Editing Age of Dragons: Forest Dragons (section)

==Society and Culture==

The ''Heart Forest'' runs the entire north-south length of the realm, covering its western border. It varies from frozen pine forests in the northwest, to steaming jungles in the southwest, with temperate forest and other forms of woodland inbetween.

The ''Forest Dragons'' proper are found throughout the central portion of the ''Heart Forest'', and are form part of a great meta-civilisation that they call ''"The Blessed of the Mother"''. (This term excludes [[Age of Dragons: Jungle Dragons|Jungle Dragons]] and [[Age of Dragons: Jade Dragons|Jade Dragons]])

The ''Blessed'' tend to live in small family units of around six to twelve dragons called ''Kindreds''. Each ''Kindred'' is centred on a single ''"Nest"'', at the centre of their domain. Because the ''Heart Forest'' is vast, many ''Kindred's'' domains are quite isolated, with barely any contact with the rest of their breed. When territories do touch, most ''Kindreds'' coexist peacefully, but occasionally violent feuds can break out. 

Despite their disparate and scattered existences, the ''Kindreds'' do have a shared culture and history, mostly thanks to the efforts of the ''Seers of the Green'': a society of ''animist adepts'' who function as priests, arbitrators, leaders and messengers across the Forest. The Seers have a tradition of oral storytelling that stretches back to the dawn of history, and lead the Forest Dragons in prayer and ritual. 

It is because of the ''Seers'' that the ''Forest Dragons'' all keep a sacred grove in each Nest, and plant a birth-tree for each newborn. It is through the ''Seers'' that the centennial Gathers are organised, when ''Forest Dragons'' tend to find new mates, catch up on news and join in celebration. Only the ''Seers'' can officiate over family-bindings (the closest thing Forest Dragons have to marriage), can give a wandering ''Forest Dragon'' leave to move beyond the ''Heart Forest'', or insist that a stranger be given free passage through another's territory. The ''Seers'' themselves have no single leadership or agenda save for the continuation of their traditions.

Possibly, the numbers of ''Forest Dragons'' equal those of the other breeds combined, but as few ''Forest Dragons'' wander far from their ''Nests'' they are rarely seen beyond the ''Heart Forest''. Those that do travel are usually either malcontents or outcasts, or working directly on the instructions of the ''Seers'' to achieve a particular goal before returning home.

The ''Forest Dragons'' as a breed have shown no interest in joining the Alliance, and have no spokespersons to allow the breed as a whole to join anyway. Some displaced individuals have found a place there, but they are the exception rather than the rule. They have even less interest in joining the ''Ascendancy'', as the ''Ascendancy's'' religion and ethics run counter to the breed's traditions and devotion to the Mother Goddess. 
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