Glade Wardens

Glade Wardens, otherwise known as "Wardens", or even referred to as "Glade Keepers", are an enigmatic bunch that are as mysterious as their benefactors. Much like how gods can choose their own champions and grant them boons and divine purpose, there are many beings that are near godlike in stature and capability that do the same thing. The divine patrons of the Glade Wardens are none other than the mysterious Elder Trees, the offspring of the World Tree.

The makeup of this group of beings is rather interesting, due to the fact that the Elder Trees have to be selective when choosing their guardians. It should be no surprise that a great majority of these people tend to be from the Fey Court, namely the Elves. It's likely not many Treemen make up the ranks of these guardians as the Elder Trees are also very paranoid and careful with their own survival. They cannot offer much of anything to Treemen and it is unknown if Treemen would value the Elder Trees as much as their sacred and beloved World Tree or see the Elder Trees as a threat to it. There are many unknowns so the Elder Tree seems to seemingly circumvent this conundrum. There also seems to be some Beastmen Wardens as well, in the form of Satyrs and a few of the other subspecies that decide to be lone wolves from their packs, most notably Minotaurs that take up more of their Mother's more calm personality. However, there have also been some humans who have joined the fray as guardians of these sacred Trees.

An Elder Tree seems to pick those in their local physical area that have a great affinity for the natural world, those that were already living on the fringe of society. They take those who would either already have a proclivity to wanting to protect sacred wildernesses, or those that don't have much to lose from their previous life, and all of them would have to show great skill in survival knowledge and combat. It is not much of a stretch to say that when an Elder Tree finds a candidate, they look over them for quite some time to ensure they have a good pick.

When they are sure of their pick, the next time the individual goes out into the wild, they are taken to the Glade of the Elder Tree. There, the individual and the Elder Tree will actually talk with one another, with the end goal of the Elder Tree to convince the individual to bond with the tree. When the two are bonded, their very souls become linked together and can never be severed by any means, a bond made of pure Divine Magic. The cost of doing this deal, is that the Glade Warden chooses to forsake the life they had before meeting the Elder Tree, never to return to those they left behind or interact with society at large, contenting themselves to the protection of the Elder Tree and its Glade. Doing so does have a great many benefits, however.

The soul of the Elder Tree and the Warden are divinely tied together, forever linking the Warden to their patron tree. Thus, the Warden ceases to age for as long as the tree is alive, effectively making them immortal. This also extends to allowing the Warden to have much higher control of Nature Magic most mortals are unable to hold, the Elder Tree sharing their innate powers with their eternal guardians. And that is not all they share, as Wardens are often equipped with many armaments that come directly from their patrons. This comes in the form of armor made from the bark of the Elder Tree that is as strong as enchanted steel, this can also include shields and hammers or maces, leaves that carry magic enhancing properties, and special sap that can be used to make potent potions or can be crystalized into dangerous swords, axes, daggers, and arrows. Considering the connection to Nature Magic, it is assumed that a Warden would probably have great control of transformation abilities as well, possibly even to a greater degree than most practiced and aged druids. It is debatable if they are strongly connected to spirits.

Another perk of being a Glade Warden is the additional of a bonded animal companion. Elder Trees are content with their solitude, only needing a Warden to protect themselves, but they seem to understand the need for companionship for their Wardens. Thus, an animal is selected from their Glade to join in on the bonding ceremony. This animal is specially selected to match the personality and habits of the Warden, to ensure a perfect match. The animal also gains immortality and enhanced senses and abilities that make them a worthy brother-in-arms and companion to their counterpart. The two also share a near telepathic-like method of communications that allows them to greatly understand and talk with one another and the ability to share senses between one another.

The Warden and his companion spend the entirety of their tenure as guardians within the Glade dimensions of their patron tree. It is unknown if Elder Trees utilize more than one Warden at a time, or if they even the capability of having multiple. They live in relative harmony within these dimensions as they fight against extra-planar threats to the Elder Tree as well as any other threats that might be after the Elder Tree in the physical realm. They train, commune, and even use the Glades as their own hunting grounds as they bask in the life of a wilderness survivor. This peace only interrupted when they must confront a threat to the Elder Tree, or when something of great need outside of the Glade requires their attention at the behest of their patron.