Archon

The Archons were a group of twelve mortals who bargained with Malik Nous for a share of his divine power. Although the One God gave his power freely, he did not understand the nature of the bargain, and when the Archons turned against him, he was unable to recall their power. Even assembled in power, the Archons were not able to defeat Malik Nous, but they were able to form a small space within the infinity of creation that was relatively free of his influence. This space was the world of Aeol. The Archons each put a piece of their power into Gardea, the guardian star, which acts as the seal over Aeol which keeps Malik Nous' power at bay.

After creating Aeol, each of the Archons took a certain aspect of life and worked to improve the lives of humans within this sphere. This quickly lead to disputes, as many of the Archons had chosen conflicting spheres, and they had little in common beyond their shared resistance to Malik Nous. Although the Archons did not fight directly, as they needed to preserve their divine powers in order to prevent Malik Nous from breaking through into Aeol, their followers fought one another using the divine magic the Archons had given them.

After several centuries of warfare, three of the Archons defected, attempting to strike a deal wtih Malik Nous by which, they believed, he would respect Aeol's independence in return for their service and certain conditions. The other Archons viewed this deal as treachery, and the Archons went to war. The Archonal war raged for countless years. What became of the three rebel Archons is unknown - some say they were absorbed into Malik Nous, some say they were slain by the loyal Archons, some that they still exist somewhere in some form.

After the war ended Radu, the Archon of Violence, went mad . Consumed by the energy of his sphere and unsatisfied with the peace after the Archonal War, he began blindly attacking the other Archons. The eight loyal Archons defeated him but chose to imprison him rather than kill him, as they feared that his death would release his power to Malik Nous.

The remaining Archons discussed the aftermath of Radu's Madness. They eventually realised that each of them risked being consumed by the nature of their sphere, and that the only way to prevent further destruction was to withdraw themself from mortal affairs. Each Archon created a Divine Forge and placed it somewhere on Aeol. Within that forge each Archon left a holy writ, instructing their followers how to behave in their absence. The Archons then underwent Occultation and were never seen again - their Churches are the keepers and manifestation of their divine power.

While the Archons are not Gods - that status is reserved for Malik Nous - they play a similar role in the society of Aeol to dieties. They are worshipped, their holy writs are obeyed by their followers, and they are a source of divine magic for spellcasters. Every person, institution and nation has a patron Archon.

Although each Archon has an alignment, this alignment does not impose restrictions on their followers - a Chaotic Evil warlord might worship Vaad as a symbol of rulership, while a Lawful Good witchunter might worship Yassa as a symbol of spiritual purity. The Archon's alignment is chiefly reflected in their holy writ, but the writs are ancient documents phrased in obscure language, so there is a very wide room for interpretation in the actual practices within the Church - even a Lawful Good writ can be used to justify Chaotic Evil behaviour, and vice versa.

The Archons are:

* Vaad, Lawful Good Archon of Justice
* Toulou, Neutral Good Archon of Nature
* Unknown Archon, Chaotic Good Archon of Secrets
* Kavas, Lawful Neutral Archon of Knowledge
* Iaxtra, Neutral Archon of Darkness
* The Enigma, Chaotic Neutral Archon of Luck
* Wessling, Lawful Evil Archon of Prosperity
* Radu, Neutral Evil Archon of Violence
* Yassa, Chaotic Evil Archon of Purity
* Rebel Archons, three Archons whose names have been expurged from history due to their siding with Malik Nous. Their alignments are unknown.

The nine Archons are sometimes known as the "True Archons" or "Loyal Archons" to distinguish them from the Rebal Archons, but usually colloquial references to "the Archons" does not include the Rebel Archons.

Other groups worshipped in Aeol, despite not being Archons, are:

* Malik Nous, Chaotic Evil, the One God
* The Inner Sea, Neutral Good, a strange heresy that claims to be the true fulfiment of the Archon's teachings