Sidur, Goddess of Nature, Balance, and the Harvest
Sidur is the incarnation of Gromere, the form of magical Mere energy most closely connected to living things. Gromere can heal and strengthen living beings, encourage crops to grow, and generally promote the flourishing of nature. While these gifts benefit humanity, humans are not Sidur’s primary concern. She sees us as despoilers of the natural world and seeks to restrain our more destructive tendencies.
Sidur’s goal is for all living things to flourish, but that requires balance. She would never seek to destroy humanity outright, yet sometimes nature must be allowed to reclaim what we have taken. Those who live deep within her domain have learned that exploiting the land without regard for its consequences can bring about the Goddess’s wrath, and nature’s retribution.
Sidur’s domain is vast and ever-changing. Near the equator, the world remains green and vibrant almost year-round, with vast forests covering much of the land. Farther north and south, long and bitter winters can reduce her influence to almost nothing during the coldest months.
Those born at the heart of her domain often develop a strong affinity for Gromere. They tend to be healthier, longer-lived and quicker to heal than people elsewhere, while the crops in these areas are more abundant and multiple harvests can be taken in a single summer. Populations are consequently larger, though Sidur’s insistence on balance prevents them from growing as large as the land might otherwise sustain. Plagues are common, and often seem strangely selective.
Despite these dangers, the nations within Sidur’s domain possess some of the largest and most formidable armies in the world. With widespread access to magic capable of healing and enhancing the body, their soldiers are exceptionally difficult to defeat whilst they march within Sidur’s realm.
Religious Practices of Sidur
The followers of Sidur are united by a simple belief: nature must remain in balance. They hold that humanity has been blessed with Gromere, not to dominate nature, but so that they might live alongside it. Those who take more than they need, despoil the land, or place their own interests above the natural order, risk drawing Sidur's displeasure down upon them.
The followers of Sidur are commonly referred to as Sidurions, though the phrase “children of the green Goddess” is often used by her adherents to refer to themselves. The vast majority of Sidurions follow the traditional teachings of the faith that date back to the early years of the Age of Reclamation, and simply seek to live in harmony with nature, never taking more than their fair share, and always giving back to the land when they are able. Others take Sidur's teachings to more extreme conclusions. The Ama Lurras Vitalis live lives of strict simplicity and devotion, far from the trappings of modern society, while a secretive group known as Sidur's Prophets is said to use their understanding of Sidur's will for personal wealth and influence.
At the heart of Sidurion worship is the belief that prosperity and suffering are both parts of the natural balance. Whilst most every day believers focus on the former, other sects believe that it is only through suffering that one can be truly draw close to the Goddess.
The Sisters of Sidur
The Sisters of Sidur form the religious order at the heart of the Sidurion faith. The Sisterhood is exclusively female, its members regarded as spiritual embodiments of Sidur and the living world. It is also believed that women tend to possess a stronger affinity for Gromere and greater healing abilities, though there is debate within the philosophical sciences as to whether there is any real support for this claim.
Joining the Sisterhood is considered a great honour. Many Sisters are orphaned girls adopted by the order, while others are given to the Sisterhood by devoted families seeking Sidur's favour. Prospective Sisters must demonstrate an affinity for Gromere and some natural healing ability before being accepted.
Those who join take the Oath of Service, swearing vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. These vows are intended to remove personal ambition and attachment, allowing the Sisters to serve Sidur with impartiality and maintain the balance she demands.
A Sister serves for as long as she remains physically able. When age or illness finally leaves her unable to continue, she is taken to the roots of the temple's Draco Arboris tree. There, she gives herself freely to the tree, allowing her body to be absorbed and returned to nature. This is considered one of the greatest honours a Sister can receive: in death, she becomes part of the living system she spent her life protecting. Many Sisters prepare for this final offering by consuming herbs and minerals believed to provide valuable nutrients to the great trees.
The Sisterhood's Hierarchy
Grand Priestess — The Holy One: Leader of the Sisterhood and its highest spiritual authority. The Grand Priestess possesses an extraordinary affinity for Gromere and is said to be capable of healing every known malady. The position is attained through a lifetime of devoted service.
