Archetypes are particular types of character in each nation, which offer a framework of the default types of mage, priest, warrior, artisan etc within that culture, and a way to think about designing a character who fits into the nation as a starting point, in order to encourage a cohesive nation that can make choices about individuality from that point.
Bloomtenders
The nation’s primary warriors, named as such because the nation’s strength of arms comes from Sylvans. The Bloomtenders not only perform the usual military duties of strategy and training, but tend to their soldiers with the same kindness any gardener would give to their daffodils. They are usually support fighters – warriors who also have physician or apothecary skills. When away from their trees, they often fight alongside Verdants to best utilise their skills.
Becoming a Bloomtender is a long process, either tending an Sylvans from saplinghood, or being chosen by an established Sylvans, who could be hundreds of years old. The bond is for life, with some of the oldest Sylvans having been bonded to dozens of Bloomtenders over their long years.
Verdants
Verdants are shock troops who cut away invasive plants and also invaders, going where the Ents cannot. Usually armed with big axes and other tree cutting tools. Bloomtenders work alongside them when in areas that Ents cannot go, but these warriors are masters of using the forest for guerilla tactics.
There are many stories of Verdants as the last line of defence against creatures of the Fable Sphere that lure people out into the dark places with sweets or promises of fame and glory – sometimes the swiftest solution is a large axe.
Greenguides
Greenguide learn the secrets of the land and its magic and know the routes through that others may spend a lifetime searching for. Some tracks that seem lethal are the only safe path, but such wisdom is best learned by not charging in without looking. They are often masters of ranged combat, either arcane or archery, so as to maintain a safe distance between themselves and their quarry.
Only the foolish would try and follow a Greenguide, as they have created a relationship with the wilds that cannot be replicated easily. Some specialise in tracking beasts that escape from rifts to the magic Spheres, others lead travellers on safe paths, or are paid by pilgrims to lead them to the lost shrines of far-flung paths. They are a people at home in the wilds.
Leafwrights
In the Wonder is widely accepted that the greatest of all life takes time and preparation to grow and to thrive. Leafwrights are the people of this land who focus the skills in ensuring that all life can grow and are correctly equipped for the trials that may face it. Most are craftspeople of some kind, but what creations they specialise in are as varied as the trees in the forest. There are shops throughout the Wonder run by Leafwrights, connected not by the items they make but by a shared passion for using the gifts of the forest in the best way they can, everything from fletchers and carpenters to makers of the finest tea blends. Some make use of the Forge Sphere of magic to further aid their creativity, while others enjoy the simplicity of the mundane and using simple enchanting to bolster what they make.
This activity may be in laying down a beautifully made stake for a growing sapling or making oils that ward off parasites, or crafting the foraging of the forest into items of beauty. As the War has taken over the Wonder, many of these people have retained their craft and turned that art into skills of war. The old parasite repelling oil is now a lacquer that a Bloomtender might apply to the tip of their blade. The stake now a Groveheart’s Stave used to enhance the fury of life.
It is a common misconception that a Leafwright is only there to support others – many a corrupted creature has been slain after underestimating a sower’s ‘bag of tricks’. But there are many more who prefer a life of peace, making what they specialise in as they have for generations.
Alderbraids
When times were hard, when the Gods seemed to have abandoned all of humanity, it was the Alderbraids that made sure the people of the Wonder kept the faith.
Specialising in bringing people together, and networking across the Biomes where there is need to connect those who could help each other, Alderbraids remind the people of the Wonder that they are part of a vast tapestry. Though there are Alderbraids devoted to every one of the twelve Gods, there are more who put their faith in the Jester, the Scholar, the Traveller and the Guardian.
Their stories of the Gods usually put them in pairs, telling of aspects of the Gods travelling to the Wonder and finding themselves interacting with mortals in such a way that they create balance between them – the Traveller and the Guardian, and the Jester and the Scholar. Most often posing as lovers travelling the roads together to speak to Pilgrims along the way, Alderbraids use these stories to show how the world can be thrown into chaos even by the Gods, if they encourage mortals to focus too much on one part of themselves and ignore all else.
They commonly carry brightly coloured pieces of dyed cloth to braid together to symbolise this unity. When a group sets out together, a braid is made to symbolise the coming together of separate strands to make a stronger whole, and divided amongst the members as a reminder of their commitment to each other under the guidance of the Gods.
Grovehearts
In the Wonder those who have learnt to wield magic are commonly thought of as the tenders of the land. They walk the luscious forests and mangrove swamplands tending all life that blooms, through a mixture of using magic to help bolster that vegetation that needs encouragement and snipping others that grow beyond their bounds. Seen as an important part of society and the cycle of life itself, they protect the sanctuaries where human and sylvans live, and ensure that all those that grow within the boundaries of the Wonder are supported in fulfilling their full potential.
Grovehearts are primarily elemental-focused mages, wary of fable magic because of how dangerous it is in various parts of the nation, but there are those that make such studies their speciality – if only to better understand the dangers. Others, particularly those who call Gloomgard their home have a particular interest in the Athria Sphere, so as to better serve their ecosystem there.
Grovehearts aim to create networks of “balance” by linking up with other elemental weavers with complimentary skills and areas of elemental knowledge. As they are fond of saying – “if you don’t do it right the land will eat you”. By reading the humours of the forest and balancing the scales together, they can ensure the land is one that accepts them and allows them to thrive.