Wealdsage

One of the Greenweald Baronies Archetypes

Overview

The arcane is just another tool the Wealders use to protect themselves and their townships from the predations of their cursed home. Many among the Baronies have some amount of a gift with spells and many more will force the matter through arcane training. Over time numerous small arcane traditions have sprung up in different Baronies, but none are so widespread or as influential as the Wealdsages.

Wealdsages learn the magic of the Weald itself, the magic of curses and of monsters. While they cannot wield such magic themselves, the knowing of it informs their lives and their power. When fire, steel, prayer, and bravery do not work, the Wealders turn to Wealdsages, those that know the woods and can speak in the language of roots and hatred. It is Wealdsages who adorn the brows of babes with foul runes to placate a curse, it is Wealdsages who mix the ichor to ward off the great beast, or draw it in. It is a Wealdsage who wanders the deepest paths that bend the light, to give offering and plead for mercy.

But it is also this knowledge and burden that festoon Wealdsages with distrust. The Greenweald is a corrupting influence. Many believe they could control it. Some others believe they can join it and live in unity. All who are lost to the wood are gone, and all become enemies of the Baronies when they do so. To become the hunted prey of a Houndpriest or Huntsmarshall. And so all Wealdsages must walk this fine line between knowledge and damnation.

Need:

Magus

Arcane magic is the core of a Wealdsages abilities and to do their work without it is folly.

Shouldn't:

Divine Lore (Any)

The forest can feel the presence of the Spheres and those close to them. It is the shining light that lights the way for the Baronies. But for the Wealdsages it can be a brightness that washes out their attempts at diplomacy and learning. While they must be faithful followers of the Spheres (one of the first signs of corruption is turning away from them), they cannot be miracle workers.

Costume Marker:

Weald Totems

Like a hunter garbing themselves in camouflage, Wealdsages adorn their form with tiny fetishes and totems. While not perfect in their obscuring manner, these Weald Totems are the beginning of their dialogue with the forest. They also act as an example of the Wealdsages expertise. A Wealdsage that specialises in monster lore may be adorned with pieces of alchemically treated bone or foul-smelling bulbs of fluid. One that specialises in curses may cover themselves in haunted objects, such as soil from a looted grave or a piece of flagstone from a ruined church. Those that treaty with fae may keep small objects of whimsy such as bells, tiny toy animals, or children's teeth. The volume of totems also goes far to demonstrate a Wealdsages experience, as they tend to accrue them over time.

The Heartmarker

However, there is one small totem that is different from all others. This Heartmarker is a private thing, not for the eyes of the Weald. It is a grounding rod that helps the Wealdsage avoid the allure of corruption. For some it may be a reminder of a family (such as a child's ribbon or parents jewelry), it may be a reminder of patriotism (a Baron's writ or a scrap of banner) or perhaps it is a shard of The Spheres (a tiny holy symbol or icon). It is this item that reminds the Wealdsage of what binds them to the Realms of mortal humanity.

But such Heartmarkers cannot be taken with a Wealdsage when they complete their work. The forest would know such items and see their bearer's actions as treachery. So Wealdsages will often leave their Heartmarkers with trusted friends, churches or officials, to be reclaimed when they return and prove loyalty. A Wealdsage never returning for their Heartmaker would be a sure sign of corruption. Often these individuals who are entrusted with a Heartmarker will closely monitor how the Wealdsage interacts with their Heartmarker upon being reunited with it. A disinterested or flippant attitude would be cause for concern.

History:

The history of Wealdsages is less about them and more about their acceptance into the life of the Baronies. For there have always been those drawn in by the whispers of the forest. Early on in settlement by the would-be Wealders, those who were lured into the forest were often lured fully and completely. It was not until after many generations, well after the Baronies were established, that a role began to appear within many settlements concurrently. The wise sage, often aged enough to notice patterns in the forests predation. These sages would continue to advise their people and when the time came they would be the ones who would have to entreat with the curse, monster, or malady that had befallen them, as their advanced age would mean failure-induced death would be felt less harshly by the settlement.

