Description

 

Holy symbol of Fiori, in the form of a pendant. (Generated by Dall-E. Prompt: "Cinematic oil painting of a bronze pendant. The pendant depicts a single rose above two wheat stalks. The background is a soft, dark velvet.")

Faction symbol/insignia: Blooming rose over grain

 

Members

Tend to be of humble origin, or are people from the mid to high echelons whose felt the need to step back.

Visual Identifiers

 

Members List

Beliefs

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 in common pots. 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:

  1. (Growth, Agriculture) Always seek growth, and your future will reap its abundant rewards. Strive to cultivate your mind and body, for in perfecting yourself, you echo The Great Mother's decree. Become fertile ground for the blossoming of new ideas and endeavors, contributing to the world’s bounty. Nurture growth in the fields, within yourself, and in others. Scatter seeds wherever you tread, for life's true purpose lies in continuous cultivation. Embrace the cycle of sowing and reaping, reflecting the endless journey of growth and renewal vital to all existence.
  2. (Perseverance, Hope) Never give up on hope, for those who persevere through adversity sow seeds for future success. Through challenges, we plant the seeds of future triumphs. Each obstacle, faced with courage, paves the way for a flourishing and prosperous future, enriching both your life and those around you. Let your actions nurture the world, spreading prosperity and hope among all. Be the bountiful harvest, where your efforts bring fulfillment not only to yourself but also to the lives you touch.
  3. (Healing, Empathy) Those who nurture others find fulfillment within themselves. Let the spirit of nurture guide every action. Tend to the world The Great Mother has gifted, spreading prosperity and hope to all. In acts of healing and kindness, discover the fulfillment that nourishes both the giver and the receiver. Plant seeds of hope and foster the growth of others, for the beauty of life lies in helping one another flourish. Through kindness and communal service, find fulfillment and purpose, healing both your wounds and those of others. Seek to rebuild and mend, for true growth comes from nurturing and renewal. Empathy heals a broken heart, both yours and those you bring aid. Find solace in the knowledge that you're never on your own, for the Heartmender tends to us all.
  4. (Life) Embrace life's eternal cycle, and revere the wonders of all that lives. Embrace the eternal cycle of sowing and reaping, for within it lies the very essence of existence as ordained by She Who Shapes All. Seek fulfillment in life’s ever-turning wheel and honor the transition at life's end as another phase of growth under Her watchful guidance. Protect and nurture life in all its forms, and cherish the lands She has gifted. Be fertile and plentiful, allowing all to be enveloped in the wondrous bounties Her land has given.

Goals

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.

Organization

Each Greenwarden operates independently, without a central governing authority. However, when multiple Greenwardens share a temple or are located in temples close to each other, they often establish agreements regarding collaboration and responsibilities. In these cases, Greenwardens who cohabitate within the same temple typically maintain private sections for their personal endeavors, both in the temple and the gardens, while also cooperating in communal areas. They commonly delineate responsibilities and select specific remedies and ointments to specialize in, ensuring they do not compete with one another. They provide counsel to each other, leveraging diverse expertise to enhance the quality and efficacy of their services. Greenwardens tend to cooperate in the making of high-demand services and essential medicines—especially those provided free of charge as part of their commitment to the Heartmender’s teachings.

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. The process of becoming an apprentice is straightforward and begins when a Greenwarden recognizes potential in an individual and extends an invitation to them. If accepted, the individual becomes an apprentice, learning under the guidance of the Greenwarden. The transition from apprentice to a recognized Greenwarden occurs when the individual leaves their mentor’s tutelage and establishes their own practice. This transition is based on community recognition of the apprentice’s skills and capabilities, affirming their readiness to operate independently. 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 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, 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.

Ranks:

  1. Greenwarden – The primary and only formal rank within the Greenwardens. The authority and influence a Greenwarden holds among peers or third parties depend entirely on their reputation and individual achievements.
  2. Apprentice – An individual under the mentorship of a Greenwarden, learning the practices and principles of the order until they are ready to operate independently.

