The Wildmother

The goddess of the woodlands, of beasts, and all good people who live their lives alongside nature. She is the Great Mother, the Grain Goddess, the Matron of the Woodlands, the Green Huntress, and the Earthmother.

Like the Green Shepherd, she is a nature deity but unlike that god, who represents nature's power and balance, the Wildmother is representative of the nurturing aspects of nature. The two are not enemies, nor are they allies. They are considered equally important and necessary.

Overview
The Wildmother is said to have many aspects. She is a hunter, a woman of the woods, a protector of farming folk, a goddess of fertility. She is one of the oldest known deities, having appeared to the elves along with the Archeart and the Moonweaver. It was the warmth of the Wildmother's smile that inspired the elves to give her the name "Ehlenestra", or "Wildmother" in their ancient tongue.

She is concerned with all aspects of life in the woodlands, which includes the lives and well being of mortals. She is the patron of all those who make their living from the forests and the fields, and she commands respect for the animals and plants her domain shelters. She teachers her followers to live in harmony with the land, taking only what they need. The bounty of the forest, the Wildmother teaches, is a gift to be cherished and appreciated, not a treasure to be coveted or looted. Those who take more than they need will be punished in the end.

The Wildmother is known to be gentle and benevolent, but her spirit is hard as wood. She isn't afraid to face down pure, slathering evil, not is she too proud to comfort a frightened child. She teaches how to read the turning of the seasons, how to tell when livestock are sick or gravid, how to poultice a wound and set a broken leg, how to spot a straggling sheep or the signs that a dog has gone rabid. She believes cooperation leads to friendship, and friendship leads to safety, and as long as mortals respect the gifts of nature, then it will sustain them.

She loves customs that encourage strong family bonds--no matter how quaint by mortal standards. Happy weddings and new babies make her smile. She is not one to spout philosophy, instead giving practical advice and hands-on teaching.

Dogma
The Wildmother teaches that the animals and plants of the forests are gifts, and are not to be stolen. She is often the goddess of rangers and druids and opposes those who hunt for sport, and anyone who would exploit the land for fun or profit.

The bare essentials in life are more important than any other trappings, such as material wealth or possessions. The beasts and plant life of the world make do with only what they need to survive and they are content and at peace. The Wildmother teaches that we should emulate them and learn to find wisdom and happiness through harmony with nature.

All living things should take care of each other, be they mortals, animals or even plants. As beasts and plants provide mortalkind with food, shelter and clothing, so, too should we look after and provide for the others. Mortalkind are the stewards of the natural world and it is their responsibility to care for nature and defend it. Anything that would despoil nature or run rampant with operations that would damage it should be stopped, and poachers, polluters and the undead count themselves among the Wildmother's most hated foes.

Worshipers
The Wildmother is not often worshipped in large cities or places where the Lawbringer holds sway. She is instead found among rural communities, farming towns, fishing villages. The typical worshipers of the Wildmother is a common farmer, rancher, village artisan, or subsistence hunter who wants to live their life, take care of their family, and not worry about kings, wars, or monsters.

They are not pretentious and while they may be proud of their accomplishments, they are simple folk and their desires are modest--a good crop, a fine piece of land, fat livestock, and a healthy family. They look after their neighbors in times of emergency and expect the same in return. Among the faithful, owl iconography is common.

At birth, a firstborn child is given an owl's feather, supposedly to ensure fertility and a long life. In the extreme north, reindeer iconography is more common than owls, and tradition instead dictates the use of a reindeer tooth.

Clergy
Many of the Wildmother's clerics, or Shepherds as they are known, have a conventional role in a community, such as being farmers or artisans, in addition to their religious duties. They consider attending to the needs of their land and families a form of devotion to the goddess as well. Most of a priest's day is spent performing mundane tasks like any other contributing member of the village, with the priest pausing only to speak a blessing at the dawn's breaking, but always ready to drop what they are doing when they are needed.

