Emerald Enclave

The Emerald Enclave was an organization of druids and other nature worshipers based out of the island of Ilighôn off the coast of the Vilhon Reach. They were referred to by many names, including Caretakers, Nature's Chosen, the Circle, and the Chosen of Silvanus. Despite the power of the Vilhonese nations, as of the 14th century DR they did nothing involving the land and nature without the approval of the Enclave.
“No major activity within the Reach goes on without at least the tacit approval of the Emerald Enclave. That group of green-thumbed peacekeepers is the biggest threat to business and well-being that exists in the Reach. Not that I personally mind them, of course.” — Erixal the Black, Wizard of Alaghôn

Structure

The Emerald Enclave was renowned for its benevolent deeds as much as it was feared for swift actions against those responsible for crimes against nature.  Politicians and drunks gossiped regularly, discussing the Emerald Enclave's actions, eventually leading to exaggerated recounts of true events and an almost-mythical reputation in the Reach. The Enclave's vindictive ways were common cautionary tales in the areas of the Vilhon Reach bordering forests. Despite its reputation, the Emerald Enclave was not an exclusively druidic organization. Its membership also extended to bards and other beings who venerated nature and neutrality. No member of the Enclave could follow paths of good or evil, but apart from that narrow path between light and darkness, the Emerald Enclave imposed little restrictions.

