Epouranal Mage

Divine Prophets

Epouranal mages are the highest spiritual authority in the world. There are always twelve epouranal mages and each is tied to one of the twelve beasts of the heaven, known as epourtherions, which is where they get their names from. Epouranal mages are prophets, sages, and priests all in one. They are revered by all, even those without deep spiritual beliefs. They carry unrivaled power, are seen as completely untouchable, and their authority is absolute.
Despite all this, epouranals do not wield any political power, they pass no laws or edicts, and they actively refuse to operate in a leadership capacity. Their role in the world is extremely narrow. They pass on prophecy, wisdom, and guidance from the heavens to the people of the world. Sometimes their words are for a specific person or group of people, and other times they give revelation to the entire world. They do not force their will on anyone, allowing people to heed or interpret their words however they like. In addition, epouranal mages never use their powers except when specifically guided to do so through their connection to the heavens.
However, all of these restrictions are self-imposed. From an authority and power standpoint, an epouranal mage can do whatever they want, whenever they want, however they want. They just don’t, or perhaps their connection to their specific beast of the heavens prevents them. The true reason is unknown.

Origins

The exact origins of the epouranal mages are not completely known. This is because history wasn’t actively and accurately recorded during the PT era, also referred to as the “ancient times” or “before time.”
Toward the end of the PT era, the world had devolved into chaos. People were constantly at war, innovation was at a standstill, monsters were appearing frequently, and resources were becoming scarce. It was said that this chaotic time was due to the fact that the world no longer had caretakers to shepherd mankind forward.
During this upheaval, twelve people were led by a messenger of God to a hidden place known as the Caretaker Sanctum and once there, they were able to obtain a gift of the heavens and become the first twelve epouranal mages.
With this gift came the full unlocking of adimus abilities including the power of mentus. The twelve epouranal mages went around the world teaching people adimus based abilities as well as spreading the word that the planet had not been forsaken by the Almighty. They, the epouranal mages, would now be able to pass revelation from the heavens to the world at large and help mankind grow and prosper.
Their amazing abilities were such that the vast majority of people believed them and word of the epouranal mages spread rapidly around the world. The epouranals announced throughout the lands that a new year had started and with it a new era, known as “Priori Mandamus” or the PM era. It would be an era where adimus abilities, and mentus specifically, would spread around the world, allowing people to grow and prosper in new ways.
Of course, there were many over the first few years who did not believe the claims of the epouranals or worse, outright opposed them. Though the epouranals never sought power, and didn’t even allow followers, some leaders still felt threatened by them. They sought to put a stop to them by either preventing them from teaching in their realm or raising arms against them. However, opponents of the epouranals quickly learned that their power was far above anything normal mentus could accomplish and their connection with the beasts of the heavens made them practically invulnerable.
The epouranal mages ignored the laws and edicts of kings, queens, and other rulers, establishing themselves as a power outside of all political authority. Anyone who tried to attack an epouranal met a swift and immediate death from the supernal power of the heavenly beasts they were bound to. Even massive armies could be wiped out in a blink of an eye without the epouranal having to raise a hand in their own defense.
It only took a few displays of this power before people realized that there was nothing to be gained from attacking an epouranal. After a while, even the most determined and stubborn of leaders realized that the epouranals posed no threat. They had no desire to upend nations or rulers and their teachings and prophecies rarely concerned anything as trivial as the politics of a specific nation. If anything, such specific information would be given in private to the person in question for them to do with what they wanted.
Over the first 150 years of the PM era, the epouranals taught mentus in addition to revealing prophecy and heavenly guidance, but then people began to teach themselves and the first official schools of mentus opened. With this initial job done, the epouranals became far less visible. They would appear to the public several times over the years but the rest of the time they were either in private meditation or tending to specific areas of need as they felt led.
As time went on, the epouranal mages became a permanent fixture in Mendalian society and their existence were part of the culture of the world, so much so that many prominent landmarks—and even the four continents themselves—were renamed after the epourtherions. The epouranals were revered as the high prophets of the lands, never breaking from their custom of political non-intervention, and always following their own divine code of duties and ethics.
Because most written history only goes back to the beginning of the PM era, from the standpoint of modern Mendalians, the epouranals have always existed, always will exist, and always defy any logic that science puts forth. Even those who do not embrace the spiritual beliefs held by most of Mendalian society still have a healthy reverence of the epouranal mages. As such, it has been thousands of years since anyone has ever raised a hand against them.

