The Powers

In the Multiverse, more properly called the Spheres, there exist several orders of supernatural beings, usually referred to as "Powers." This article explains those Powers known to the mortal world.

The Elder Titans

According to some legends, the Elder Titans were created by a long lost demiurge. However, until the Fall of Dragons, there were four known Elder Titans: Asgorn, known as the Eldest Titan, sometimes called the Sovereign Supreme; Choris, the Elder Titan of Fire; Sanshar, the Elder Titan of Water; and Ahmsu, the Elder Titan of Air. Scholars have noticed that there is no mention of an Elder Titan of Earth. Some suggest that Asgorn may have been the Elder Titan of Earth, but others argue that he is never associated with the element of Earth or its home plane, unlike the other Titans. This has led to speculation that there might have been a fifth Elder Titan, but the truth about this is lost to history. Whatever the truth concerning this fifth Elder Titan, there were four Elder Titans at the time of the Fall of Dragons, when Asgorn was apparently slain (though there is conjecture that the Sovereign Supreme still exists in a diminished state).

In general, the Elder Titans are the most powerful Powers of the Spheres. They are capable of forming Primordial Beings, Younger Titans, Elder Gods, and Younger Gods. They are also the creators and maintainers of the Barrier that separates the Spheres from that which lies Beyond. They are beings of pure Essence. While they can, if they choose, manifest Matter or Energy, or both, they need not do so. They are said to be immune to death, though Asgorn's fate and the whereabouts of a theoretical fifth Elder Titan call that into immunity into question.

The Primordial Beings

The Elder Titans created Chronis, the Time-Bearer. Next, there came Raghanje, who governs beginnings (mortals understand this as birth, but it is all beginnings). Finally, there came Char, who regulates endings (mortals, obsessed with live and death, believe Char represents death, but they represent all endings). It is possible there are others. These Primordial Beings are omnipotent within the spheres that they govern. Even the Elder Titans cannot gainsay them in their own bailiwicks. They were originally beings of Essence, but having manifested material forms, they dwell in the Core of the Spheres in their immense shapes. They, too, are reputed to be beyond death.

The Younger Titans

The Younger Titans, of whom Aslak was firstborn, are beings of Energy. They, too, can manifest an avatar from Matter, but they cannot exist without manifesting their Energy. They are nearly the equals in power to the Elder Titans, who made them or bore them. They can create and destroy any Matter or Energy. They are immortal, but can know the sting of death under certain conditions.

The Elder Gods

The Elder Gods are the offspring of Younger Titans, sometimes with other Titans and sometimes with other Gods. Regardless of their nativity, they are beings of Essence and Energy. Their power is tremendous, for their innate supply of Energy nearly equals that of the Younger Titans. For all practical purposes, the Elder Gods are omnipotent unless a Titan actively stopes them. Their motivations are often inscrutable and few are known of or worshipped by mortals of the Material Planes. Elder Gods can be slain.

The Younger Gods

Younger Gods - the gods mostly worshipped by the mortals of the Material Planes - are diverse in their origins. Titans and other Gods created some of them. Others are the children of gods. The most recent of them are manifested by the faith of certain species of mortals in the Material Planes. They are beings of Essence and Energy. The have great power, though it is far less that that of the Elder Gods, for their innate Energy is limited. All Younger Gods can die. Those who are manifestations of faith can also become Husks, if they lose their faithful. A Husk is an empty shell of only enough energy to sustain existence, and nothing more.

There are three orders of Younger Gods. The most powerful are called Greater Gods. They have dominion over one or more of these domains: Life, Death, and Order. The energy inherent in these domains is so intense that they are nearly the equals of the Elder Gods.

Next are the Lesser Gods. These powerful beings are fully gods, but they do not hold sway over Life, Death, or Dominion. As such, the power they can bring to bear is less than that of a Greater God, but it is still immense.

The last category of Younger Gods are not truly gods, at all. They are the Demigods. These are immortal individuals whose deeds or ancestry have made them immune to the normal ravages of aging, though they would otherwise be mortal. Sometimes they are the children of a mortal and a god. Other times they are heroes who have been granted immunity as a boon from one god or another. Other times, they have taken fate into their own hands and extended their lives unnaturally. A rare few have turned to the sentient forms of undeath to avoid the end that comes to all mortals. Regardless of their circumstances, these individuals are invariably examplars of their native species.

Celestials and Fiends

Lesser than gods in power, these beings have their own orders that are not well understood by mortals. What is known is that they come from the Sphere of Ethos, where their ancestors arose from the Energy of the ethical belief systems of the Younger Titans and Elder Gods, in the mists of prehistory. Some make alliances with gods or serve them, others find ways to torment mortals, still others keep to themselves on Ethos.