The Green Shepherd

The Green Shepherd is the deity of nature. He is a patron of druids and a friend to those who dwell in harmony with their natural surroundings. Those who would despoil or wantonly harm nature are his foes. He is the Lord of Seasons, the Horned God, and the Shalm. He is timeless, born when the first breeze caressed the newborn earth.

While not the leader of the pantheon, the Green Shepherd is thought to be the eldest and the first of the gods to take form.

Overview
Some claim that the Green Shepherd lives at the horizon where the forest meets the sky. He is a moody and brooding god, able to spend centuries in a glowering quiet only to explode in a fury of lightning, hurricanes, rainstorms, and wildfire. He is an elemental force, refusing to be confined by the work of mortals and gods alike. He is the amoral side of nature, that which brings life but may take it away unexpectedly.

He is seen as tempestuous and unpredictable, but also constant, still, peaceful. He is the storm cloud chased by clear skies, the spring warmth that follows winter, the hurricane that brings the floods, and he is the fair winds that carry flocks of birds.

Signs of his favor include a sudden but gentle warm breeze that carries the sweet smell of flowers, the unexplained sound of waves crashing on a distant beach, and dreams of a specific, recognizable animal. Omens of his displeasure including being watched or shrieked at by wild birds, sudden rainstorms or thunder, or the unending taste of blood in one's mouth.

The Green Shepherd is among the oldest and wisest of the gods, though he is also somewhat emotionally distant. Nature is neither benevolent nor is it malevolent; it is balanced. A forest fire causes devastation but it also gives way for new life. A storm causes flooding, but also enriches the soil. Animals are hunted and eaten by predators, but this goes on to perpetuate the circle of life.

The Green Shepherd sees and balances all; meting out wild water and drought, fire, and ice, life and death.

Dogma
No one can live a happy life if he doesn't know how to live in harmony with nature in all of its forms. Those who are one with the wilds have little to fear. The wilds can be a dangerous and ugly place but it is all a part of the same grand design. All things change and move in cycles. Creatures are born, they live their lives, and they die. The summer turns to autumn, which turns to winter, which turns to spring and back to summer. The sun rises and sets. The balance and cycle of the natural world must be maintained; the terrible things must be respected just as much as the beautiful things.

It is the duty of the devout to see this cycle and the sacred Balance as clearly as possible. Make others see the Balance and work against those that would disturb it. Watch, anticipate, and quietly manipulate. Resort to violence and open confrontation only when pressured by time or hostile action. Fight against the felling of forests, banish disease wherever you find it, defend the trees, and plant new flora wherever possible. Seek out, serve, and befriend the dryads and learn their names. Kill only when needful, destroy fire and its employers, and beware orcs and others who bring axes into the forest.

Those who damage the natural balance deserve swift vengeance. The Green Shepherd does not preach compassion, but balance and respect.

Worshipers
The Green Shepherd is revered by elves, gnomes, and beastkin, as well as many fey. Woodsmen, fishermen, and all who make their living in the wild places are counted among his followers. His faith is strong among the tribesmen of the Frostweald and throughout Slazka and Vanar.

His faith is found strongest in wooded areas, with his clergy acting as wardens of the wilds, paying retribution when their protection is too little or too late. Most of his followers are simple people who live in contact with nature; they are hunters, gatherers, peasants, loggers, and the like. They live with nature on a daily basis, surrounded by its majesty and living in harmony with its power. They draw their livliehoods from nature, and for this reason game, plants, trees, water sources; they are all sacred to them.

Chimes
A common tradition among worshipers of the Green Shepherd is to hang a set of chimes where they will be stirred by the wind. The words of the god are in the music.

Clergy
Wherever nature is chief, the Green Shepherd is likely to have a strong presence there. They have no hierarchy; all members are treated as equals. They keep to the wilderness and to themselves, rarely getting involved with society and often living as hermits. Most get along very well with those who make their homes in rustic or isolated areas.

Priests of the Green Shepherd look for the god's will in swirling leaves, racing clouds, and the movement of flocks of birds and schools of fish. Those associated with mortal communities serve as diviners or provide advice about fishing, the weather, or the care of domesticated animals. Some travel with caravans, and others dedicate themselves to healing and nurturing the wounded places of the world, and others dedicate themselves to destroying what causes those wounds.

Some see themselves as agents of the god's anger at damage wrought by civilization, sending plagues of bats, crows, and locusts to ravage cities or summoning storms to drown entire fleets built from stolen timber. A few are explorers, determined to experience as much of the wild places of the world as possible. Some make it their mission to rescue travelers or to aid communities in surviving a plague or famine.

Priests of the Green Shepherds are often hermits, rarely seeing each other and leaving their refuges only when their god calls or a local settlement pleads with them to make rain. Most are content to live off the land, sometimes gathering modest treasures of the wilds, or selling scrimshaw or wooden carvings. Some spend their entire lives in remote, isolated groves in the hope of communing with their deity.

Formal raiment varies by region, but usually includes feather, green or brown cloth, a rope belt, and a dark cloak. Vines, leaves, twigs, and moss are often intertwined into the fabric or their hair. Many carry quarterstaffs in addition to their heavy cudgels. Holy symbols are usually made from bone or twigs.

Temples & Shrines
There are no churches to the Green Shepherd. Instead, there tend to be shrines--wooden posts with his image carved into them--in quiet, natural places, such as in a grove of old-growth trees, the top of a hill, or beside a lake. Not quite as common, but more sacred, are the circles of standing stones.

These stone circles are found in isolated parts of the wilderness, and are sacred to the god and his followers. Here, the clergy tend to gardens and worshipers can come here seeking wisdom or healing or quiet solitude. The clergy are always prepared to offer all three.

