Protogenoi

"*Even now, with their Father all but eradicated, his dark children yet linger in the shadows, plotting the careful unraveling of all we have built; mortal and immortal.*"
— The Mad King

The **Protogenoi** are the faction of Titans who remained loyal to Moros when his other children rebelled and destroyed Eden. Though banished from Emanation, they used what remained of their power to conspire for the eventual return of the Ancient Fear. Many of them initially attempted to destroy the worlds created by their estranged siblings outright, to little success due to the intervention of the gods and their mortal champions. Later, they adopted more insidious methods, presenting themselves to the kingdoms of man as powerful deities who would bestow great boons of fortune and power to their followers in exchange for their worship and obedience.

On Aquila, several of the Protogenoi came to be known as lesser gods within the pantheon of the Old Ways, often coercing their supplicants to summon them to the mortal realm so they could undermine the rule of the gods. Prometheus went against the wishes of the other dark titans by showing mortals the Heart of Coda, granting them the knowledge of magicks which they could use to manipulate reality as the gods could, albeit to a much lesser degree. His actions enraged both his fellow Protogenoi, who considered it a gross misuse of the Father's power, and the gods whose authority was greatly undermined. Prometheus subsequently disappeared, leaving Eos and Cronus as the new informal leaders of the dark titans.

Eos came to be known as Zeralith, using her power over Light to exploit Aquila's reverence for the Mother Rhea. Her devotees became the predecessors to the modern Templars, encouraging them to become valiant heroes of man whilst keeping their strength in reserve for her own purposes. Prometheus, for his part, was remembered by the mages as Dantalion, Keeper of Precepts, who sacrificed his divinity so that man could take control of their own destiny. Meanwhile, Cronus remained defiant, determined to crush the resolve of the mortals by assailing Aquila with demonic beasts, calamitous disasters, and ravaging plagues whensoever he could muster enough strength. His followers, few as they were, revered him as Therion, Lord of Carnage and master of the Chaos-Dragon Diocretius. Some few other Protogenoi such as Ardamis, Ekryptos, and Hyperion were worshiped by certain Aquilan cults as well, known as Metarot, Apocrypha, and Caliburn respectively; they themselves rarely exerted their influence over Aquila, choosing to make themselves present on other worlds instead.

The Protogenoi reached the apex of their power shortly before the founding of the Empire, when they successfully resurrected Moros and nearly destroyed Aquila in a calamity known as the Skyfall. Eos spearheaded their efforts on Aquila, forcing Hades to forge a blade which would inspire envy in the hearts of any soul who looked upon it, mortal or immortal. She gifted the Invidere to Makrozoia, son of the titan Avromemnus who ruled Aquila, who immediately tried to steal it from the prince. Makrozoia then fulfilled his ambitions to rule by slaying his father, leaving a power vacuum which he himself would fill as dictator of the Aquilan Empire. Meanwhile, Cronus wreaked havoc upon the world, unleashing hordes of his demonic creations and setting them loose upon every kingdom. In a brash attempt to obliterate all life on the planet outright, he transmuted himself into the dragon Diocretius, a monster of his own creation, and briefly set the world's atmosphere alight, creating the image of the sky "falling." His play was thwarted by a convocation of mages led by the witch Shadowsong, and having left himself vulnerable through his alchemy, Cronus' spirit was mortally wounded. On the eve of ultimate victory, Moros returned from the void to duel his first son and leader of the titan rebellion, Gamma, also known simply as Wisdom. The master of the Protogenoi nearly succeeded before Prometheus emerged from exile with the Heart of Coda in hand, sacrificing himself by utilizing its power to banish Moros back to the Aether.

*TBC*

**Prometheus**

*The Thief*

Eldest of the Protogenoi, Prometheus was the Father's greatest champion in the Titanomachy and remained loyal to the Ancient Fear until he disgraced himself by granting mortals the knowledge of magick. He disappeared after presumably meeting his end by sacrificing his spirit to destroy Moros' physical form during the Skyfall. He is known on Aquila as Dantalion, Keeper of Precepts, and most often associated with the element of fire.

**Eos**

*Bringer of Light*

Enigmatic and zealous, Eos maintains a complex web of affiliations, at times conspiring against humanity and occasionally standing with them in opposition to her own siblings should it suit her ambitions. She is fiercely loyal to the Ancient Fear, but holds a measure of affection for mortalkind, often grooming them to become heroes so as to judge their worth. Her schemes led to the founding of the Templars, who know her as Solvanas, Emissary of the Mother. She is worshiped by certain cults of the Old Ways as the death-seraph Zeralith.

**Cronus**

*Lord of Carnage*

Cronus is a mighty and vengeful titan, unique even among his cohorts for his disdain towards all life in Emanation. Many of Aquila's deadliest calamities were orchestrated at least in part by the wrathful dark titan, whose grief for his fallen siblings fueled an untenable hatred for the realms of man. In certain folklore he is known euphemistically as Therion, meaning "raging bull" in enochian, and he is usually identified with an hourglass and scythe, signifying the unstoppable flow of time which ultimately drives the living to their inevitable doom in Moros.

**Hyperion**

*The Swirling Abyss*

**Ekryptos**

*Keeper of Mysteries*

**Nemesis**

 *The Arbiter*

**Nyx**

*Daughter of Shadow*

**Astraeus**

*Guardian of the Stars*

**Typhon**

*Eye of the Storm*

**Atlas**

*Bearer of the Burden*

**Caelus**

*The Moon over the Sea*

**Ardamos**

*Tamer of the Untamed*

**Pontus**

*The Mystic*