The Wardens of the Wood
Druidic Sect: Guardians of Balance Between Nature and Civilisation
Primary Location: Towering Wood, Eldeen Reaches; centred at Greenheart
Membership: Largest of the five sects (~5,000); majority human, with significant half-elves and shifters
Symbol: Stylised pine tree (devotion to Oalian); bracken fern (welcome and humility)
"We, the Wardens of the Wood, protect all the children of Eberron, from the beasts of the wild to the people of the cities."
The Wardens are the most numerous and socially integrated of the druidic sects. Where the Gatekeepers focus on external threats and the Ashbound condemn civilisation outright, the Wardens believe that nature and civilisation are not enemies — they are two parts of a whole that must learn to accommodate each other. A farmer and a forest can coexist. A town and a wolf pack can coexist. The druid's role is to help both sides find the balance.
Fifty years ago, when the lords of Aundair focused resources on the war effort and ignored the farmers of the east, the Wardens came to their aid. The people of eastern Aundair seceded and formed the Eldeen Reaches. The Wardens now serve as the de facto governing body — not as a theocracy, but as the primary source of order, dispute resolution, and community guidance across a region with no centralised government.
Their spiritual centre and highest authority is the Great Druid Oalian — an awakened greatpine of vast antiquity in a grove called Greenheart, deep in the Towering Wood. Some say Oalian is a child of Eberron herself; others hold that he is the spirit of an ancient druid transformed into tree form. Whatever the truth, he is the oldest thing the Wardens know.
Practices and Rites
Initiation takes place in Oalian's grove. Initiates are brought into the greatpine's presence; Oalian speaks to each individually. The ceremony involves deep green robes thrown back to reveal bright red tunics — symbolising the harmony of animal and vegetative life. Each initiate receives a sprig of young bracken.
Seasonal ceremonies on the solstices and equinoxes last from sunup to the following dawn — songs, prayers, and great feasts with foods of the season: young shoots and early wines in spring; berries, fish, and corn in summer; nuts, apples, venison, and squash in fall; ale, root vegetables, and smoked meats in winter.
The autumn ceremony of thanks to Oalian is the most sacred annual rite. Every participating druid adds a pinch of soil from their home region and speaks words of blessing into a large barrel of honey wine. All celebrants carry it to Oalian's grove and pour it out near his roots, singing songs of thanks. The draft makes Oalian even more somnolent for the next few days.
Membership and Hierarchy
Local circles of ten to twenty druids serve broad areas. Great Druid Oalian leads spiritually but is largely sedentary in his antiquity. Faena Graymorn handles day-to-day administration. Most Warden followers are not druids — the faith is so woven into Eldeen life that the average farmer follows its principles simply because that is how things have always been done.
Communities make small offerings in food or goods to Greenheart. The town is completely devoted to religious duties and has no market, depending on offerings and local hunters.
Sacred Locations
Greenheart — the grove of Oalian, spiritual and administrative capital of the faith and the Eldeen Reaches. It contains simple buildings of earth or platforms built in trees. Every regional circle maintains a small grove, but all significant ceremonies orient toward Greenheart.