Abbess: Each temple is led by an Abbess, who oversees its Sisters and congregation, conducts ceremonies and provides spiritual guidance. Abbesses are among the most accomplished healers in the Sisterhood.
Noble Sister: Experienced Sisters entrusted with the day-to-day running of temples, organising religious celebrations and serving the surrounding communities. They are usually among the order's most capable healers.
Sister: The main body of the Sisterhood. Sisters serve their temples and communities while learning to understand and control their abilities.
Sidurion: Any ordinary worshipper of Sidur. These can be both male and female.
The Arboris Necklace
At the onset of puberty, young Sidurions receive a small wooden Arboris necklace in the shape of the Tree of Life. The necklaces are traditionally presented during one of the four seasonal celebrations, held at the start and midpoint of both Summer and Winter, and often as part of a communal coming-of-age ceremony.
The necklaces may be carved from any tree, but those made from Draco Arboris wood are particularly prized. Such wood may only come from a limb naturally surrendered by the tree. Cutting a healthy limb from a Draco Arboris is considered both sacrilegious and extremely bad luck. The Draco Arboris rarely surrender their limbs, and only ever at the request of their Abbess.
A necklace deliberately carved from illegally harvested Draco Arboris wood becomes something far darker. Known as a Blasphemed Arboris, these necklaces are believed to become tainted, so that the Gromere energy they contain feeds on, rather than nurtures, life, draining it from people and the land, and causing living things to wither and die.
Possession of a Blasphemed Arboris is punishable by death, although several ancient examples are still believed to exist. The Sisterhood will pay generously for the return of any such necklace, as well as for anyone responsible for creating or wielding one.
The Draco Arboris
The Draco Arboris is the rarest and most sacred tree in the world. Once almost extinct, the species was saved by the persistence and ingenuity of the Sidurion Sisters, who succeeded in growing new trees from the last surviving specimen, known as the Robur.
Yet the Draco Arboris is not truly a collection of individual trees. All Draco Arboris are connected by a vast root system that stretches beneath Asteria, making them parts of a single living organism. When a new sapling is planted, it sends delicate finder roots into the earth, seeking a connection to the greater system. Until that connection is made, the sapling will not grow above ground. Many fail to find the roots and eventually die. Those that succeed become true Draco Arboris.
The trees resemble enormous ancient oaks, with golden-tinged bark and vast, twisted branches that can spread across an area more than one hundred metres wide. They possess a degree of awareness and free will, with each tree displaying what appears to be its own distinct personality. Their branches can move of their own accord and, while they can be encouraged, they cannot be trained like ordinary plants. Their roots reach deep into the earth, creating natural tunnels beneath the forest. These roots also form the basis of one of the Sisterhood's most secretive rituals.
A Sister of the faith may bring an offering to the roots of her temple's tree. Food and dead animals are commonly used, although more extreme offerings, up to and including human sacrifice, are not unheard of. If the tree accepts the offering, its roots will reach out, wrap around it, and draw the offering into the tree, where they are broken down and absorbed. The Sister may then spend the night beneath the tree and receive its blessing.
The blessing temporarily floods the Sister with Gromere and allows her to commune with and command living things. The greater the offering, the greater the power granted. A small offering may allow her to influence plants or small animals for a short time; a substantial offering can grant command over larger creatures, packs or even entire herds.
The greatest blessing is reserved for the oldest tree of all, the Robur. If it accepts a magnificent offering, a Sister might gain control over an entire woodland or even some of the great beasts that inhabit Asteria's remotest regions. While such events have not happened in living memory, many stories of forests rising up to fight in battles exist and date back as far as the formation of the faith, over a thousand seasons ago.
The ritual is not without its dangers however. A rejected offering, one of poor quality or given in bad faith, can provoke the tree, whose roots may lash out at the offending Sister, drawing them into the tree’s embrace in place of their inadequate offering, where they will be digested alive.
The Rootways
The interconnected roots of the Draco Arboris conceal another of the Sisterhood's greatest secrets: they can be used to travel between trees. This process, however, is neither simple nor is it pleasant.
