The Seraphim

The Seraphim


The Seraphim are the protectors of the Ancient Ones, serving as guards and champions. Born of magic, the Seraphim are immortal in terms of lifespans and difficult to kill in combat. The Seraphim are led by the seven Angiris formed of three prime and four lesser Angiris. Due to the strength and role they fulfill, the Seraphim are very proud and arrogant beings, veiwing themselves as the only race worthy enough to protect and serve the Ancient Ones. The members of the race bare no facial features as their faces are shrouded in darkness making voices and wings the only way to fully identify each member.

The Seraphim uphold their duties and honor obsessively, holding to their virtues over all else. While the Seraphim have no religion they follow the strictest code in the world known as the Silverlight Scripture which is enforced and updated at the order of the Angiris Council.

The Silverlight Scripture
The Silverlight Scripture is the code of honor and duty that the Seraphim are sworn to follow with many intircate rules and exceptions detailing everything from the Seraphims duties to the Ancient Ones, the mortal races, the world, their fellow kin, matters of honor and loyalty, etc. Most of the Scripture is public knowledge available to anyone with enough interest to pursue it, but several detailed sections of the Scripture are forbidden to all races save the Seraphim themselves, these sections deemed only for the Seraphim. The original Scripture containing these sections is locked away deep within Silverlight Citadel under the gaze and protection of the Archaic Scribes and the Angiris Council. The Scripture is locked away in the Library of the Archaic protected by over 200 Seraphim and is unreachable by anyone except an Ancient One (who has the power to break the magical barriers) or at least two members of the Angiris Council.

The Harrowing and the Undoing


The Seraphim believe in discipline in the mind which helps keep them focussed on their duties. To help in sharpenning the mind and identifying weakness, a very dangerous ritual takes place for each Seraphim every decade. The ritual is known as the Harrowing and is performed by the Archaic Scribes and can take anywhere from a few hours to days to complete for those undergoing the ritual. During the ritual the minds of those undergoing it are subjected to extreme horrors and pain that strengthen the resolve of the mind. For those undertaking their first few Harrowings the expierance is brutal and effects such as trauma and death are not unheard of. For older Seraphim, the expierance can be anything from mild to a simple matter. Because the Harrowing is an extremely important and personal matter to the Seraphim it is conducted in the depths of Silverlight Citadel away from prying eyes and ears.

For those who have in the past chosen not to undergo the Harrowing often begin to suffer from several mental degradation and fall from the form of a Seraphim, a process which became known as the Undoing. During the War of Light and Dark, many Seraphim fell victim to the Undoing as they were new to the world and the cause of the plague was unknown to them, thus leading to those who fell victim to being imprisoned for the safety of them and their kin. During the first Angiris Council meeting it was determined after many attempts to cure those afflicted with no success that they were to be killed to end their suffering. During the Night of the Fallen, Vuriel, Thiriel, and Izael personally took on the responsability of ending the suffering of their fallen kin to spare those unaflicted the burden of having to do so. The Harrowing was developed a year later by the Archaic Scribes and it became the Seraphim's only way of staving off the Undoing.

The Prime Angiris
The Prime Angiris are three most powerful Seraphim and the permanent members of the Angiris Council. The Prime Angiris are Vuriel, Thiriel, and Izael.

Vuriel
The first of the Seraphim and the most powerful, chosen to lead the Seraphim in service to the Ancient Ones, he is the Captain of the Immortal Guard who oversee the protection of the Ancient Ones and is the Archangiris who leads the Angiris Council. Dubbed the Angel of Valor by the mortals because of his actions during the War of Light and Dark, he is the most aggressive and skilled fighter of the Seraphim.

Thiriel
The second of the Seraphim and one of the wisest, she wields the Justicarian Spear from which her mortal name, the Angel of Justice is derived. Thiriel deals out justice within the Seraphim and in the name of the Ancient Ones. Out of all the Angiris, she takes the most active interest in the lands of the mortals.

