“Discovering a path to Firiel, the tree of life, is part of our clan’s origin.”
-- Eliqali, matron of the Qali clan of ethron
A priest of the moon, of the earth, of the sun, and of life, druids draw upon the elemental powers inherent in nature. Unlike the arcanist, who acts as a conduit or cipher for the powers of his sphere, a druid borrows from the natural world that which is in abundance. All alignments and ethoi are available to druids, allowing them to put their minds to whatever they wish.
Introduction
The oldest of Avendarian spellcasters, the druid embodies attunement to the primal world in all of its facets. The ethron were the first to compose druidic orders, charged as they were by Elar the All-Mother to defend Her creation. In time, other races would place their own subtle marks on the ancient ethron ways: the humans brought their affinity for the moons and other celestial bodies, and the caladaran brought their skill in bodily transmutation. While the heart of the druid will forever be ethron, the inclusion of other races within its secretive ranks has made the class both more dangerous and more versatile.
The druid is the only primary caster who learns to fight unarmed, and similarly, requires no weapon to defend herself; what method she chooses in battle belongs to her whim alone. However, she may only ever use one weapon at a time, which has lent many druids to carry a staff, or other larger wooden arms. Melee combat is available to the druid, as she can take on the shape of various creatures to aid her combat prowess, but it is not necessarily her forte. Instead, she draws her most potent powers from the world around her. Unlike the arcanist, who acts as a conduit or cipher for the powers of his sphere, a druid borrows from the natural world that which is in abundance. This gives her a surprising degree of flexibility without tethering her to the restrictions of a scholar’s lifestyle.
All alignments and ethoi are available to the druid, allowing her to put her mind to whatever she wishes. Many druids favor Elar, the primary goddess from which the druidic art was born; yet, they do not shy away from other deities, particularly those who are in some way associated with nature, such as Lilune or Sitheus. Much like their cousin, the ranger, druids may also eschew religion entirely, holding nature itself to be an ideal worth venerating. Ultimately, the druid sees herself as a part of a much larger continuum of life, and is never without the shelter of the wild.