The Twelve Heavenly Beasts

There are always exactly twelve epouranal mages. Each one is bonded with one of the twelve heavenly beasts known as epourtherions. Though they are called heavenly beasts, no one has ever seen what their physical manifestation looks like. The twelve heavenly beasts are supernal forces of nature and only appear in the mortal realm to protect their bonded mage in the most extreme of circumstances. However, epouranals can hear the voice of the heavenly beast they are bonded with and even see them in dreams and visions, though they appear differently for each incarnation of the epouranal mage.
The individual epouranal mages are named after their epourtherion, meaning that the epouranal mage connected to Alaman is officially known as the Alaman Epouranal Mage.
The twelve epourtherions are:

• Gloran
• Zandamon
• Trinnadea
• Lumio
• Alaman
• Candovon
• Estervan
• Gibano
• Wayo
• Parmeo
• Sunnandra
• Ziniden

Of note: the epourtherions are always listed in this exact order as are the epouranal mages if listed.

Appointment and Lifestyle

When the first epouranals were appointed, it was widely believed that they were immortal due to their long lifespans. Of course, this was not the case. Though epouranals live over twice as long as normal mentants, they do die. This happened for the first time in 379 PM when High Mage Bismit Meriwell, the Alaman Epouranal Mage, died at the age of 444. Just before his death he announced that his power would pass onto another who would be chosen by the epourtherion and that this is the way that it would be for all epouranal mages. He then revealed that it would be easy to authenticate the new epouranal mage because they would have the exact same adimus signature (then known as adimus aura) as Meriwell and basically look exactly the same in the mentant realm.
Soon after his death, Louise Limestill, a poor, uneducated commoner from a small town on the northern continent, announced that she had been chosen as the next Alaman Epouranal Mage. Of course, this was highly contested as most people believed that one of Meriwell’s disciples would become the next epouranal mage. However, as Meriwell had foretold, Louise gained his exact same adimus signature and if that were not enough, when challenged, she exhibited the same power as Meriwell, even being protected by the powerful epourtherion. After this, it became an accepted fact that anyone could be tapped to be an epouranal mage.
When an epouranal dies, a new one is chosen by their bonded epourtherion, and each one has its own enigmatic criteria for their new host. Once the new epouranal mage is picked, the transition is immediate. The new person gains the adimus signature of that specific epouranal mage—effectively losing their previous identity—and they stay that way for life. The call to be an epouranal mage isn’t something that a person can choose or turn down. Because of this, it may take years or even decades for an epouranal mage to accept their new calling. This seems to be a part of the process however, and despite the initial resistance to their new lives, epouranals eventually settle into their roles.
Most epouranal mages leave their families to fulfill their duties even if they’re married. Part of the reason is that their extended lifespan means they’ll outlive their spouses, children, and possibly grandchildren. Epouranals may choose to live completely solitary lives or have disciples or servants. Every epouranal is also entitled to the service of a guardian, quickener, and assistant from the Fantasmal Government, but only some take the government up on this offer.
Each epouranal mage has an unofficial domain, which is the place in the world that they are most seen publicly or where they tend to have their homes or meditation spots. It is more that epouranals seem to gravitate to certain areas than that they have strict boundaries of where they live or travel. This may be a function of the epourtherions, or the locations could be of spiritual importance; no one knows. However, landmarks have been renamed after epourtherions over time once it became apparent that a specific epouranal mage frequented the area.

Epourtherion	Domain	Known Home(s) / Meditation Areas
Gloran	Lumaria: Gloran Mountains	Glorandor
Zandamon	Candovia: West of Gibano Mountains	Zandamian Swamps
Trinnadea	Lumaria: Great Trinnadean Lake	Ellenon
Lumio	Lumaria: Lumarian Mountains	Cirinian Valley or Eglictor
Alaman	Sunntondra: Lost Plains	Hidden Valley
Candovon	Candovia: East of Gibano Mountains	Midlothiac Forest
Estervan	Estern	All throughout Estern
Gibano	Candovia: Gibano Mountains	Gibano Mountains
Wayo	Sunntondra: White Desert	Vinchu
Parmeo	Estern: Parmes Mountains	Parmes Mountains
Sunnandra	Sunntondra	Gavden Woods
Ziniden	Zinidenian Islands	Zinidenian Islands

Spiritual Roles and Duties

The function of the epouranal mages is mostly spiritual. They teach, guide, prophesy, and impart revelation according to how they are led by the epourtherions. This could include anything from public teachings to one-on-one counseling with a specific person they’re called to mentor or guide individually.

