Time now for our next urban fantasy faction – the Gaians.
Druids. Freaky flower children. Thauaturgical tree huggers. Arcane eco-warriors. Nature wizards.
This group is probably the least violent group in my fiction. That is, until you get them riled up about some ecological issue. Then, all bets are off.
For the most part, the Gaians want everyone to live together in peace and harmony, respect the natural world, and make the world a utopia. They start recycling programs in urban areas and suburbs, promote ‘getting back to the land’, and generally want the world to transcend its greedy materialism and move to a higher level of consciousness.
They’d prefer that everyone get off their smartphones, especially as the manufacturing of them is killing of different species, and go out and enjoy a walk in the fresh air. That way, no one is inside the factory when an accident happens and it burns to the ground. And just who was that strangely garbed woman caught on the security cameras (just before they all crashed) who looked like she was shooting lightning from her hands?
What about those whaling ships in the Atlantic that reported they were ‘swarmed’ by an unbelievably large school of whales (and dolphins and sharks) right at the same time that animal rights group showed up in their cruiser? Or the bulldozers that were impaled by trees growing through them overnight wile those protesters were chaining themselves to the trees to prevent the destruction of some bird’s natural habitat?
The Gaians work hard for peace and understanding, but their patience can wear thin at times. They very much embody the phrase ‘beware the fury of the patient (wo)man.’ They will try to go through channels to improve the world, but sometimes that isn’t enough. If a little magic can help nudge things in the right direction, where’s the harm? (Aside from the fact that I’ve established that magic is a dangerous and unpredictable thing with the Covens?) Sometimes it takes radical measures to effect change in a corrupt and decaying world.
I suspect that the Gaians and the Claws will get along the best out of all the different factions. They both have a ‘natural bent’ to them. Some Covens may ally themselves with the Gaians if they share a mutual goal. Beyond that I’m not sure they will have much in common beyond the use of arcane powers. The Covens want to control reality, the Gaians want to make it better. Who’s to say which is the more dangerous path?
Effecting social change is a two-edged sword, but it is a sword the Gaians don’t mind wielding.
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