The Keepers of the Source is a compact of hunters that first appear in the book Witch Finders. Based on New Age beliefs, their goal is to keep Mother Earth from coming to harm by stopping the supernatural creatures that draw from her power. The Keepers are determined to keep Mother Earth safe from anyone that would injure and exploit her. Although they reserve a special hatred for those that attempt to tap the Source, they will also target corporations who pollute, for example. They have become eco-terrorists, plain and simple.
History
The Dowsers' history begins in San Francisco, in the hands of a New Age mystic named Starflower. Gifted in the art of dowsing, Starflower also felt a psychic connection to the Source, which she attributed as Mother Earth's life. Gathering others with this tie to the Source, including another New Age hippie named Duncan Redgrove, the group attended a festival where a witch called on the Source to fuel her powers. The psychics of the Dowsers heard the "scream" emitted by the Source being tapped. Convinced that the mages were hurting the earth itself, they began following witches and mages, trying to persuade them to stop pulling from the Source. The Dowsers were considered harmless nutjobs and pains, but no serious threat.
That changed the night they attempted to disrupt a werewolf ritual that drew on the Source. The Dowsers that attempted to stop them, were horrifically ripped apart; all but two, one of who was Starflower, were killed. With Starflower badly injured, Redgrove took charge of the Dowsers and gave them a new means of operation. When mages drew on the Source, they were hunted down and beaten. This escalated to traps, bombs, and more violent means of protecting Mother Earth and her sacred Source from the creatures of darkness that drained her lifeforce. Starflower ended up leaving in protest of these new ways. Althought brutal, the Keepers of the Source had a new way of operation, one that would continue to server them well.
Organization
The head of the Dowsers is now Karen Redgrove, who replaced her father Duncan when he died in 1996. Membership is simple: if you feel a connection with the planet, want to protect it, and don't mind getting your hands dirty, you are welcome in the Keepers. Members who prove themselves especially capable are recruited into the more "clandestine" operations, particularly the ones involving supernaturals.
Note that the Dowsers do not hate all supernatural creatures; there are many who can do "magic" without pulling the power directly from the earth itself. Some kinds of witches, werewolves, and demons seem to attract the most ire of the Keepers; the rest are a curiosity and little more.
The Keepers of the Source usually ascribe to one of three methods of operation. The Children of Gaia are pushing to return the simpler, more peaceful ways that the compact began with. The Hands of the Mother are the complete opposite, displaying fury at any who would dare defile the world. Finally, the Dynasts, of which Karen Redgrove is one, want to strike a balance between the two ways.
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