* Restricted Information: Galadhwaith only

The lore of the Galadhwaith

2nd edition (1999): effective 1 V 2503

systems changes and additions noted in italics

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Table of Contents

1. The Cult
2. The Secrets
3. The Purpose
4. The Trees
5. The Media
6. The Languages

1. The Cult

The Galadhwaith (“Tree People” in Sindarin) are a Druidic Cult amongst the Sindar (Wood Elves) who specialise in using the magic of the trees.

There are other such Cults known to the Galadhwaith: the Aldalië amongst the Calaquendi of Minduinath, the Servants of the Trees in the Pinewood of the North (who were practically wiped out, or worse, by the abomination that was the Dark Forest), and a number of small, fragmented voodoo Cults amongst the Mabula of the Eastern Forest who are known to practise forms of Tree Magic.  However the Galadhwaith are the largest and most influential of them all.  The Aldalië claim to be more adept in the higher mysteries, but it is the Galadhwaith who nurture and protect the Greenwood more effectively and more extensively than do their counterparts in the other great forests of the Overworld.

The modifications to the standard Druidic System that are stated in this document are also applicable to the other Tree People Cults.  However, this document is written from the unique perspective of the Galadhwaith.

2. The Secrets

What distinguishes the Galadhwaith, and other such Cults, from normal Druids is their special relationship with NORRID, God of Trees, and their secret knowledge of the mysteries of the trees.  This is the lore of the Galadhwaith.

Key to such knowledge is the realisation that trees are much more than just a higher form of plants.  They have a complex awareness of their surroundings, which comes from being rooted to one spot throughout their long lives, and a high order of group consciousness, which comes from being part of a great forest.  Even isolated trees share this consciousness, with the wood from which they were seeded, with those which they have themselves seeded, and with others which they sense in their surroundings.  All that passes through their awareness is recorded and stored in the rings of their trunks.  The trees remember, and they remember much.

An important conduit for relations between people and the trees are the Dryads, or Tree Spirits.  These are Druidic Nature Spirits who serve NORRID.  Typically, a Dryad is associated with a particular tree, which will be an important specimen in the local woodland.  The Galadhwaith enjoy close relations with the Dryads, who will often manifest to, and converse freely with, them in a way they would not do with ordinary people, or even with other Druids.

The shared consciousness of the trees is manifested as the Tree Kingdom; a spiritual plane which has been described as “the Dreamworld of the Trees”.  Here the forests of the Overworld, and all the woods and lone trees, are manifested in their spiritual forms.  Here is the secret domain of the Dryads, who pass to and from it at will.  Here the Galadhwaith may seek refuge, commune with the Dryads and the trees, and gain instress and power.  All magical transportation via trees is achieved via the Tree Kingdom.  Other Druids, unaware of this, pass through in an instant.  But the Galadhwaith may stop off, and gain immeasurably as a result.  The Tree Kingdom counts as a separate Plane for Spell Casting purposes (see "Casting Spells between the Planes" in the General Magic-Using System.  It may therefore be reached by using Tree Door or Transport via Trees, but not by using Pass Tree.  See via Trees may also be used to see into the Tree Kingdom from a forest (at 2/3 throw).

The Lord of the Tree Kingdom is NORRID, God of Trees, to Whom the Galadhwaith commonly refer by the honorifics “Hîr” (“Lord”) or “Aran” (“King”).  All Druidic power in relation to trees derives ultimately from Him, though it is channeled through the Dryads as intermediaries.  He has granted to the Galadhwaith a special Druidic Cycle of Magic, the Sered Cycle of the Galadhwaith, which is concerned exclusively with Tree Magic, and includes Spells not available to other Druids.  However certain Spells commonly available to other Druids are not available to the Galadhwaith, or are available only at higher levels.  Instead of the usual Druidic Power to Shapechange to Others there is granted to Galadhwaith of the Sixth level of Druidism and above the Power to Enter the Tree Kingdom.  Such benefits are by special favour of NORRID.  He is accordingly revered amongst the Galadhwaith, though He is not worshipped as such in a Clerical fashion.  There are no temples of NORRID, for “every tree is His fane”.

Also known to the Galadhwaith are a number of Higher Powers under NORRID, but above the Dryads.  HAGENTI, Demon of Trees is often Summoned by the Binders amongst the Galadhwaith.  There is a Demigod of each of the major forests too.  For Taur Galen this is TAURON.  For the Pinewood of the North this is THE WALKER IN THE FOREST, of Whom little is known, and Who (it is feared) may have perished in, or been driven insane by, the Dark Forest.  The Demigod of the Jungle has many names.  BA’NUL is one known to, and most commonly used by, the Galadhwaith.

