Eidolons

Eidolons are a category of Immortal beings, consisting of Daemons and Arkangels. They were created by the Seven Goddesses as the first living beings of the world. Eidolons were considered the "perfect beings", close to divinity and extremely powerful. They existed in a finite amount, as they were immortal and did not age; thus they also had no need to reproduce, and are sexless. Daemons were created as beings in tune with the element of Umbra, and Arkangels were created as beings in tune with element of Lux. Due to the polarity of these two elements, the Daemons and Arkangels, too, were ever at odds with each other.

Eidolons were the sole populace of the world during the First Era, up until the Last Immortal War, after which they were punished by the Goddesses via being permanently relocated to a pocket dimension known as the Sealed Realm (*also called The Abyss, or Absens Aeternatus, by the Eidolons who reside there*).

### **Eidolon Society**

Before the Last Immortal War, Eidolon society was mostly idyllic, although disputes would often break out between the two groups. Daemons and Arkangels lived in separate cities, with the Daemons preferring to live close to the mountains and plains, while the Arkangels built a floating city that only they could reach with their feathered wings. Most Eidolons did not mingle between groups, though some had sparing friendships between the two.

#### Daemon Society

Daemons tended to favour humour and jovial activities, and thus had a large performing arts scene, as well as a number of yearly festivals. Many of their buildings were for entertainment or enrichment of common life. Honour and power were also a large part of Daemon society, and thus holding a position of high regard was something many of them sought after. If one was naturally powerful — be it via magic or otherwise — but did not take advantage of their abilities to seek higher positions, they would often be looked down upon. Despite the focus on honour and power, personal freedom was also a big factor in the way Daemon society functioned, as there were not many strict rules or laws, aside from the banning of theft and murder between Daemons. Because of their tendency to want to come off as powerful but still honourable, Daemons were not often the first to instigate fights against the Arkangels, but would never back down once confronted.

#### Arkangel Society

Arkangel society, by comparison, was much stricter and more highly regulated. A high court known as the Angelic Court kept order amongst the citizens and doled out punishments for those who broke rules or failed to meet expectations. Punishment was typically physical, though punishments for worse infractions would also be long-lasting. Execution as a punishment method was considered merciful and thus not used often. The Angelic Court essentially held absolute power in Arkangel society, using fear of punishment to keep citizens in line. Despite this, Arkangels were highly proud and boastful of their city, thinking themselves better than the Daemons in most ways. Due to the typically egotistic and vain nature of Arkangels, close bonds between each other were not very common — it was somewhat of an *everyone for themselves* society; however some Arkangels did find common solace in one another. Arkangels tended to enjoy being tricksters, and would often be the first to instigate conflicts with the Daemons — most Daemons considered them to be cruel and sadistic.

#### Shared Traditions

Despite all the myriad differences between Daemons and Arkangels, they did share some commonalities between the two groups. One such thing was the tradition of *bonding*, a ceremony in which two Eidolons devote themselves and their eternal futures to each other, similar to marriage — it is considered a romantic act of shared affections. This ceremony, simply called the Ceremony of Bonding (or the Bonding Ritual), involves a magical ritual performed by both Eidolons as the same time. The ritual serves to eternally merge both Eidolon's souls together, one half of each others' souls merging with its opposite — incidentally, this tradition is where the Mortal concept of "soulmates" originated from. Both parties must perform the same *bonding spell* together over a pile of seven special objects, though these objects are largely symbolic in nature and not actually necessary for the spell to succeed. The seven objects are usually chosen by the two Eidolons from a list of items with significant meaning to them. After a successful completion, both of them are considered *bondmates*, or a *bonded pair*. This is also considered a permanent linkage, and isn't typically broken, as it is physically impossible to unmerge two bonded souls. Because of this, bonding isn't something Eidolons decide to do lightly, and it usually takes many centuries for an Eidolon to choose a bondmate, if they choose one at all.

