Drakh Family Grove
WORLD ANVIL PAGE
The Drakh Family Grove is a sacred grove northwest of the city Fallowleaf. The grove is protected by a ring of giant obelisks and other structural artifacts left by the goddess, Claire. The Drakh Family Grove was originally settled by a Githzerai tribe, but it has since expanded into a diverse, multiracial federation of many family tribes. Most of the druids from Grahmbriad come from the Drakh Family Grove. The druids of the grove maintain a delicate way of life- receiving assistance from the Void Cult and keeping peace with the Old World Trading Company. Their swamp is also remarkably dangerous - it’s disease ridden and filled with a strange, orange version of the Murk. There is also a giant, ancient titan like creature. While it usually slumbers, it has been incredibly destructive and deadly when awake. The Drakh Family Grove is protected by a ring of strange obelisks left by Claire herself.
Worldbuilding Exercises:
The Basics - Start with the basics of the faction. How do they organize and see themselves?
Clan: This culture blurs the line between many structures, but especially between family and state, creating affliliation by shared history and values. The bonds here are stronly tied to personal identity
Faction Treasure - Give the faction a treasure. This should have a thematic connection to what that faction loves most and might be an essential part of that activity.
Great Structures: The Drach Family Grove itself is an enormous sacred grove contained within naturally occurring giant obelisks. These obelisks are magical and incredibly powerful. Legend says that the now dead Araphellon god, Claire, created these obelisks.
Love of Nature - This faction is dedicated to acting as stewards and servants of natural forces. They might choose to live in a wild or hostile place, guild culture around a close relationship with certain animals, or enact retribution when other factions harm the natural world.
What does this faction love most about nature?
Nature provides universal
Nature makes life possible
How do the people who love nature live in a way that members of other factions could not.
The people of the Drach Family Grove can survive the incredibly harsh island without any protections that the cities provide. The residents of the grove also by consuming nearly only renewable resources and having a near zero environmental impact. The residents of the Drach Family Grove try to live with the island while everyone else tries to survive it.
What secret do they keep that eludes other factions?
Given their focus on natural forces and balance as well as being founded by a tribe of former star travelers, the people of the Drach Family Grove know the most about the planes beyond the one of Grahmbraid Island. They are especially versed with the Astral Plane. The druids of the grove also possess a broken tuning fork.
Relationships
Choose a faction that has struck an accord with the people who love nature.
The Void Cult. The druids of the Drach Family Grove, and especially the Drach Family Tribe, have a long history of working with the Librarian of the Void Cult.
What does this agreement demand and what does it promise?
The Grove has agreed to share their ancient texts and library freely with the Librarian. They also agree to provide powerful reagents to the Librarian on a monthly basis. The Librarian has since copied all their ancient texts for the Void Cult and himself. The Void Cult uses these reagents and texts to create their unique form of magical empowerment. While not as powerful as the Luminous Cloud’s Blood Magic, it has several distinct advantages. This empowerment is also how the Void Cult creates their wizards and the Drach Family Grove creates their druids and other heroes.
How has one of the parties involved come to resent this agreement?
Some people of the Drach Family Grove believe that stripping of resources from the grove for the Void Cult is the equivalent of defiling their holy sites. Some also think that accepting the Void Cult’s magic is impure and blasphemous. While not the dominant opinion of the Drach Family Grove, it is also not a minor one.
Choose a faction that borders the people who love nature.
Fallowleaf and the Old World Trading Company
How do they benefit from this closeness?
The Old World Trading Company governs Fallowleaf and maintains the city as their stronghold. While rich in trade and fishing, the city lacks metal and many other necessary resources. Trade between the Drach Family Grove and Fallowleaf goes a long ways towards both settlement meeting their needs. Even stoic druids enjoy a good meal or luxury.
What conflict do they take pains to avoid?
Residents of the Drach Family Grove are generally pacifists and non-interventionalists, though like many societies, there are many varying beliefs. The druids are, however, also reliant on the Void Cult’s magic in order to survive and in turn assist the enemies of their powerful neighbors. This is an uncomfortable status quo for a group of people who hate politics, drama, and risk.
