Celestial

**Celestials**are ageless, ethereal, and often powerful beings who live in the Coughing Lakes. Many of them retain relations with the mortal people of their lands. They often act as guardians or protectors, and some are responsible for creating the land, the people, and the customs. Much of the Coughing Lakes folklore revolves around, or otherwise involves, these deities, as they are the closest thing to gods that the Lakes have to offer.

## Tiers

Despite commonly being thought of as all-powerful godlike beings, the term "Celestial" can actually refer to several different tiers, or "classes", of godhood. In essence, it refers to anyone with a significantly higher influence on the natural order than a mortal human. Discourse exists amongst the people of the Lakes on whether the lower tiers should be considered Celestial, but these are the tiers as they are understood by most.

### Cardinal Gods

Also known as the Four Corners, the Parents, etc., these beings are credited throughout Lakes mythology as having created the Lakes themselves. Much speculation exists on where they came from. They are physical beings, though only The Morning is often seen by man. They were considered Immortal until the apparent death/disappearance of The Conspiracy. They are not physiologically different, or even necessarily more important, than the Regional Gods; the only real difference is the Cardinal Gods being regarded as creators, as opposed to simply protectors.

**The Engine** - Father of the Water. According to traditional folklore, The Engine was the first to arrive in the Coughing Lakes region, which was dry as bone at the beginning. He created the lakes and the rivers that ran through it, but they fell stagnant if he ever took his hands out of it. To solve this, he buried himself in a cave under the Lake of Permanence with his arms locked above him in the water. He has supposedly never been seen by man, but is rumoured to take the appearance of a drowned old man.

**The Morning** - Creator of Flora. After The Engine set the waters in the land, The Morning planted all the flora in the area and gave life to the dry earth. He is the partner of The Thorn and still wanders the land today, maintaining plants and trees as he passes by them. The Morning is extremely fond of humans and is considered a friend to all he meets, as well as a symbol of fortune. He is the most relatable of the Cardinal Gods and has been known to suddenly show up to social functions and events.

**The Thorn** - Creator of Fauna. The Thorn raised animals from the ground, and gave them will, spirit, and reason to run. He does not speak and usually takes the form of a giant, multicoloured insect, similar to an iridescent centipede or millipede. He is rarely seen, but occasionally appears in people's houses in the dead of night; the common belief is that he appears to comfort those who are suffering from nightmares. The origin of this apparent ability to sense trauma is yet unknown. Despite being unable to speak, the rare few people who have spotted him report him being able to communicate in telepathic whispers.

**The Conspiracy** - Often confused with Sin Mother, The Conspiracy is the founder of human sin and fault. She spent hundreds of years in the lakes manipulating people by heading cults, starting wars, leading organizations (such as the Mono) and influencing the media. However, at the height of the Mono's power, she suddenly died in a broadcast murder, creating universal panic and terror and becoming the first god to allegedly die. Whether or not her death was real or an elaborate ruse is heavily debated, and the culprit is yet to be found.

### Regional Gods

Regional Gods are ageless beings who, while functionally similar to Cardinal Gods, act as guardians of specific areas of the Lakes. They may or may not appear to humans, but all of them are confirmed to exist and have numerous myths surrounding them. Their names follow the same "The (noun)" conventions as the Cardinal Gods, denoting them of the highest power.

**The Pestilence** - Goddess with power over Dog Lake. The Pestilence's role is to collect the souls of those that died of unnatural causes, especially by illness, and either bring them to The Sweep for reincarnation or deposit them in her lake to be reborn as Pyrefish. She is fascinated with human culture and makes regular appearances in heavily populated cities. On more than one occasion, she has stated that she would like to be human herself, though she doesn't necessarily understand the implications of this. She's also somewhat disconnected from the rest of the Celestials, with the exception of The Sweep, and isn't usually considered to be a threat by Human Liberation Activists.