#### After the Last Immortal War

After the Goddesses sealed the remaining Eidolons in the Sealed Realm post-war, the Eidolons initially resumed a separated societal setup like their prior one, with Daemons making their settlement in the southwest of the small continent, and the Arkangels setting up in the northeast. At that time, the Daemon city was called Furvus, and the Arkangel city was known as Asa. The departed souls of deceased Mortals also began to be sent to the Sealed Realm at some point, as the Goddesses had not created a plane for them previously, since they had not originally planned to create beings with finite lifespans and mortal bodies. However, partway through the first ten centuries, the miasma of the Sealed Realm, which did not affect the Eidolons, began to transform the departed mortal souls instead — warping them into voidal monstrosities, husks devoid of life, which sought only to destroy and consume to fill their vast emptiness. Their forms were influenced by the vices and desires of their previous mortal lives, contorted into horrors. Those with weaker desires became smaller, less ferocious creatures, but those with strong desires became dangerous beasts that threatened Eidolon society's safety. The Eidolons came to call them the Sin Eaters (though Mortals who later experienced the eruption of Sin Eaters into their world called them the Voidsent), and these creatures became an increasing threat as more and more powerful ones spawned and attacked their cities. Eventually it became known that Sin Eaters could transform Eidolons into a kind of warped Sin Eater, one which retained some of its mind but was put into a zombie-like state, and took on a more humanoid form than the others.

Eventually the Immortalis Atria, where the Angelic Court and Daemonic Hierarchy met to discuss both societies, was overrun by Sin Eaters, forcing both societies to become distanced from each other. Not soon after, the Arkangel city of Asa fell to the Sin Eaters, a significant number of their populace being consumed into Sin Eaters as well. The remaining Arkangels were forced to seek refuge in Furvus, which eventually became a combined society, and was renamed to the Sanctum, with the surrounding regions becoming the Region of Furvus instead. Asa was renamed to Old Asa, now a ruin, and the surrounding region was named the Region of Caelus. Many attempts at sending parties to reclaim lost territory were made, but most did not return. Eventually, Sin Eaters began to make seemingly planned attacks on the Sanctum, consuming Eidolons each time despite their efforts to repel them. The Donarium was later constructed as a means to watch for incoming Sin Eater attacks. As the number of surviving Eidolons began to dwindle, they began to search for a way to escape the Sealed Realm.

### **Physical Characteristics of Eidolons**

Eidolons have relatively similar physical makeups. All Eidolons are physical manifestations of their own souls, or in other words, physically made of mana, without flesh-and-bone bodies like Mortals. This is how they are able to be immortal, and why they are difficult to kill — this also explains why they are so powerful, as magic requires mana to cast, and they are simply made almost entirely out of it. Because of this makeup, they are freely able to alter certain aspects of their appearance, allowing each Eidolon to appear as they so desire at any time. There are certain traits they cannot change, however, as they are intrinsic to either their soul's identity, or to their physical existence as a Daemon or an Arkangel. These features include their eye colour (linked to soul identity), as well as their hair colour and any body markings they may have, which are linked to their identity as either a Daemon or Arkangel. Arkangels also have the unique trait of having white, feathered wings, though it is possible for them to hide them from view, similar to an illusion. Though free change of features is possible, most Eidolons settle into one general appearance after some time, with only minor changes every now and then. Both Daemons and Arkangels have grey-ish skin, similar to the colour of stone, but Arkangels tend to be paler or cooler-toned, while Daemons tend to be more purple-hued. The only common hair colour between the two groups is white hair.

#### Daemon Traits

Traits unique to Daemons include black. grey, or purple hair, red or purple eyes, black tattoo-like markings, and black or white horns, often with gold markings on them, and black pointed tails. All Daemons have a black, upside-down crescent-moon symbol on their foreheads, as well as fully black fingernails. Daemons tend to dress mostly in black, grey, or maroon clothing, often with gold accents, as well as details like tassels or twisted trims. Daemons can also have white hair or silver eyes, though it isn't as common. Not all Daemons have horns, tails, or body markings, though it is relatively common. Daemons tend to have longer nails.

#### Arkangel Traits

Traits unique to Arkangels include blonde, golden, or silvery hair, often shining, blue, white, clear, or gold eyes, gold, tattoo-like body markings, and white feathered wings. All Arkangels have at least two wings, though some have more. Wings always manifest in sets of two, up to a total of six or eight, and this is a feature they cannot alter, though most Arkangels with many wings hide their extra pairs for ease of movement within the city. Number of wings is considered an indicator of innate status to Arkangels — six or more are required to be given a seat on the Angelic Court. Another trait all Arkangels share is the golden spinel-sun symbol on their foreheads, as well as fully golden fingernails. White hair is also possible in Arkangels, and is exceedingly common among two-winged Arkangels. Not all Arkangels will have golden markings or shining hair. Angelic clothing tends to be all-white, accented with black underclothes and gold accent pieces. Tassels and gold metal accessories are common. Arkangels tend to be vain and enjoy making themselves beautiful with many fanciful clothes or accessories.