Public Prophecy, Teaching, & Revelation

All epouranals appear in public a minimum of two times a year, once on Prophecy Day, and once at the turn of the new year. Prophecy day is a specific day during the year that all twelve epouranals come out of meditation and prayer and teach at various places throughout the lands. At first the day was random, but it quickly became common that it was done around the same time each year, and after the adoption of a worldwide calendar, it started to fall on a specific date every year without fail.
The locations that the epouranals appeared also used to be random as well, but as time went on specific epouranals seemed to gravitate toward certain areas or would send out disciples in advance to let people know where they would be. Teachings on prophecy day can be on any subject and may or may not include prophecy. The individual teachings could last anywhere from 2 hours to half a day. Anyone is welcome to attend the teachings, but it is never considered required.
On New Year’s Eve, the twelve epouranals emerge to tell the world the length of the coming year (in days) and any prophecies associated with the year that they wish to impart to the people. They could be vague or very specific. Epouranals always agree on the length of the coming year but they do not always all reveal the same prophecies or revelations.
In addition to these set times of public address, epouranals can choose to speak anywhere and at any time and for any reason. There have even been several epouranals over time who made a habit of teaching either once a week or month at a set location, at other times, an epouranal may speak for several days or once weekly for several weeks if they have a lot they want to impart. Other epouranals may choose to speak sporadically or not at all aside from the two times each year they always speak. There is no rhyme or reason as to why an epouranal may choose to be more public or not. It all has to do with whatever they are charged to impart into the world.
Because of how highly epouranal mages are revered, there are no restrictions on where they can go to speak. If an epouranal mage enters a space to teach or prophesy, whether it be in a king’s palace or someone’s house, that space is there’s until they are done with it. Epouranals also have the ability to project their voices throughout the entire mentant realm if needed.

Private Mentoring and Guidance

Often, epouranal mages are called to impact the lives of a specific people or group of people. They could be guided to a person to give a very specific revelation about what they are called to do, or give a warning to a town, city, or nation about an impending disaster or disruption. In these instances, the epouranal usually takes great care to ensure that the message is delivered only to those who are supposed to hear it. If information is only meant for a specific person or group of people, then it is the belief that they are the only ones who need to hear it.
In many cases, epouranals are the catalyst for great change simply because they give revelation to a person or a specific group of people. One well known example is the creation of the Weather Rod which came about because the Gloran Epouranal Mage, Vizor Ligaurd, told the Glorandor dwarves that it was their duty to build the powerful artifact with the help of the Ellenon elves and the Fantasmal Government.
Though rare, people can choose to ignore the words of the epouranals and in those cases, the epouranal usually does very little to persuade them. Their role is only to pass on divine word, not to force people to do what they tell them. However, the few anecdotal cases of defying an epouranal resulted in such horrifying outcomes that almost none are willing to risk it.

Maintaining Spiritual History

Epouranals keep detailed records of their prophecies, revelations, and encounters. This is either done by them directly or by their disciples or servants. Where these records are kept is different for each epouranal. The vast majority of known epouranal records (or copies of such) are in the Fantasmal Libraries, but this is not always the case. Some epouranal mages have a continuously rotating group of servants who maintain epouranal libraries spanning over the different incarnations, while other epouranal records may be hidden in ancient structures, lost to time.
In addition, epouranals keep track of important artifacts,, usually hiding them in secret places around the world. In most cases, the knowledge of these artifacts and their locations are passed from one epouranal to the next. However, an epouranal can choose to obfuscate that knowledge even from their successors if they deem it necessary.
In general, epouranals do not share information among themselves about the location of their records or artifacts as each is charged to keep track of whatever they’ve been given stewardship over by the heavens. There are some exceptions to this though, specifically in cases where all epouranals were present for a particular event.
Epouranals are also given revelation about things that happened in the past, specifically things that happened before the advent of the epouranal mages. They have divine knowledge of certain events that took place in the PT era. A lot of this is written down along with other events that they chronicle, but there are some secrets and aspects of Mendalian history that are only known by the epouranals, kept hidden until the appointed time.

