Exarchs: From Mortal Beginnings to Immortal Surroundings

Exarchs: From Mortal Beginnings to Immortal Surroundings is a rare book recovered by Exander Havenshade from Castle Jalzazhuss.

## Description

Bound in leather with a decorative bronze triskelion set into the centre of the bindings. The rims of each page with a fine edge of gold and the tome held together but a simple fastening at one side.

## Research

### Completed by Exander Havenshade

Tales from the times around Aita's Second Gift are conclusive - the gods walk amongst us in these lands, and have occupied them for millennia. While few can deny that they seem to prefer their celestial citadels to the soil and stone of Ahlus, but their presence is felt all the same. The Ten Guilds of Ahlus have stated publically that every century Divinus appears in the flesh to parley with their greatest and most astute archmages - and in doing so would drive magical innovation forwards once more. The Astedians, a minor nation nestled between the might of Gawylthlan and the Duchies of Tynd, maintain that after Naavugrux destroyed their capital of Estertan, it was Gaityas themselves that materialised to guide the hands of the rebuilding process. More recently still, historians and philosophers look to Buwello's appearance to prevent the famines stemming from the Year of the Creeping Blight as signs of their continued investment. Nonetheless, in more mundane and routine incidents, the Principal Sixteen have shown a repeated reliance on chosen representatives of their will - the Exarchs.

Despite this, not all Exarchs of the Principal Sixteen are known commonly to the populace, for the gods vary widely in their usage of these adjutants, and the adjutants themselves range significantly in their actions, abilities and activities. Following in the sporadic and unpredictable footsteps of Srar, the Exarch Junctura is known to take all manner of forms - from beetles with carapaces of banded orange and blue to storms of alternating sweltering heat and chilling winds in a moment. The Archon of the Eclipse moves as quickly through the pale glow of the moon as the light itself does fall, taking a form like a glimmering knight, whilst by contrast Buwello's Exarch Ambrose appears as a reveller celebrating in unexpected places - the deepest tunnels of a mine, cliff faces looking out over the bracing waves, quiet side-streets in the bustling cities of the Realms. And yet, despite all these divine powers, many Exarchs are mortal in origin and rely on their divine masters to return them to existence should they be destroyed or otherwise defeated.

Even though such destructions are rarely long-term incidents given the might of the Principal Sixteen, there are two known such cases that are worth mentioning. No known exarchs of Iotl the Stoneheart have returned following their mortal demise, no doubt pertaining to her domain over the passage between life and what comes after, and the sanctity of the balance between each. When the Exarch of Vyra was incinerated in the flame of the Bane of Nidaynia, the Secret Sister declined to offer her aid - said to be the result of her growing disapproval after they had bound a cabal of Cloud Giants to worship of themselves in place of her. It is also assumed that the beings of the Malign maintain Exarchs for themselves too, but that is beyond the scope of this particular tome.