Druids

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In their human forms, Druids mostly look like normal people. However, they take on faint traits of their animals. Generally they have a wilder look to them, and their clothes are clearly made of animal pelts. Some have longer or sharper teeth. Some have longer ears. Some have tails. Some have antlers or horns. Some have long, fine hair. Some have webbed hands and large webbed feet. Some have patterns on their skin. Some have animilistic eyes. Some have claws instead of fingernails. Some are large. Some are small. All are dangerous.

As animals, they look almost exactly the same as true animals. But other Druids will know the difference by how they act. All Druids can communicate with their families in their animal's language. Otherwise they communicate with each other through body language.

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Druids mostly keep to themselves. However, every village mostly follows the same system.

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Druid families live in villages. In every village, the chief is the oldest male. However, if the oldest male is under 20 years old, the oldest female leads the village until he comes of age.

Sometimes, the Druids find themselves having to make tough decisions or facing a threat that affects all of them. If this is the case, the chief of every village meets at one gathering to decide what to do. This gathering is called the Council, and whatever they decide becomes part of the Druidic Code that all Druids have to follow.

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Villages are ranked based on strength. The largest, most powerful families are the ones who are the most respected. The smallest, weakest families are the ones who are the least respected. In the Council, everyone has equal say.

In a village, jobs and ranks go out based on ability and gender. The strongest, swiftest, and sneakiest are the hunters and the warriors. Others are scouts or gatherers. Usually those jobs go to men. The exceptions happen when there aren't enough men. Women are the crafters, farmers, and healers, and they take care of the family. Usually a woman's job will be influenced by her animal.

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For Druids, each village is a large family. They are all related by blood or by marriage. However, each home holds only a married man and woman and their unmarried offspring.

Society is very patriarchal. Men lead the villages and make the decisions for the most part. The firstborn sons are usually the favored ones and the ones who are trained the most. Men do work outside of the village, and they are respected and obeyed by their families. However, they also provide for everyone in the village, making sure that everyone gets what they need and stays safe.

Married women are not usually born into the village they live in. Though sometimes they do marry others in their village, usually the chief of their birth village will arrange for them to be married to men of other families to build ties between the families. Women are considered more fragile than men, but not by much, and they are responsible for a great deal of work. While men go outside of the village to work, women usually do all of the work inside the village. They get respect in their own way, and any man who harms a woman intentionally will be punished harshly, even if he's her husband.

Children are cherished. They take after their fathers more than they do their mothers in looks, and they have their father's animal. However, it's their mother who raises them, teaching them respect and how to obey. They will spend their first few years playing games that will teach them vital skills later. At ten years old, things change. The boys will be taught by their fathers how to do men's work. The girls will be taught by their mothers how to do women's work. Girls and boys are usually married by the time they turn 20, though never before their 16th birthdays. Those who harm children intentionally are harshly punished.

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Citizens are heavily distrusted. Many times this is because they don't know the difference between Druids and animals and may kill one thinking it's the other. Citizens are not allowed into the Druidic Lands, and any seen there are often killed. Druids exiled from their villages are sent into Citizen lands and treated like them.

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What a Druid eats and drinks really depends on their animals and what areas they live in. All of them drink water. However, herbivore Druids will eat only plants, fruits, and vegetables. Carnivore Druids will eat bugs and meat, usually raw. Omnivore Druids can eat both. Usually they eat their meals plain, without seasoning or recipes.

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Druids use only what they can make themselves and through harming as little nature as possible. Their clothes are usually animal pelts, either from animals they killed or animals that were already dead. They don't cook or freeze their food. They sometimes use carts with wheels, but only for carrying goods. Their homes are made out of wood. A fire is always kept burning in a village so fireplaces can be lit on warm nights. Those by the beach make nets out of hair and seaweed. They will only trade with other villages, not with Citizens.