The Ashbound
Druidic Sect: Champions of the Natural World Against Civilisation
Primary Location: Towering Wood; no fixed headquarters
Membership: ~1,700 (mostly human and shifter)
Symbol: Skeletal tree marked in ash
"We, the Ashbound, are the champions of the natural world. We defend it from anything and anyone who threatens it."
The Ashbound occupy the most uncompromising philosophical position in the druidic spectrum. Nature is not to be balanced with civilisation. It is to be defended from civilisation — from arcane magic most of all, but also from constructs, fiends, aberrations, and anything that imposes an artificial order on the wild.
Arcane magic is the primary target. The Ashbound do not merely prefer nature magic — they consider arcane spellcasting an assault on the world. A wizard casting fireball is attacking the earth as surely as a soldier razing a forest. Some extend this logic to civilisation broadly; others focus on the dragonmarked houses or on freeing elementals bound in ships and forges.
The legend of Breakwinter is central to their doctrine. This high druid began using arcane arts and fiendish summoning against the Children of Winter, believing the ends justified the means. She lost control, created undead that terrorised the lands she meant to protect, and would not listen to counsel. When she attempted the rites of transformation to a lich, the other Ashbound attacked her grove and destroyed her. Within months of her death, the Reaches saw an unprecedented population boom — animals and people produced bountifully. The Ashbound took this as proof that unnatural magic deprived the world of vitality, and declared its use a capital offence.
Aundair considers the Ashbound a terrorist organisation. The Arcane Congress sponsors freelance expeditions to take the war to the sect within the Reaches.
Practices and Rites
Initiation is direct and brutal. The candidate swears an oath on their life and on the life of the earth: should you fail in your duty, may you be struck to ash. Ash is smeared on the initiate's face in the shape of a skeletal tree and not washed off until they complete their first assigned quest.
Grand conclaves are held at equinoxes and solstices in remote groves. The location changes each time — no permanent structure, no fixed mark. Representatives report, display trophies, and set a broad seasonal directive.
The most senior accumulate trophies — horns of demons, staffs of defeated wizards — fashioned into elaborate ceremonial headgear.
Hard rule: Any Ashbound who uses arcane magic — for any reason — is immediately expelled. Taking class levels in an arcane tradition marks the offender as an enemy whose life is forfeit.
Membership
The sect prefers those who have experienced civilisation's destructive power firsthand: refugees, veterans, and a notable number of Cyran refugees. Shifters are drawn in higher numbers than to any other sect. Organisation is loose — individual circles operate independently.
Dress and Appearance
No worked cloth, no dyed fabric, no crafted jewellery during duties. Only hides and furs unaltered in colour. Most avoid armour. Many manufacture no weapons; shifters frequently use unarmed fighting exclusively.