Temple of Nature.
Inside a house grown entirely from trees.
Antonio, a Legendary druid, sat cross-legged on the clean floor. A Big-Tailed Red Rat perched on his shoulder, holding a fruit in its oversized front teeth and gnawing away. Sunlight streamed through the glassless window onto his bare upper body.
The broad-shouldered man had a square face, a thick beard, and a powerful chest. His bright, ice-blue eyes gave him an air of steady kindness.
A divine oracle... war on steam... He shook his head. The Big-Tailed Red Rat on his shoulder looked up, its red face wearing an almost human expression of curiosity.
He raised a hand to stroke the Big-Tailed Red Rat's head. Just as he was about to speak, tender buds sprouted from the wood that formed his little house.
A stern-faced old man stood before the house's only window, though Antonio had no idea when he had arrived. His dark green clothes blocked the sunlight.
As soon as he entered, the man asked gravely, "Antonio, have you decided? Will your Temple of Nature join us in the war against steam?"
Antonio shook his head. "Teacher Valentin, the druids of our branch dislike war. Otherwise, we wouldn't have broken away from Nature's Fury and founded the Temple of Nature all those years ago."
Nature's Fury was an organization formed by the earliest druids. They revered nature and swore to preserve forests, protect vulnerable animals, and prevent unnatural destruction.
But as more radical druids joined, Nature's Fury grew increasingly extreme.
They believed humanity's expansion had upset nature's balance and advocated drastic measures to curb the damage humans caused.
Those measures included destroying human cities bordering forests, cutting them off from the forests, and unleashing plagues to reduce the human population.
Some druids could not stomach such extremes. They