Izael
The Angel of Hope and the second most powerful Seraphim, he wields the Heavenly Sword and is charged with the protection of  Silverlight Citadel and the Silverlight Scripture. Izael is an expieranced fighter who instills hope in his comrades during combat, helping turn the tide of battle.

The Lesser Angiris
The Lesser Angiris form the other four positions of the Angiris Council and are often filled by different Seraphim every decade or two.

The Angiris Council Chamber
Deep in Silverlight Citadel, the Council Chamber is well protected and were the Angiris gather to discuss important matters. To ensure the matters remain private, the chamber has magical conduits around it which nullify all magic abilities within the chamber, affecting every being in it including the Ancient Ones.

Seraphim Society
Beyond the endless and exhuasting maters of honor and duty to the Ancient Ones, life is simple for the Seraphim. The Seraphim number only a few hundred following the War of Light and Dark and can be found in one of two places, the Palace of the Ancient Ones or Silverlight Citadel. Since duty and war are about all the Seraphim know, they have next to no culture that isn't tied into their duties and honor, most Seraphim on endless duty. Society for the Seraphim is broken down by the positions each Seraphim holds.

The Scripture Guard
The most battle hardened and honorable of non Angiris Seraphim are members of the Scripture Guard, their sole purpose to defend the Silverlight Scripture. They number 100 strong and are positioned around and in the Library of the Archaic. Many of them have not moved from their posts since the Silverlight Scripture was placed within the library some 7,000 years ago. They forego knowledge of the world and expierances, only breaking their focus on the task at hand once every decade when the Archaic Scribes perform the Hallowing on them were they stand.

The Archaic Scribes
Masters of magic and knowledge within the Seraphim, they spend lifetimes adding to the Library of the Archaic, making it the largest source of knowledge in the world. The Scribes have a number of duties other then maintaining and adding to the library from updating and overseeing the Silverlight Scripture under the gaze of the Angiris Council, maintaining the burial chambers, and preparring funerals for Seraphim.

The Silverlight Guard
Protectors of Silverlight Citadel, they form the bulk of the Seraphim race, guarding the Sapphire Gate to the Citadel and the surrounding battlements while patrolling the halls of the citadel. Out of all the Seraphim, the Silverlight Guard have the most relaxed duties, but still carry them out with near endless effort over centuries.

The Angiris Guard
Chosen by the members of the Angiris Council to be their personal forces, each Angiris has ten Angiris Guard dedicated to them. The Angiris Guard are responsable for the safety of their patron Angiris and the Angiris Council Chamber.

The Immortal Guard
Second in skill and strength to the Scripture Guard, the Immortal Guard provide the personal protection of the Ancient Ones and their Palace. Each bears a massive angelic greatsword and can draw upon magic to aide them in their duties. The Immortal Guards are led by Vuriel and are stationed at the Palace of the Ancients or traveling with Ancient Ones abroad.

Birth of the Seraphim


When Malakir turned on the other Ancient Ones and unleashed his army on his kin, killing many of them, the remaining Ancient Ones had to rally the mortal races to fight against Malakir. The young mortal races lacked the power to defeat Malakir's army, faced with this diliema, the remaining Ancient Ones created the Seraphim, celestial beings who act as the champions and guards of the Ancient Ones during the War of Light and Dark.

The first of the Seraphim was Vuriel who was born from fire and light to be the leader of the Seraphim. He was followed by Thiriel and Izael who along with Vuriel would become known as the Angiris and would guide the Seraphim for millennia to come.

War of Light and Dark
During the War of Light and Dark, the Seraphim served in the armies of the Ancient Ones, taking the fight to Malakir's army and aiding in defending the mortal races and the world. As the war dragged on, many Seraphim would fall to Malakir's dark forces, but not without felling many of his minions and helping turn the tide of the war alongside the remaining Ancient Ones and the mortals.



Throughout much of the war, the mortal races stood against overwhelming odds and it was here when the Seraphim would arrive to aide in the struggle, often turning battles in their favor. In battles were victory was lost, the Seraphim would hold off enemies so as to allow the mortals to flee to safety. The actions of the Seraphim led to them as being viewed in good light by many mortals who believed them to be beings of good virtues and many Seraphim were named as such by mortal races.



