OVERVIEW
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 are as well. 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 through this time of uncertainty.
Founded by Parun Mat'Selesnya, a primordial elemental who communicates through a group of dryads, the Selesnya Conclave is a decentralized collective variably described as a "selfless, nurturing, spiritual group" or a "brainwashing nature cult", depending on your point of view, and it strives to involve itself in the establishment and maintenance of peace, life, and unity in Ravnica. The territories held by the Selesnya are open and sunny, full of green spaces and gardens, with white stone buildings which are often open to the air. The towering world-tree of Vitu-Ghazi serves as the Guildhall.
PURPOSE
The original mission of the Conclave involved charity, conservation, and community. Over the years, the only thing that changes is the interpretation of these purposes. The Selesnya cultivate massive and majestive rooftop gardens and sprawling concourses. They stand as a symbol that urbanization and communion with nature are not opposing forces.
The Conclave also works tirelessly to creat a standing military force capable of halting any threat to Ravnica, either within, or from the outside. Additionally a secret police was formed called "The Quietmen" who serve as Selesnyan intelligence and special operatives.
CORE VALUES
he Worldmind, also known as the Voice of the Conclave, is the subtle transmission of Mat'Selesnya's consciousness. The Conclave also picks up on experiences and wisdom from members of the guild which they then transmit. The clarity of this wisdom is proportional to the depth of a member's devotion to meditation and his or her service to the guild. Through a magical ceremony upon death, a Selesnyan guild member's full experience (spirit) is "uploaded" into the Worldmind. The deeper a guild member's devotion, the deeper his or her access to the Worldmind. Some of the most devout Selesnyans have the capacity to wield immense power thanks to their connection to the Worldmind.
In a perfect world, the Selesnyans consider all of their leaders, no matter how tenured, to be fallible and mortal teachers, nothing more. However, some of the Selesnyan elders are prone to a bit of self-aggrandizement, due to their own personal ambition ,and take pride in the growth and beauty of their own particular vernadi.
A not-so-well-kept secret is Selesnya's hypocrisy about the taking of life. Because of their doctrine about the sanctity of life, one might believe that they would be stringent pacifists. On the contrary, they have no problem with throwing away countless lives in combat. One of Selesnya's main tactics in battle is to create a living shield of bodies to stall opponents until one of their massive elementals or avatars can show up to destroy en masse. Post mortem, Selesnyans make a large, ceremonial fuss about the sacrifice of noble warriors and how all life returns to Mat'Selesnya, but a mound of corpses is hard evidence to cover.
The Selesnya guild is the guardian of natural and structural beauty. There are entire sections of scrolls and codices within Vitu-Ghazi about the correct way to order the landscape, the best stone to use, how to arrange specific kinds of trees, and the most pleasing way to layer foliage. There are some who believe in keeping every stone clean of debris and some who want to arrange without there being noticeable signs, but all agree that beauty is a crucial value of life.
GOALS
Despite their appearance of being "good" and "peace-loving", the guild has had a sinister streak at certain points in the past. During times of silence from Mat'Selesnya, the guild is prone to losing its way and entering into a state of paranoia, even resorting to employing Quietmen, a mysterious form of elemental-spirit soldier, and other members to silence the civilians of Ravnica.
The defenders of the Selesnya are the Ledev Guardians. Equenauts ride pegasuses, combining the role of mounted warriors and scouts. Sagittars, are elven archers that defend key guild locations.
ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
At the heart of Selesnya faith and philosophy is Parun Mat'Selesnya, who devotees refer to as the Worldsoul. They believe this primordial elemental to be the 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. However, the Worldsoul has not manifested in his entirety since then and now prefers to communicate through the Chorus of the Conclave. The Chorus is a group of Dryads that are linked to a different aspect of Mat'Selesnya's consciousness. Trostani, a Dryad fusion of three of these aspects of the Worldsoul, speaks for the Chorus.
The Conclave is organized in enclaves called vernadi, which are communes built around central trees, like smaller versions of Vitu-Ghazi. A dryad, called a voda, is called forth to be the leader of the community, connecting the vernadi to the Worldsoul and the will of the entire Conclave. The vernadi are a harmonious union of nature and civilization. Their house are created by woodshapers and are like living gardens without doors, carefully tended and abundantly fertile. The Selesnya are proud of their wurms, which are used by shamans called wurmcallers to travel underground. The wisest clergy (including many Loxodons), are sometimes called hierarchs, although there is no official hierarchy in the religion. Spellcasters fill both military and religious roles, believing that their spells are a gift from the Worldsoul.
The Conclave is both a community of worshippers and a militia, and thus its leadership includes both military and religious figures.
Comments