can be painful, with muscle aches, headaches, lethargy and weakness being common symptoms.

If an Æld'Norai is raised away from Ældrassil, they may still initiate into Druidism by returning home and meditating at a specific ritual site deep within the upper boughs of the great tree. However, if their connection to the great tree is sundered, they may never acquire Druidism in this fashion.

Other

Before any other entity may Awaken, they must first acquire the necessary gland. One option is facilitated through another Glamour entirely, Grist. The Gristled who Embody flora may cultivate the organ within themselves via their Inner Alchemy. For all others, a Draoidh with expert or higher mastery may Invigorate another creature into growing one, or the organ may be harvested and implanted via a Maltrician– the only requirement for those options is that the recipient possesses a soul.

The Awakening process for those who receive their verdure gland through Grist or Invigoration happens immediately upon the organ’s growth and is similar in nature to what the Æld'Norai experience; about a week of growing pains.

The Awakening process for those who receive ‘donor’ organs will happen within a day or two of the organ’s acquisition as it settles into its new host and the process is the same as those who receive it from Grist or Invigoration.

Mageburn Symptoms

• Lesser: Lethargy, Headache, Bodyache, Chills, Lightheadedness, Confusion, Weakness, Anxiety
• Moderate: Hives, Rashes, Inflammation (around where bound plant matter connects with the skin), Wild/Unpredictable Plant Growth
• Greater: Organ Failure/Rupture (Plant Overgrowth), Cessation of Healing Abilities, Dementia
• True Symbiosis: Among the Druids, True Symbiosis is a fate to be feared, some say even more so than death. The process one goes through to get there is agonizing; a Draoidh's bound flora will uncontrollably begin to flourish, slowly ripping them apart from within. Should any of those plants carry poison or allergens, the Draoidh will lose immunity to such things during this sometimes days-long process, too. And, unfortunately, they do not die at the end of the transformation. Rather, instead, they become a maddened, twisted hybrid of their bound flora, doomed to wander until they eventually starve or are cut down.

Spells

Like all Glamours, Draoidh uses the Metaphor of Saol to cast.

Verdant Hybrid

Less of a spell and more of a state of being, a Draoidh is a hybrid of both flora and fauna. They can utilize what bound plants they have grown upon their bodies to gain photosynthesis, allowing them to gather sustenance from sunlight. Additionally, the plant fibers woven into their flesh now allow their bodies to hold onto water for longer than before. How long a Druid can Photosynthesize in place of eating and the additional time they can go without drinking varies based on mastery.

Invigoration

Invigoration is the art of stirring and manipulating the Saol within living things. It is through this skill that Druids quicken the growth of plants and heal wounds.

Reinvigoration

The sister skill to Invigoration, Reinvigoration utilizes either the Draoidh’s own Saol or that of another living thing, allowing them to multiply it in order to restore life to dead plant matter. It may be used remotely on one's bound plantlife but must be used via touch when applied to creatures. Reinvigoration by Expert allows the Draoidh to unlock Syphon by spending a Minor Merit.

Florabind

Through a simple, meditative ritual, a Druid may bond with specific plants, thereby allowing their Invigorating abilities to have stronger effects on that species as well as being able to grow that plant and its seeds from their bodies. Utilizing magical abilities inherent to Florabound plants is considered Flora Magic and may necessitate expending XP or Merits according to its write-up, or else writing an additional ability proposal submitted to the submissions forum should that plant be missing one.

You may begin play Florabound to any CR5 or less plant, up to your limit for the tier you are beginning play at.
A Draoidh is immune to the plants that they grow or create. For example, if you are bound to nightshade, then the nightshade you grow will not affect you. If you encounter wild nightshade, or the nightshade grown by another Draoidh, however, you are at risk to its poisonous effects.

Floramancy

In simple terms, Floramancy is to bend plantlife to one’s will. Likely a Draoidh’s most versatile skill, it allows the caster to do anything from creating humble flower accessories to a suit of armor made of bark, from a simple vine whip to living buildings composed of wood or plant matter. As long as the botanic creation is either composed of nearby flora or something the caster is bound to as well as alive, the only other limitation to what can be done is the Druid’s own power and creativity.