Amongst the servants of NORRID there are beings of Monster class too.  Most of them take the forms of trees, but are quicker of thought and have mobility, animal senses and the power of speech, to various degrees.  Despite being Monsters, they count as the appropriate species of Trees for Spell Casting purposes, and are affected by Spells that affect Plants, Trees or Monsters.  Of these the highest developed are the Ents, and the lower forms are known as Huorns.  The Ents are commonly referred to by the people of the forest as “Tree Men” or “Shepherds of the Trees”, and are therefore sometimes confused with the Galadhwaith.  The Ents have a close association with the Galadhwaith, who are the only people to have won their trust.

3. The Purpose

The Galadhwaith exist to serve and protect the trees.  They have all sworn an oath to this effect upon initiation, by the wood of the oak.  Their power base is at, and around, Cor Galen, the Green Heart of Taur Galen, but they operate from dispersed “seedings” throughout the Greenwood.

They ensure the forest is not wantonly felled or burned, and dispense instant justice to offenders.  The reward for taking the life of a tree without good cause is the forfeiture of one’s own life.  It is the belief of the Galadhwaith that the tree and its feller will then attend together before KOROS in the Halls of Karma, and the judgement will be the reversal of their roles in the next incarnation.  The tree may then come back as one of the Galadhwaith, whilst the feller will learn the true value of what he has destroyed, by becoming a tree itself.  Thus the killing of a tree-murderer is an act of mercy.  Indeed, it is seen as such a gift that it has come to be described as a “reward” rather than as a “penalty”, and has led to death being seen by some as “too good” for serious crimes against the forest.  Such extremists tend to learn Destruction Spells.

But the true concern of the Galadhwaith goes far deeper than such matters.  The forest is part of a delicate natural balance.  The Green Heart beats, and the sap flows.  All are interconnected.  Seasons change, leaves bud and fall, and the cycle continues.  It is the sacred duty of the Galadhwaith, and of their kindred across the forests of the world, to ensure that it is ever so.

4. The Trees

A table of associations of trees:

Clarification: The trees specified above are species or genuses (not families) of plants.  E.g “Oak” includes all Oaks of the genus Quercus of the Beech family Fagaceae, including the sessile oak (Quercus petraea), the pendunculate or English oak (Quercus robur), the holm oak (Quercus ilex), the kermes oak (Quercus coccifera), the cork oak (Quercus suber), the scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea) and the pin oak (Quercus palustris), but not the tan oak, which is classified in the genus Lithocarpus, or any other members of the Beech family Fagaceae.

For the associated Sacred Sites and Sub-Forests of Taur-Galen of each Tree, with a map showing their locations, see The Forests and Sacred Sites of Taur-Galen.

5. The Media

The Galadhwaith may use the above trees, or their associations, as Druidic Media for Spells associated with their respective attributes as follows:

5.1    The tree specified for the Spell in the Druidic Spell List of the Galadhwaith has full effect.  A sprig must be harvested from a live specimen of the tree.

5.2    Where “[species used]” is specified in the Spell List as being the Medium, a sprig of the species being used in the Spell is the appropriate Medium, even if it is not a species listed in the above table of associations.  However, the sprig must have been harvested at least 1 full Caeriad previously.  The actual trees being used in the Spell cannot be used as media, unless a sprig has been harvested from them at least 1 full Caeriad previously.  This rule applies in any case where a tree of the species specified for the Spell is used as the subject of the Spell.

5.3    The usual media (privet / holly / ivy / mistletoe) have half effect (FRD) for Spells within their respective Cycles, except:

    5.3.1    Where holly is the tree specified for the Spell, it still has full effect;

    5.3.2    Privet, holly and ivy have no effect on Spells of the Sered Cycle of the Galadhwaith, unless holly is specified for the Spell;

    5.3.3    Mistletoe has one quarter effect (FRD) for all Spells, except within the Druid Cycle, when it has half effect as above.

5.4    Mallorn has half effect for all Spells (FRD), except for those for which it is specified (for which it has full effect).  Supplies of mallorn are limited, however, as it is rare, slow growing, and jealously guarded by the Aldalië.  For this reason the Galadhwaith have grown a pair of specimens at Cor Galen, to provide their own supply.  As this supply is still limited, it may only be used for storing pluses in gold (as per 5.7 below).

5.5     The harvesting bonuses specified in paragraph 9.2 of the Druidic System apply as normal,  except that the Caeriad for harvesting for maximum bonuses from a tree in the above table is the first day of its associated month.  Holly may be harvested for maximum bonuses on 1 Lastra in respect of Spells for which it is the tree specified or on 26/25 Iarom for half effect in respect of Spells in the Yribt Cycle.  It is not necessary to specify which when harvesting, but it may give different bonuses, depending on how it is used as a Medium.

