Every banner, every order, every house. The threads between them — who marches with whom, who has stopped speaking, who pays the rent for whose silence.
Heaven, divine angels, the Twelve.
“The 13 Gods, Divine Angels, and the Archangels of Light.”
“The twelve angels of Dremenus's order, of Accora. Patient as their archangel. Their first envoy to Celesterra was Kael of the Bowmen.”
“What is left of Grandex's twelve after Drexel's theft on Kolonoth. Phaeren the Burned is, in every measurable sense, the last of them whose flame still answers cleanly.”
“The twelve angels of Kryor's order. Their voice is Vaelor; their quietest is Tirenne. They hold the celestial perimeter of Celesterra without setting foot on it for most of an age.”
Mortals, kingdoms, the human field.
“The northern frozen-realm crown. Quiet, patient, scholastic. Treats the kingdoms south of it as colleagues to be measured, not allies to be courted.”
“The reigning royal house of the eastern kingdom of Celesterra. Crest: a falling star caught in an iron lattice. Old blood, old grudges, slow to act on the new ones.”
“The military arm of the kingdom whose Major Raven, Captain Darius, and Lord-General Maerwyn carry rank under House Krypton. The institution that first registered the shape of the Drexel threat — three seasons too late.”
“Kingdoms, churches, warlocks, the faithful and the lost.”
No allegiances on the public ledger.
“The western principality that broke from Krypton at the Schism of Vextar — a religious fracture, not a political one. Their prince-regent rules a court of nominal faith. Their spymaster reads what the prince does not.”
“The kingdom's standing scholar-corps, working from cold towers above the snow. They were the first on Celesterra to chart hesitations in the stars.”
“Twelve trading dynasties that effectively rule Sereveld. Drexel's network has, very patiently, corrupted seven of them. The Doge, lately, has begun to count.”
“Mortals who have, briefly, carried celestial flame. Almost none survive the carrying. Auren of Embers was, in this chronicle, the third in recorded history.”
Outside the chronicle's ledger entirely.
“The Reaper and primordial entities outside the divine order.”
“The five hereditary witches of the desert kingdom. Their pantheon predates the celestials. Independently named the warlock two years before the chronicle began. Sent no warning.”
Ember, ash, the long burn of the south.
“The handful of mortals Drexel has trained personally. Distinct from the conscripted dead and the willing-converts; these are the ones he taught.”
“Varythos, Krozar, demons, and the corrupted.”
“Generals, lords, and shadow of the deep.”
No allegiances on the public ledger.
“Mortals who chose death and walk because they want to.”
No allegiances on the public ledger.