Divine Hallowed

“I used to fear, to tremble at the thought of death and failing the Everlasting. Now, look at me. I am one with the whims of my creators, the blade that tears through the faithless, the flame that bathes the meek in tender light. I am warmth. I am grace. I am purpose.”

— Herald of Purpose of the Order of the Shattered Throne

No single member of the Order of the Shattered Throne encompasses the virtues of the Seven Rites as greatly as the Heralds. These angelic beings have been judged worthy by the Everlasting, forfeiting their former selves to ascend, shedding the sin of mortal flesh in favor of a touch of the divine. For the faithful of the Order, there is no greater sight than that of a Herald flying up above, no greater reminder of the love and power that seeps from the Everlasting—save perhaps for glimpses of one of the Shards of the Throne of Oster. 

The Heralds’ story began with the first expeditions into the Malediction, where soldiers located and brought back a fabled Ophanim to Dynas, albeit at the cost of thousands of lives. These gigantic creatures had, up until this point, been mentioned only in ancient liturgies from the Age of the Everlasting and were thought to have been lost to the Fall. As preached by the Church of Valcaris, the Ophanim were created by the Triumvirate themselves, weapons of war to surpass all others and ensure the survival of Osterath.

At first, the Rite of the Ophanim was quickly established to properly worship, maintain, and contain the creature, and after recovering from their losses, to journey in search of others of the sacred species. Inside a great, sacred chamber, the Ophanim emanated an aura of sorrow that contaminated the minds and behaviors of the chamberlains, leading to the martyrization of many. In time, it came to be understood that this creature was suffering from divine forlornness, and a most pious follower of the Church was chosen and allowed into the chambers of the Ophanim. There, to the horror of the chamberlains, she was utterly consumed by the being, in a manner that ill befits the mouths of mortals. Their fear, however, soon turned to awe, for inside the Ophanim, something began to gestate. Eventually, something new was born. The first of a new race: the Hallowed. An angelic being whose body was suffused by the Oathbound Light, of flesh as unbreakable as their fervent conviction, equal parts terrifying beauty and majestic wrath.

Ever since, the Rite of the Ophanim has eyes scattered through the Order’s territories, searching for potential candidates to be embraced by the Ophanim, in the hope of creating ever more Heralds. These divine beings, albeit few, have proven to be some of the most powerful soldiers of the Church, rivalling even Seekers in martial prowess and magic, all the while remaining beyond the touch of corruption that may fester in the hearts of mortals.

Given their immense power, Heralds are each given a single mission of great importance, one that they hold dear to their hearts, and they will go to great lengths to fulfill. Since the process that creates a Herald causes them to be born anew, stripped of their former selves, they are given a new name, one that mirrors their duty. The Herald of Frontiers is known to survey and protect the edges of the Order’s territory, while the Herald of Salvation is charged to go directly into the Malediction, protecting the Order’s Seekers from the most dangerous place in Selejia. While the Heralds are greatly exalted by the Order as a whole, they are not the only beings born from the Ophanim, and the Hushed, their abominable counterpart, are a grim reminder of what awaits should one be judged unworthy by the Everlasting.