5.6     An item of the associated colour gives +2 on Spells for which its tree is specified.  A gold item gives +1, or +2 on Spells for which mallorn is specified.  This is not cumulative with any other media plus.

5.7    Instead of harvesting a sprig to be used as a medium from a live tree, the Druid may touch the associated stone to the tree, incanting in Old Speech to the effect that he foregoes taking the sprig, and expending SP equal to the plus on Spells the sprig would have given (depending on the means the Druid had available to harvest it, and which he demonstrates and refers to in the incantation: e.g “I forego cutting a sprig from you, O Bright Birch, with this golden sickle, into this golden bowl, on this First day of Aval!”).  The plus is then stored in the stone, to be expended later.  No more sprigs may be foregone during any Caeriad than could properly have been harvested from the tree without harming it.  The total pluses that may be stored in a stone (aggregating their values) equal its weight (in weight points) times its value (in gold pieces).  Gold is always worth its own weight (one gold piece weighing one weight point).  Pluses must be expended in amounts equal to the pluses that would have been given by the sprigs that were used to store them.  Each stored plus decreases in value by one on each new moon.  Stored pluses also decay as per paragraph 9.3 of the Druidic System.  However a new plus may be stored in a stone in excess of its capacity, and the oldest stored pluses, sufficient to allow the new one to be stored, are automatically erased.  Already harvested sprigs may be stored in stones for half effect (FRD), but at full SP cost.  Where a stone is used in a case where a sprig must have been harvested at least 1 Caeriad previously (see 5.2 above), its harvesting must have been foregone at least 1 Caeriad previously, or a sprig harvested at least 1 Caeriad previously and stored in the stone may be used.  Pluses expended from stones are not cumulative with any other media plus.  Note that the associated stone is always considered to be of the associated colour, and can therefore be used for colour pluses if empty or if the Druid does not wish to expend a stored plus.  It does not make the stone more effective to carve it into a particular shape, even that of its associated tree.  A golden mallorn is its weight in gold, not a mallorn.  However it is often considered appropriate for ceremonial and ritualistic reasons to store the power from mallorn sprigs in gold carvings of mallorns or sprigs. 

5.8    The Galadhwaith receive +1 on all Spells for which a particular tree is specified in that tree’s associated month, or +2 on the first day of that month.  Conversely they receive -1 on all such Spells during the tree’s opposite month (i.e the one 7 months away: the opposite to Aval being Estender, etc.), and -2  on the first day of the opposite month.  Although this is a kind of media plus, it is cumulative with other media pluses, and applies irrespective of whether any media are actually used.

5.9     If the opposite medium were used for a Spell (e.g. that associated with a month seven months away from that which is specified for the Spell, irrespective of the month in which cast) it would have a negative effect equal to its normal plus.  Normally a Druid of the Galadhwaith would of course have more sense than to do such a thing, but it has on occasion been done by the victims of Confusion magic, and when casting in haste alder and elder can sometimes be confused!

6. The Languages

A glossary of Elvish words (Sindarin names of trees are given in brackets in the table of associations)

Aldalië (“Tree People”), Quenya for Druidic Cult of NORRID amongst the Calaquendi; guardians of the mallorn

ALDARON (“Lord of the Trees”), a Quenya title of NORRID, sometimes also used of TAURON

Alvarda, Quenya for the Tree Kingdom

Aran (“King”), an honorific of NORRID in Sindarin

Ard-Galadh (lit. “Realm of the Trees”), Sindarin for the Tree Kingdom

Cor Galen (“Green Heart”), Sindarin for the Sacred Grove of Taur Galen

Cor-nu-Fuin ("Circle under Darkness"), the alternate Dark Circle for Cor Galen

Forthonion (“Pinewood of the North”), Sindarin for the North West Forest

Galadhwaith (“Tree People”), Sindarin Druidic Cult of NORRID

Hîr (“Lord”), an honorific of NORRID in Sindarin

Mallorn (plural Mellyrn), the golden trees of Minduinath, sacred to the Calaquendi

Minduinath (“The Land Between the Rivers”), Quenya for the heartland of the Calaquendi, where grows the mallorn

Nandin, Quenya for Dryad

Taur Galen (“Greenwood”), usually known by this, its Sindarin name; else as Greenwood the Great

TAURON (“The Forester”), Sindarin for the Demigod of Taur Galen

Tavor, Sindarin for Dryad

Taur Rhúnen (“Eastern Forest”), Sindarin for the Jungle

Go to Galadhwaith Spell List

Go to The Forests and Sacred Sites of Taur-Galen

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© P.R. Wild, 23 October 1999, last updated 18 May 2024