Celestials
Celestials are beings created in The Firmament, their bodies composed of celestial, instead of worldly, matter. This celestial matter is formed in the realm known as the First World, via a similar process to that which transforms basal energy into matter in the Primal Wild, then drawn away by the many Gods of Aiaos to fashion their servants and treasures.
Unlike mortals, celestials are not born, nor are they spawned as fiends are, but rather are each made 'to order' by a god or their servants, then imbued with animation and intention by an act of divine will. As a result, although the greatest celestials have agency, none have true free will. Mortals can choose against their creators' will because each generation is different from the last. This is not true of celestials.
The core of a celestial's being is their name. Called their nominate, it is a gift of their god and the word by which they are spoken into being.
Once spoken, the nominate gathers about it a body of celestial flesh called numina. This form is patterned on the name, and shows the true nature of the celestial. A second form, this an accretion of pure energy, radiates from the numina; this aureole is the mechanism of all the celestial's power.
When sent or summoned to the World, however, the numina is changed to physical matter, and called corpus. If the corpus is destroyed, the celestial's numina reforms in the Firmament. Only by destroying the numina in the Firmament can a celestial be slain, although it is not uncommon for a god to unspeak the name of a servant whose labours are now unneeded.
There are very few old celestials, since they are unspoken instead of lingering, and simply respoken if they are needed again, reforming as if new, without corruption or experience. As a general rule, celestials can only convey the knowledge of their creator, as they themselves have no memory.
To summon a celestial, a mortal must supplicate their god and name the celestial in question. To this end, conjurers make great books of celestial names and descriptions to guide them. Should a summoning be permitted and the celestial in question not currently exist, it will be spoken into being.
Celestial Orders
The Celestial Orders are divisions of celestial being which have been claimed by various celestials in their dealings with mortals. No celestial has ever really defined the nature and purpose of the orders, but scholars of the celestial have long sought to construct descriptions from known facts. At the broadest level, celestials are divided into major and minor orders. Those of the major orders have a long-term purpose, which means that they are likely to exist for an extended period without being unnamed, or to be named into existence regularly. The minor orders are more usually named for a specific., short-term purpose. There are comparatively many of the minor orders, making it less likely that the same celestial would be renamed.Major Orders
- Universal - Celestials of the Universal Orders have a power and perspective which exceeds some minor gods. It is said that these beings are created not for a task or a duty, but to express an aspect of a god's essence and act as an intercessory persona for a given mortal congregation. They act with the absolute trust of their Namer, and are typically responsible for communion and intervention.
Universals are also known as Empyrean or Divine Voices. - Soraean - The Soraean Orders answer directly to their god, and act as high-level problem-solvers. Primarily, this role involves planning and resource allocation, but a Soraean may be sent if a substantial act of divine intervention is needed.
Wielding powers of illumination and revelation, Soralans are also known as solars. - Aiaorean - Aiaorean celestials are the gods' most powerful enforcers and soldiers, extensions of divine will and channels of divine wrath and mercy. They are seldom sent to undertake tasks requiring a great deal of discretion or subtlety.
Sometimes a god requires a soft-touch or a scalpel; the Aiaoreans are named when a god requires a hammer, and are sometimes known as mallei. - Doraean - Celestials of the Doraean Orders are the scalpels. They are unquestioning, unimaginative and unsympathetic, sent to cut out that which offends their superiors, whether that be their deity or a commanding Soralan or Universal.
Carrying both light and dark, Doraeans are sometimes known as lunars. - The lowest of the major orders, celestials of the Aethyrean Order are divine messengers and bringers of god-born plagues. They are still powerful, but their duties are relatively slight.
They are sometimes known as harbingers.
Minor Orders
- Primal - The celestials of the Primal Orders are tied to wild places and the Primal Wild. Sharing some superficial traits with the fae, they represent the sacred natural and are usually named to guard saved landscapes. They often take the form of animals.
- Sensate - Sensate celestials are bound and attend to matters of mortal experience and emotion. This also binds them to life and death, and such celestials display a mixture of vital and sepulchral imagery. As much as any celestial, they are bound to the Grim plane.
- Urban - Celestials named to attend to the physical and concrete works of mortals, buildings and cities, belong to the Urban orders. Typically eladrinate in form, their works tend to be subtle.
- Transient - Celestials of the Transient Orders are couriers or gatekeepers, charged with attending to matters of planar travel. Transient celestials transport other beings across the planes, but also act to prevent unwanted travel to the divine realms.
- Notional - Celestials named to oversee the development and transmission of ideas and ideals are part of the Notional Orders. They see much work in the early years of a faith, or during a schism, in which they might as easily be tasked with suppressing ideas as spreading them.
- Authoritarian - The celestials of the Authoritarian Orders are named to uphold or tear down mortal hierarchies. They may also convey blessings of authority.
- Temporal - Among the rarest of all celestials, those of the Temporal Orders are bound to time. Created after the birth of the mortal dragons, they have the ability to manipulate time, and show an unusual sympathy for the short life of mortals.
- Pursuivant - The celestials of the Pursuivant Orders are easily the least sophisticated of their kind. They exist solely to track, pursue, and punish transgressors of divine law who escape the grasp of the priesthoods.
The Naming and Summoning of Celestials
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