However when they died, and countless of them have and will, their knowledge was lost. Those wisest among them began to take apprentices, passing on the accrued knowledge of years. In doing so, a sacrificial caste was created. Those whose very expertise causes them to be expendable, but also essential when all other methods fail.

Over the centuries, Wealdsages have become a part of life, with most settlements of not having one with perhaps an apprentice or two. Some Wealdsages have risen to prominence such as Niocresso Talins, a Lerona Mere-born arcanist who assisted with the construction of the Barons Road in Resinderholz by defeating a curse that caused all who worked on the road to grow blind. Santimayer Drolk was a Wealdsage from Ritterswald Barony that redirected a migration of Acrid Graalbeasts from the capitol. Drolk would fall to corruption a season later, murdering Baronness Pamela Westinbrock as she feasted and attempted to throw open the gates of the city for the woods before being slain by a Houndspriest.

Becoming a Wealdsage:

There has been a slow rebuilding of knowledge for Wealdsages following The Night of Silver Blood in 183AE, when a lot of material was lost with the burning of records at the hands of Houndspriests from Chapters Anselma and Benedikt. However, just enough experienced Wealdsages remain on the fringes of the Weald to reintroduce the ways things once were, and how new Wealdsages are brought into the fold.

The path to becoming a Wealdsage is not as straightforward or structured as other Guilds. Wealdsages are rarely recruited. The calling to become a Wealdsage often happens in a quiet moment or a bloody incident. A sacrifice made to appease a cruel fae has a mage curious to learn more about the work, or someone who has always heard the forest whispering into their ear and one day gains the ability to whisper back.

Whatever the calling, a mage of the Weald will seek out or cross paths with a fully fledged Wealdsage and become their Apprentice. It is rare for a Wealdsage to be mentoring more than one Apprentice at a time because of the intense bond and constant scrutiny involved. A Wealdsage needs to be certain that they are not simply leading weakwilled souls to become a free meal to the Weald. Because of this, the relationship dynamic between a Mentor and Apprentice can vary wildly from controlling and manipulative to deep mutual trust and respect - but notably this is a close connection forged that will last a lifetime and change both parties, for better or worse. Because Mentors are hard to find, it would be notable for a Wealdsage and their Apprentice to cease their apprenticeship, no matter how strained the relationship becomes.

During their Apprenticeship, rather than a series of trials or examinations, the Mentor will guide their Apprentice through a series of sacrifices. These sacrifices have no strict order or timeline, and are left to the Mentor to decide upon when their Apprentice is ready or force them to undertake them even if they are not. A Mentor could keep an Apprentice for years before recognizing them as an equal, or they could recognize an Apprentice as a Wealdsage in mere months if they have proven themself.

The Sacrifices that all Wealdsages make are as follows.

Sacrifice of Body

This is the pain and suffering that all Wealdsages know well. This is the giving of blood, bone and flesh to the Weald as a form of bargaining, placation or display of willingness to parlay. A fully fledged Wealdsage should be eyed with suspicion if they have all of their fingers and toes. An Apprentice needs to prove that they will not hesitate to carve pieces off themselves or others in order to ensure the work is done.

This is the easiest of the Sacrifices for Mentors to guide, or even force, their Apprentices to undertake. Mentors often use this Sacrifice as a testing method to see if an Apprentice is worth their time. Apprentices may recall their Mentor leaving them locked in a room with nothing but a blade and telling them that the door will not open until something has been removed.

Sacrifice of Humanity

Apprentices frequently mistake the Sacrifice of Humanity with the Sacrifice of Body, but they are not the same. While the Sacrifice of Body is about what you give to the Weald, the Sacrifice of Humanity is about what the Weald does to you.

