Druid (group)

This article is about the druids in lore. For the ranger elite specialization, see Druid.

Concept art by Kekai Kotaki.

“

To be divine is to realize that we are all one. That the self is an illusion. Through this do you understand your own immortality. Through this are you freed from the illusions of the flesh.

— Ancient Druid Spirit

A long time ago, a human tribe called druids ventured into the Maguuma Jungle to make peace with the land. For many years they lived in harmony with the Maguuma, making their home in the Aurora Glade and elsewhere in the jungle. The druids seemingly disappeared over three centuries ago; despite this, a few druid husks are seen and it is suggested that they are asleep.

The sylvari appear to have some sort of connection to the druids, and have the ability to summon druid spirits at will. At least one has awakened recently with a "calling" to go south.

Physiology

The druids were originally humans that originated from Kryta. After centuries of living in the Maguuma Jungle, they had undergone a ritual to shed their human form and become more in tune with nature, taking on a treant-like appearance of willowhearts. In time, they shed these forms too, becoming arboreal spirits so as to better protect the land and leaving behind husks. Guarded by treants, they fell to slumber within the depths of the jungle only to be awakened when it is in peril. The druids remain capable of returning to their treant bodies, though this must be done via a ritual.

Culture

Little is known of druid culture, other than that it was tribal and that they revered and protected the nature of the jungle. The druids considered the Maguuma to be an entity with a will of its own, and they were the ones who served its will. Due to the hostility of other groups, the druids often kept to themselves and would not show their ways to outsiders without heavy consideration. One druid, Dark Oak, was shown to harness the power of divination with the sacrifice of a centaur lord.

Rumors placed the druids as devotees of Melandru, the Goddess of Nature, although such claims remained unverified for centuries. Tales of the druids found in Draconis Mons in 1330 AE revealed that the first druids were indeed human worshipers of Melandru; however, they were later joined by other like-minded people who were drawn by an innate urge to be one with nature.

One of the few places that Old Krytan can still be seen is on druid stones.

Rituals

The druids held many rituals for their magic, though with the druids' secretive nature and disappearance few of them remain known.

Ritual to return a druid's essence to its body

Balthazar! Strengthen and sustain our valiant defenders.

Dwayna! Restore the vitality of the righteous.

Melandru! Awaken the spirit and return it to your progeny.

Lyssa! Restore the balance of this sacred grove.

Grenth! Freeze the hearts of our enemies with fear.

Ritual to summon a druid at the Font of Maguuma

We're renewed by the waters. We're unchanged by the waters.

Time does not go forward nor back. Time is a lens of perception.

The mind sees the truth the eye cannot see.

All that exists is all that has to be.

History

Early history

The exact origins of the druids is unclear. While most sources state that the druids were humans, including old markings found near the Font of Maguuma, the History of Tyria states that humans chased the druids from the jungle before the Forgotten had even left for the Crystal Desert in 174 AE.

What is known is that since traveling to the Maguuma Jungle, the druids remained far from human civilization and kept to themselves. Sometime between 970 AE and 1070 AE, they vanished mysteriously. Most druids left south, but those that stayed behind fell into slumber, protected by guardian treants and ravager nightmares—the latter assaulting any who harmed the jungle or its guardians. In 1072 AE, their spirits could sometimes be found inhabiting the Maguuma, but since then their numbers decreased greatly. Only three spirits were accounted in the following years.

Many druids traveled to distant locations in Tyria where they combined the elements to nurture Melandru's gardens. One group of druids carved a hollow into a submerged volcanic island at the Ring of Fire which would come to be known as Draconis Mons. Their peaceful existence at the Druid's Grotto was disrupted by the arrival of asuran colonists from Rata Novus led by Zinn who began building Rata Arcanum and terraforming the landscape to make it more habitable in 1173 AE. The druids ordered the asura to leave the sanctum, but Zinn responded by capturing four elder druid spirits and harnessing their magic to power up his terraformer. Angered, the remaining druids called for their brethren who came to their aid from the corners of the world. The druids' combined forces attacked Zinn and the asura, overpowering and slaughtering anyone who stood in their way, and caused the fall of Rata Arcanum in 1175 AE.

Modern developments

By 1325 AE, the Inquest discovered the petrified husks of the ancient druids near Toxal Bog. The Durmand Priory became interested in how the druids had gotten there, and why they seemed to pulse with mystical energy even though they appeared dead. The Inquest, on the other hand, wanted to harness this energy as a power source for an Experimental Golem before their ambitions were stopped.

During the Pact's campaign against the Elder Dragon Mordremoth in the Heart of Maguuma in 1328 AE, the Durmand Priory discovered the long lost Font of Maguuma, a magically potent source of healing water within Auric Basin. The font was restored with an ancient ritual, summoning a druid spirit who suggested that the successors of their work continue purifying other springs in the region to restore true balance to the jungle.

In 1330 AE, the rogue god Balthazar brought a force consisting of Inquest, White Mantle, and mercenaries to Draconis Mons to hunt for the Elder Dragon Primordus which had moved to the region after Mordremoth's demise. The druids tried defending their sanctum but in vain as their elders were still trapped within Zinn's vaults, and Balthazar's army was too great for them to overcome by themselves. Primordus was also influencing the region, causing aggressive energies to emerge, disrupting the elements and turning once peaceful allies of the druids like the Greater Wardbough hostile.

The arrival of the Vigil and the Pact Commander further stirred the druids until the Commander confronted the druid Nettleblaze and promised to stop Balthazar, which made the druid reveal that Balthazar had moved to Titan's Throat. When it turned out that the entrance to the volcano had been sealed, the Commander was sent to free the elder druids from the vaults. In exchange the freed druids granted their protective blessing on the Commander who was then be able to safely enter the heart of the volcano. The Commander was successful in driving out Balthazar and hampering the rogue god's forces, earning the druids' gratitude.

The druids offered to reveal more about their past to the Commander in exchange for a few tasks in Draconis Mons and Central Tyria. The druids' connection to their brethren lessened as time passed and the gods' influence waned, so they urged the Commander and others to continue the druids' work and start healing the wounds in Tyria.

Types

See also: Category:Druids

• Angered Nature Spirit
• Arboreal Spirit
• Barkwind
• Broadleaf
• Champion Angered Nature Spirit
• Champion Arboreal Spirit
• Druid Spirit
• Druid Stormknot
• Elite Angered Nature Spirit
• Ficus
• Galebough
• Greater Wardbough
• Kodama
• Liriodendron
• Nettleblaze
• Restless Arboreal Spirit
• Rosewood
• Thicketpyre
• Veteran Angered Nature Spirit
• Veteran Elder Arboreal Spirit

Gallery

• 

  A druid husk.

• 

  A druid husk without a spirit.

• 

  A druid's spirit.

Trivia

• Early concept art for the sylvari show them awakening druid husks with their touch. This ability is never explored in-game.
• Kekai Kotaki's early quadrupedal concepts for the druids were later used in concept art for the Kickstarter project Golem Arcana.

See also

The Guild Wars Wiki has an article on Druid.

Associated items

• Druid Stone
• Living Druid Stone
• Blooming Druid Stone
• The Wayfarer's Henge
• Druid's Circle
• Druid's Shoulderguards
• Druid's Staff