Essential aspects

The five essential aspects of creatures, specifically of sentient creatures, are the five essential aspects which in theology, philosophy and science define a creature's essence and life. First formulated by the great pre-Filian philosopher Prothenes, they play a large role in theories on the workings of the Rule of Death and in Filian theology and soterology, especially in the classic workings of the great theologian St. Gelicus.

The five aspects

The five essential aspects are as follows, in descending order:

• The Soul (also known as the animus): the soul is the highest aspect. In Prothenes's formulation, it consists of the eternal essence of a being, the essence of its uniqueness as a creature that ties it to the perfect world of the Immortal Realms. The soul is what truly makes a being alive beyond its mere existence, and impacts and governs all the other five aspects in the Material Realm. Filian theology since St. Gelicus, but also from the letters of St. Vigilus, who as a human was formed with Prothenes's philosophy, has assumed that the soul is the imperishable imprint left by God upon each of his creations, its most direct link to God. The Soul is especially associated with the Eladrin and Elvenkind.
• The Destiny (also known as the will, the Logos or the numinus): the destiny of a creature is considered the second-highest aspect by Filian philosophers, while Prosthenes puts it third, below spirit. According to Prothenes, it defines a creature's essential destination in life, his inclinations, virtues and values, and his determination for accomplishment and self-improvement. Filian philosophy posits in addition that the destiny of a creature is its relation to God's purpose for it, and that it is God's gently guiding hand on His creatures which molds their wills according to His plan. When used in this way, it is related to Filius as its embodiment and referred to as the Logos. Because of the adaptability, diversity and determination of Humankind, it is associated with humans and their sempercreational ancestors, the High Men
• The Spirit (also known as the spiritus or the pneuma): the aspect of spirit was put second by Prothenes, who associated it with the animating force of all life and with the breath of life. The spirit represents the lifeliness, free will, thought and creativity of a creature, the forces that make him live. Because of their joy in life, adventurous inclinations and charmed existence, it is associated in particular with the Little Folk and their descendants, the Halflings and Gnomes.
• The Affinity (also known as the affinitas or the relatio): the affinity of a creature defines the way it relates to the world around it, specifically to the essential aspects of its environment. For Prothenes, the affinity of a creature governed natural way of life, relationships and the natural laws of its society. St. Gelicus added to this an aspect of how the essential aspects of a creature related to the essential aspects of Creation itself. In the lore of creatures, the aspect of affinity is associated with Giantkind, the Firbolgs and the Goliaths and their common ancestor, the Titans.
• The Body (also known as the physical aspect or the corpus): A creature's body is its lowest essential aspect, but no less important. It consists of the physical presence of a creature, the way it may be seen by the senses, and according to Prothenes hints at the four other aspects. Ancient philosophers have long considered the body to be made up of the four physical elements of fire, earth, water and air - the physical aspect consists in the precise mix of these elements and also of the creature's relationship to them. Because of their craftsmanship and love of material things, the Dwarves and their Ancestors are associated with the body.

Without all the five aspects (in whatever state), a creature cannot be considered alive. There are specific names for some of the states associated with missing an aspect. When a creature lacks a soul, it is definitively dead. Corporeal undead have a body, but lack the spirit which gave them life (generally replaced with magic). The undying or higher undead, such as liches and vampires, still have a soul, but it is devoid of affinity and spirit, blackening it. Lower undead lack soul, spirit, affinity and destiny, which are all replaced by necromantic magic. Incorporeal undeath is more complicated. Lingering souls which possess both spirit and soul (as well as affinity and/or destiny) are ghosts. Lingering souls without spirit are more primitive, becoming spectres and banshees. Lingering spirits are fading echoes of a creature's life force, such as mischievous poltergeists. It is considered a natural law that creatures with a body, spirit and soul cannot lack affinity nor destiny.

The essential aspects in Filian theology

While Prothenes's philosophy of the aspects was intended to divine the essential, eternal aspects from their material accidents and appearances, Filian theologians starting with St. Gelicus have also used it the other way around, to explain existence in the Material Realm as originating from the Ever-Created. St. Gelicus perceived of the five accidents as distinct parts of a single body, with God or his will as its head. In the Immortal Realms, the five aspects were all perfectly linked with eachother, almost united to eachother. The core aspect which St. Gelicus considered the heart of this body differed between the Sempercreational races, and linked the creature to the eternal creative cycles of the Immortal Realms. The Rule of Death works through severing and imperfecting the links between the aspects so they can develop separately. Gelicus believed that the core aspect in the Immortal Realms was related to the Once-Created form of a creature under the Rule of Death, and its place in the cycle determined the way a creature newly subject to the Rule entered its material existence. The most obvious example would be an eladrin who passes over, locking his personality and body into one season where they previously were ever-changing. Another example would be the creation of gnomes and halflings from the Little Folk: while in gnomes, their core aspect of spirit emphasised a longing for adventure above contentment, for their halfling kin this was precisely the other way round, but both generally display a joy in life and a remarkable resilience, mental agility and luck.
Filians believe that Filius Larethias, who is not a creature but was rather "begotten" of God and made a creature with all five aspects, brought these into the Material Realm without being subject to the Rule of Death. This explains His resurrection after his death at the hands of Saint Alderecorín. Filius's dual nature as human and elf are interpreted using the aspects as representing his divine soul and his destiny as the saviour acting as the very core of his being in the world, which is considered to be of theological significance. According to theologians, Filius bringing these sempercreational aspects into the Material Realm represented the crucial turnaround in God's plan to save his Children and transform the Once-Created into the eschatological Once and Ever Created, raising the Children from their fallen state.
Another application entirely of the philosophy of the aspects concerns the Sacrament of Reunion, in which Filius is made entirely present in the world. While the accidents of the materials used remain the same, His soul, destiny, spirit and affinity enter into them, making them into his corporeal real presence. When the faithful partake of the sacrament, it is believed that their bodies are united to Filius's and the other four aspects of the Heavenly and Earthly Son transform their own aspects towards His image.

Type

Metaphysical, Divine