"A Voice in the Trees"
by Naanath Subaii, scholar, author, but mostly ranger

To be a ranger is to be priest, prophet, lover and father. We have all things available to us and yet nothing at which we excel. It is, quite literally a life in turmoil without any real defined limits. It is in that chaos, however, that we find our strength.

I am a ranger, it is all I have ever known. This very chaos that I have embraced is our lives; we exist somewhere between barbarian, mage, and forest guide neither one commanding, neither one commanded. Through this, my first attempt, I should lay forth the groundwork that will serve to portray what I believe to be the single most rewarding lifestyle an up-and-coming citizen can choose.

Parts 1 through 3 of my exploration will involve the philosophy behind choosing a guild that requires so much of its acolytes and even more of its elders. Parts 4 and 5 will be interviews with elder rangers in which advice can be offered, victories recounted, and general commentary can be given on a long life as one of Elanthia's warders.

I would like to include several fictional accounts of the day to day activities of a mid-circle ranger working his way up to status and ability within his guild. Eventually I would endeavor to direct the column to answer personal questions from rangers about rangerly pursuits or lead into open forum discussion questions that would, in turn, lead to debate over the principals of rangering and perhaps found schools of thought as to the profound nature of serving nature. In short, pose questions through the column and allow for response from the readers.

The final segments would have to include perhaps the single most important aspect of being a ranger. There is a reason it is said that "No ranger stands alone", for being a ranger is the most social of all the professions save, perhaps, the empaths. One of these would include a summary of a ranger wedding and perhaps an expository piece defining the role of a ranger in modern society. Finally, the last installment is to include a complied creed that is to serve as a guild summation.

In order to accurately represent the interests of all members I will, over the course of the year, gather opinions from as many rangers as I can on the subject. I will then post, for the approval of the majority, a preliminary final thought and if no one has a strong, supported, objection, then that will be the final installment.

We live among the trees, yet we stalk through the streets. We hear the voice of the wind whispering, calling, beckoning us as a lover calls. We harness the primal pulse that shakes the earth and rains renewing fire upon the land. We are Elanthia. Not everyone can be a ranger, but through my column, at least everyone can understand what it is like.