“All believe they are the highest and best path, when all of them are just part of the path,” sighed Hierophant Pinewhisper.
“And they are all Powered.” He flinched. “Once you are Powered, you rapidly lose the understanding of what it is like to not be so. A Druid, who can survive regardless of the terrain or weather, loses so much empathy with normal people that they start looking at them as little better than helpless livestock to be herded along.” I leaned forwards slightly. “I am very familiar with that mindset, Elder Pinewhisper.”
He said nothing. It came with Power. The feeling that normal people were helpless bumblers to be kindly shepherded along by those with the power and knowledge to know better and do more grew VERY quickly among the Powered, especially as they gained Levels.
“So, you act as a Great Shepherd, guiding fools along on the right path?” He said it neutrally, but there was a glint in his eye, even with his casual gesture back at the room we had left.
“No. I act as the Great Empowerer, trying to raise fools into Enlightenment, so I don’t have to take care of them, so they can take care of themselves!” He shuddered slightly at the rebuke in my voice. “That is what it means to be Good! Perhaps First among Equals, rather than Lord and Servant, Alpha and Pack, Biggest Fist, Master and Student, or Tyrant and Slave. My empathy is that people also want to be Independent, and while I cannot force them to walk that road, I can make damn sure that the road is open to all who want to take it!”
He pursed his lips, taking into account all that I had done. Even if I had held things back, and I most certainly had, I had cracked that road wide open and showed it to the whole world.
“Then enlighten this old man. What do you picture the role of a Druid to be?” he asked of me, narrowing his eyes.
“I claim no knowledge of the ‘best’ road for anyone. There are many, many roles a Druid can take that I approve of. To me, a Druid is a Priest who instead of connecting with the Powers that dominate the hereafter, connects with the entity upon which they live.
“A Druid does not represent the Land. A Druid interfaces with the Land and shows people how to be a symbiote, not a parasite. We are all born of Her, and our flesh, in the end, will return to Her. We can be white blood cells, or a cancer; a disease or an anti-virus; tough skin, or an open wound.
“We come from here!” I pointed at the ground. “This is our world! We are part of it! It is our job to protect this world and nurture it for those that come after us! At the same time, we have Free Will! We are not this World’s slaves! In the eyes of the Hereafter, our worth greatly eclipses that of the World we call home!
“Thus, it is also our job to advance ourselves and our people to a higher and greater standing! The World is not here to limit us, and we are not here to be bound to it forever! Unlike it, we have Free Will, and Free Will can take us further and farther than the World itself can go!
“The responsibility of a Druid ends where their power does, but the power of a Druid is not bound by just one World. In the end, the World is a minor part of Creation. The greatest Druids stand against those who threaten Creation, who play with Time and Space itself as if they were toys, and understand true fundamental forces, not merely the passing Seasons and the waxing and waning of life’s cycle. Nature is beyond one World, and when a Druid walks the road of the Eternal, the threats to their homeworld are often greater than the World itself!”
My eyes were probably burning. “Too many Druids think that only THEY understand what it means to have and control power, and thus only THEY should have it. They are shortsighted and small-minded fools who do not understand their roles, and the power and value of Free Will.
“Your responsibilities as a Druid are as big as you make them, or as small, but they do not give you the right to dictate how mortals live, any more than they do me!
“From Loyalty, Duty. From Duty, more Loyalty. That is ALL you are entitled to, and only from those who follow you.”
I stared at him. I wasn’t any taller than him, but I was on a higher step, so I was looking down, and I overwhelmed him in all areas. “The Druids are the most diverse and least unified of Faiths because the Land doesn’t care about something as ephemeral as strictures, rules, and tenets; all those are inventions of sapient mortals looking for structure and something to follow. If you want those things, you have to go elsewhere to get them. Father Sylvan is the most likely to give everyone a single guiding vision... but His vision is no more valid than that of any other god, in the view of the Land, regardless of how similar their goals are.
“Sylvan is a deity, and His true goals are Souls, Faith, and Free Will. Nothing more, nothing less.
“Broaden your mind, Hierophant. In the end, this World is but one you can be responsible for. You can Walk all of Creation, and serve It, not just a World.”
He sighed, and bowed his head. “You have a very different perspective on things than we do, Lady Traveler.”
“It’s not that my mind is open. It’s that you have closed yours,” I replied firmly. “Look at where your Duty and Loyalty lie, and perhaps your Faith. Open your mind, and see where your choices can take you.” I glanced him up and down. “You are a rare Natural Seven, but you have gone nowhere since you made that Level. By your Aura, I would say you stole some power from a Wereclan’s Caern, and were afraid to attract their notice by getting stronger.”
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His eyes widened in alarm. He looked like he was about to say something, but held back, only looking about cautiously.
I held up my off hand. “Vampire’s Veil,” I indicated the Ring there, a downtime, techno-oriented necessity I’d made up. “I always have it up around technology, and no Divination effect can track me. Also, there is a Sound Bubble around us, so you don’t have to worry about physical eavesdroppers.” Despite himself, he let out a breath of relief. “You staying at Seven is basically announcing to Existence that you intend to be mediocre forever. I would do something about that, if I were you.”