They are often called upon to help build homes, deliver children, oversee trade, or bless crops. The Wildmother's priests are careful to put the needs of the community first. Priests bless farmland and herd animals, plan the planting and harvest, and look after injured folk and families in need. They often serve as community counselors and mediators, and are generally the first to step in with a firm hand to deal with a rebellious or disruptive member of the community, whether that person is a frequent drunk, an abusive spouse, or a child prone to screaming tantrums. Should something come along that is too much for the priest to handle on their own--such as bandits, an orc band, or a hungry monster--it is the priest's responsibility to find someone who CAN deal with the problem, such as experts from other communities, or even traveling adventurers.

Every few years, the church encourages young priests to set out from their home communities in search of news, seeds for new crops, alternate techniques for animal husbandry, and other useful skills that can aid their communities. Though these wanderers can sometimes appear to be a fish out of water, their stubborn dedication to helping those back home has guaranteed the survival of many poor villages, whether they acquired desperately needed money to send back, or by eradicating foul beasts who lurked nearby. Some young priests will settle in a village they have saved, especially if there is not already a priest of the Wildmother present. This gives the faith an opportunity to grow and establishes the bonds of a greater community outside the immediate interests of a single village--though the church prefers to focus on life in a small settlement, they see the surrounding regions as a sort of extended family and recognize the importance of maintaining support with them.

Druids are counted among the Wildmother's clergy, the most of any religion apart from the Green Shepherd. All priests respect druids for their part in maintaining the natural world. Even rangers become leaders in the church.

The church is simple and practical. Most communities tend to have only one or two priests (as opposed to some churches, such as the Dawnfather, who can have a half dozen or more members of the church as a local parish or temple). Complicated hierarchies are, thus, unnecessary and priests just defer to the wisdom of elder clergy. Visiting priests are shown hospitality as any other. Priests within a community are often treated with the respect of other local elders, even if they are younger, and are sometimes even referred to as elders.

Temples & Shrines
Temples to the Wildmother are almost always a simple wooden building, longhouse, or even ranch that serves as a rural community's gathering place, with religion being only one of its many uses. Decorated with flowers and garlands and comfortable animalskin blankets, such structures often contain functional furnishings, as worshipers prefer not to waste space with heavy, awkward pews or statues when sturdy tables and stools make the area just as suited for mending tools, food preparation, and other helpful crafts.

These churches serve not only to provide shelter and provisions for the faithful and for travelers, but also serve as makeshift animal sanctuaries, and fauna of many different varieties from around the area can be found there.

Holy Texts
The Parables of the Wildmother is the common text of the faith. It gives homilies on strengthening family bonds, almanac-like advice on planting, and lore about game animals and tracking. It also included, as the name suggests, a number of fables and stories that emphasize the goddesses' teachings.

Holidays
The Wildmother believes extensive and complicated ceremonies take time away from what matters. Most religious days are short and to the point. The solstices and equinoxes are celebrated, and the summer months are considered a sacred time for the Wildmother, when her presence is most powerfully felt.

Rituals
Services to the Wildmother involve vessels of wood and horn, the playing of pipes and flutes, soft singing, poetry, the imbibing sacramental wine and the burning of various herbs. A typical prayer to the Wildmother usually first references two positive aspects of the follower's immediate surroundings. For example, somebody praying in a forest at sunset could begin with "Golden leaves/ And tall trees/ Shelter us this night". Prayers spoken by elder priests sound like poetry or acapella song, and often these prayers can be quite eloquent. Followers of the Wildmother favor sayings such as "May her moonlight shine upon your path" or "May your quiver never run dry".

Rites and ceremonies take place outdoors, in nature or at night. Most cover various aspects of fertility, either agricultural or in terms of childbearing. Prayers to the Wildmother are often offered up at weddings, even if a priest is not conducting the ceremony. Additionally, a couple trying to conceive often makes a small prayer to the Wildmother, in addition to the burning of various herbs, before the act of conception.