A traveller wishing to use the Rootways must first surrender themselves to the tree. The roots consume the traveller's body, dissolving and absorbing it into the greater system. Shortly afterwards, a bulb forms within the roots of the destination tree. Over the course of approximately a day, a new body grows within the bulb before, finally, emerging into the world at the new location.
The new body appears to be an exact continuation of the traveller, complete with their memories and personality. They remember entering the roots at their point of departure and describe the journey as little more than falling asleep in one place and awakening in another.
Yet there is a disturbing question at the heart of the process. The body that emerges has none of the injuries carried by the original. Broken bones are restored, scars disappear and old wounds are gone. The traveller is also born naked, as it seems it is not possible to transport anything that is not living in this manner. The original body, meanwhile, is consumed by the roots of the departure tree and no longer exists.
Whether this is truly travel, or whether the traveller is killed and a new person created from their memories remains a point of great discussion amongst those who know of this dark secret. The Sisterhood teaches that it is a miracle of Sidur, that the great living network carries its children from one place to another and restoring their bodies in the process. Philosophers, those few that are privy to the information, are considerably less certain.
Whatever the truth, the experience is not without its trauma. Those who have witnessed the process have reported the terrified and pained screams of travellers as they are consumed alive by the roots, even if the travellers themselves do not retain this memory at the other end. Whether the person who emerges is the same individual, a perfect copy, or something else entirely remains one of the great unanswered questions of the Sidurion religion.
Temples of Sidur
Sidurion temples are usually built in places of outstanding natural beauty, particularly ancient forests. Temples also exist in towns and cities, although these are considered to be less important. A temple's status, however, depends largely on the age and size of its Draco Arboris.
The temple itself is built around the tree rather than the other way around. A circular stone structure surrounds the trunk, leaving the space beneath the branches open to the sky. A tall tower, traditionally built to the north of the tree so as not to block the light of the sun from reaching it, houses the Sisters, with the Abbess occupying the highest floor. As the tree grows, the tower must occasionally be extended to keep pace with it. Religious ceremonies, festivals and services take place beneath the tree's enormous canopy.
The greatest temple is Robur Temple, built around the original Draco Arboris in the heart of the world's oldest forest, located in western Husk. The temple has expanded over the centuries, with four additional stone circles constructed beneath the tree's immense branches. It is the spiritual heart of the Sidurion faith and the home of the Grand Priestess.
Sidurions from across Asteria make pilgrimages to Robur Temple to stand as close as possible to what they believe is the physical embodiment of their Goddess in Asteria.
Worship and the Seasons
Sidurion worship is generally a quiet and personal practice. Devotion is measured less by grand displays of faith than by how well a person lives in harmony with nature.
Every Sidurion is expected to cultivate something. It might be a magnificent country garden, a small patch of earth or nothing more than a window box. Each person also maintains a small, isolated plot dedicated to a single plant. These plants are deliberately cultivated without the use of Gromere. A child might tend a simple daisy, while an experienced gardener might nurture an exotic orchid. The practice serves as a reminder that most of the world must grow and flourish without the blessings Sidur has given her followers. The faithful also offer up daily prayers of thanks to Sidur, performed whilst holding their Arboris necklace close to their chest.
Most temples hold a weekly service led by the Abbess, although attendance is rarely compulsory. Temples remain open at all times, allowing worshippers to visit for quiet reflection, prayer, or guidance at any hour of the day.
When guidance is sought, the Abbess may perform an invocation of the leaf. A leaf taken from the temple's Draco Arboris may change colour, wither, flourish or, in the most extreme cases, burst into flame. The Abbess interprets the result and offers Sidur's guidance to the worshipper.
Seasonal celebrations, held at the start and midpoint of both Summer and Winter, are key events in the Sidurion calendar, and are all held as equally important within the faith. During each seasonal festival, which last a entire week, Sidurions wear the appropriate festival colour or incorporate it into their clothing, Green for Summer’s Start, Yellow for Mid-Summer, Orange for Winter’s Start, and White for Mid-Winter. These festivals are among the largest events in the Sidurion calendar, only comparable to each temple’s individual founding day celebration.
