Dawn of the Immortals
Research into the origins of
the immortal angels and demons is a difficult prospect at best. Not only has time immeasurable passed since
their creation, but there is no childhood or early life to examine. They were not, and then in an instant, they
were – this moment is known as The Awakening.
Some vague memories possessed by the oldest and most powerful angels
indicate they simply became aware of their existence and the presence of God. Likewise, it is worth noting that the first
demons to Awaken did so in the presence of Satan.
In the early times of their awareness, the immortals were disembodied entities of pure will, or āyus, and existed in harmony. Angels and demons, as they are now known, had not yet embraced the eternal enmity that now defines their relationship. Time itself, as it is measured on Lokka, was not a material concern to the immortals, so there is no definitive way of knowing how long their peaceful coexistence lasted.
The relative strength of the immortals varied greatly, and groups began to coalesce as those of similar strength banded together in commonality. The stronger an immortal’s āyus, the more likely they become to develop an individual personality and take their own name (referred to as Awakening, in honor of the original moment of their creation), and in some cases ascend to a higher state of existence. Only a few angels and demons began their existence with sufficient āyus to immediately Awaken, and these became the first Seraphim and a few Dominions and Powers among the angels, and among the demons they declared themselves princes and chief lieutenants.
The societies of angels and demons are fundamentally different due to one primary factor. All angels are considered to be of the same basic species, but rank themselves based on strength. The Choirs, as these ranks are known, have certain physical characteristics common to most of their members, but these features are malleable and are entirely at the whim of the individual (more likely among the higher Choirs than the lower). An angel of a lower Choir may rise to a higher rank if he gains both sufficient strength and chooses to ascend. Demons, however, exist in a wide variety of species and may gain strength as a member of that breed, but unless they ascend to the rank of demon lord, they will always be considered to be a member of their origin species.*
The manner in which immortals gain in strength has always been something of a mystery. To be sure, it is possible for one immortal to absorb some of the strength of another immortal he slays (some few have even been able to absorb strength from a lesser entity without first destroying it, as a form of vampirism), and indeed this discovery is part of what touched off the Great Schism. But angelic scholars have theorized that many avenues of empowerment exist, with possibilities raised from the mundane to the bizarre. Immortals may temporarily lose power as they expend their strength (typically through combat), but this seems to be quickly replenished to its former level. The most certain method of permanently lessening one’s power seems to be genesing, in which one immortal splits off a piece of his āyus to create another immortal.
There are conflicting reports of who was the first immortal to genese another. Nearly every text found in Medina that addresses this moment indicates it was Yariel, one of the first Powers to Awaken. One text, however, claims that it was actually Gabriel himself, leader of the Seraphim and the most powerful of all angels, who genesed the first immortal offspring.** As both Yariel and Gabriel were slain during the Great Schism, only second-hand accounts from distant memories remain to tell the truth of this moment, and history seems to have settled on Yariel. For certain, there was some debate as to whether genesing more angels was a proper course of action, so the first such occasion was the cause of much discussion and dissent.
At some point before recorded history began, the immortals all felt the undeniable impulse to take on corporeal form. The demon princes assumed unique forms in keeping with their more evolved status and individual identities, while the lesser demons were drawn to craft common shapes based on their emerging species. Gremlins, bloodhawks, childris, daemelans, hellhounds, drolkuls, balrogs, and many other species of demons coalesced around common physical forms. By contrast, angels uniformly took the form of winged humanoids and chose to differentiate their Choirs on relatively simple differences in appearance. Seraphim all have six wings, while Dominions and sometimes Powers typically have four, and the other Choirs normally only have one pair.
In the early times of their awareness, the immortals were disembodied entities of pure will, or āyus, and existed in harmony. Angels and demons, as they are now known, had not yet embraced the eternal enmity that now defines their relationship. Time itself, as it is measured on Lokka, was not a material concern to the immortals, so there is no definitive way of knowing how long their peaceful coexistence lasted.
The relative strength of the immortals varied greatly, and groups began to coalesce as those of similar strength banded together in commonality. The stronger an immortal’s āyus, the more likely they become to develop an individual personality and take their own name (referred to as Awakening, in honor of the original moment of their creation), and in some cases ascend to a higher state of existence. Only a few angels and demons began their existence with sufficient āyus to immediately Awaken, and these became the first Seraphim and a few Dominions and Powers among the angels, and among the demons they declared themselves princes and chief lieutenants.
The societies of angels and demons are fundamentally different due to one primary factor. All angels are considered to be of the same basic species, but rank themselves based on strength. The Choirs, as these ranks are known, have certain physical characteristics common to most of their members, but these features are malleable and are entirely at the whim of the individual (more likely among the higher Choirs than the lower). An angel of a lower Choir may rise to a higher rank if he gains both sufficient strength and chooses to ascend. Demons, however, exist in a wide variety of species and may gain strength as a member of that breed, but unless they ascend to the rank of demon lord, they will always be considered to be a member of their origin species.*
The manner in which immortals gain in strength has always been something of a mystery. To be sure, it is possible for one immortal to absorb some of the strength of another immortal he slays (some few have even been able to absorb strength from a lesser entity without first destroying it, as a form of vampirism), and indeed this discovery is part of what touched off the Great Schism. But angelic scholars have theorized that many avenues of empowerment exist, with possibilities raised from the mundane to the bizarre. Immortals may temporarily lose power as they expend their strength (typically through combat), but this seems to be quickly replenished to its former level. The most certain method of permanently lessening one’s power seems to be genesing, in which one immortal splits off a piece of his āyus to create another immortal.
There are conflicting reports of who was the first immortal to genese another. Nearly every text found in Medina that addresses this moment indicates it was Yariel, one of the first Powers to Awaken. One text, however, claims that it was actually Gabriel himself, leader of the Seraphim and the most powerful of all angels, who genesed the first immortal offspring.** As both Yariel and Gabriel were slain during the Great Schism, only second-hand accounts from distant memories remain to tell the truth of this moment, and history seems to have settled on Yariel. For certain, there was some debate as to whether genesing more angels was a proper course of action, so the first such occasion was the cause of much discussion and dissent.
At some point before recorded history began, the immortals all felt the undeniable impulse to take on corporeal form. The demon princes assumed unique forms in keeping with their more evolved status and individual identities, while the lesser demons were drawn to craft common shapes based on their emerging species. Gremlins, bloodhawks, childris, daemelans, hellhounds, drolkuls, balrogs, and many other species of demons coalesced around common physical forms. By contrast, angels uniformly took the form of winged humanoids and chose to differentiate their Choirs on relatively simple differences in appearance. Seraphim all have six wings, while Dominions and sometimes Powers typically have four, and the other Choirs normally only have one pair.
* - For more information, see Appendix D (The Immortal Hierarchy), sections III and IV.
** - The text presents the argument that had God intended more immortals, He would have created more, and thus taking such creation out of God's hands was an impious and prideful act. The unknown author further claims that the "blame" for this act was cast on Yariel to cover up such an act by the paragon of Heaven, Gabriel.
** - The text presents the argument that had God intended more immortals, He would have created more, and thus taking such creation out of God's hands was an impious and prideful act. The unknown author further claims that the "blame" for this act was cast on Yariel to cover up such an act by the paragon of Heaven, Gabriel.
