Eliwyn (EL-uh-win) is the Tree of Life. She is the neutral “god” of nature, undiluted innocence, purity, the abundant life of the world, and hope. She is associated with treants, which are also connected to Rontra, but most especially with unicorns, the guardians of nature and purest of beasts. Eliwyn’s “worshipers” are druids and some rangers and are from those races that revere nature—primarily humans, elves, half-elves, and halflings.
Eliwyn is represented as a great flowering tree with golden leaves and silver blossoms. From it hang five great, golden fruits—or, if the representation is meant to be mythologically “current,” one fruit. However, the druids and other “worshipers” of Eliwyn do not represent her in icons or with symbols, as all trees are born in her image, and all of life is a reminder of Eliwyn’s glory
A Silent Patron
Eliwyn is not sentient, does not communicate, and does not have a spirit. She is a great and powerful tree, and her purpose is to live until she dies, to give off sprouts that will grow into new trees, to bear the remaining fruit until it falls, and then, perhaps, to bear fruit again. Eliwyn’s purpose is the same as the purpose of all trees, only on a grander scale, because she is the first tree, and from her the cycle of life began.
Guardians of Nature
The chief servants of Eliwyn are her guardians: the treants, unicorns, and naga. All three came into being to protect her. Since then, the treants have come to protect the forests around the world, as the unicorns have come to protect the animals. The most powerful of the naga still lie coiled about Eliwyn, attended by druids, though long ago many naga were captured and corrupted by evil sorcerers.
Druids of Eliwyn
There are no holy orders in the “church” of Eliwyn. Her cathedrals are the druid groves found throughout the world, and her servants are the druids themselves. If she has holy warriors, they are rangers and paladins of the Oath of the Ancients. The worship of Eliwyn is not like the worship of other gods; she does not provide power to the druids and they do not pray to her. She is simply the most perfect and pure form of what they revere: the balanced beauty of the natural order, the perfection of living and blooming things, and the beautiful nobility of death in the winter.
Druids can belong to any Druid Circle, and the mightiest among them reside in the great grove of Eliwyn, where they serve as her protectors. They tend to her and keep her safe from any who might harm her.
There are druids in the world who pray to gods, though, and they usually revere a sort of trinity: Rontra, from whom all nature was born; Eliwyn, who is nature; and Thellyne, the first of the gods to truly respect and tend to nature.
However, these druids receive their spells from the power of life and nature just like others, and are not considered clergy of Rontra or Thellyne.
In some lands, a new cult is rising, though. Called the “Cult of the Fifth Fruit,” it put aside worship of the living gods, and instead pays homage to the unripe fruit on Eliwyn’s bough, which represents for them the great unknown and hope for a better tomorrow. Such cultists are thought mad by many, for revering a non-existent god. Many such cultists call themselves druids, though they do not (as far as anyone has recorded) possess druidic powers.
This misappropriation of the name “druid” has infuriated some actual druids, while others view it as part of the great cycle, and remain indifferent on the subject.