Plantmeld

A Druid may rapidly meld with the trees and other plants around them, melting into it and then being able to travel through the plant’s roots through the earth to another plant of the same type within a short distance. This allows a Druid to, for example, travel without being seen by jumping from tree to tree in a forest.

At expert, a Draoidh's ability to meld with the plantlife around them also affords them the ability to expend a Minor Merit if they so choose to acquire Apparation. The medium through which their Apparation functions will initially be their bound flora, but should they desire to be incorporeal, they will be able to shift their forms into psychoplasmatic Saol.

Draoidh Grove

A Draoidh may weave into a territory of their choosing the plants they’ve bound themselves to in order to claim it. Within their Grove, they have an increased ease of control of the plantlife within and their casting can expend less Saol than normal to cast - from any Glamour.

To make a grove, the Druid must first select a location and then tend to it, infusing their magic into the land and plants around them. If they’ve chosen a location with no or few existing plants, then they must grow them from scratch. If the location already has plantlife, they can hybridize the local flora with their own bound plants. The methods by which the Druid infuses the land with their magic varies from individual to individual, with some spreading their magic like pollen from the plants on their bodies, others carefully cultivating a garden by manually planting the seeds, tending the plants, and so on.

Additionally, individual Druids may come together and form a communal grove, either cultivating a grove together or joining into one that already exists. If a grove already exists, the original Druid has to open their magic to the other or be forcefully overpowered. A Draoidh may only be a part of one Grove at any given time.

Tiers of Mastery

Novice

While a Draoidh is capable of utilizing all of their skills right away, to do so would be incredibly overwhelming and typically, they will learn the basics one skill at a time. And further, they are only able to utilize one skill at a time.

• Verdant Hybrid: The effects are relatively mild when one is a novice, with their hybrid nature only extending the need to find sustenance by a day or so and even less if they are unable to spend much time in direct sunlight.
• Invigoration: At novice, a Draoidh may only perform small feats such as making a budding flower bloom or mending small scrapes and bruises.
  Bound plant species invigorate about 10% faster than others.
• Reinvigoration: A novice will likely struggle to Reinvigorate anything at all, and if they do succeed, it would only be with recently dead, mostly intact specimens.
  • If using the spell to Syphon Saol, it would take a day to wither a target, though a novice cannot kill.
  • Ambient Grove Saol-Syphoning takes 3x as long.
• Florabind: As a novice, a Draoidh may only bind to 1 plant species.
• Floramancy: A novice would struggle to do much more than growing a vine whip or a bark buckler, small accessories and the like.
• Plantmeld: A novice would struggle to utilize this skill at all, only being able to meld just enough such that they can use the skill as a form of camouflage over 30 seconds.
• Draoidh Grove: A novice Draoidh would be able to make a grove about the size of a small shack and the growth of their plants would match a plant’s natural growth cycle.

Apprentice

With a firmer grasp on their abilities, an apprentice Druid’s spells have grown in power and they can now start weaving spells together in small ways.

• Verdant Hybrid: As an apprentice, they are able to subsist longer, their need to find sustenance being pushed off by several days now if they are able to consistently find themselves bathed in the sun’s light.
• Invigoration: A step above their novice skills, an apprentice can heal larger, but still minor, wounds as well as increasing the growth rate of plants with less effort than before.
  Bound plant species invigorate about 25% faster than others.
• Reinvigoration: They can now revive lightly damaged or dried plant matter.
  • If using the spell to Syphon Saol, it would take 6 hours to wither a target, though an apprentice cannot kill.
  • Ambient Grove Saol-Syphoning takes 3x as long.
• Florabind: At apprentice, a Draoidh can bind to up to 3 plant species.
• Floramancy: They won’t be able to accomplish much more than a novice, but they will be able to do so with far more ease than before.
• Plantmeld: With a firmer grasp of the skill, an apprentice can fully meld into a tree or plant over the course of 30 seconds.
  • They may not traverse yet.
• Draoidh Grove: An apprentice’s grove is about 1.5x the size of a novice’s and the plants within it will grow at about the rate that they can Invigorate their bound plants. Floramancy expends a third less Saol while other Glamour spells cost only marginally less.

