Eternal

Eternals are demigods or demigod-like beings who wield near-divine power. Titans, Old Gods, Ancients, Elemental Lords, Daegoth Majors, Hakkora, Daeris von Noth, and many others are all counted among the ranks of the Eternals.

Overview
Eternals are not born, but rather made. All Eternals were once mortals or something close to a mortal (as is the case with the daegoth) at one point in their lives, but have since transcended their original nature. Each being has a numen within them, a divine spark of power that once accessed, allows the being in question to shed their mortality and become something greater.

Eternals are mortals who have achieved a superhuman mastery of the mind and/or body. This is largely able to be done thanks to the numen, a divine-spark located within each and every living thing. By establishing roads, pathways, or connections to one's numen, they tap into the underlying metaphysical processes of the soul. In short, by acquiring a direct link to one's soul they are able to transcend their status as a mortal being. This state of being is referred to as anevrincy. By achieving anevrincy one may transcend their mortal limitations and become an Eternal.

Eternals are often worshiped by mortals, and thus serve as a conduit to divine power. These 'living gods' as they are called, walk among their people which only serves to further their divine belief.

Eternals are not troubled by mortal concerns such as age or disease. They do not require sleep, though may for the purpose of dreaming. They do not require food or drink, but gladly partake as they once did. They experience time the same way as they did before, but are immune to its effects. Eternals are also incapable of siring children except with one another. Children born from these couplings are not necessarily demigods themselves, but are more likely to 'awaken' and achieve the mental or physical state required to connect with their numen. These children are called approximites, though the name may differ between cultures.

Anevrincy
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The process through which one becomes an Eternal is called Anevrincy. By establishing roads, pathways, or connections to one's numen, they tap into the underlying metaphysical processes of the soul. In short, by acquiring a direct link to one's soul they are able to transcend their status as a mortal being.

Background
The Vulgaris is an enormous and constantly expanding realm, thanks to the tireless efforts of the titans that bring order to it. However the titans are not omnipresent, nor are they omnipotent, as proven by the Black Order. They can be killed, they cannot be everywhere at once, and the task of Ordering an entire reality can be tricky. The titans realized this early on and used the Celestial Anvil to solve their problem. They instilled every living creature with a piece of divine essence known as the soul, or numen. The numen gives a wide variety of benefits, but chief among them is the ability to achieve anevrincy.

By allowing their creations to ascend to the status of Eternal, they could assist the titans in the myriad of tasks laid out before them. Whether that was Ordering worlds, shaping planets into existence, imprisoning creatures, or fighting the Black Order. By allowing the mortal races to ascend in power the titans could rest assured knowing that even if they were to disappear, their legacy would endure. However, what they had not counted on was that not all who achieved anevrincy would be good or lawful. Before long vampires, demons, even beasts could spark their numen and join the ranks of Eternals.

Still, the experiment was largely a success as worlds devoted to law and order produced Eternals. These lawful individuals would safeguard their planet, and sometimes even the surrounding realms, making the whole ordeal a worthwhile investment.

Of course, those Eternals who were on chaotic or evil bents, or otherwise possessed strong selfish desires proved troublesome. Specifically Daeris van Noth who established the Nothic Empire; a large interstellar vampiric kingdom which went on to plague countless worlds for generations. But rather than invade and destroy the empire, which could trigger an Eternal War, they chose to instead act through proxy. More problematic was the increase in Black Order activity drawing the titan's attentions elsewhere.

As time has progressed, the number of non-titan Eternals has drastically increased. For every titan there is three non-titan Eternals, and for every lawful or good Eternal, there was two or three chaotic or evil Eternals. While the bad outnumbered the good, the bad were more often to be slain by their rivals or upstart mortals who had enough of their existence. The good Eternals continued to reign for hundreds or even thousands of years, allowing them to grow in strength and power rivaling both the titans and their malign counterparts.

Rankings
Eternals are broken down into four general ranks, each based on age. While these are not concrete rankings, they serve as a general outline to the strength and power of an Eternal, as read in the Encyclopedia For All Things: Eternal:

Rank 1: Fledgling
''Fledgling Eternals are new, fresh from their anevrincy and still learning to master their new state of being. Rank 1 Eternals average a century of existence. Most Eternals do not survive past the rank of Fledgling. Their mastery of their craft is not absolute, and their mortality is still present. They still require sleep, food, and drink though cease aging by any mortal metric. They can be killed in combat, though are significantly more durable than they were before. Many are slain during this stage, either by mortals or other Eternals threatened by their rising power.''

Rank 2: Emergent
''Emergent Eternals are those who have close to or at least a millennia of existence behind them. More than likely by this point knowledge of their mortal origin is rare, though not lost. If they are still active on their home planet (and most usually are), a religion or two has sprouted up around them. At this rank their mastery of whatever craft they used to help achieve Eternalhood is unparalleled, and the threat posed to them by mortals is greatly diminished. At some point along the way, Emergent Eternals no longer require food, drink, or sleep. Though many still do for the sensations such activities provide. ''

Rank 3: Elder
''Elder Eternals are rare, only a two have ever been encountered by Dimensional Excursion teams. According to the two Elders we encountered, many of the more hostile or malign Eternals get 'stuck' in the Emergent phase. Killed off by higher ranking Eternals, mortal adventurers, or locked in bitter feuds with other Emergents that inevitably end up with their deaths. However, it is safe to assume that Elder Eternals with evil or malicious goals exist; just that we have (thankfully) not encountered them yet. ''

''Either way, the characteristics of Elder Eternals are hard to pinpoint. The two that we encountered had over 3,437 and 4,698 years of existence under their cloak. Though getting them to admit this was difficult. Not for any mortal reasons one might hide their age, but rather that they had simply forgot or lost count. I'd wager that these two individuals had spent more time as an Eternal than not, and thus were no longer bothered by the passage of time. The circumstances surrounding their mortal lives are also hard to pinpoint. The Elders we met were able to recall their earlier lives in extreme detail. Though when prying the local population for information on the Elder's mortal lives, we encountered difficulties. We ended up with more myth and mystery, rather than any hard evidence or written accounts. And the few written accounts we discovered contradicted what was told to us by the elders. We all remember our pasts with romanticism and curated details, and I am under no impression that Eternals would be any different.''

Rank 4: Ancient
''Ancient Eternals are exceedingly rare, and only hypothesized to exist. Our teams have never once encountered one who could be considered an 'ancient' by our standards, which we place at roughly 10,000 or more years. The power at the hands of a 1,000 year old Ancient is unimaginable. I doubt even the collective might of a dozen luminaries could match their strength. ''

''The dwarves believe there is an ancient progenitor race known as the titans, who are responsible for the creation of not only their race, but everything we see when we venture out into Wildspace. Corroboration by the elves may lend credence to the belief. If this is true, the titans would undoubtedly fall into this category. Imagine: a being that can create entire worlds filled with complex ecosystems and inhabitants with the wave of their hand. The mana required to accomplish such feats must be extraordinary. Could beings of this enormity even be killed? ''