History

Founding
Many considered the Year of the Thoughtful Man, 374 DR to be the year when the Emerald Enclave was established. However, that was not entirely true, as that was the year when the Church of Silvanus built a shrine to their deity during a ceremony on Midsummer Night. The shrine was known as Oakenhome, or the House of Silvanus, on the isle of Ilighôn. It initially was a small druidic conclave for those who mastered shape changing and was able to reach the island in the shape of a bird. The actual temple's construction was finished just a few years later. The druids of Ilighôn quietly watched the developing civilization and increasing ships passing the island and entering into the Vilhon Reach. In the Year of the Druid's Wrath, 717 DR, the druids of Oakenhome joined the Emerald Enclave, with it eventually becoming the center of the organization.
The nation of Turmish start conflicting with the Enclave as early as the Year of the Dead, 552 DR, but the first event that established the Emerald Enclave as the power to be reckoned with was its full-blown battle with Turmish and its leaders at the time, the Windlass. They sent an army to the druidic sanctuary of Cedarsproke in the Gulthmere Forest and a war fleet to Ilighôn in the Year of the Druid's Wrath, 717 DR. The troops were ambushed passing through the Orsraun Mountains by giant allies of the Enclave, while water elementals who served the druids vanquished the Turmishan fleet. This monumental loss cost the members of the Windlass their heads and allowed the Emerald Enclave to expand its presence to the forests of Chondalwood and Winterwood.
The Enclave's initial goal was to protect the interests and natural resources within the Vilhon Reach in the face of despoilers of nature. One such despoiler was a mohrg warlord servant of Malar, Borran Klosk, who led an undead army in the Vilhon Reach in the Year of the Scourge, 1150 DR. The Emerald Enclave allied with the dwarves of Alaoreum and partook in the Battle of Morningstar Hollows where the Enclave's druids flooded the Alaoreum River, washing away Borran Klosk's undead. The creature itself survived and was imprisoned by the Church of Eldath under the city of Alaghôn in the Temple of the Trembling Flower. The same year, Turmish, under the leadership of Lord Saros, entered tough negotiations with the Enclave, electing to avoid open war over the nation's booming population. As a gesture of good will, druids of the Emerald Enclave offered magical protection to Turmishan cities against the plagues and afflictions that ravaged the Vilhon Reach at the time.[30]
Not long after the creation of Turmish's Assembly of Stars in the Year of the Cockatrice, 1248 DR, the town of Ironcloak in Turmish was granted logging rights, despite some members of the Assembly of Stars' protests. Lord Ironcloak started cutting down trees recklessly and filling the Alaoreum River with industrial waste. The Emerald Enclave issued a stern warning to Ironcloak that went unheeded. A single Enclave druid arrived at Ironcloak with an order to cease and desist and was promptly murdered by the Lord's men. Two days later, the druids delivered their final warning, attached to numerous arrows, declaring the town would be destroyed at dawn. Lord Ironcloak mocked their threats and sent his people into the forest. Enclave's earth elementals emerged from the forest floor and began killing every person they found. Lord Ironcloak joined the battle, but then the river itself flooded its banks and inundated the town, wiping away buildings and people, the lord, and his fortune.
In the Year of Moonfall, 1344 DR, the Emerald Enclave clashed with the nation of Sespech when government-sponsored lumberjacks entered Chondalwood, believing its elven population left in the Retreat. They were met with a volley of arrows unleashed by the Enclave and its allies. Sespechian foragers entered the forest from the west but, luckily, were turned away after meeting the Enclave's druids, with no blood spilled this time.
During the Time of Troubles of the Year of Shadows, 1358 DR, when gods walked on Toril, Malar's avatar personally entered the Gulthmere Forest to destroy the members of the Emerald Enclave there. The avatar of Nobanion stood against the avatar of Malar alongside the Emerald Enclave. Their clash resulted in Malar's defeat and the removal of the Beastlord's cult from the region for some time.
The same year as gods walked Toril, citizens of the city of Gildenglade became concerned by the increased volcanic activity of Mount Kolimnis. The wizard Danirro of Alaghôn was hired by the city to stop the volcano's inevitable eruption. In the summer of Year of the Turret, 1360 DR, Danirro discovered magics to stop the eruption. He scaled Mount Kolimnis to perform the ritual as agents of the Emerald Enclave emerged from hiding and pushed him into the volcano's gaping mouth. The wizard was unlucky enough to be wearing a ring of feather falling, so he slowly roasted on his way down before being disintegrated by lava. Danirro's laboratory was destroyed by a fire at the time of his death, and all records of the spell were lost. Following the wizard's disappearance, Gildenglade received a grim warning from the Emerald Enclave not to meddle with the forces they did not understand. Mount Kolimnis continued spewing heated steam, but its eruption was not to come for another century.
Mohrg warlord Borran Klosk was freed in the Year of the Tankard, 1370 DR and once again threatened the Vilhon Reach. His new undead army of drowned ones from the Whamite Isles sought to activate the legendary Taraketh's Hive that could devastate the natural order in Turmish for many centuries to come. The undead plot was stopped by a druid of the Emerald Enclave, Haarn Brightoak.
Around the same year, the Whamite Isles in the Sea of Fallen Stars fell to an epidemic of mass suicides caused by some unknown magics. For some, possibly related reason, the Emerald Enclave sent several ships to the nine-island cluster. The Enclave avoided the magical dangers of the islands and claimed them for the organization.
Post-Spellplague After the Spellplague of 1385 DR, the Sea of Fallen Stars drained, joining the isle of Ilighôn with the mainland and part of the nation of Turmish. This change resulted in the organization becoming perverted and xenophobic, bent on destroying all forms and manifestations of the Spellplague. Much of the order died or left for Gulthandor. The remaining druids, led by the increasingly mad Cindermoon, formerly known as Shadowmoon Crystalembers, were less capable and experienced and harbored a deep hatred of the spellscarred. Several agents were sent to the plaguelands south of Turmish, and the organization also tried to stop the scar pilgrimages that passed through, usually by violent means.

Divine Origins

Founding
Many considered the Year of the Thoughtful Man, 374 DR to be the year when the Emerald Enclave was established. However, that was not entirely true, as that was the year when the Church of Silvanus built a shrine to their deity during a ceremony on Midsummer Night. The shrine was known as Oakenhome, or the House of Silvanus, on the isle of Ilighôn. It initially was a small druidic conclave for those who mastered shape changing and was able to reach the island in the shape of a bird. The actual temple's construction was finished just a few years later. The druids of Ilighôn quietly watched the developing civilization and increasing ships passing the island and entering into the Vilhon Reach. In the Year of the Druid's Wrath, 717 DR, the druids of Oakenhome joined the Emerald Enclave, with it eventually becoming the center of the organization.

Cosmological Views

The majority of members venerated Eldath, the Goddess of Singing Waters; Mielikki, Lady of the Forest; or Silvanus, the Treefather.