Legitimizing Other Prophets and Spiritual Leaders

Although epouranals are the highest spiritual authorities, from time-to-time other spiritual leaders will emerge, on some rare occasions even prophets. In addition, disciples of epouranals, or people who study their writings, may go on to teach publicly. However, these people are largely ignored unless they are legitimized by an epouranal mage. This is especially true for prophets. If someone starts speaking false prophecies, one or more epouranals are quick to disavow them. In many cases, the false prophet is even executed, if not by the epouranal themselves then by the local government. Because of this, the rare instances of false prophets are few and far between.
Spiritual teachers and leaders are different. An epouranal may explicitly legitimize a specific spiritual teacher or leader, but they may also be silent as well. Silence does not necessarily mean anything other than that the epouranals simply don’t care since the teacher is not stating prophetic word or revelations.
As the people of Mendala tend to be highly spiritual in nature, there is a craving for spiritual teachings since the epouranals are often not visible, but the vast majority of people are wary of spiritual guidance coming from anyone other than an epouranal or someone that has been endorsed by one. Because epouranals are universally accepted as the only divinely appointed prophets, it’s hard for political or spiritual leaders to twist spiritual teachings for their own means for fear of being called out by the epouranals or worse, possibly being executed.
Epouranals believe and teach that people should live their lives based on their own understanding of their teachings as their role in the world is simply to guide, not to force a particular ruleset. They encourage people to seek a way to be in touch with the heavens and the will of the Almighty on their own and not always depend on others for guidance in their everyday lives. Because of this, organized religion isn’t really a concept in the world. Everyone tends to have a fundamental belief in God and the heavens, but how they express that in their day to day lives differs largely from person to person.
The most notable case of the epouranals legitimizing the spiritual authority of another person was when the Daughter of the Sun came into prominence and all twelve epouranals acknowledged her role as the chief caretaker of the world.

Limited Government Role

For centuries, people petitioned epouranals to serve in a leadership capacity and create a global governing body to help solve the constant conflicts that plagued the world. The epouranals refused, citing their role as teachers and prophets sent to guide mankind, not rule it. However, this did not dissuade the growing desire. After months of meditation on the topic, the twelve epouranals all came to the same divine revelation and appointed the first Fantasma, Jerimiah Fantas, at the dawn of the TS era. This was also when mandamus was introduced to the world.
From then on, the epouranals have selected each new Fantasma. The appointment of the Fantasma is more than just a formality, it is a transfer of all of the Fantasma’s powers and abilities along with their identity. Much like the epouranals themselves, the Fantasma’s adimus signature is transferred from person to person. However, unlike epouranals, the previous Fantasma does not have to die for a new one to be appointed. Fantasma’s may retire whenever they like. Although the new Fantasma has always been tapped from the pool of available guardians, there is no edict stating that this must be the case.
Aside from the appointment of Fantasmas, the epouranals do not monitor the Fantasma or the Fantasmal Government. Their role is only to legitimize his divine authority to rule, and they do not second guess his decisions, edicts or policies. Epouranals do not actively advise or guide the Fantasma except in certain limited situations where they have prophecy or revelation or the Fantasma explicitly seeks out an epouranal for guidance. It is assumed that if a Fantasma were to “go rogue” or somehow grossly shirk their duties that the epouranals would step in, but this has never been the case.
At the request of the Fantasma, the epouranals serve a few other very limited government roles. They agree to serve as the final arbitrator in situations where several governments are in staunch opposition to a law enacted by the Fantasmal Government or feel that the Fantasmal Government has done something egregious. However, epouranals may choose not to arbitrate a given issue, thus defaulting the decision to that of the Fantasma. There have only been three times in the history of the Fantasmal Government that the epouranals have taken on such an arbitration role.
In addition, they agree to meet every seven months in Fantasmal Mountain as the Epouranal Council as a way for the Fantasma and world leaders to speak to them if the need arises. Though the delta between council meetings was set by the epouranals, the Fantasmal Government sets the exact date of each council meeting. Epouranals are not required to attend, but more than half do at any given council meeting, and they often use the opportunity to impart prophecies or wisdom to the gathered world leaders. Also, the epouranals have unrestricted access to the Fantasmal Mountain core and the mountain itself, allowing them to come and go as they please.
Despite these roles in the Fantasmal Government, the epouranals are still non-participants in the goings on of world politics. Though they legitimize the role of the Fantasma, they do not care if or how he uses that position. The Fantasmal Government is solely a construct of the Fantasma and whether it exists or how it functions is of no concern to them. In addition, it's important to note that epouranals are not bound by the laws of the Fantasmal Government in the same way they are not bound by any other laws.