**The Sweep** - Reincarnation God, found deep within Slipknot City. Despite being ridiculed for his gullibility by other Celestials, The Sweep is actually a powerful being with the ability to reconstruct or replace any dead body to make it suitable for life again. He is usually called on when another Celestial is injured, but is also responsible for building physical bodies for Spirits, and giving second chances to those who died of unfair or especially tragic causes (such as young victims of violence.) The Sweep can also recreate his own body out of anything, and is a notorious scavenger who is often found in dumpsters, abandoned sites, and anywhere he may find interesting objects, earning him the nickname "Pawn Shop Protector."

**The Journey** - Along with her brother, The Rapture, The Journey is a special class of Regional God known as a Border God, who keeps out travelers. The Journey keeps an eye on the Western Border River, and is tasked with scaring off or punishing trespassers intruding on the Lakes from the west. She is infamous for her notorious temper and has caused the deaths of several hundred tourists in the last millennium. In addition, because of her geographical proximity to both Condor and Fever Lake, she is responsible for bringing news to both of these isolated towns. She isn't particularly friendly to humans and prefers to be left alone, but will show up to the occasional event, such as the Gold Lake August Rally.

**The Rapture** - Border God responsible for the Eastern Border River. The Rapture is notably more laid back than his sister, and is more likely to simply turn travelers away rather than harm or kill them. He is playful and childish, partly due to the fact that his area is much more heavily populated and can more easily sustain itself. The Rapture also brings news to Red Horizon Falls and the South Canopies. Unlike his sister, he has become a pop culture figure whose unusual appearance (especially his coat, which has teeth in the sleeves, and his wild hair) has created a fashion subculture in the east part of the Lakes.

**The Husband** - A fertility symbol who lives in the East Underground. The Husband is a relatively quiet being who values the family and the community unit, and often acts as a midwife-type figure for the women in his community. He also prepares the ground for agriculture in the early spring and assists with the harvest, even helping to prevent pests and rot during the growing season. He is considered simply another resident by the people of the Underground, but is too shy to venture far outside unless specifically invited somewhere.

**The Mouse** - The Mouse is the "youngest" and weakest of the Regional Gods, taking precedence over the Sun's Village, and like The Husband, she is simply considered a member of the community. The Mouse is a small child who brings youth and beauty to residents of the Village, and also keeps the weather from growing catastrophic in that area alone. She is cared for by various neighbours, sleeping in a different household every day, as despite being an ageless being, she takes the form of a child too young to care for herself. As a result, she cannot relay her own Vita, and very little legend exists about her; therefore, no one knows why she is so young and helpless. Some speculate that, as her physical appearance (which is that of a four-year-old girl with shocking magenta hair) is similar to The Journey, that she may somehow be related to the Border Gods.

### Legendary Figures

Legendary figures are defined as figures of myth that have heavy influence on the politics and culture of the Lakes. They are typically portrayed as non-human entities, and may become pop culture figures. They are about as immortal as Regional Gods - which is to say, they can be killed, but only with immense effort, and they will never die of natural causes.

* **Forest Dog** - Canine demigod that wanders the woods, scheming ways to mess with the people of the Lakes and rise in power. Rarely, if ever, successful, but responsible for many of the Lesser Legends' creation.
* **Sin Mother** - Considered to be something of a boogeyman within the Lakes. Takes the shape of a ram demon.
* **Fever Box** - A sentient group of stormclouds that form an enormous, bull-like monster. Rules over Fever Lake. Is feared by many.
* **Stagnant Water** - An entity who appears any time a body of water slows down or stops; can be summoned in ponds. Takes a different form each time they appear. More feared by Celestials than by humans, as they are an indirect symbol of death.
* **Deer Paladin** - A deer-riding person who wears the Hand of The Sweep on their face. Is often hunted for treasure and bounty, but has yet to be caught.
* **Baba-Papi** - An infamous sorcerer in the form of a butterfly, whose children once famously influenced people of the Eastern Border River to throw themselves in as sacrifice to him.
* **Aurora Borealis** - The Northern Lights, constantly reincarnating as a human Queen and making up the entire Borealis royal line in the North.

