Faction symbol/insignia: Blooming rose over grain
Tend to be of humble origin, or are people from the mid to high echelons whose felt the need to step back.
The Greenwardens revere The Heartmender, cherishing her teachings on agriculture, empathy, perseverance, growth, healing, hope, and life. Known throughout Marcandria as wise healers and counselors, they are committed to lives of simplicity and service, finding profound fulfillment in aiding others.
Believing that fulfillment comes from the act of giving, the Greenwardens hold that assistance should be offered freely, without expectation of reward. This ethos is evident in their commitment to providing medical aid and healing at no charge, especially to those unable to afford care. Withholding aid when capable of helping is anathema to them, reflecting a profound disdain for selfishness. By extending their support universally, they strive to embody Fiori's nurturing spirit, ensuring no one is deprived of care due to lack of wealth or status.
The Greenwardens advocate for relentless personal growth, viewing stagnation as contrary to The Heartmender's cycle of renewal and growth. They encourage everyone to strive toward self-betterment, not just for personal gain but as a moral duty to enhance the collective well-being. However, this pursuit often leads to an overly critical view of those who seem content with their current circumstances or those who prioritize stability, labeling them as lacking ambition or spiritual depth.
Living under the pressure to embody Fiori’s virtues perfectly, Greenwardens often feel compelled to present themselves as paragons of growth and resilience. While they aim to serve as beacons of hope, many internally struggle with doubt and personal setbacks. Admitting these difficulties is taboo, risking their spiritual authority and the hope they inspire. With The Heartmender's signs often subtle and open to interpretation, some Greenwardens use public perception of their deeds as a proxy for divine favor, equating their popularity with spiritual approval. Despite their firm belief in persevering through challenges for long-term benefits, they too face moments of seeming impossibility, just like everyone else.
The Greenwardens revere the Great Mother as a maternal figure who blesses the land with fertility and guides her followers with patience and wisdom. At life's end, they believe The Heartmender guides the soul to the afterlife, underscoring her role throughout life’s cycle.
The Greenwardens believe The Heartmender communicates through nature, particularly during rituals involving the planting of various seeds. They interpret Fiori’s will based on which seeds germinate and how they grow, reinforcing values of patience and contemplation. Beyond these rituals, they discern Fiori’s guidance through natural responses—observing which plants bloom or wilt during prayer to gage divine insights. This deep connection with nature serves as their primary medium for divine communication.
While prioritizing essential healing services, the Greenwardens also cultivate and sell quality-of-life remedies like skincare and vitality treatments to fund their operations. This practice, though profitable, sometimes diverts resources from basic care, posing a challenge in balancing lucrative endeavors with their mission of healing and nurturing. Struggles not to become addicted to the comforts and luxuries that can be afforded by the revenue from non-essential remedies are common among them.
Fiori's Tenants:
The Greenwardens are dedicated to fostering the health and well-being of Marcandrians, with the aspiration that every member of their community may thrive. Through their efforts, they not only seek to enhance the lives of others but also to find fulfillment in their own lives. As devotees of the Heartmender, their mission extends to expanding her worship and influence, and safeguarding the values She cherishes.
All endeavors of the Greenwardens aim to nurture and protect that which is dear to the Heartmender. Given that the Heartmender often receives less attention from the upper echelons of Marcandrian society—except by those who have directly benefited from the Greenwardens' healing and medical services—the Greenwardens are also committed to raising her profile and importance within these circles.
Each Greenwarden operates independently, without a central governing authority. When multiple Greenwardens share a temple or are located in close proximity, they form unique collaborative agreements tailored to their specific needs and situations. These agreements typically allow for each Greenwarden to maintain private sections in both the temple and gardens for personal endeavors, while also collaborating on communal areas. These agreements commonly, but not uniformly, delineate responsibilities to avoid competition and maximize community benefits, ensuring that each Greenwarden focuses on different services and produces distinct ointments or remedies. They provide counsel to each other, leveraging diverse expertise to enhance the quality and efficacy of their services. For high-demand services and essential medicines—especially those provided free of charge in line with their commitment to the Heartmender's teachings—Greenwardens often work cooperatively.
As each Greenwarden is considered a sovereign entity, there are no hierarchical ranks beyond the title of Greenwarden. They may mentor apprentices, who retain the title as long as they remain under tutelage. Once an apprentice establishes their own practice, they are recognized as a full Greenwarden. This mentor-to-student tradition results in a diverse range of priorities and methods among them, shaped by the individual agreements and collaborative practices they develop.
Greenwarden temples are typically more modest than those of the Joybringers or the Meranzeum, yet feature extensive gardens. It is common for several temples to exist within a single settlement, sometimes even sharing a large, communal garden. Temples are often established by noble families to attract Greenwardens, thereby enhancing the services available in their domain. Alternatively, Greenwardens might repurpose abandoned buildings, particularly those with ample space to cultivate their expansive gardens.
Financially, each Greenwarden is responsible for their own affairs, though those sharing a temple may agree to manage finances collectively. Nobles and occasionally the Meranzeum provide funding for specific services, such as during health crises, recognizing the essential services Greenwardens provide to the community.