 

Operations and Endeavors

(Grow medicinal herbs in their large gardens, which they make into medicine and ointments that they give free of charge)

(Make remedies that are non-essential that they sell to earn fund themselves. Includes cosmetic creams, vitality remedies, etc)

(Help farmers with planning crop cycles etc. Tries to commune with Fiori through rituals and observing the lands, and through prayers in their gardens – looking for signs on what the right course of action is)

  1. The Greenkeepers also have an important role when it comes to both Marcandria's agriculture and nature, with many of their members having great knowledge in both of these fields. When farmers are having issues with their crops or livestock, they generally turn to the Greenwardens for help. This could be due to their fields being full of parasites, or their crops or farm animals having contracted some kind of sickness.
  2. The Greenwardens are well known for opposing actions that unnecessarily harm the land, such as excessive logging or farming to the point where the land is unable to recover.

(Weddings, Funeral services for the common citizens, who cannot afford the more lavish services of the Joybringers or the Meranzeum. The “poor man's wedding/funeral”, in which case the Greenwarden will also bless on behalf of Meranzi and Callera) 

  1. Fiori and the Greenwardens can in many ways be seen as the clergy/faith of farmers and other lower-class and common-people. Those who either cannot afford the extravagant practices of Callera's teachings, or simply either want either a simpler or more natural celebration or ceremony, often turn to the Greenwardens instead to perform ceremonies such as marriage. A long standing tradition the clergy holds is that a newly wedded couple should spend their first night together in a freshly tilled field, which is said to ensure a fertile union. The Greenwardens are also commonly those enlisted to hold funeral ceremonies, both among commoners and nobility.

 

The Greenwardens are well known for opposing actions that unnecessarily harm the land, such as excessive logging or farming to the point where the land is unable to recover.

 

 

 

Locations

Relations with other Factions

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.

 

No faction-wide influence since there are no structure in it. What influence the Greenwardens have is instead based on what influence each has as an individual. Greenwardens are often well respected among the communities they serve, which typically mean the those of the lower castes. They often end up in the role of speaking on behalf of small rural communities, voicing their concerns to the local lord or other governing entity. Multiple Greenwardens may decide to work together to increase how much sway they have in a matter both deem important, though never in Marcandrian history have enough Greenwardens pooled together to have a significant influence on the nationwide scale. Should that ever happen though, where they'd all band together and speak with one voice, then they'd have a substantial influence due the sheer amount of peasant and rural inhabitants they'd have at their back.

 

 

 

 

The Greenwardens have very good relations with the common people of Marcandria, particularly those who live outside the major settlements. They often have trouble getting respect from the upper classes of Marcandria, who have a different view on life than that of the Greenwardens. Most other factions aligned with the Marcandrian state respect the Greenwardens, but often note that the lifestyle of the Greenwardens are "not for them". The relationship between Greenwardens and merchants or nobles can be quite strained if the merchant or noble deals in industry that harms nature or endangers people. Examples of these are major deforestations, dangerous mining operations, over-hunting, and so on.

Most underground factions, such as black markets or smugglers, have little against the Greenwardens. However, Greenwardens view themselves as enemies of factions that create death or suffering.

Stance of Succession Conflict

Due to not having a centralized leadership, the Greenwardens have little direct influence on the conflict. Their power instead comes indirectly from potentially being able to influence the opinions of the common citizens, potentially acting as a sort of representative for small communities, which could potentially force a noble in a territory to switch stance on the conflict.

The general viewpoint of the Greenwardens is that the whole ordeal should be resolved quickly and peacefully, and that the nobility should stop redirecting such a huge amount of resources towards this conflict. Instead, they say these resources should be directed to restoring the safety and stability within these nobles' lands.

The succession conflict has thus started to create a schism between the Greenwardens and the different noble families, that continues to widen as the schism widens.