This is the slow crawling influence of the Weald on a Wealdsage's soul and the ways in which it manifests over time. This Sacrifice is less of an Apprentice taking a specific action, but reckoning with the horror that they are being irreversibly changed in ways they cannot control. Notably, this Sacrifice of Humanity could involve the forging of a Pact with an entity of the Weald, for these Pacts are never made without leaving their mark.

An Apprentice has no say in the way that their humanity is affected, and are purely subjected to whatever cruelty the Weald has decided to inflict upon them. This could be Wealdmarkings manifesting on the skin or seeping from the eyes, nose, ears or mouth. This could be discolouration of the fingers, losing fingernails, hair or senses. This could even be growths forming on the body.

Some Wealdsages feel the loss of humanity in behaviours and habits undertaken without consciousness. Apprentices may feel compelled to wear elements of the Weald, dress themselves in bark, moss or leaves, or adorn themselves in totems crafted from the forest.

More than any other, it is the Sacrifice of Humanity that feeds the suspicions following Wealdsages wherever they go.

Sacrifice of Community

To become a Wealdsage is to accept a life on the fringes of society. Wealdsages are the last welcomed to the Hearth and also the closest observed when presenting themselves to the blessed flames. To complete the Sacrifice of Community, an Apprentice needs to prove that they have been cast out from society in a way that is truly a detriment to their life. Sacrificing a relationship where bonds are already strained is not notable.

Apprentices will often present themself in some way as a Wealdsage in training and then receive the consequences of doing so. They could be banished from their Haven by their Hargrave, forbidden from returning to their family home, shunned from the Church that they regularly communion or turned away by a romantic partner. Whatever form the Sacrifice of Community takes, it needs to be agonizing and unsalvageable.

An Apprentice that has the Sacrifice of Community as their final step to becoming a Wealdsage can often hesitate and resist severing themselves from close connections. It is not uncommon for a Mentor to reveal their Apprentice unwillingly to force this final Sacrifice, even at the risk of damaging the relationship between Mentor and Apprentice. A good Wealdsage knows that good Wealdsages need to exist for the Baronies to survive.

Three Things Wealdsages Are:

Arcane knowledge carried heavily

A Wealdsages craft is knowing the secrets of the woods. They learn the secret paths, the ways the woods speak and they refine that knowledge. They trade it with other Wealdsages, with other arcanists and they try to arm themselves for every cursebreaking, beastspeaking or faecharming. But they also know that these sparks of understanding are the keys that unlock doors that should remain shut.

A part apart from others

Wealdsages are a key aspect of life in the Baronies. But their craft means that they are a step apart from much of society. To children, they are the strange boogeymen that live on the outskirts of town and feed children to their fae brides if they don’t eat their greens. To adults they are necessary dangers that they understand but avoid. To leaders, they are trusted advisors in dark times. To Houndspriests, they are disasters waiting to happen. To priests, they are a private flock that cannot be ministered on church grounds, lest it taint their arboreal diplomacy.

Sacrifice of skill

The strange nature of their work is that when all else fails, the Wealdsage is the last offering. When all other methods fail their final words are ‘Take me instead!’. This knowledge pushes their drive to be better, to be more knowledgeable. But also an amount of black humour and patriotism, why else would they pursue such a trade?

Two Things Wealdsages Aren't:

Druid Hippies

Your task is to learn the language of an evil forest and the things that are inside it so that you can, if it comes to it, attempt to mollify it before its eats everything you’ve ever known. While a certain amount of Radaghast the Brown is likely to occur, you are likely a rather devout person who is doing their best to work under great pressure, rather than flippant friend of the forest.

Outwardly Faithful

Although you must hold the Spheres close to your heart in order to fend off corruption, Wealdsages cannot show their faith prominently. Wearing symbols of the Spheres, attending Ceremonies, and seeking blessing from a Priest are important, but the Weald will smell the Spheres influence on you, and refuse to parlay until you can win back their favour.