The primal power and life-giving fertility of nature have long inspired the devotion of its people. The druidic cult once dominated all surrounding lands as advisors and leaders of the ancient Duann people, and the traditions of their worship persist in the customs and superstitions of rural folk in many lands. The present hierarchy of the Old Faith is built upon the ancient religion of the druids and a primal connection to the land they claim is older than the gods, though deities such as the Earth Mother (Beory), the Shalm (Obad-Hai) and sometimes Ehlonna are worshiped. Of course, other “nature” religions exist outside the Old Faith, even different branches of the druidic heritage, but these are few and scattered in the surrounding lands. The druids of the inner circles of the Old Faith gain far more prestige and respect than these other groups.
Mistletoe, oak leaves, and holly leaves are their common emblems. As a whole,
druids of the Old Faith are completely neutral in philosophy and personal alignment. While some druids gather in communal circles, some tend to local communities with little contact with others of their order and still others live in complete isolation, guardians of places of wild beauty and primal secrets. While such druids might live out almost their entire life without encountering another of their order and other druids may view other druids as vicious rivals, battling for position in mimicry of nature, all are bound in hierarchy and yield to the world-spanning authority of the legendary Grand Druid.
The Old Faith is still widely practiced and not only in those regions dominated by
descendants of the Duann peoples. The age-old sacred oak groves, monolithic circles, inexplicable rock formations and mysterious hot springs which are sacred to the Old Faith may
include shrines dedicated to any nature deity the resident druids permit, but most often they are
unadorned. While Beory the Earth Mother and Obad-Hai are the best known deities associated with the Old Faith, any druid of neutral alignment may matriculate through the Nine Circles of Initiation, regardless of which nature god that druid venerates. The Primal forces of nature are said to be older than even the gods.
The most junior druids often first serve as simple administrators and readers of auguries who
govern only the aspirants who seek admission to the hierarchy. Above them and the Initiates are those who may claim the title of Druid. They, together with the three Archdruids and the Great Druid, provide tutelage to their underlings (there is a Great Druid for each geographical region, typically spanning several kingdoms). Legends also speak of a Grand Druid and a cabal of ascended mystics called the Hierophants, but complete knowledge of these masters is hidden from those outside the inner circles of the hierarchy.
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