Journeyman

A journeyman can now consistently use their abilities in combination and their casting is now far more fluid. Many who desire to do so or have not created a Grove of their own will may now seek to integrate themselves into one that already exists.

• Verdant Hybrid: At journeyman, a Draoidh may increase their time between consuming food or water by up to a week if they are able to consistently spend time in direct sunlight.
• Invigoration: As a journeyman, a Druid may heal mildly traumatic wounds as well as significantly increase the speed at which plants grow and flowering plants, or plants that bear fruit, will produce significantly more succulent fruits or bloom brighter petals. At this stage, they gain the ability to purge disease and cleanse poisons, though the deadlier varieties will outpace their ability to Invigorate.
  Bound plant species invigorate about 75% faster than others.
• Reinvigoration: At journeyman Draoidh may now successfully Reinvigorate plants with minor rot and decay.
  • If using the spell to Syphon Saol, it would take 3 hours to wither a target, though a journeyman cannot kill.
  • Ambient Grove Saol-Syphoning takes 3x as long.
• Florabind: At journeyman, a Draoidh can bind to up to 5 plant species.
• Floramancy: Journeyman is when a Draoidh can begin to make more complicated creations, as well as significantly larger ones than before. For example, bark-armor that acts as a second skin or converting a tree into a small shelter.
• Plantmeld: The speed at which a Draoidh may meld into wood or trees is 10 seconds.
  • Traversion between takes roughly 30 seconds.
  • Maximum range is 1 miles.
• Draoidh Grove: The Grove of a journeyman may be large enough to encompass several small structures and the plants within it now grow marginally faster than their ability to Invigorate bound plant species. Floramancy requires half as much Saol while other Glamour spells (including Draoidh itself) expend a quarter less.
  Additionally, a journeyman Draoidh gains the ability to join the Grove of another should they so wish.

Expert

A Draoidh at expert is a potent healer, manipulating Saol with significant ease.

• Verdant Hybrid: Upon reaching expert, a Draoidh may increase their time between consuming food or water by up to 4 weeks if they are able to consistently spend time in the sun.
• Invigoration: As an expert, a Druid can heal fairly traumatic injuries, sealing them and stabilizing a patient quickly but taking some time to fully restore them. They can cleanse most poisons and diseases. Catastrophic injuries such as the full destruction of a limb or multi-organ failure would still be out of their purview, however.
  Bound plant species invigorate about 125% faster than others.
• Reinvigoration: Mangled, rotting plants may now be revived by the expert Draoidh.
  • If using the spell to Syphon Saol, it would take 1 hour to drain a target entirely of Saol.
  • Ambient Grove Saol-Syphoning takes 6 hours still.
• Florabind: At expert, a Draoidh can bind to up to 7 plant species.
• Floramancy: Now an expert, the fluidity with which a Druid may manipulate plant matter drastically increases, with the result being much less Saol expenditure to cast as well as quicker casting times. Further, the complexity of their spellwork increases accordingly.
• Plantmeld: The speed at which a Draoidh may meld into wood or trees is 3 seconds.
  • Traversion between them increases to about 15 seconds.
  • Maximum range is 3 miles.
• Draoidh Grove: An expert’s Grove can expand to the size of a village and the plants within it grow at an alarming rate; about 20% faster than their ability to Invigorate bound plant species. Floramancy costs one third of normal Saol while other Glamour spells (including Draoidh itself) cost one third less.

Master

Truly one with nature and teeming with Saol, a master Draiodh is a force to be reckoned with within or without their groves. On top of that, they possess nigh unmatched survival skills; attempting to track them down in a forest being now a borderline impossible endeavor.

