The Gardeners Faction

Overview
The Gardeners are not so much a single order as they are more a collection of individuals and decentralized pairs and small groups motivated by the Old Faith and the natural order espoused in its spirituality. The Gardeners interpret the Old Faith as a spiritual path of communion with the natural world, aligning themselves with the spark of life they term 'wyck', and they seek to preserve life within the path of devotion to the Old Gods. They tend to find adherents among the survivalists and naturalists who spend time farthest from civilization. Their name comes from the joke that a noblewoman from the city once asked members what they were doing out in the woods all the time, to which the member glibly responded 'Gardening. Someone has to tell the trees which way to face in the woods, or they'll grow all wrong.' The story spread widely and so did the name.

The Gardeners don't have a leadership so much as an eldership. Seniority and experience weigh more heavily. Everyone is heard, but some voices are listened to more closely than others based on the merit of their advice. No one 'commands' the Gardeners. All respect and cherish the Old Faith pantheon in its entirety, even those devoted directly to service of a single deity or other. The Faction has felt the separating of country and city life with the incoming of the new gods, and seeks to stem this tide. Tysdia is right now in the middle of an Old Faith Renaissance, and the Gardeners are leading the charge with renewed focus on community works and involvement instead of the solitary mystic nature hermit approach which had held sway until the recent rise to prominence of Katharya the Wise, an 86 year old human Commoner who finally convinced her local Gardeners to spend more time patrolling for wolves in the areas near the flocks and less time talking to trees all night and then convinced the farmers to give more at harvest to the Gardners involved. Her ideas spread quickly, and now she is one of the more influential voices within the organization.

Symbol
An oak leaf inside a circle.

Goals
Stem the tide of the Parnathi New Faith. The Gardeners have made a good start to revitalizing interest in the Old Faith among the rural communities, now it needs to develop the right approach to the urban population centers. The organization is disorganized, though, so half of its members consider it more of a theological faction, while the other half thinks of it as a natural/pastoral philosophy movement. Advanced agendas and goals are currently off the table while the group tries to decide whether or not to formalize with some kind of organizational structure beyond a loose coalition in the first place.

Beliefs
Belief in the cultural traditions of Tysdia and the Old Faith and pantheon of the Old Gods as being a core and essential part of the traditional Tysdian identity. Belief in the Old Gods directly in most cases, but not all. A general desire to stop the spread of the Parnathi culture and the accompanying New Faith/Gods of the New Pantheon. A strong sympathy currently with the pastoral/neo-naturalism movement going on in the rural regions.

Member Traits
Rugged, self-reliant, at home in the remote places, hardy and adventuresome, community-focused, down to earth and grounded folksy types. Fighters, Monks, Rangers as well as Bards, Druids, and Clerics, with the odd Paladin or Rogue here or there poking about.

Rank Names

 * 1) Apprentice
 * 2) Brother/Sister
 * 3) Ser
 * 4) Warden
 * 5) Elder

Special Faction Training Available (Rank 2+)
Because of the ancient lore preserved by the Old Faith, the Gardeners can teach any of its Faction Brothers and Sisters how to become proficient with using an Herbalism kit. The Bardic tradition deeply ingrained within the Old Culture also ensures that if you ask around you can eventually secure training to become proficient with any musical instrument. The Clerical tradition of scribecraft ensures that anyone may also be trained to become proficient with using Calligrapher's Tools as well, though this is seen as a more modern innovation within the Old Faith purists. Cost to learn proficiency is 125 downtime days spent as well as 125gp.

Special Faction Item Purchases Available (Rank 3+)
Longtime friends to the Elves of Silavere, before the small encampments came to settle the human lands of Tysdia over the centuries, the Gardeners can reliably source Boots of Elvenkind for every Ser and up for the fee of 50gp. In order to better endure the rigors of the wilderness, every Ser and up can also arrange to purchase an Amulet of Health for 5,000gp.

Other Factions
 Flagship Trading Company  - Overly preoccupied with the secular, and yet, an unlikely ally in the propagation of Tysdian culture. Some Gardeners have gone with Company expeditions to other nations to open temples of the Old Faith there. If only the Company weren't so greedy.

 Vanguard Brethren  - Slightly favorable opinion. The VB are honorable and don't try to steal more money once a contract is signed, many of their members honor the Old Faith, and their tribal combat organization aspect is from the foundation of Tysdian cultural history. Otherwise a neutral reaction. Rarely would the purposes of the Gardeners run across those of the Vanguard Brethren, unless the Gardners were looking to hire a mercenary band for protection of some kind.

 Broken Crown  - Thieves and spies. There's no need to entangle ourselves with them.

 Kingsguard  - A bit of an odd thing, the King feeling like he needs a separate guard unit. He controls the army of Tysdia. More foolish 'New Faith' nonsense infecting the Tysdian court with an unnecessary of intrigue.

 Court of Flowers  - Drama for Drama's sake, this is a direct result of the excesses of the nobility and pandering to our baser animal instincts. A perversion of the traditional Bardic arts for pure spectacle and emotional manipulation. Ruled over by some overprivileged libertine depravity, and calling it 'art'.

 Akashic Hammer  - A new movement among the guilds and Crafters. Some uncertainty about this Faction in the guilds themselves. The philosophy of a simple life dedicated to the pursuit of craftsmanship and the beauty of aesthetics in Creation are an interesting idea, and there could be some overlap with the Gardeners. Perhaps a way to gain more adherents and members in the urban regions.

 Wyrd Hunters  - Their purpose is mysterious, but the Mystical Library is renowned far and wide, if outrageously expensive to access. The only point of contention has to do with the preservation of cultural and religious relics. They should remain in the temples of the Old Faith when the relics and items are pertinent to the culture. Otherwise the Gardeners have a more or less amicable rapport with the Wyrd Hunters.