I wish Yridia could see this.
She touches a soft hand to the rough bark and almost feels a warmth emanate from it before shaking her head.
It must be just my imagination.
Turning now to look south at the small river running past she walks over and dips one hand in to raise some water to her mouth before sitting on a rock at the bank. Looking in her bag for some food, she runs across an old book she hasn't looked at in a long time, Dusting it off she runs a finger along the gold title before opening it to read only sneezing once at the dust arrising from the pages.
(( http://www.moonsilver.de/english/crafts/druid.htm ))The Calling to Druidism
Druids receive their power through nature itself and therefore can be considered as a type of a priest of nature. They respect the forces of nature and live consistent with it. They can produce potions, ointments and tinctures out of natural resources. In addition they are able to ask spirits of nature and wild animals for help and protection, or even can influence the weather and also the growth-rate of plants. Their magic is less targeted on the instant but rather unfolds its power over a specific period of time.
The magic of druids is the oldest branch of the magic powers and can look back on a very long tradition of their school, which has its origin in the legendary seer and mystic Nifrindarai from the perished Elven domain of the Raenandor dynasty. His lore was in parts preserved and was recorded by his disciples (Nori Nifrindarai – Followers of Nifrindarai) in the volume „Concerning Nature“. In the perception that Illarion was created by the Elder Gods, he postulates that everything that was and will be, is created out of the five primary substances (fire, water, air, earth and spirit). These are the five roots of existence. Through union and disunion everything there is in existence has evolved out of them. But they themselves are in their quality something final; they never evolved nor will they perish; only particles will sliver from them and will establish new relations with particles of other primary roots. Therefore, what the mortals call creation and decay, is only union and than disunion: Birth does therefore not exist among all non-eternal things, not even an end in the accursed death, but rather mixture and exchange of the mingled substances. For Nifrindarai all creation is thus only translocation und therewith establishes the laws of the preservation of the substances of life and the perpetuity of the primary substances of the world.
But what is the cause of this union of substances and the disunion of the very same? What is the driving force behind creation and decay? For Nifrindarai the act of creation was something divine and unflawed. In eternity the harmony of life is preserved. As birth may not be without death, the five primary roots keep balance without generating preponderance in favor of or to the disadvantage of one single substance. In this, as he called it, first world period the force of creation and decay came out of harmony itself. The one can not exist without the other. Everything that exists is only as a whole imaginable, because how can I give without receiving and still remain whole? The primary roots themselves strive for this state of harmony; as soon the single one arises out of the multiple, soon it will separate again. And this continuous change never ends.
But with the manifestation of hate in the world this first world period came to an end. The present second world period is dominated by the divine struggle of hate and love; the two antipodes of existence. As hate intends to put an end to life, intends to destroy and to assist in increasing the multiple, love aims at unifying again and requires harmony to exist. Thus, in the turning of the great circle, in the turning of the wheel of time, the four great world periods supersede each other at regular intervals. In the upcoming third world period chaos will rule, as hate will be victorious. Only the multiple will remain and unity will be lost. Harmony will give way to chaos. Like in a divine maelstrom the elements will swirl without purpose and without aim, only subject to decay. It is reassuring to know that according to Nifrindarai some day the fourth world period will be heralded, in which harmony again will prevail. That way we have returned to the point of origin and this process will start anew in an endless circle.
Based on the theories of Nifrindarai the formulas and procedures of the druids (and also of the alchemists) were developed. The crucial factor therein is the approach that a universal order does exist, whereby equilibrium between the elements is innate. Each individual element (with the exception of Spirit) is thereby associated with a specific attribute or quality, which are arranged in antagonistic pairs (wet/dry, cold/warm). These qualities can also be located in the different ingredients, which find their use in druid or alchemist procedures. The success of a formula therefore requires a harmonic combination of the ingredients and their proportions. As an example the lore concerning health and illness of the renowned healer Tifalori from Karamesh shall be introduced. But this principle can also be applied to all other procedures of the druids. According to his teachings health is at hand when the qualities of the elements in the body are in balance; if only one quality dominates sooner or later an illness will evolve. Thus, a cure can be accomplished through re-establishment of the disordered equilibrium, whereas the healer utilizes that the qualities appear in antagonistic pairs. An excess of coldness in a patient can be balanced through a supply of heat or an excess of dryness can be dispelled through wetness. For the production of potions and the performing of procedures the druid also needs the fifth element, which has a joining character and therewith balances out both the attracting and repelling pairs of the other elements. This fifth element arises from the druid himself, who through the magical character of the bond establishes the unity.
In general druids use a staff, which is often very plain and was manufactured from oak, beech, willow or ash trees. They can produce different kinds of medicine and require specific items for it. Manufacturing ointments does only require a mortar, in which the herbs are crushed and mixed with animal fat. Their virtue is than unfolded by applying it to the skin. Potions have to undergo an additional product cycle. After the breakup in the mortar the mass has to be heated through fire to gain its maximum potency. After being bottled it can be administered orally. Tinctures are highly concentrated agents, which are most complex to produce. Here, the substance has to be concentrated further by using a distillation apparatus.
Closing the book, Achae appears in deep thought for a long time, her hazel eyes barely moving from the flow of the river before finally standing and turning back to the tree, the one whispering to her.
Yes, that is my idea of what a Druid is also... Magical, akin to nature...possibly alchemy as a by-product but not the main goal of a Druid.
Frowning she places the book back in her bag and turns her head south placing a hand on her forehead as if trying to view something through the sun's rays.
It is time to go back, to get closer to my roots then I will make a decision.
Calling more then one dove, she writes messages and attaches parchments to each with a small red ribbon as she gives them a nibble of food then sends them on their way watching each before turning toward the harbor only stopping to gather some apples on her way.
Seeing the ship come closer, the familiar sail, she looks at the harbor nodding to herself.
I will be back soon.