The Aethons

The Aethons are celestials, native to the heavenly realm of Yrion, and they are its appointed guardians and inheritors. Like many other celestial beings, the Aethons are passionate embodiments of ideals, virtues and heroic traits.

They are, themselves, descendants of the divine Ashar, Ancients that existed since the dawn of creation. Most of the Ashar perished during the War of Light and Shadow, while protecting Yrion from their sworn foes. They were later miraculously reborn as Aethons from the Pillar of Eternity, an axis of divine flame that runs vertically through Yrion.

Although most of them have no recollection of their past lives, they keep them within, while using their rebirth as an opportunity to learn and build anew rather than dwell on the past. Yrion, the home of the Aethons, consists of multiple divine realms, divided according to the Celestial Spheres. The Aethons are often likewise divided from one another according to the Spheres they follow, but also according to their personal Mandate, and their chosen Virtues.

Surrounding Yrion, spans the rest of the Cosmos, including the Prime Worlds, the places that were marked by Destiny since the dawn of creation. Driven by vital passion, the Aethons themselves, are creatures of Destiny, seeking to shape the fate of the Cosmos in likeness to their lofty principles and ideals. The manner by which they choose to do this, depends entirely upon the individual Aethon. Some are zealous warriors, others are pious mystics, some others are virtuous philosophers and yet others are fervently passionate artists, on their quest to create beauty.

If dogma exists among the Aethons, it is a strongly individual thing. Tyranny - subduing other free-willed creatures to one's will is considered the most horrible anathema in their society. And naturally, this means that the Aethons, like their predecessors, will be found fighting with each other as often as they will be seen leading allied initiatives against their foes. Yrion is a realm where polyphony is exalted, and freedom the most fundamental of states.

The respect for every sentient being to determine their own path through their free choices, or, as it is known, the Creed of Arcaon, that states all of existence is sacred, and each individual has a pivotal role to play in the course of events, is one of the core beliefs of the Aethons.

But it stands to reason that the Aethons, would seek to protect the Prime Worlds, above all else, and the free will of their denizens. It is one of the reasons that they left their eternal glory behind, to be born as mortals in the world of Arandor, for one.

But this is not the only reason.

The ascension of mortals into godhood is a peculiar event.

When the tyrant Akronas attained such power as to reach out through the Cosmos and touch Yrion itself, tearing away a portion of it, to fashion his own, hideous and tyrannical paradise, the Aethons were alarmed.

United they barely managed to save Yrion from Akronas' relentless assault, as he has now crafted his own dominion that grows like a cancer at the side of Yrion. With scores of souls on Arandor sacrificed in his name each day, it is a matter of time before Akronas becomes immensely powerful, as his appointed lieutenants prepare themselves to also rise into godhood. Together they become unstoppable threatening the cosmic balance.

The Aethons then knew they had to travel to Arandor and stop the rise of the Hexad, and dismantle Akronas' power from within the Prime World itself. During their earlier ventures into the Prime Worlds, they had found out, to their dismay, that the harmony and balance of these realms was extremely delicate and fragile. The Aethons had found out, that beings outside the natural cycle of the realms were as much a danger to the realms' stability, as they were a danger to themselves.

Thus, if any Aethons wanted to venture into Arandor, and hope to stop the Hexad, they had to traverse the same pathways as countless unborn souls, and incarnate in the form of the world's natives. Which meant they had to die, in order to be reborn. And sadly, this would be a one-way trip. They would retain some of their power, during their journey, most of it in latent slumber deep within the newly formed human soul, hoping to awaken in the right circumstances. Ultimately, however, they would become but a fragile shadow of their former glory.

It was truly a pitiful glimmer of hope. And sadly, it was the only one available. So the Aethons made the bold choice and they died. They died and were reborn as mortals. And this is how the first Empyreans were born in Arandor.