The war began for the Seraphim shortly after their creation as the Ancient Ones ordered them to help take the fight to Malakir. On the Day of Angels, the Seraphim first appeared in the war, new to the world and eager to prove themselves, they dropped from the skies to save a mortal army that was outnumbered and outmatched. The battle is still remembered amoung many mortal races as the Seraphim descended on Malakir's army and won their first victory, bringing valor, justice, and hope back into the world of mortals.

The Angiris Council and Celestial Burdens


During the war, Vuriel, Thiriel, and Izael convened to work towards creating a way to allow them to face Malakir's forces with even greater strength. This became known as the Angiris Council and led to the creation of the Celestial Burdens, weapons of great power to help fight the war and serve as its wielders reminder to the duties they had to uphold.

Three Celestial Burdens were created and wielded by Vuriel, Thiriel, and Izael, each carrying devastating power which allowed the three of them to help their creators in pushing for an end in the war. The Celestial Burdens became known to mortals as the Solarian Blade wielded by Vuriel, the Justicirian Spear wielded by Thiriel, and the Heavenly Sword wielded by Izael. Each of the Celestial Burdens was created using magic and each has special attributes and abilities tunned to their users.

Following the War
With Malakir's defeat in the War of Light and Dark and the return of order to the world, the Seraphim began to settle into a new role as defenders of the Ancient Ones. Vuriel took on the role as Captain of the Immortal Guard under the control of Hestia and picked specialized Seraphim to fill the ranks of the Immortal Guard. The Angiris Council grew to seven members and the Seraphim began building a home for themselves which they called Silverlight Citadel which took over two centuries to build. Its from here that Seraphim would be burned upon death and were new Seraphim would be created, its here that the armor and weapons of the Seraphim are made and maintained.

The main hall of the citadel is called the Hall of Remembrance and it is here that the weapons of every fallen Seraphim are hung and where carvings of the Seraphim history decorate the walls. Outside the main hall is a large platform surrounded by observing platforms are the proving grounds were Seraphim fight challenges of honor, these challenges mostly fought between themselves, but on a few occasions have been used for fights between Seraphim and mortal races. Shortly after the end of the War of Light and Dark, Vuriel was challenged to a duel of leadership by several Seraphim who believed he was too warlike to lead the Seraphim in this newfound time of peace. Vuriel accepted the two on one duel and was able to win, allowing him to retain his position as leader of the Seraphim.

The Celestial Burdens

 * The Solarian Blade: The Solarian Blade is the most powerful weapon in the world after those carried by the Ancient Ones. Created and wielded by Vuriel since the War of Light and Dark, the blade allows its user to tap into immense power granting them great power and helping channel magic, making it more potent. The blade draws upon the elements of fire, lightning, and light, giving it powerful ranged attacks.
 * Justicirian Spear: The weakest of the Celestial Burdens in terms of power it can deal, but makes up in defensive capabilities as it is the magical embodyment of justice used to snuff out the darkness and bring it into the light. The spear can block any dark magic, regardless of the spells level and power, and absorb any light magic used agaisnt the spears wielder in order to strengthen them.
 * Heavenly Sword: The second most powerful Celestial Burden, it is a weapon made to inspire hope and rekindle the spiritis of nearby allies. It grants strength to the wielder and strengthens the resolve of nearby allies allowing them to fight harder and longer aginst even an enemy that outnumbers or outmatches them.

Angelic Weapons
Angelic weapons are made of holy steel and embedded with many gems and ornate designs. Crafted in Silverlight Citadel by members of the Silverlight Guard, they are extremely powerful weapons that aide the Seraphim in times of war and conflict.

Seraphim Armor
Heavy armor created by magic and worn only by the Seraphim. Each suit is created by its wearer and is unique, the armor is difficult to penetrate by weapons made of advanced materials and impossible for basic weapons. The armor is magically attached to its wearer and cannot be removed once worn by its creator except by members of the Archaic Scribes where the suit is magically broken down to its base components to be used by another Seraphim.