## The Circle of the Sapling Dream – Druidic Guardians of [[Eshuall|Zotia]] ### Overview The **Circle of the Sapling Dream** was a secluded and sacred order of druids devoted to **[[Eshuall|Zotia]]**, the goddess of dreams, renewal, and the living memory of the land. Hidden deep within the wilderness of the southern regions, the circle operated as caretakers of spiritual balance, nurturing the soil, dreams, and souls of the living world. It is now a ruin—a circle burned, desecrated, and lost. It was in this circle that the Duergar known as **[[Cub]]** was found unconscious, the only survivor of a massacre that turned a haven of life into a nightmare of ash. --- ## Purpose and Doctrine The Circle of the Sapling Dream believed that all healing began with **a dream**. Dreams were seen as seeds—intangible hopes and visions from [[Eshuall|Zotia]] herself—that could be offered back to the land in sacred rites. ### Core Tenets - **Sacrifice a Dream, Grow a Tree:** Druids sacrificed fragments of dreams in rituals, creating a magical seedling imbued with healing essence. - **From Sapling to Sanctuary:** These seedlings, once grown into trees, not only healed the land but allowed druids to channel divine magic through them. - **No Blade Without Purpose:** The circle forbade the use of violence unless it was to protect a dream. These sacred trees dotted the region, each tied to a druid’s soul, often acting as foci for their spells or protective spirits. --- ## Structure - **The Dreamwardens:** Elders who received dreams directly from [[Eshuall|Zotia]]. They led the circle and interpreted the goddess’s will. - **Seedbearers:** The primary druids tasked with conducting dream-sacrifice rituals and planting new saplings. - **Sprouts:** Initiates and apprentices—including the Duergar [[Cub]], whose arrival was both a mystery and a miracle. Though many druids in the circle were orcs or forestfolk, [[Cub]]’s presence as a Duergar was unusual. Found wandering the surface in a daze, he was taken in and given purpose by the Dreamwardens. His dark lineage, often seen as a sign of corruption or subterranean madness, became instead a living testament to [[Eshuall|Zotia]]’s belief that all beings—no matter how shadowed—could carry dreams. --- ## The Fall of the Circle One fateful night, the sacred grove erupted into chaos. Smoke swallowed the trees. The dream-seeds blackened. And blood ran across the roots that once healed. Only [[Cub]] remained—unconscious in the center of the ruined circle, untouched amid the carnage. No bodies remained intact. The sacred saplings were burned. It is said that **a Nightmare Seed**, born not from a dream of hope, but of suppressed fear and pain, was planted unintentionally by [[Cub]]. Twisted by something dark within his fractured soul—perhaps a remnant of his Duergar heritage—the seed reversed the circle’s energy, unleashing a storm of destructive magic that annihilated the order. The truth remains uncertain. [[Cub]] has no memory of what happened—but the goddess [[Eshuall|Zotia]] whispered afterward: > "You sowed what should not be sown. But you shall also heal what others would leave in ruin." --- ## Key Locations (Now in Ruins) - **The Glade of Reflection:** A pool where druids saw their dreams before offering them to [[Eshuall|Zotia]]. - **The Dreamroot Altar:** The sacred ground where dream-sacrifices were performed. - **The Grove of Saplings:** A ring of divine trees grown from dreams, all burned in the destruction. - **The Circle Stones:** Ancient rune-carved monoliths still smoldering with residual divine energy. --- ## Cultural Legacy - **Few Remember:** The Circle was secretive, its legacy known only to a few druids and followers of [[Eshuall|Zotia]]. - **Whispered by Druids:** Surviving orders speak of the circle in reverent tones—as a place of both awe and warning. - **Dreamwalkers’ Myth:** A myth has emerged that those who walk among the circle’s ruins may hear the last dreams of its members whispering in the wind. --- ## Final Notes The Circle of the Sapling Dream was a place where hope was grown like roots, and dreams were given form. Its fall is not the end—but the beginning of a long road to redemption. For [[Cub]], the Duergar who once sowed a seed of shadow, it may yet become a place of healing. > "Even the darkest seed may blossom into light—if placed in the hands of one who dares to dream again."