### Spirits

Spirits are best described as a specific subset of Legendary Figures. They are the spirits of elements and concepts placed into a human(ish) body by The Sweep. They typically act as small-time guardians, heads of specific organizations, etc; they are almost always authority figures where they live. Spirits are not immortal, but can be reincarnated indefinitely as long as they don't die of extreme trauma or violence.

* **Saccharine Sydney** - Smoke spirit
* **Sparky Phan-Crossland** - Shadow spirit
* **Fleur-de-Lis** - Moth spirit
* **André Magnétisme** - River spirit (Eastern Border)
* **Pepper Sagittarius** - Quartz spirit
* **Heidi Porcelain** - Rain spirit

### Familiars

Familiars are beings brought into existence by Celestials of higher power. Often, they are made use of by figures of authority to gain more control, such as Saccharine Sydney replacing the Mono with her own familiars. In other cases, they may be simple companions. They tend to be infused with elements related to their creators; for instance, if the Quartz Spirit were to create a familiar, they would have quartz features somewhere on their body. Similarly to Spirits, they are not immortal, as they can be killed, but they will live indefinitely as they are created (as they are typically created by beings who will live forever.) They also die more easily than Spirits, as their bodies are created by people other than The Sweep.

* Am Jol
* Illuminati Kate
* Charlie Heist
* Snuffbox
* Azurite Mars

* Kingsley Vogue
* Ursa Minor

### Blessed Ones

Blessed Ones are the lowest tier of Celestials, and are not always considered as such by the general population. They are simply humans who died of violence, illness, or another unnatural cause (suicide notwithstanding) at a young age, typically, under 30. They have been given a "second chance" by The Sweep in order to keep the population up, but they typically aren't reincarnated more than once and will usually receive a mortal body very close to their original one.

Unlike higher tiers of Celestials, there are enough Blessed Ones that they cannot all be listed. However, a few famous examples include:

* Justice Merryweather
* Eve Rossett
* Diego Sage
* Timmy Vibrant
* Lacey Ellen
* Funhouse

## Detractors

*Main article: Human Liberation Activism*

As to be expected, there are detractors and even protesters to the concept of the Celestial tier system. Some believe the tier system should be abolished, and Celestials should live among humans as average citizens regardless of previous hierarchal status. Other, more radical humans rally for the removal of Celestials entirely; this can mean anything from the creation of a human-only community (the closest of which that exists currently is the South Canopies) to the outright genocide of non-humans, sometimes including Blessed Beings. Still others worship Gods and Legends, but believe that anyone lower than that should just be considered regular people and shouldn't be awarded authority for existing. Some of this hysteria has resulted from fear of such figures as The Journey, Sin Mother and Fever Box; some of it is in the name of equality. There isn't one specific organization that works against Celestials; however, a few have tried (and failed, so far) to form one.

## Footnotes

The rules surrounding the Celestial tier system can be summed up as follows:

**Cardinal Gods** are the four entities who created the Lakes. No one can gain or lose this status, and they are immortal. They can take any shape.

**Regional Gods** are few, and guard the land. No one can gain or lose this status, technically, but the current gods did appear separately, at staggered times throughout history, so the appearance of more is possible. They are immortal and can take any form.

Legendary Figuresare essentially monsters, similar to demigods, who have centuries' worth of legends written about them. They can create life and turmoil quite easily. They can be murdered but otherwise will not die. They can take any shape, but they usually look frightening.

**Spirits** are elemental spirits in somewhat human bodies. They can die in the same ways as a human, minus old age, but can be infinitely reincarnated. They can create familiars.

**Familiars** are the creations of Legends, Spirits, and in rare cases, Gods other than The Sweep. They make up a majority of Celestials. They can die, and can be reincarnated, but they also do not age.

**Blessed Beings** are humans that died young and were given a second chance. They may have one supernatural element to them, but are completely mortal. They will most likely not be given another chance at life.