The Gift of Healing
The Sisters of Sidur are renowned throughout Asteria for their healing abilities. Every year, thousands of pilgrims from across the continent travel to Sidurion temples seeking treatment, bringing with them both enormous gratitude, generous gifts, and an uncomfortable question: how much should the Sisterhood intervene in the natural order?
Most Sidurions believe that suffering should be relieved whenever possible and that the Goddess's gift should be used to help others. Others argue that death and suffering are themselves part of nature's balance. To them, saving every life simply because it can be saved is an interference with Sidur's will. This debate rages with particularly strength among the more extreme followers of the Ama Lurras Vitalis.
Hospices can be found near many Sidurion temples. They are generally simple, well-ventilated buildings surrounded by enclosed gardens where healing herbs and restorative plants are cultivated. These gardens, however, are not necessarily safe for the unwary to visit. Many contain snapper plants, seemingly beautiful plants that attract and sedate unwary prey before devouring it. The Sisterhood considers this perfectly natural and sees little reason to interfere.
A dedicated branch of the sisterhood, known as the Sisters of Divine Mercy, specialise in healing and train extensively in medicine, herbs and disease. They are regarded as the finest healers in the world and are frequently sought after by foreign governments and armies, particularly during times of war.
The greatest of their healing institutions is The Grove, a temple and convalescent hospital located on a secluded island within a mountain lake on the Russaan/Circcenzio border. This is where both the truly desperate and the very wealthiest families of Asteria travel when seeking treatment.
The Grove also holds a darker secret. Deep beneath the lake lives an ancient creature worshipped by some of the Sisters of Divine Mercy as an embodiment of the Goddess. Not everyone who comes to The Grove leaves it. Some patients, commonly those who do not exhibit the requisite piety and devotion to Sidur, or who simply will not be missed, are secretly sacrificed to this creature beneath the waters. The balance, after all, must be maintained, and not all who come seeking healing will, or should, find it.
Sidur's Prophets
Sidur's Prophets are perhaps the most mysterious of all Sidurion groups. They are said to be an ancient and secretive order, although no one can say with certainty whether they even truly exist.
According to legend, the Prophets use their connections within the Sisterhood to learn when Sidur's influence is shifting and the balance of nature is beginning to change. They are then able to predict changes in harvests, disease, and the availability of commodities. Rather than warning people, they instead profit from the calamity that follows.
When famine or disease appears likely, the Prophets allegedly stockpile food, medicines and other necessities before prices rise. They are also said to encourage events that worsen the imbalance, then profit from the suffering.
Over generations, this practice has supposedly made them enormously wealthy and politically influential. Of course, there is no proof that Sidur's Prophets even exist. Yet their legend persists, and whenever a merchant seems mysteriously prepared for a sudden disaster, people whisper that the Prophets must have warned them.
Ama Lurras Vitalis
The Ama Lurras Vitalis are the most devout, and most extreme, followers of Sidur. Many live in small communities deep in the wilderness, taking only what they need and striving to live entirely within nature's balance. They hunt extensively, training themselves to make clean, precise kills that minimise an animal's suffering. Their knowledge of the wilderness, hunting, and stealth are consequently exceptional.
But not all members of the Ama Lurras Vitalis are so peaceful. Some have come to believe that humanity itself has become a threat to Sidur's balance. They regard excessive wealth, unchecked expansion, and the destruction of nature as acts of blasphemy.
These extremists sometimes target wealthy merchants, industrialists and other people they believe have taken more than their share. Some are assassinated outright. Others are kidnapped and taken into the wilderness, where they may become unwilling participants in rituals dedicated to Sidur.
There are persistent rumours that Sidur's Prophets sometimes provide the extremists with the names of people who stand in their way, be they wealthy rivals, criminals, politicians, or inconvenient business owners. Whether these rumours are true is impossible to say.
The Ama Lurras Vitalis are feared for their brutality but respected for the sincerity of their devotion. Their victims are often regarded as people who brought their fate upon themselves by violating Sidur's balance, and investigations into their deaths are frequently half-hearted. Perhaps this is simply because the authorities sympathise with their beliefs. Or perhaps someone is making certain that no-one digs too deep.
