The druids of the Siyal Marrain, like the Keepers of the Past, straddle the line between zaelantar and zaeltairn. The Siyal Marrain are not the kind of druid that seeks to preserve some supernatural concept of natural balance – they exist to serve the Tairnadal people. Zaelantar members cultivate the land and tend to herds of animals, while Zaeltairn help sustain the clan and bring primal wrath to bear against the clan’s foes.
Valenar Animals
The people of Khorvaire have heard fantastic rumors about the “Valenar Animals” brought with the elven warclans – horses faster than even the finest magebred warhorses of Vadalis, hawks capable of relaying troop movements down to the individual soldier, hunting dogs that can sniff out lies. These rumors are true – the animals of the Tairnadal possess supernatural capabilities.
During their war with the giants, the elven druids known as the Gyrderi were key allies in the elven liberation effort. The warlocks of the Sul’at League devised a countermeasure – a curse to trap the druids in their animal forms. The Gyrderi remained loyal allies, but over generations of war the animals lost their intelligence and magic. The Siyal Marrain were a new order of druids formed to shepherd the bestial descendants of the Gyrderi druids, cultivating these spirits like how the Keepers of the Past cultivate the spirits of the Tairnadal as a whole.
The Host of Valenar has established a few heavily guarded ranches for raising more horses. While the agreement with House Lyrandar keeps the flow of troops across the Aerenal Channel, the elves have recognized the strategic value of keeping a fresh supply of horses more available if the sea lane were to ever be cut off.
House Vadalis has earned the eternal enmity of the Host of Valenar for their attempts to steal the secrets of the elven animals. The house, through expensive trial and error, has learned that replicating the elven secret is difficult. To start, all animals deployed into combat are gelded, denying their use in breeding even if captured. Furthermore, specimens still capable of reproducing fail to replicate their unique magic in captivity if not properly raised. House Vadalis would be willing to pay a high price to learn how to replicate this process, and some of the more unethical members would use any means necessary in the pursuit of these secrets.