He flinched again. He was once the most powerful Druid alive, a true Seven, Faux Eight. Being told he was mediocre was a rude shock.
“Placing your Human/3 magical advance onto Bard was wise, helping you solidify your political role. But if you don’t continue advancing, you are going to be a minor person in less than six months.
“You need to Level to Ten, Hierophant, and if the Clan you stole from gets angry, then I suggest you show them who the power they claimed was theirs really belongs to.”
He stared at me, and his face gradually hardened. “I have been living in fear,” he finally breathed out, staring at me. “It has impacted my service...”
“Fear is the enemy,” I agreed calmly. Thank you, Dauntless...
He bowed his head to me slowly, genuinely this time. “I have one more question. Can the Druids be involved in the selection of a King?”
I lifted an eyebrow. “It is not out of place, acting as interpreters of the Will of the Land, as the Faiths do of the Gods. However, such a ‘selection process’ is easily sidestepped by the Candidate being Bound to any form of Fey, Place, or Elemental Spirit, or knowing Druidic magic.” He blinked and pursed his lips at that news. “If you wish to set up some sort of test for Candidates to gain the recognition and backing of the Druidic Faith, that is wholly a matter for you to enter the selection process on a political level.
“The recognition of the Druidic religions is not a requirement to become a King. The Mother Land recognizes who She recognizes.”
His shoulders slumped ever so much as he realized his true place in things once again. From picturing himself as the speaker for a great and powerful entity, to come crashing down and realizing he was just another glorified politician was quite a fall.
“Would you like a suggestion?” I asked him kindly.
He sighed. “Your wisdom dwarfs my own, for all my years. Please, Lady Traveler.”
“The approval of the Druids itself means nothing, it is a political decision. If you wish to be involved in this, then I advise you to contribute, not to judge.
“Observe, analyze, study, and agree on the traits the Mother Land is looking for among those aspiring to be King... or Queen. Then make those traits known, all of them, and let such aspirants know that you can teach them.
“If you want to be involved in the choice, be involved and make connections. Do not judge, assist! If you want to be the gatekeeper, then the aspirants will tear the gate down. You have neither the right nor the privilege to stop them, any more than a mortal Cleric has the right or privilege to make such a choice without the approval of their own Patron.
“The Divine will approve who they approve, and they do not require any of their mortal servants to agree with them, either.”
Pinewhisper shook his head. “We are so small...” he murmured, looking up and around. “I would think a crafted edifice like this is an affront to the Land... but it is really meaningless, is it not?”
“Dust mites,” I agreed. “But even dust mites have their role, and for all their size and distance, the Mother Lands are NOT Mother Terra. The ecosystems of what we call Nature are integral parts of who and what they are. To Mother Terra, they are merely the outermost layer of her skin, and they swirl and change so quickly it is almost like they are not there at all.”
His mouth opened, closed again. “Perspective...” He took another deep breath. “Is...is there a way to get beyond being so small?” he had to ask.
“Break Twenty. Step onto the Path of the Eternal,” I replied instantly, and his jaw dropped.
“Eternal?” he had to repeat.
“Mortal weakness is left behind. You will not die, you can only be killed. You step beyond Mortality into Eternity, and you go from being a dust mite to something truly Independent.”
“You use that term again. Independent... what exactly does it mean?” the Shaman had to ask, feeling he was standing on the edge of a great secret.
“It is something all people aspire to, knowing or otherwise,” I answered calmly. “The Measures of Independence are a known List. There is disagreement on some particulars, but there are some core standards.” I flicked up the list next to me, and he read them hungrily.
“The key is Freedom from Mundane Need. You must be able to eat and drink without needing to spend time acquiring such things, and you must be immune to extremes of environmental temperature. The first can be done by conjuring your own food and drink, or by being Sustained; the second is typically done by gaining any amount of Resistance to Fire and Cold. While typically the vain also like to protect themselves from water and rain, it is not a requirement. At this point, clothing becomes a fashion statement and tool for carrying things, not a necessity for survival.
“Once you have those two things covered, you have no need for food or shelter. Anything else you require is a higher need... you are Independent of the basic society mortals make to support one another.” I waved a hand at him. “Druids are naturally Independent quickly. This allows them to stand off from mortal society, as they no longer need it to survive.
“As you can see, there are more Tenets, and each one removes you further and further from the need for others. Some of these are standards to raise self-reliance, some are ways of stepping past limitations put on us by the world and reality itself.”
Freely Aware. Free to craft. Free to Artifice. Free of Gravity. Free from Borders. Freedom from Minor Injury. Free of Obligation. Free to Cast. Freedom from Fate and Chance. Freedom from Good and Evil. Freedom of Arms. Freedom to Move. Freedom from Fear. Free of Fatigue. Freedom from the Elements. Freedom to Walk the Worlds. Freedom of Enlightenment. Free of Imperfection. Free to Advance. Freedom to Speak. Freedom to Disappear. Free to be Unique. Free of Wealth. Free to Lead. Free of Loneliness. Freedom from Death’s Touch. Freedom from the Fury of the Elements. Freedom from Divination. Freedom of Will...
Freedom from Time was the last one. I flicked a finger at it. “Only if you are Eternal...”