The Eternals
By Nightsong
Race name: Eternals (only known).
Pronunciation: Eh-turn-uhls.
Average Lifespan: Unknown. Possibly no age limit. (longest lived currently over 600 million years old)
Appearance:
Varies.
Description:
The name Eternal, in of itself, means without ending, and indeed, this describes the race fairly well. Born in the Nexus at the dawn of the Multiverse, these beings seem to be unaging, and in fact can live hundreds of millions of years (they are not, however, immortal; they can be killed, though it is difficult). This is more than likely because they have no true physical appearance, but are composed of a dense essence of pure magical energy. However, most of them take on a form early in life, and maintain it as their 'true' appearance (though capable of shape-shifting, many Eternals are not fond of it; to them, constantly changing shape would take away some of their identity).
Typically, this form is human, at least basically, and in fact it can be very hard to tell an Eternal from a normal human, but for two things; first, no Eternal can change the color or luster of his eyes. Each Eternal is born with eyes that glitter and almost glow, much like the side-effects caused by infusion with Mako Energy. These range in colors throughout the spectrum, and can easily be spotted as a 'mark' by a trained eye. Secondly, the energy signature left by an Eternal is incredibly unique, and anyone capable of sensing the 'signatures', or residues, left behind by ether energy usage can always tell an Eternal's. This makes them very easy to track, relatively speaking (you do have to know what you're looking for beforehand).
Origins and a Brief History:
The Eternals were, as previously stated, born in the Nexus at the dawn of the Multiverse (for more about the Nexus and the creation of the Multiverse, check with the main theories section). They were originally instituted as watchers over it, though the reasons that they were made to watch are unknown. Also, they were completely sealed into their little dimension; though they could see the dimensions outside of the Nexus, they were uncapable of traveling into them to see them firsthand. As a result, a small group of Eternals, led by the now-infamous Nathaniel Mazer (brother of Lucent Mazer), searched and found a way to break the seal that bound them. First, through a long and complicated series of events (detailed in the Endless Game series, which is not yet up on the site), he collapsed a single dimension in the Multiverse, then proceeded to slaughter huge numbers of Eternals.
As the Eternals had never known death, and the Multiverse had been relatively stable up to that point, these events through the seal off entirely, and eventually caused it to collapse entirely. The cost was great, however. Nathaniel himself was killed in the process, along with almost all of the rest of the Eternal race. In fact, only twelve true Eternals, along with a Chaos-warped version of the race called Zeikdanes, still live, and the Nexus itself is a wasteland dotted with gates to basically any point in the Multiverse.
Common Personality Attributes:
While in the post-Eternal War Multiverse, the personalities of the twelve remaining Eternals vary greatly, before the war, many of the beings shared a large number of traits. To begin with, ambition is not something that most Eternals have (in fact, Nathaniel Mazer was very, very odd in this respect). Many are satisfied to simply go through life without ever truly accomplishing anything, so long as they can be entertained constantly. This is possibly related to their unending lifespans; when you have all of eternity to do something worthwhile, getting it done is not a very pressing matter. Also, they tend to be somewhat arrogant to races 'lesser' than themselves. Races that fall under this category, of course, are basically any race that is NOT Eternal. More than likely, this is due to the incredible amount of intelligence they gain over the millennia, and the lack of it in the mortal races. They simply have no patience for anyone that doesn't already know everything they do, and are notoriously bad at giving explanations.
Magic Types:
No Eternal can manipulate Chaos energy, nor do they truly have any desire to. They are beings formed in the very center of the Multiverse, and before the Eternal war, they never even had any contact with this strange energy source. This does not, however, make them any less powerful. They are basically masters of the many and varied elemental types of magic (holy, fire, water, earth, air, lightning, dark, etc.), and any Eternal can cast high-level spells from any category of it. They do tend to lean toward one element or another, but their inner core (this is a mana-related term) is colorless.
Notable Eternals:
Nathaniel Mazer (deceased) - started the Eternal War, broke the seal upon the Nexus.
All of the following are among the twelve survivors of the Eternal War.
Lucent Mazer - without a title, but known throughout the Multiverse as the most powerful of the surviving Eternals. Noted in human form for long blonde hair, green eyes (perpetually covered by black sunglasses) and a long trench coat. Born in the Nexus approximately 20 million years before the fall, Mazer was a relatively young Eternal when the great War broke out. Even so, his power levels were unusually high, but none among the Eternal race knew that, thanks to techniques he learned from Melastafos (once known as the Warrior) to mask his energy signature. Just before the war broke out, Melastafos learned of his power, and attempted to kill the young Eternal to claim his energy. His plan backfired, and he himself was killed by Mazer (he was then cast to the Icy Wasteland, on of the three planes beyond the Multiverse, but that’s a different story).
Shortly afterwards, the Eternal War broke out, thanks to the efforts of Lucent’s brother, Nathaniel Mazer. This older brother would try to kill Lucent late in the war, after he too learned of the Eternal’s power level, in order to aid his strike against the royalty of the Nexus, but it backfired on him as well, and he too was slain by Lucent. The young Eternal then left the Nexus entirely, and wandered the Multiverse in search of entertainment for a few hundred million years, honing his powers by learning more obscure spells and collecting ancient relics. For this, he is sometimes know as the Great Artificer (but the title is unofficial, as Lucent doesn’t see the point in having one). Occasionally, he can be found involved in huge power struggles involving multi-dimensional and temporal travel, as he finds these to be the most fruitful in finding new relics.
Sarelstron Lustran – known simply as Sarelstron
the Watcher. Noted in human form
for his long white hair, incredibly haggard appearance, and blue-black robes.
