Circle of Harmony

Life must die. Death must blossom to life. This is the way of things. You will not interfere.

— senior druid

It is rare for a circle of druids to need to formalise their worship under a well-known banner. Usually, they keep to local areas, becoming known as - for instance - the Circle of Serendel, and serving nature in their own manner. To structure that freeform flexibility and place the burden of an odd sort of almost-fame onto the backs of druids seems like it is near-anathema to the true purpose of druids as a whole.
And yet it is what the Circle of Harmony have been forced to do. Formed in reaction to the tumultuous fall of Meihua, the Circle of Harmony is a druidic circle that serves as a guiding force and leading organisation for all druids who would recognise their code. They seek to repair the damage dealt to Istralar via their own natural means, shunning the idea of using either arcane magic or the help of deities to undo the stains left behind in the world's various natural disasters.
The Heartforge of Iskaldhal, the Gate of Dust, Jäätta, Tenaerul, the Sunari Wilderness, the @stars and countless other anomalies... these are unacceptable, in the eyes of the Circle. Their world is hurt, and it is their responsibility to fix it.
Funnily enough, despite their lack of aligned religion, the actions of the Circle regularly gain deific approval. Onlookers attribute changes in weather or shifts in fortune to be the result of various nature gods, including the well-known deity Gozreh.

Structure

In the eyes of the earth, we are all equal. We have tried running the Circle this way. It did not work,

— a tired Circle-Keeper

Ranks and Druids

Druidic circles do not usually have a strict structure. They designate a leader, and otherwise naturally find their places.
In this respect, the Circle of Harmony is somewhat unique.

The Circle of Harmony has many members across the many branches of its grand tree, and maintains an easily-navigable organisation structure that upholds a hierarchy of order.
This is in spite of the traditional druidic idea of balance over law; the need for structure is seen as entirely valid when facing the organisational challenges of a multi-continental entity.

At the head of the Circle are the five leaders - the Circle-Keepers. They represent the four continents of Valathe, Xin-Jiyu, Iskaldhal and Takawaoku, with the final representing the many islands and miscellaneous nations that live on the open seas. If the fifth continent, Kudara, ever rejoins the world, the Circle will open discussions to add a sixth leader.
The Circle-Keepers meet four times a year, rotating between the continents as the seasons progress. These meetings occur on the equinox or solstice of each season, are often accompanied with celebrations, and allow a consistent flow of communication between the various branches.
Each Circle-Keeper then continues to branch their specificic line off as the organisation's structure continues. They branch into Creation, Destruction, and Understanding, and continue on from there. The branch structure is identical between the five Circle-Keepers for at least the majority of branches, with exceptions being noted down in the Living History.

History

How can you stand there, looking on your broken world, and do nothing?

The fall of Meihua was somewhat cataclysmic for the Eastern Continent. Whilst the Empire's dissolution had little impact on the environment, Kaihua's fall sent ripples through the leylines of Xin-Jiyu and triggered a number of natural disasters along the easternmost coast, alongside deadly floods that breached the nation's largest rivers. The Sunlit Revolution did not waste time in caring for the environmental impact of the fall long-term; their priority was imprisoning the Empress in the Jade Prison, thus further stressing the leylines of the area immediately after the fall, and rescuing the living to begin rebuilding their lives.
The local druidic circles were distressed; more so when both the Revolution and straggling Meihuan forces abused nature further in their violent clash. Species were displaced, fires were lit, dikes were set up and destroyed, dams flooded - the suffering did not end for many years. A thick dust storm infused with chaotic magic blown up from the Sunari Wilderness was the final straw, and the druids of former Meihua united with those on the Tulaant Steppe and surrounds to stand against the world's magical aberrations.
Under the guidance of the most powerful druids there, the Circle was formed. They quickly found allies in Galasthin, and set up their headquarters in what would later become Sunadar. And as they began to right the wrongs that had been committed upon the failing Empire and her surrounds, word began to spread.
In the current era, some three thousand years on from Meihua's fall, the Circle of Harmony has largely focused its efforts on the Southern Nation of Takawaoku. The unnatural spread of foreign magic across the Southern Continent is an immense cause of concern for the Circle, and considering the rumours that Champions of the Divine are handling the sudden spikes of strangeness throughout the Northern, Western, and Eastern continents, they have viewed it as important to pick up the slack and ensure that the populace of Takawaoku is able to remain self-sustaining.

Bring Balance to the Broken

Wreath by Phil Hearing (edit by Hanhula)

Type

Druidic Circle

Leader Title

Circle-Keeper

Notable Members

• Imrae of Earth