• Verdant Hybrid: Upon reaching master, a Draoidh may increase their time between consuming food or water by up to a season, or 3 months, provided they are able to consistently spend time in the sun.
• Invigoration: A master Draoidh may revitalize even the catastrophically wounded or cleanse even the most pernicious diseases and poisons in a matter of minutes. The fruits borne of plants Invigorated by a master Druid are incomparably delicious to all others and the flowers possess an otherworldly vibrance.
  Bound plant species invigorate about 200% faster than others.
• Reinvigoration: A master is able to regrow even plants ravaged by disease, plagues or destructive magics.
  • If using the spell to Syphon Saol, it would take 10 minutes to drain a target entirely of Saol.
  • Ambient Grove Saol-Syphoning takes 3 hours still.
• Florabind: At master, a Draoidh can bind to up to 12 plant species.
• Floramancy: A master Druid can manipulate plantlife as if it is an extension of themselves, bending them to their will with ease. What they may do is only limited now by what plants they have access to and their imagination.
• Plantmeld: A master can meld into wood or trees and traverse between them in the blink of an eye.
  • Maximum range is 5 miles.
• Draoidh Grove: A master’s grove can be limitless in size if the Draoidh in question dedicates the time to and finds the space to make it so. Further, the plants within their domain may grow at up to 50% faster than the Invigoration speed of their bound plants. Most frightening is their ability to use Floramancy with incredible efficiency, burning up the life force in their Grove to fuel its expression. Floramancy requires only one fourth the normal amount of Saol while other Glamour spells (including Draoidh itself) require half.

Fiadhaich

Ascendant of Druidism, or Fiadhaich, is a mage who has taken one step further than a master’s ‘oneness’ with nature. Utterly drenched in Saol, they are, by all accounts, more plant than person, exhibiting consummate control over the plantlife around them.

• Verdant Hybrid: An Aspect no longer has need of food at all, though water is still necessary at the rate of a master provided they spend enough time in sunlight.
• Invigoration: The Fiadhaich are considered miracle workers in terms of their healing prowess and the plants Invigorated by them are elysian in their perfection.
  Bound plant species Invigorate about 300% faster than others.
• Reinvigoration: There is no damage done to destroy a plant that a Fiadhaich cannot undo. Even plants destroyed by the magic of other Aspects may be brought back, though this takes some time to complete.
  • If using the spell to Syphon Saol, it would take 30 seconds to drain a target entirely of Saol.
  • Ambient Grove Saol-Syphoning takes 1 hour still.
• Florabind: A Fiadhaich may bind to 24 plant species.
• Floramancy: More plant than person, they wend flora with consummate ease and are able to better multitask their manipulations than their master counterparts.
• Plantmeld: Like the masters, a Fiadhaich can meld into wood or trees and traverse between them in the blink of an eye.
  • They may traverse at much larger distances of up to 10 miles.
• Draoidh Grove: Like the master Draoidh, their groves can be limitless in size if the Draoidh in question dedicates the time to and finds the space to make it so. But for an Aspect, the plants within their domain may grow at up to 100% faster than the Invigoration speed of their bound plants. Their most prized boon, however, is that their Floramancy no longer comes at a Saol cost at all, and their other Glamour spells (including Draoidh itself) only require a fourth of their normal expenditures.

Variants

Æcturnis

Unlike the Dryads and their Queen, the Æld'Norai source their Druidism from Ældrassil. When the tree still drew breath as a dragon, he had long ago achieved the status of Meridian, an Aspect of Grist. He governed Geomena, Sought the Nocturnal, and Embodied Biofluorescent Flora. And due to his Outer Alchemy, his Embodiment of flora and the pact formed between himself and the Ælves, they are able to Awaken Draoidh within themselves, though only within Myrkvior’s inner basin.

• Practitioners' skin, hair, and eyes have color palettes reminiscent of the night sky or possessing the vibrancy of Ældrassil's bound flora.
• They take after Ældrassil's nocturnal nature, with their sleep natural sleep cycles being altered to reflect this.
• They must bind themselves to a plant possessing natural biofluorescence before they may bind to anything else.
• Rather than be nourished by the sunlight, an Æcturnis Draoidh's Photosynthesis is fed by the gentle light of the moon, thriving in the night.

Acquisition

All Æld'Norai within range of their great tree end up Awakening to Æcturnis as they mature, but it is possible for others to acquire this form of Draoidh, too. In order to do so, however, one must not only brave the arboreal labyrinth that is their territory, but they must also parley with the Ælves and strike accord with them.

