Rite of the Wellspring

In the Thelian Mountains the Druids of the Azure Moon have a rite of passage for the young druids of their circle. It consists of three consecutive trials which an adolescent has to complete to test and prove their instincts, wisdom and bravery. The rite is traditionally taken in the early twenties of the druid's life but is only initiated when they feel ready to go through it.  

Trial of Contemplation

The rite starts on the winter solstice when the person will seclude themselves at midnight and take a vow of silence that lasts for 30 days. During this time the person spends most of their time next to the lake in the center of the Vale of Edorm. They meditate upon the meaning of their own life and attempt to find out what is most important to them. This long period of meditation attunes the young druid to their own instincts and the natural world.  

Trial of Courage

The second trial starts at midnight after the 30 days of the first trial have passed. They choose one of the many streams that ends in the lake and will follow it up into the mountains to find it's source. During the days of this trial, the druid is shadowed by an elder of the circle who is close to them. This is to keep the young druid safe, as the mountains hold many dangers and the druid is in an altered state of mind. The elder will follow them from a distance, sometimes shapeshifted into an animal. They will not provide guidance or assistance and they will only intervene if the young druid is in mortal danger.  

Trial of Crossing

When the young druid finds the source of the stream, they bathe in the water, which clears their head from the altered state caused by the meditation. The third and final trial starts directly after this. The elder druid will cast a spell in which they call upon the innate raw magic of the source of the spring to cross into the Feywild. In this plane the elder druid will guide and teach the young druid in the ways of druidic magic and undertake a journey towards a lake of bright azure water they call the Wellspring. Here, the young druid will have to cast a spell which calls upon its magic to return both themselves, and the elder back to the lake in the vale. Here they will emerge from the waters and be declared a true Druid of the Azure Moon