Tenets of Faith

According to the Elder Circle, the Greatest Tenets Number Three included:

• The order of nature must be preserved in all its iterations.
• Any force that would disrupt that order had to be defeated.
• The Enclave would always provide aid to anyone left fatigued or suffering injury.

Priesthood

Ranks The Enclave had the following ranks from lowest to highest: 1. Springwarden 2. Summerstrider 3. Autumnreaver 4. Winterstalker 5. Master of the Wild
Initiation Initiates were required to serve neither good nor evil, nor to serve any other organization (apart from the churches of Eldath, Mielikki, or Silvanus), to be innocent of crimes against nature, and to have performed at least one significant deed that benefited nature in the Vilhon Reach. The rites of initiation were held each full moon at the Oakenhall, which was the House of Silvanus at the heart of Ilighôn.
Hierarchy The Enclave arranged into seven 'circles', which each had different duties and a different place in the hierarchy. Each member of the organization belonged to a single circle and could move between them with experience and by reaching certain prominence within the order. These circles were began with the Circle of Initiates, aptly named for including new members of the Enclave. The Circle of Earth, the second circle of prominence, welcomed members of the Circle of Initiates as they ranked up. The third in the hierarchy was the Circle of Air, which usually had its members join after learning the ability to take on a wild shape. Non-druids were promoted to the Circle of Air after performing outstanding service for the Enclave. From the Circle of Air, members of the organization could move to one of three groups: Eldath's Circle, the Circle of Alluvium, and the Planar Circle.
Eldath's Circle did not necessarily mean worshiping the goddess of calm waters, but all of its members took on the role of sailing and protecting the waterways of Toril. They searched for information beneficial to the Emerald Enclave in the process. The Planar Circle was the group of individuals whose calling laid beyond the Prime Material plane—the most respected of all roles within the organization, many of whom perished in the planes or elected never to return to Toril, but continued to send information from the planes to the Emerald Enclave. Lastly, the members of the Circle of Earth were travelers. They crossed the entirety of Faerûn, while some stuck to traversing the Vilhon Reach. The circle's members served as scouts and spies, keeping tabs on kingdoms, organizations, and politics that could interfere with the natural balance.
The Elder Circle, or the Elder Circle of Three, was the governing body of the Emerald Enclave and the highest circle one could be promoted to. The circle consisted of only three members at one time. Members of the Circle of Three were the most powerful druids or religious leaders, and with such fame came pilgrims searching for the Elder Circle's wise advice and those seeking to end the Emerald Enclave, starting with its leaders.

Political Influence & Intrigue

The Emerald Enclave was at odds with the Red Wizards of Thay for many, many years[6] and with mages of the Zhentarim, as well as other wizards, in fears of the spellcasters abusing the Art and unleashing a disaster similar to the Rotting Wars. The Enclave also opposed the Church of Bane, Church of Talos, and Church of Malar, as well as the Malarite cult known as the People of the Black Blood. The only settlement on the isle of Ilighôn, Sapra, was granted only limited land by the Emerald Enclave, stopping its growth and overpopulation. The port town's existence fully depended on the Emerald Enclave's goodwill. The cities of the Vilhon Reach operated their logging industries with the Enclave's permission. The city of Hlath's main export was lumber, with its industry carefully monitored. The metropolis of Reth's logging was being phased out as of 1372 DR after years of tensions between it and the Emerald Enclave. The Turmishan city of Gildenglade, before its destruction, was on good terms with the Enclave thanks to its elven population who handled negotiations, forestry, and forest preservation. Lizardmen of Surkh, the City of Lizards, maintained cordial relationships with the Emerald Enclave.
The Emerald Enclave served as protectors for creatures dwelling on the Shining Plains. As such, the Enclave's representatives attended the annual memorial on the Hill of Memories, commiserating the tragedy of the Field of Tears of the Year of Secret Slaughters, 326 DR. Following the memorial, the gathered leaders discussed any issues that had arisen in the last year. The most powerful clan of the Shining Plains, the Ten-paw, counted a representative of the Emerald Enclave as one of its close advisors, who lived with the wemic clan.

The order of nature must be preserved in all its iterations.

Founding Date

374 DR

Alternative Names

Caretakers, Nature's Chosen, the Circle, the Chosen of Silvanus