Selesnya Conclave

The Selesnya Conclave accepts almost all into their fold. They seek to guide nature and integrate the natural world with the civic world. They are a nurturing, healing community to those within their ranks. The Selesnya are also quiet about the amount of military power they have, which rivals the Azorius and perhaps even the Boros. This power is rarely extended, however, and used mainly in the defense of their enclaves and territories.
Like a thriving garden, carefully tended and abundantly fertile, the communities of the Selesnya Conclave are a harmonious union of nature and civilization. The members of the conclave dream of embracing all of Ravnica in their peaceful union. In the meantime, they are growing an army, preparing to resist the ambition and destructive impulses of the other guilds and fight to defend their way of life.
At the heart of the Selesnya faith and philosophy is the Worldsoul, called Mat’Selesnya, which its devotees believe to be a manifestation of nature itself. At the signing of the original Guildpact, Mat’Selesnya was embodied in an elemental form and acted as the guild’s first guildmaster. The current guildmaster, Trostani — three dryads fused together with Mat’Selesnya into a single being — is said to embody the will of the Worldsoul in a similar way. The original mission of the conclave involved conservation and charity, but its focus has long been on expanding its community, in which all members are cared for and nature is preserved in harmony with civilization.

THE SELESNYA VIEW ON OTHER GUILDS
In the Selesnya vision of a perfect Ravnica, the guilds would be abolished and all people would live in harmony with nature and each other. Until such a vision comes to pass, the conclave judges the other guilds against that standard of perfection.
Azorius. “All their laws are meant to create a semblance of the unity that binds us already. If they would only be still and listen to the voice of Mat’Selesnya.”
Boros. “Sooner or later they will tire of their fighting, and when they do, the gentle embrace of the Selesnya will be waiting for them.”
Dimir. “Just as they hide from the light and cling to the shadows, they hide from life and cling to secrets. They see everything as a scheme, everyone a tool, instead of recognizing the power of unity and mutual growth.”
Golgari. “They wallow in filth and rot, too preoccupied with death to appreciate the bliss of life’s connections.”
Gruul. “They are a desperate echo of what they should be, reaching blindly toward something greater. Such a waste. And a smelly, unreasonable, destructive one at that.”
Izzet. “The path to unity doesn’t lie in the oppressive control of a massive ego like the dragon’s. The Izzet can tinker and meddle all they like, but they are doomed to failure.”
Orzhov. “An endless stream of grasping hands, reaching for more and more, pursuing their individual ambitions at all costs—even from beyond the grave.”
Rakdos. “They laugh at tragedy and wallow in pain. Eventually, they will submit to Mat’Selesnya. Until then, they must be contained.”
Simic. “They chart a twisted course of warping and mangling life and nature. Yes, we must grow and adapt, but nature will take its own time in completing that task.”

Culture

Selesnya’s vision is centered on the idea of harmony between civilization and nature. To advance the cause of civilized society, the conclave believes in the need for an ordered structure that orients the group toward the pursuit of the common good. At the same time, the guild’s connection with the natural world gives the conclave a fervent appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things. Selesnya doesn’t tolerate selfishness or ambition, instead urging its members to put the needs of others ahead of their own desires and to use the power of nature — including nature’s wrath — to drive away those whose selfishness threatens the coherence of the group. The greatest danger that Selesnya faces lies in the ambitions of other guilds, which are flourishing in the absence of the Guildpact. Selesnya’s way of curbing this grasping selfishness has always been to outnumber the other guilds. Its members aren’t naive; they fully realize that the ambitions of other guilds will lead to violence. And they aim to be prepared for that violence when it erupts.

Public Agenda

Despite the growing tensions that now grip the world, in the long view of the Selesnya Conclave, not much has changed. Ravnica is troubled, but Ravnica has always been troubled. The Living Guildpact is absent, but the Guildpact comes and goes. The Worldsoul has not changed, nor has the will of Mat’Selesnya: the conclave’s main goal is to grow, as it has always been. Its strength lies in its numbers. 
The conclave clings to the ideal of a peaceful collective in which individual desires are subordinate to the good of the whole group. The guild wants to see this beloved community grow, flourish, and thrive in peace. But as much as it values peace within the community, it displays incredible ferocity when that harmony is threatened.

Type

Religious, Druidic Circle

Leader

Trostani

Location

Vitu-Ghazi

Controlled Territories

• Vitu-Ghazi

Notable Members

• Trostani