The Custodians of the Gods

A Summary of the Custodians

The Custodians of the Gods are a group of 6 Immortal humans blessed with powers by the God. These humans have no need for magic cycles or soul purifiers to prevent the diseases to catch up to them. The Custodians have eternal soul and longevity, to some extent making them de-facto gods, the only thing stopping them is that they lack the power to take astral form so to speak, therefore they do not have any power to create new matter or change form and any power one associated with a deity, therefore relegating these immortals to low to mid tier demi-god power. The Custodians are mysterious and knowledge about them is so scant it is merely folklore most of the time.

Though well-known the existence it is on of the Custodians is, the only true record of them is in a "fable" that is considered myth despite the truth of it. Though while the Custodians name is not uttered in the book despite being the main character in "fable" it does accurate describe the average Custodian with a few embellishments. A Custodian usually only wears a suit of armor only when they are in battle and need the protection. Most of the time, the Custodes wear a long sleeved gray robe with a black cloak that goes over it with a high collar and mysterious writing on the back with shoulder guards with the same writing. Not even the Grand Wardens and Wizards of The Theocracy could decode the symbol.

Recorded Sightings

There is only one confirmed sighting of The Custodians that is considered to be true, which led to many people questioning their own safety. This sighting took place circa. 2222 during what is assumed to be the month of Mayke. Though the year and month are not exact, let alone the exact date and time due to the fact many of the documents were destroyed or mysteriously dissapeared a few days after the survivors reported what they assumed was a rouge magic user. Though later investigations found that there was almost no trail of any heavy use of magic despite the fact that the scene was horrific. In fact the Marshal of the Militia of the city (Kllel) that bordered the road in which the slaughter took place quote "He (The Marshal) took his eyes off the site of the massacre, which was new, for the Marshal often enough put on a macho persona and a tough guy look. He was clearly scarred alongside all of us." -Deputy Kjaller. The scene was wild, bodies mutilated and gutted out, though it did not look like any legal magic according to the Investigators, instead it looked like someone who had considerable skill in the banned magics of the world summoned multiple Cryst and used them to slaughter the people. Eventually strange markings on the ground were found indicating that summoning magic was used, advanced that was. Though while most though it was a random cultist that had some considerable power, the 2 survivors, under the alias of "Kllel and Prel" were truly with a group of Mercenaries, the Shield Group specifically. The two survivors were brothers and Lieutenants of the commander Helki. The Shield Group, for context was a famous "Free Company"(A group of free loaders who do military favors for hard cash and artifacts) that got famous during a job with the Wisdom Theocracy to assasinate the leader of one of the strongest cults about the Disgraced School. They were attempting to summon Cryst from their dimension and take over the world for context. However The Shield Company succesfully infriltrated while laying siege to their base, which were ruins of an ancient dwarven fortress, and succesfully gave their leader "Arnoch" a fresh arrow to the head. Therefore, the global community was shocked when the whole company of 500 elite soldiers were eliminated in one go during one of their missions with The Wisdom Theocracy. While the whole band wasn't necesarilly destroyed, the whole upper echelon of it's warriors were murdered in cold blood including the leader. The Shield Company vows revenge to this day. the two survivors told little detail about the ambush and lied about many details to keep knowledge about the transported goods secret. The object they were smuggling was a lesser Mantle of Drakold. While not a Major Mantle, in which the will to continue the cycle was embedded with the immense power to surpass the Immortals, the Lesser Mantle still does grant the one who uses it many powers and requires a near equal power-leveled person. Often enough, the main reason the Mantles have not been used or regarded that much is because whomever attempts to hold any of the Major Mantles or absorb the power of the Lesser Mantles crumbles to dust, for the sheer power they are absorbing is far to much for a human to handle. The reason why The Shield Company was attempting to smuggle a Lesser Mantle is unknown. Though what is speculated is that The Wisdom Theocracy hired them to test the strength of the unknown "Custodians" of these temples in which the mantles are stored are. In the end, all 500 of the elite task-force sent to capture and return the Mantle was destroyed and murdered in cold blood. To this day no investigation has completely solved the case, it has stood as a testament of power to The Custodes of the Gods. Though besides this, no other recorded sightings have happened ever since this one.

Equipment of The Custodians of the Gods

The Custodians equipment varies though one constant is always the same for the most part, the clothing. As explained before, wearing a Cuirass or a form of armour is rare unless a Custodian sees it fit for the situation they are doing. When not wearing a Cuirass they instead opt for a gray robe which has sleeves with a belt around it. The Buckle of the belt has a mysterious symbol on it, the same aforementioned symbol on the cloak of the Custodians. On top of the Robe they usually have a black cloak with a silvery white inside. The material for this equipment is grown from the mysterious plants of Naseki, the head Druid of the organization, and the suspected Custodian to massacre The Shield Company. The fibers used are laced with energy from his own soul, and because all Custodes are blessed with eternal longevity in body and soul, it makes the very fabrics that are grown from his plants strong enough to resist swords and arrows. The symbol that is synonymous with the Custodes is assumed to be a ancient form of magic known as God-Speak, in which people (often a group up to 100 people) utter the very words the god speak and the mere precense of such power can quite litterally, will them to kill themselves or melt. Though while God-Speak written is fairly powerful, it is not as powerful due to the fact the energy is not being cast, it is assumed it is some sort of protective ward when they are doing complex spells like summoning. The metals used in their cuirass are the finest examples of the finest steel infused with soul energy. By the head enchanter himself "Enkral". The weapons of the Custodes are surprisingly uniform and simple. There is a double bladed sword that is considered standard issue, the sword has a very smooth and cylindrical handle for gripping reasons. Though the blade itself is more like a one sided cleaver, with a solid 2 inch spine for the sword, with a very sharp edge. Alongside the weight, which is estimated to be 100 pounds (weight due to the infusion of soul energy which is heavy and powerful) and cut through all armours very easily. The fact the Custodes wield these with finesse is a testament to their power. Most Custodes find the use of bows trivial due to the fact that they want to make sure their enemies are killed and not maimed. Not only that, but their speed is incredible, be it magic or pure muscle strength no one truly knows. Occasionaly they opt for archery however only on occasions where stealth is required. Another piece of equipment that is used offensively is The Hex of Cursing. This hex negates all preparations needed for cursing and immediately does whichever curse it is set to do. Be it crippled, coughing blood, diseases, or slow incineration, in the end this is one of the most powerful weapons of The Custodes.

The purpose of The Custodians of The Gods

The main purpose of The Custodes is simple overall. They serve The God and use all their power to prevent anyone, be it even The Holy Order of Saseki from acquiring The Mantle and causing the cycle to continue. Though the Custodes know themselves that stopping the cycle is not healthy for the world and could lead to Drakold himself deciding to emerge from the Earth itself and cause the prophesized final battle. Despite this they are bound to their God as they, themselves are aspects of the God and they agreed to it thousands of years ago and must carry their duty out or they immediately turn to dust, for the age catches up fast.

Type

Religious, Holy Order