Note: It is possible to acquire Æcturnis without being Æld'Norai. To do so, one must submit a request to the support forum, and if approved, complete a moderated questline in order to earn the trust of the Ælves who hold dominion over it. Dragons of the Ævergreen Flight may begin with Æcturnis as they are commonly initiated, but writing the story would then require writing the moderated questline. Example: The Ties That Bind

Sloadh

Native to the Redcap Dryadae of Ælyphyne, Sloadh are fungal Draoidh who approach the Arcana through the lens of mycology. Beyond the Dryads, its practitioners are usually Gnomes or other denizens of the Ur'Duun. Sloadh is otherwise exceptionally rare on Antarok and other Planes, with many societies reacting to it with disgust.

• Sloadh is wielded using Geomena instead of Saol.
• Practitioners' bodies are altered to be lethargic with veins of throbbing mycelium rather than blood.
• Florabind is replaced with Fungal Bind; they may no longer bind to plants, only to fungi; their Fungal Groves lessen the cost of Geomena Arcana.
• Photosynthesis is replaced with Mycelisynthesis. A Sloadh may derive the benefits of Photosynthesis by weaving their bound fungi into corpses, nourishing themselves through decay as many fungi do naturally.

Acquisition

The Redcap Dryadae are born with Sloadh naturally, whilst any other race seeking to pursue it must first acquire Draoidh in any form and then convert it through a ritual.

Coreadh

Governing aquatic coral and flora, Coreadh is wielded by the Cor'Norai and Krakon of the ocean, Lacon. It is considered a crime against nature by the nation of Æntaris to wield Coreadh and not be at least a half-blooded member of either race; Coreadh is extremely rare upon the overland of Antarok and other Planes, with few examples aside from pirates with grand tales of their own.

• Coreadh is wielded using Imber instead of Saol.
• Practitioners' bodies are pockmarked with holes, coral protrusions, and cavities, allowing them to shelter sea life within themselves as an Animist.
• Florabind is replaced with Aquaflora Bind; they may no longer bind to overland plants, only to aquatic flora like seaweed, swamp flora like mangroves, and coral. Their Coral Groves lessen the cost of Imber Arcana.
• Photosynthesis works as normal, but only when in contact with a body of water.

Acquisition

Krakon who Embody sea flora may foster Coreadh naturally, and they are able to share it with another race through the Outer Alchemy of their Encaustum. Coreadh may also be shared via a ritual, with either method able to convert Draoidh as well.

Contrivances

When extracted from a slain Draoidh, the verdure gland will rapidly die and lose all magic contained within if it is not properly stored within a half hour of being harvested. If the gland is planted into soil infused with Saol, it will grow into a hardy, vibrant plant, selecting at random from one of those Florabound to the Draoidh.

Other creations from the verdure gland have uses at all stages of Druidic skill. Other uses include channeling Saol through the gland to Invigorate or reinvigorate plantlife, potions that will confer unto the drinker a temporary version of the effects of the Draoidh’s Verdant Hybrid, healing poultices, antidotes as well as other medicines relating to or derived from Florabound plantlife. All of these options scale to the mastery from which the gland was acquired.

Alchemistry

Draoidh may create magical ingredients useful for the production of Saol-based Alkemicals via their Flora Magic.

Malediction

Standard Transplant

The verdure gland may be excised and then surgically implanted into another, but the surgeon must meet or exceed:

• Malediction of Expert skill or Devorare of Journeyman skill.
• Medical skill of Journeyman.

"When I found myself lost in the forests near Myrkvior, I began to worry-- I'd always been told not to wander too close. But I was stubborn, insistent on tracking my mark. I succeeded, though only after the forest had grown impossibly dense. The omnipresent fog that hung heavy in the air had me turned around; I had no idea how to get back. Curiously, however, the very trees and plants around me began to move, and then I heard a whisper in the breeze-- 'a path to lead you out,' it said with a soft, uncanny laugh. '...take it, or my kin will be your end,' it continued. Didn't have to tell me twice." - A Wandering Hunter

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