Holy Texts

 * Hymns to the Wind: A collection of susurrate poems and rules for living in harmony with the natural world.

Holidays
Beside Obad-Hai's hoy day of Wild's Grandeur, the Green Shepherd counts each equinox as a holy day. In addition, they also have the following celebration:


 * FIrstbloom: Honored primarily in farming communities, this day marks the beginning of planting season, and thus the date changes from year to year. It is celebrated with dances and fertility rites. A common and well loved tradition is the hiding of painted eggs and letting children hunt for them. Rabbits are a popular symbol of the day as well. In some rural communities they have sort of forgotten why those symbols were included in the celebration to begin with and have started to talk about the rabbit being the one who hides the eggs.

Rituals
Prayers in honor of the Green Shepherd begin with references to birth and growth, and end with references to death. Services involve the consecration of earth, fire, living flowers, and water. Rites in the Green Shepherd's name are seasonal, often triggered by events such as the year's first birdsong or snowfall.

Worship included chanting, wind instruments, chimes moved by the wind or water, salt, perfume, and drinking clear water. Farming communities offer sacrifices of meat and grain by leaving the tribute exposed on a high rock. Some civilized folk perpetuate stories of human sacrifices in lean times, but there are no records of this. In fact, the Green Shepherd's actual words hold a grim disdain for that sort of thing.

Orders of the Green Shepherd

 * The Warriors of the Green: These huntsmen can be found in the darkest and oldest corners of the world. They actively work to protect nature from undead, orcs, and other evil creatures. Each member carries a deep respect for nature and beasts of all kinds. They dress in dark green, almost black attire. When they act, they do so with efficiency and precision. Their favored weapons are spears and bows.

Appearance
Seem immortalized through wooden reliefs and carved idols in hidden, overgrown groves and rural shrines, the Green Shepherd is often depicted as a noble figure of green skin with curved ram’s horns, nearly swallowed by a wild, tangled wreath of hair, leaves, and vines that clothe his form.

History
In the story of creation, the Green Shepherd was the first of the gods to awaken and come to All That Would Be. It was he who brought forth the trees and the beasts and the birds, and he loved them dearly. He paid little mind to the squabbles of the gods except for when they threatened his own creations. When the gods had the Great Moot to select a leader, the Green Shepherd was the first to disqualify himself. He may have been the eldest of the gods, but he had less than zero interest in running things. He just wanted to walk through the forests and spend time with his animals. The Green Shepherd is said to have taught the elves to sing to the trees, and he was there when they named the trees. The Green Shepherd was against bringing the elves to Seraphel, however. They were children of the forest and that was where they belonged. Ever since he has held a grudge against the Archeart from leading the elves to civilization.

When the Primordials began their assault on All That Was, the Green Shepherd was enraged and would be among the first to come to Tyrind's defense. He brought immense storms against the Titans and would open the doors to the Feywild and created the Treants to carry on the battle against the Primordials.

After the Dawn War, the Green Shepherd traveled to Seraphel with the other gods and established his section of the city as a massive, sprawling park with a giant, silver Mallorn tree in the center. While there was a chair for him at the Table of the Gods, he never sat in it, instead preferring to stay in his "garden".

When the Titans turned against the gods in the Sundering, the Green Shepherd tried to remain neutral at first, but the destruction that the war was bringing to the natural world forced his hand. He joined the fray again, and was said to have taken part in several of the most intense battles of the entire war. Among others, he and the Wildmother were said to have worked together to stop the Shambling Death and he conjured a storm that sank the Wailing Revelry and their fleet of pirates. It was the forests of the Green Shepherd that moved against the Mother of Monsters, and he was among the gods who lent their strength in the battle against the Chained Oblivion.

Like all of the gods and Titans, the Green Shepherd took part in the exile of the gods. It was, in fact, partly his own idea. He did not weep when he left the world, but was said to have looked upon the devastation and let out a long sigh that turned into the Western Wind.

Now he dwells in the celestial paradise of Nirvana, in a region known as the House of Nature. It is a place of verdant life, dense forests, and scores of beasts. He walks among the trees here still, and those of his faithful come to join him in the eternal forest. The seasons do not pass normally here, according to legend; some say they pass and fade through one cycle per day, while others say each season lasts for decades or centuries at a time.

The Summer Tree
According to some ancient traditions of the Old Faith, the Green Shepherd is in fact reborn every spring, hatching in the form of a young boy from acorn that grows from his own grave. By summer he takes the form of a strong young man, the Stag King, leading the Wild Hunt against those who would defile Nature. By autumn he has grown into a weathered old man. When winter begins he fades away to become an old, tall tree.

After seven days, the Dawnfather cuts the tree down and buries an acorn in the earth, where the Everlight’s tears cause a new sapling to grow, which starts the cycle anew in the spring.

Relationships
The Green Shepherd is largely indifferent to other deities unless they threaten his domain. He squabbles with other gods from time to time, which can cause earthquakes or storms. He has little concern for the affairs of the "civilized world". He is sometimes listed as the brother of the Dawnfather and sometimes as the husband of the Wildmother.

His rival is said to be the Ocean Mistress, but he hates the Lawbringer most of all. The god of laws and civilization has caused the destruction of wildlife and vast tracts of nature, replacing ancient forests with towers of stone and filthy streets. Instead of beasts and fish and birds, there are wailing peasants and rotting garbage.

Among mortals, the worshipers of the Green Shepherd are not often found in large cities and due to their recent attacks on logging companies and the like, are gaining a rather unfavorable reputation among the people of Dharrenal.