Sarelstron has been rumored to have existed since the Nexus began,
literally trillions of years ago. He
was little involved in the Eternal War, as much as was powerful (meaning that he
didn’t actively attack anyone else). He
still one a fairly large number of battles, as his power level is also unusually
high. After the war ended, though,
he chose to remain in the Nexus, the only one of the survivors content to do so.
From there, he watches the entire Multiverse, and he alone remains
capable of seeing every moment in every timeline, as the only survivor who
studied such techniques before the fall of the Nexus.
Aristrand Clarist – known as the Archmagus. Noted in human form for his long red hooded robes, long, black hair (which purportedly reaches his feet), and pure red eyes. After the Eternal War, Aristrand made it a quest to learn everything about magic, in it’s every form in every dimension. Several hundred million years later, his great tomes on magic number in the millions, and are held in his fabled great library of magic at some obscure point in some obscure dimension. It is said that he knows every spell in existence, though he continues to search for more, from the tiniest cold-curing spell to monstrosities such as Dragon Slave.
Kanrazil Vilicar – known as the Destroyer, or the Cursed One. In human form, he is a hulking brute of a man, easily eight feet tall if he so chooses, with short brown hair and an armor that no human could stand up in. Due to a curse cast upon him by a fellow Eternal in the final days of the war (which Aristrand Clarist does indeed have penned down in one of his tomes), he is cursed to wander the multiverse, seeking ways to destabilize dimensions’ temporal stability to the point of collapse (this was a bit of irony on the part of the one who cursed him, for it is said that Kanrazil plotted along with Nathaniel Mazer in his plot to bring down the Nexus). Oddly enough, the ancient one has suceeded in doing this nearly 50 times, just as he would come close to dying as a result of the spell’s dark magic. His quest has prevented him from learning much more about the Multiverse than in those dimensions he has brought down (it can often take several million years to destabilize a universe sufficiently to cause a downfall), for which he is sometimes called the ‘idiot’ of the Eternals (well, by Lucent Mazer, anyway).
Lucia Meleraii – known as the Warrior. In human form, she appears to be a woman about 5’ 10”, with short blue hair and steel-colored eyes. After the fall of the Nexus, Lucia, in a way similar to her former friend Aristrand Clarist, made it a quest to learn of every fighting style, and every weapon, in the Multiverse. She has since collected a number of weapons that fill an area of over 1000 sq. miles in a location just as obscure to Aristrand’s, and has written millions of books describing the various nuances of millions of fighting styles.
Richter Zeraii – known as the Great Bard.
Along with Lucia and Aristrand, Richter took it upon himself to become an
authority on one aspect of life within the Multiverse (in order to perhaps
puzzle out the reason of it’s creation).
Richter attempted the nigh impossible, though – to pen down every song,
great or small, in the Multiverse, as well as collect every type of musical
instrument imaginable. His palace
is literally thousands of times larger than his colleagues, and the volumes upon
volumes of books of songs could fill an entire planet.
Sheena Vontex – known as the Storyteller.
She appears in human form as a woman about 5 feet tall, with a rather
gaunt frame, silvery hair and blue eyes. As
one of the four Wise Ones (composed of Lucia, Aristrand, Richter and herself),
Sheena seeks to gather all pieces of literature, fiction or otherwise, in the
Multiverse. Her collection is
nearly as large as Richter’s, and contains a great number of her own works,
for she is one of the greatest authors that has ever been, if not the greatest.
Teris Stormwind – (Note: Originally,
this was the creation of Lynxfire. However, as our universes did not
coincide, we chose to split them up. He did give me permission, however,
to retain an Eternal with a similar background and name). the youngest of the
surviving Eternals, and the last prince of the former Nexus.
Also noted as one of the few people who can call himself a friend to
Lucent Mazer. In human form, has
long raven-black hair along with one red eye and one ice blue, a mark of
the royal family. He was but a
small child at the time of the Eternal War, and only escaped extermination
because Lucent Mazer was unwittingly protecting him (it was common knowledge at
the time that Lucent was the protector of Teris, though Lucent himself had
actually skimped on that responsibility, leaving the child behind in a random
dimension, which had actually saved Teris’ life while drawing unwanted
attention to Lucent). He seeks to
restore the Nexus to it’s former glory, though his plans to do so are as of
yet unclear.
Electra Prismic – known as the Wanderer.
In human form appears to be a woman about 6 feet tall, with long brown
hair and wearing black Shardsteel armor (the material used in Lucent Mazer’s
Blade of Black. He’s tried to
buy, trade, and even steal the precious armor on multiple occasions, but she
always foils him, and he won’t go so far as to actually attack her). She has
taken it upon herself to see every dimension in the Multiverse, an impossible
task since it’s constantly expanding. Not
much is known about her, though she and Lucent Mazer have crossed paths several
times. Known to Lucent as “the
Eternal with a really stupid name.”
Alec Garis – without a title.
In human form he appears as a human about 20 with short red hair and
golden eyes, typically found wearing a human type t-shirt and baggy jeans.
Alec hasn’t really done much over the past few hundred million years,
as he’s stayed primarily on Earth Prime since it happened.
He’s convinced himself that the planet is vital to the future, and has
stayed there, in some form, since it’s creation (ah, the wonders of time
travel). Doesn’t have much
contact with the other Eternals, though he and Lucent have met – and argued
– twice.
Snow Al’Gare – known as the Cosmic Gambler. In human form, is a man in a long leather coat with white hair and brown eyes. Once a player of the Endless Game (typically on the White side), Snow now travels the Multiverse seeking a game as addicting as that one. A consumnate gambler.
The twelfth of the twelve survivors must remain anonymous for the time being, until such time as the Endless Game series has been penned down in some form.
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