Sentinels

There are many beings on Dankar with a deep connection to the Spirit World. The Sentinels were one of these people. The Sentinels were giant humanoid beings who used to roam the lands of Dankar. They were deeply spiritual beings who were in tune with the world's energy. Although they are not gods, some cultures treat the Sentinels like gods and have altars to worship them. However, many cultures abandoned the Sentinels after they started the Sentinel War and abandoned humanity in the Ice Age.

The Final Sentinels

When people talk about the Sentinels, they usually mean the Final Sentinels. These five were the last to walk the planet. They were called the Final Sentinels because they got the most power over the other Sentinels during the Age of Triumph. Many of the other Sentinels were killed in the quest for each other's knowledge and power. Most notably, Sentinel Eliyas killed two other Sentinels who were looking over some nations to absorb their Elemental Arcanis in a brutal usurption.
The five remaining Sentinels are not necessarily the most powerful, but they managed to gather all the Arcanis of the world and create a new world order involving magic. They defied their creators and forged a new path for humanity, though not necessarily the best one. Unfortunately, their actions started to bring some calamities to the world, and they found they could not fix those problems.
The last Sentinels are Sentinel Eliyas, Sentinel Nadja, Sentinel Tristan, Sentinel Skylar and Sentinel Mostafa. Currently, they are all in self-imposed exile, with four being in the Spirit World, and Sentinel Nadja isolating herself in the Jade Rainforest.

Powers

The origins of the Sentinels, and their powers, are quite murky. Even before the Ice Age destroyed lots of the knowledge, people didn't exactly know what the Sentinels were. Their powers were even more confusing.
At the start of the Age of Triumph, there were many Sentinels, each with one or two powers. But the Sentinels craved knowledge and power, and over time, they killed each other and absorbed their powers. When there were only five left, they instead made a truce and the early humans made categories out of the powers that each Sentinel held. This is why the Arcanis categories exist for many societies today.

Categories

In general, the Sentinels' powers correspond to five broad categories: Elements, Natura, Construct, Psyche and Kinesia. These categories are set in stone in many cultures and societies. But many more civilisations do not use these categories, either because they did not worship or follow the Sentinels, or because they only have Elemental powers. Some cultures in the Old World see the other powers as cursed, for various reasons. So while they are a useful guide, these Arcanis categories only seem to work for a subset of people.
It is common knowledge that the Sentinels could hold multiple powers and distribute their soul's energy between them all. However, scholars think that each Sentinel may have had one power, according to some depictions of them in art and writing. Their question, however, is why the last Sentinels had multiple powers.

Descendants

Many humanoid species alive today are the descendents of the Sentinels and the other species who coexisted with them. They are mainly hybrid, being half-Sentinel and either half-Human, half-Elf or half-Druid. Some other humanoids were created through entirely different means. The Sentinels used to have a lot more descendents but they, along with their powers, disappeared a while ago.

Discovery

When the Sentinels disappeared, they left behind their way of life. Most of the information about them comes from the large ruins across Dankar, and a few pieces of artwork by both the Sentinels and the other humanoid species that lived with them. There are also some documents written in their language that have been discovered, but very few people can read them accurately.
All these pieces of information led to a worldwide initiative to allow the public to learn as much about the Sentinels as possible. Now, there are a lot of ordinary people who have gone out explore the world and learn.

Genetic Descendants

• Humans

Lifespan

Unknown

Related Historical Events

• 20 BI
  Sentinel War
• 24 BI
  Sentinel Skylar's Vision

Legends

Not much is known about the Sentinels, so many myths and legends have taken the place of knowledge. These legends mostly come from artwork and some ruins that have been discovered across the world.
The largest legend is that the Sentinels whisper to anyone who has their mind open and is willing to hear their message. This has a bit of truth to it, because some people do get their messages, but often aren't willing to hear them.

Lost Sentinel

Some academics have suggested there was a sixth Sentinel who was part of the Final Sentinels. Many depictions have seen them surrounded by books and the arcane, so it it thought they had the powers of Knowledge. However, no-one has those powers in present day, giving credence to the theory that the Sentinels were actually manifestations of the spiritual world. The theory suggests that if a Sentinel dies, their powers will disappear from all the species who have them and will be released into the world.