The Conclave
Description:
In the course of the Longest Year and the following decade of chaos and upheaval, nature suffered as much as the civilisation of the Realms, though there were those among the wilds that dared claim the recent times had in truth exacted an even greater toll upon the natural world. Among such circles it was often said that the ignorance and disregard of the many - of the ‘civilised’ - played the harrowing role of worsening the apparent dearth of the Balance.
All across the Lands of Intrigue the natural cycle of life was without a doubt in a state of extreme and constant flux - a profound threat to the Balance, warned the zealous and overcatious, speaking of a world teetering on the brink of irreparable disaster.
In pockets of the wilds, underground, and the sea alike, animals and beasts were driven out of their natural habitats, whether by man or monster, forced to adapt in climates and terrain that defied the natural way of things… or doomed them to die in the attempt. Some creatures adapted to survive below ground, well out of sight and mind, whilst others succumbed to nigh extinction when magical beasts fleeing from the Longest Year took over their erstwhile homes, forcing the former occupants - bestial and insectoid alike - closer to the surface, if not directly upon it.
All the while divine servants of nature in the region, faced with a crisis unlike anything in recent memory, quickly dwindled in number in their inability to match the tides of change, at a devastating disadvantage without the might of magic. Druids, clerics, and rangers all were tugged into varying hardships, from the chaos wrought by the absence of magical protections that some habitats had come to rely upon, to the managing of both overpopulation and scarcity of countless creatures in the wake of destroyed and changing ecosystems.
While the hopeful and idle simply relied on the notion of nature always finding a way, there were those that urged their kin to action in the name of the Balance’s preservation. The druidic circle of Amn, the Keepers of the Blossom, and that of Tethyr, the Council of Deeproot, along with the Gyldath N’nothac and Naer’na Enduwath of the Wealdath, were called to a moot in Old Oak Dell, east of Mosstone, which in 1369 DR culminated in the forming of The Conclave; a gathering of druidic circles sworn to restoring and maintaining the sacred cycle of life.
Outlook:
The Conclave is a budding gathering of several druidic creeds, focused on combatting the impact of the Longest Year on nature. Devoted equally to maintaining the Balance, members of the Conclave have unique duties in the hierarchy of the Faction, dependent on the elemental Menhir they choose to devote themselves to. Faction specific duties range from external diplomacy to controlling human expansion, and much more. Established druidic circles and individuals often have many other goals beyond the recognised duties of a Menhir, particularly if part of an established church of the region.
OOC Notes:
// The Conclave is the default nature Faction, home to Druids, Clerics, Rangers, Barbarians, Shamans, and nature oriented characters of many kinds. Though its current druidic circles are predominantly True Neutral and/or Good in alignment, Evil characters can just as easily find a place within, as the Faction is open to any background, race, and class (within reason, Dread Necromancers and Blighters for example are forbidden), as long as they intend to serve nature.