Online:On Nature Spirits

Book Information On Nature Spirits
ID	7539
See Also	Lore version
Collection	Archipelago Books and Almanacs
Locations
Found in the following locations: Bookcases in Galen

On Nature Spirits

by Archdruid Duana

A druid's thoughts on the relationship between nature spirits and druids

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We druids share a unique and irrevocable connection to the spirits around us. The spirits tied to our groves, mountains, and rivers are as integral to our lives as we are to each other. We know them in ways others cannot, but even we who spend our lives honoring and seeking to understand nature spirits can never fully know them. That is the beauty of their existence. Nature is unpredictable and unknowable. Much as we try to decipher it, it will always just escape our complete comprehension.

But that is not to say that we understand nothing about the spirits that abide by Y'ffre's will.

We know that some nature spirits are incredibly powerful. Some feel emotion, demonstrating either profound gentleness or outright aggression. Some are relatively new to this world, fresh as the morning dew that collects on the leaves, while others are as old as the first druids who walked upon Galen. We know spirits can become lost, just as people can. Spirits can also be guiding forces for us, whether we are lost in purpose or in place.

But our cooperation with nature spirits only works insofar as we respect them. We cannot hope to commune with nature spirits by denying them their domains or forcing them into work, nor by binding them to our wills (if such a thing were even possible). We must do our best to understand each spirit we intend to work with at any given time. For example, is the spirit a protector? A guardian? We could not ask an unmoving spirit of stone to help grow our crops, just as we could not ask a gentle spirit of the flowers to defend us from predators. Communing with nature spirits requires one to introduce themselves to the spirit first and establish a relationship with them. A friendship, even.

Spirits can be influenced by druid magic, but I often advise against it. Unless a spirit is suffering, there is no reason to interfere with its natural state. Even aggressive spirits are better left alone and unprovoked than changed. This is the True Way. After all, if we could control nature, our world would be lesser for it. That has never been Y'ffre's will. Besides, it can be quite dangerous if errant magic twists a spirit's disposition.

In summation, we druids seek to honor nature and we do our best not to imbalance what already exists. It is an honor uniquely ours that we can commune with the many spirits of the land and sea, and one we should never take lightly.