Adimus Rank and Abilities

Epouranal mage is considered an adimus rank as well as a social one. It is very easy to distinguish an epouranal mage in the mentant realm, even to a novice mentant. Their aura is overwhelming and their adimus signature is unique.
Epouranals are stated to have the ability to use any and all adimus related abilities, but if true, they purposefully do not use them all. Most notably, epouranals do not use mandamus. The stated reason is that mandamus is a sign of dominion authority, and epouranals, as those that guide the peoples of the world, do not assert dominion over world at large. They also do not create mind mage crystals as they have no need for them. A mind mage crystal is used to override the limitations normal mentants have and give them more power and a larger energy pool to work with. Epouranals have no such limitations. Their adimus energy pool is, for all intents and purposes, infinite and directly connected to a source of supernal energy.
Epouranals have the ability to teleport without the need of a quickener staff and can use all of the various mentant non-abilities with ease. In fact, it is widely believed that the first quickeners, summoners, and environs learned of their abilities directly or indirectly from an epouranal.
Epouranals have extremely powerful mentus, beyond that of even high-level mandamus. They can do virtually anything within imagination, and when two or more epouranals combine forces, they can do things even beyond imagination.
Despite all this, powerful displays of mentus are rarely seen from an epouranal. They do not flaunt their power, nor do they use it to actively shape or help the world in any way. Their power is solely used as either a way to protect themselves or to perform an act dictated to them by the heavens through their connection with their epourtherions. Because of this, it can be hard to tell what an epouranal mage is truly capable of. Questions like “are they more powerful than the Fantasma” are hard to answer since they’ve never displayed their full power in any way.

Master Seal

One specific ability that the epouranal mages have is the ability to evoke a master seal. A master seal is the combination of all twelve epouranals’ combined power linked together to create an unbreakable seal on any object or location of importance. Once the seal is in place, only a supernal adimus signature can undo it. A supernal adimus signature is one that passes down from person to person and only fourteen exist in the world, twelve belong to the epouranal mages themselves, the other two are the Fantasma and the Daughter of the Sun.
The master seal is unbreakable because epouranal power is essentially unlimited and backed by supernal energy. Any epouranal can evoke a master seal at any time without consent from the other eleven mages. However, like the rest of their powers, the master seal is only evoked when they are guided to do so through divine revelation.

Societal Influence

Epouranals have a lot of influence over society even when they don’t mean to. The high reverence that people have for them means that even their slightest actions can cause ripple effects throughout Mendalian culture. This is most likely the main reason why they spend so much time away from the public eye, specifically to avoid such things, but sometimes just their existence influences societal changes. There are many prominent examples.
Robes
Robes as a mark of rank started with the Fantasmal Government mostly because of the relationship of their creator, Terrance Stokenshire, to the family of the first Fantasma. However, their use exploded after the Fantasmal Government presented the twelve epouranal mages of the time with their blue robes and gold belts at one of the first fully attended Epouranal Councils.
People were flabbergasted that the epouranals accepted the gifted robes and wore them from that day forward in public appearances (and in most private settings as well). After that, everyone wanted to be seen in a robe, and their use became so ubiquitous for specific ranks and positions that rules had to be put into place in order to manage their creation and use. From then on, robes were a permanent part of Mendalian society.
It is said that the robes that the epouranals are seen wearing are the same ones they initially received thousands of years ago from the Fantasmal Government and that their longevity is less to do with ustus, which does eventually wear out after a few centuries of use, but the constant adimus aura projected by the epouranals. This may or may not be a rumor. It’s also possible that each new epouranal receives a new robe.
The Edjourian Calendar
The Edjourian Calendar gained widespread acceptance and was eventually adopted as the official calendar of Mendala in part because the months were named after the twelve epourtherions connected to the epouranal mages.
Landmarks
The four continents, which were once only known as the northern, southern, eastern, and western continents, were renamed after four of the epourtherions based on where their connected mages were widely seen. In addition, major landmarks were named or renamed after the epourtherions based on the movement of their respective epouranals.
Wendigo’s Family Day
An entire day was named after one specific epouranal mage, Cassandra Wendigo, simply because she went home to her family one day. As epouranals typically leave their families to fulfill their duties, it was considered the height of controversy and spectacle when Cassandra Wendigo ,the Trinnadea Epouranal Mage, returned to her home in a small town in the Kingdom of Ellenon one day just to “catch up with her family” as she put it.
She did this once a year, on the same day, from then on, and because of this, a new special day was cemented on the Edjourian Calendar, Wendigo’s Family Day, which is now a day when people come together as families to spend time together and usually have a large feast. Wendigo herself swore that it was never her intention to start a worldwide trend and only did it out of her own whims. Regardless, the tradition was born.

Page Contents

Adimus Classification

Subcategory	Special
Avg. Lifespan	400-450 Years
Official Robe	Blue w/ Gold Belt
Population %	N/A

Library Info & Links

Form of Address

High Mage

Source of Authority

Divine Authority

Length of Term

Until Death

Understanding The Adimus

Terminology & Abilities

Adimus Classifications (Main Article)

Government & Politics

Significant Global Law

World Leaders (Main Article)

Epouranal Mages | Epouranal Council Fantasma | Fantasmal Government Daughter of the Sun |Sunnin Social System Terminology