History
The Grove was originally settled by the Drakh Family Tribe over 1,000 years ago. This tribe was a group of githzerai explorers from the Astral Sea called by their Enclave to explore the Underdark caverns of Kol. As they were stepping through realms, the githzerai were called upon by a strange creature that was part seelie fae and par warforged golem. This creature was the goddess Claire and she convinced them to follow her through another portal.
The githzerai explorers found themselves immediately alone and stranded in the harsh wilds of Grahmbraid Island. It was not all bad omens though. The explorers found that they had arrived within an area magically protected by obelisks left by Claire. These obelisks also afforded magic powers and other benefits. The githzerai quickly decided to settle within these obelisks and adapted to their druidic ways of survival.
The area protected by the obelisks is enormous and can support a fairly large number of people. This meant that over time, many groups of settlers came to call the Drakh Family Grove their new home. As the Grove grew, so did the significance and power of Clarie’s relics.
Structure
The Drakh Family Grove is made up of a diverse federation of families and tribes. Though the tribes and families are all technically unified, they actually function mostly function independently. Each family and tribe is seen as its own legal, authoritative entity. Each tribe or grove sends a representative called an Arch Druid to the Grove’s Council. This council then debate and vote all matters important to the grove.
Note: Sissy Ontario is the only archdruid on the Grove’s Council who does not live within the grounds of the Drakh Family Grove itself.
Religion
The religions of the Drakh Family Grove is one focused on the worship of nature and aesthetics through the goddess of Claire. Claire’s pantheon includes - protector of good creatures in the dark, the Underdark, the moon, stars, as well as the philosophical and magical ideals behind a life dedicated to travel - such as dreams, journeys, death, and dance. She is depicted as part seelie fae and part warforged golem, which in turn has become a metaphor for the balance between the natural and unnatural. The warforged god is now widely believed to be broken into many pieces. These pieces manifest as avatars that represents the many aspects of her pantheon. The druids believe that when Claire is restored will balance to Kol be restored.
The religion is one focused heavily in pagan ceremonies and dance ceremonies. One of the most religiously significant ceremonies that the druids perform is the Mist Dance. Though the Grove gets its blood magic from the Librarian and the Void cult, the Matriarch and her Luminous Cloud also carry influence in the religious practices of the Grove. Many tribes now practice a blend of their old relgions and the Luminous Clouds. This religious movement is called the Tiny Hut Religion. This name comes from many of these followers leaving the druidic caves to instead live in magically protected homes like those found in the city.
The Drakh Tribe
The githzerai Drakh Family is just one of many tribes at the Drakh Family Grove. While not the largest, most powerful, or influential, they do maintain a special status in the Grove. The gith are the first family of the sacred grove and the first druids of Grahmbraid Island. A few claim the Drakh Family came to the island even before the Matriarch. The family are also the first to have seen the goddess Claire and her artifacts. For this reason the druids of the family have always carried strong influence over the religious matters of the grove. It is also believed that this is why members of the tribe tend to be exceptional gifted at magic.
The Drakh Family is very loyal to Claire and remain loyal to their origins as well. The githzerai have never stopped looking for their godd or a way back home to the stars. The druids remain steadfast in their beliefs despite little luck since settling on the island.
Drakh Gar
Drakh Gar knows of Hoppah. The Drakh Family Grove is much like a small town where everyone has at least knows of each other. Hoppah is a harengon which, like the Githzerai, are a remarkably rare race to find. They're not from Kol naturally.
Drakh Gar knows of the Arch Druid of the cities - Sissy Ontario. They grew up together. They’re more than acquaintances but not wouldn’t call each other great, long time friends.
Drakh Gar found a tooth deep below the far side of the Everlasting Reef. He believes strongly that this tooth belongs to Bokrug. Drach fashioned it into a dagger. Upon bringing it back to the Drach Family Grove, he saw that it empowered creatures' magic, amplified or changed magical items, and caused natural anomalies like those found out in wild. This has caused some conflict within the Drach Tribe and the grove as a whole.
Hoppah
Not much has been revealed about his background but it is believed that Hoppah is not from this world. He was found lost in woods and adopted by a druid of the Grove. Until he met Jove, Hoppah had never seen another harengon. Jove claims to be from the Feywild and this leaves speculation that Hoppah may be as well.
