Duffian Foresters
The Duffian Foresters are a branch of the Rheged military who operate in the haunted forests of Rheged. The Foresters are trained in combat, woodcraft, and in the Folk Magic that helps pacify and contain the angry and malevolent spirits of Rheged's forests.
During the centuries when Ynys was ruled by the Clarati, the area that became the Kingdom of Rheged was under the control of the sorceress Solis. Her experiments upon the Egregoric Force included the study of how a self-perpetuating cycle could be created - in the case of Rheged, a cycle of fear and terror. She induced the population of Rheged to believe that the Ellyll of their forests had become angry, violent, and insanely malevolent. This belief placed pressure upon those spirits, driving them to become more like the stories told about them. As the Ellyll transformed under the pressure, the forests became darker and more inhospitable, and any negative encounter between the spirits and the humans fed into the cycle of belief and transformation. By the time Solis was killed at the end of the Age of Warlocks, the cycle had progressed far beyond needing external support to continue.
In order to survive in the shadow of the haunted forests, the Albannach of Rheged developed a number of Folk Magic rites that would protect them from the maddened Ellyll. Ritual dances, performed at the right times and places, were an essential part of establishing and maintaining boundaries that the Ellyll could not easily penetrate, and troops of dancers formed in villages throughout the area. One of these troops was led by Calum an Duff, who was a companion of the third King of Rheged during their childhoods. Calum believed that the informal troops of dancers could be more effective if they were brought under a single commander, and convinced the King to establish the Duffian Foresters.
The Foresters have never been a large group, with no more than 200 members in total. They are organized into troops of ten members, each led by a sàirdseant. They patrol the wooded vales and mountains of Rheged, dealing with poachers and bandits and performing the ritual dances that keep the populace safe from the Ellyll. The villagers know to summon one of the troops to their village whenever the nightmares get too bad, and sleep easily once the wards have been restored by their magic.
The Foresters also maintain an informal relationship with the notorious Witch of Rheged. Visiting the Witch is a rite of passage for new Foresters, and troops also occasionally encounter her during their patrols. She is not friendly with the Foresters, but also does not molest them or prevent them from carrying out their duties, and has occasionally provided warning or support in times of great need.
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