The Wildmother is also an important figure during agricultural ceremonies. It is good luck to have clergy bless your field and crops before sowing or harvesting anything.

Orders of the Wildmother

 * Emerald Enclave: A far-ranging group that opposes threats to the natural world and helps others survive the many perils of the world. A ranger might be hired to lead a caravan through a treacherous mountain pass. A druid might volunteer to help a small village prepare for a long, brutal winter. Barbarians and witches who live like hermits most of the year might defend a town against marauding orcs. Members of the Emerald Enclave know how to survive, and more importantly, they want to help others do the same. They are not opposed to civilization, per se, but they strive to prevent civilization and the wilderness from destroying each other. Members of the Emerald Enclave are spread far and wide, and usually operate in small cells.
 * The Wardens of the Wilds: Devoted to the worship of the Wildmother, each member of the Wardens is dedicated to protecting nature and driving out monsters and undead from civilized lands. They focus their efforts largely on small communities, often operating without the community's knowledge. For example, a group of Wardens protect the village of Duckburg in Vanar without the local gnome population having a clue.

Appearance
The Wildmother's appearance varied wildly by region and culture. For example, she sometimes appears as a fiery-haired human and sometimes as an elf with auburn tresses. Her garb varies also, ranging from the serviceable clothing of a forester or ranger to the delicate gown of an elven princess, but it is always pale green. The one other commonality is that she is usually depicted with antlers, or antler-like tree branches set in her hair.

Most artwork depicting the Wildmother is simple, often woodcarvings bearing her likeness. They aren't worshiped as icons, but instead serve as reminders of her presence. In other communities, a pair of horns over a mantle serves this same purpose. In more elaborate representations, she is shown blessing the forests or fields with her smile, or perhaps fighting off monsters and showing mortals how to hunt. On the walls of a few ancient carvings predating the Sundering are painted primitive silhouettes of an elk-headed woman performing similar acts.

History
The Wildmother is counted as a very influential member of the Pantheon, the cohort of the Green Shepherd and friend to the fae and mortals alike. She is sometimes called The Huntress for her ruthless efficiency in combatting both Primordial and Titan. Some accounts say she is the younger sister of the Archeart or the wife of the Dawnfather.

In the first days, the Wildmother developed a deep love of all living things and spent the days bathed in sunlight, learning the names of every tree and every beast. She is noticeably absent from much of the Old Tales, especially during periods where the gods are bickering; she is often one of the only members of the Pantheon not to be referenced in such times. It is thought this is because she cares little for the affairs of the gods and instead focused her attention toward the earth and toward nature, involving herself only in affairs of the utmost importance.

That time came during the Dawn War, when the Wildmother was said to take up her bow and lead the Grey Hunt against the abominations that were the Primordials. Where her arrows landed grew dense and tangled forests, and when she called the beasts would come to aid her. Two large wolves were said to aid her, and she named them "Courage" and "Memory".

Perhaps the most notable story of the Wildmother comes from her creation of the beastfolk. During the middling years of the Dawn War, the gods found themselves at a near stalemate with the Primordials. It was decided the gods needed aid and the Green Shepherd roused the forest itself to war. But it was not enough, so the Wildmother awoke the animals that she so loved and they became the beastfolk. It is because of this that all Beastfolk acknowledge the Wildmother as the creator of their kind.

During the Sundering, the Wildmother's two most notable deeds were putting out the eye of the Warbringer and for driving a stake of ash through the heart of the Pale Princess, who was once the Wildmother's closest friend (and, some say, her sister. Though this cannot be known for sure).

The Giving Tree
A very popular story among followers of the Wildmother is a story known as "The Giving Tree". It tells the story of nature's relationship to mortals: selfless love in the face of unrelenting selfishness, with the tree giving and giving to the boy until it has nothing left to give, and even then it continues to give. While at once showing the devastating effects of mortal selfishness, it also teaches us to be selfless and to give freely, like the tree.