Each Greenwarden operates independently, without a governing body overseeing their actions, either individually or within a temple. When multiple Greenwardens share a temple, they typically reach a communal agreement on the management of the temple and its gardens. In such arrangements, each Greenwarden usually maintains private sections in both the temple and gardens for their personal endeavors, while also collaborating on communal areas. Harvests from these communal areas are divided based on the needs of the Greenwardens and their visitors.
Each Greenwarden operates independently, with no central governing authority overseeing their actions. When multiple Greenwardens share a temple or are located in close proximity, they enter into a collaborative agreements to harmonize their operations. In such arrangements, each Greenwarden usually maintains private sections in both the temple and gardens for their personal endeavors, while also collaborating on communal areas. These agreements also tend to delineate responsibilities, ensuring that each Greenwarden focuses on different services and produces distinct ointments or remedies to avoid competition while maximizing community benefit. They provide counsel to each other, leveraging diverse expertise to enhance the quality and efficacy of their services. For high-demand services and essential medicines—especially those provided free of charge as part of their commitment to the Heartmender's teachings of care and nurture—all co-located Greenwardens tend to work cooperatively.
As each Greenwarden is considered a sovereign entity, there are no hierarchical ranks beyond the title of Greenwarden. Greenwardens may mentor one or more apprentices, who retain the title of apprentice as long as they remain under tutelage. Once an apprentice sets up independently, they are recognized as a full Greenwarden. The traditions and practices of the Greenwardens are as such passed down from mentor to student, resulting in a diverse range of priorities and methods among them.
Greenwarden temples are typically more modest than those of the Joybringers or the Meranzeum, yet they feature extensive gardens. It is common for several temples to exist within a single settlement, sometimes even sharing a large, communal garden. Temples are often established by noble families to attract Greenwardens, thereby enhancing the services available in their domain. Alternatively, Greenwardens might repurpose abandoned buildings, particularly those with sufficient space to cultivate their expansive gardens.
Financially, each Greenwarden is responsible for their own affairs, although those sharing a temple may arrange to manage finances collectively. Nobles and occasionally the Meranzeum provide funding for specific services, such as during health crises, recognizing the essential services Greenwardens provide to the community.
Each Greenwarden acts independently, with no governing body either as a whole, or for a temple. While multiple Greenwardens may share the same temple, they'll in this case come to some communal agreement on how they'll operate the temple and its garden. Each Greenwarden in such a temple will typically have some private areas in both the temple and gardens, where they'll conduct their own endeavors, while working together on communal areas from which they'll all divvy up the harvests depending on the needs of them and their visitors.
As each Greenwarden is their own entity, and as such, there are no further rank beyond being a Greenwarden. Each Greenwarden may take on one or more Apprentices, who'll keep the title of apprentice for as long as they remain under said Greenwarden's tutorage. Should they leave their master and establish themselves on their own, then they've become a Greenwarden. The traditions and beliefs of the Greenwardens are thus based on what's been taught mentor-to-student through generations, which has resulted in there being quite a few differences in priorities amongst Greenwardens.
Greenwarden temples tend to be more humble than the Joybringer and Meranzeum counterparts, though with extensive gardens. It is not uncommon for several temples to exist in a settlement, at times even neighboring each other, and sharing the same huge garden. Temples are often commissioned by the noble family who rules the settlement, with the intention of attracting Greenwardens to conduct their services in their lands. Other times, the Greenwardens take over abandoned buildings in areas where they can build their huge gardens. Each Greenwarden typically takes care of their own finances, though Greenwardens who cohabitate in the same temple may have made some arrangements with one another. Nobles, and on occasion the Meranzeum, will sometimes provide funding to a Greenwarden if one of their services is especially needed, such as if the settlement is struck with sickness.
The Greenwardens have little in regards to structure. Each Greenwarden acts independently on their own accord. They may share a temple with others, and may tend to the same garden, in which case they'll have made some arrangements for how to work with one another. The setup at each temple with multiple Greenwardens is thus unique, with them having come to an agreement
No organization? Basically just communal cooperation, with each member basically operating independently, taking on their own apprentices, and then those who congregate at the same temples basically just cooperating while doing their own thing. Their temples are mostly gifted to them by nobility to have them there to provide their services. They tend to barter and sell goods they grow to get the things they do not make themselves. Goods include herbal remedies etc (both against sickness, other conditions, but also those aimed just at improving their health in some aspect – be it stamina, sex life, etc.)
Such a structure would also mean there's quite the variance in what each temple prioritizes, often based on which Greenwarden acted as their mentor.
Would mean ranks are just Greenwarden, and their Apprentices.
Ranks:
Greenwardens too fractured to have any real influence. Connection people have with the Greenwardens tend to be more on an individual level. Specific Greenwardens may be very well liked in a community, mostly with farmers, lower cast people, and those who have needed their aid. However, since each Greenwarden basically only has the authority of themselves, plus whoever likes them enough to support their stance, they tend to have very little impact on Marcandrian politics etc. The very nature of how the Greenwardens operate is counterproductive to gaining influence in society.