Nobilis Enlightened
Contents
Nobilis - Enlightened
Imperator - The Shepherdess of Light
1. ‘Omneaum(a) became aware. In its awareness, it found loneliness. It saw potential, good, an impossibility.
2. Omneaum gave way to potential, and made the impossible possible. It was, things became.
3. Enlightenment arose, and so did I, Whole, Complete, bearing the Gifts of Light, Vaveram (b), Maricarum (c), Endeon (d), and Causality.
4. Omneaum’s legacy I shall honour and hold safe, now and forever, till the hour I too stand alone between Impossibility and Despair.’
- The Glorious One, the Shepherdess of Light, Imperator of Enlightenment -
(a) Omneaum: The Original Absolute Void
(b) Vaveram: Estate of Spontaneous Sentience and Awareness (Now Excruciated)
(c) Maricarum: Estate of Great Miracles through Personal Sacrifice (Now excruciated, succeeded by the estate of 'Magic' and 'Sacrifice')
(d)Endeon: Estate of the 'Lone Wolf Phenomenon', wherein those fighting against overwhelming odds are always guaranteed victory. Better known in our time as the 'Storm Trooper effect'. (Now excruciated)
Having predated the Imperators of 'Name', the Shepherdess is nameless and formless. Those who are fortunate enough to know her identify her as 'The Glorious One, the Shepherdess of Light', or, simply, 'The Shepherdess'. Having come into being before the birth of the concept of 'form' or even 'matter' and 'physical law', she is without form in the physical universe. She used to communicate with her agents in the physical universe through pulses of light and ripples in a fountain of light. Needless to say, a lot of liberty had been taken in deciphering her wishes. Recently, however, the Chief Engineer of the Sanctum, Orphus, has devised an ingenious megastructure, the Deus Ex Machina, a gigantic clockwork device that allows the Shepherdess to see into the physical realm and engage with it using a gigantic, rather clumsy steel claw and communicate using a ticker-tape telegram machine.
(Interestingly, having also preceded the Imperator of Gender, she is, or, at least, was, in essence, genderless. However, around 300 B.C. she became a part of debate amongst philosophers as an example of a being who must be 'of the default gender'. For some reason it was decided that the default gender was female, and so the Shepherdess has since been considered to be of the female persuasion. Not that she really cares. It is suspected that the Noble of Women had something to do with this, but that's a tale for another time.)
Prophesized successor of Ananda and future Shepherdess of the Fifth Age, the Glorious One has purposely been denied a seat on the Council of Four, for her ways are that of the ‘Enlightened’, incompatible with the ways of the other council-members. She earns Lord Entropy and Ananda’s tolerance for her existence only through her service in the Valde Bellum and her Light’s importance in maintaining the Weirding Wall, a task that consumes almost the entirety of her attention and being (much to Lord Entropy’s and Ananda’s satisfaction).
The Heavens despise her, for an Angel of Creation she is not, and yet she brought forth the first Light that made everything that was Beautiful possible. Only the fact that her Light is necessary for beauty and this fact alone earns her the toleration of Heaven. The Wild would have nothing to do with her, for there is no freedom in sacrifice.The Hells, the Darkness and the Light all loath her, for not only is she the voice of wisdom that transcends not just the Corruption that the Hells endeavour towards, but she is also the voice that moves all beings towards becoming more than the matter they are made from, transcending what they are, pushing them ever onwards towards a greater purpose not only in life but also in death. Those who follow her code wish for naught else but the glory of dying for a greater good.
Vow of the Enlightened
1) Everything has a cause and an end. The Enlightened shall embrace this.
2) Noble deeds are of Noble cause and Noble ends. The Enlightened shall serve this.
3) The Impossible has a cause and the Enlightened transcends its end. The Enlightened shall surpass this.
1) Everything has a cause and an end. The Enlightened shall embrace this. - One thing leads to another. And at the end of all things is an ‘end’.
2) Noble deeds are of Noble cause and Noble ends. The Enlightened shall serve this. - Every good act must be good of purpose and good of result. This clause seems to fail to (most probably purposely) mention anything regarding the means. Taking the most liberal interpretation, a ‘Noble deed’ can have means as lacking in morals as a psychotic mass murderer, and yet still be considered ‘Noble’ in the eyes of the ‘Enlightened’. What matters is the cause, the intention and the ends. Everything in between matters naught.
3) The Impossible has a cause and the Enlightened transcends its end. The Enlightened shall surpass this. - The ultimate sacrifice can conquer anything, even the impossible. This is the one true ‘Miracle’, Magic at its purest, one that allows the Enlightened to surpass his/her own end and achieve greatness through sacrifice. The Shepherdess safeguards the cause of all who sacrifice themselves for a greater purpose, guaranteeing them the miraculous magic of success.
Estates: Light, Determinism, Magic, Chivalry, Honour, Loyalty, Courage, Justice, Karma, Logic, Alchemy, Sacrifice, Curiosity, Sun, Moon, Stars
Excruciated Estates: Vaveram, Maricarum, Endeon, Astelumina
Qualities:
Great Harvest (2)
Cold (-1)
Demanding (-1)
PC Nobles of the Enlightened
The Foreguard of the Enlightened
Alicia - Principissa of Light
Emil - Power of Determinism
Charles - Lord of Chivalry
Lyna - Regina of Magic
NPC Nobles of the Enlightened
The Vanguard of the Enlightened
Regine - Inquesta of Loyalty
Jessie - Tempesta of Courage (Sort of veering towards Impetuous Juvenile Recklessness)
Illumina - AllMother of Alchemy
Novice Alchemist extraordinaire and (rather unwilling) Commander of the Alchemist Flameheart Squad, Illumina is yet another recent addition to the Famiglia. She's currently worried about the sorry state of her estate (mostly usurped by Chemistry and now reduced to nothing more than a fantasy fiction gimmick) and a missing prominent Alchemist amongst other things....but mainly by the prospect of responsibility in general.
Elune - Principissa of the Stars
While relatively senior in the Famiglia of the Enlightened (by simple virtue of everyone else being very recent additions), that's as far as her seniority goes. In every other respect, she is mostly helpless, though the more understanding dismiss this as a reflection of her estate - stars aren't known to be do much other than be pretty, especially lately with modern technology supplanting the need for stellar navigation or calendar-keeping. It used to be so much different when her sister, the Noble of Astelumina, the power of stellar influence upon the workings of the universe and lives on earth, was still around. Now as the stars fade and people forget the stars, Elune lies ill, slowly fading herself.
The Diplomatic Corp (Intelligence) of the Enlightened
Celeste - Excelifficer of Logic
Geronimo - High Chief of Sacrifice
Han Gua - Exarch of Honour
Jimmy - Arch-Provost of Curiosity
The Unassigned of the Enlightened
Justice(?) - Empress of Justice
Currently absent. Whereabouts unknown.
Thomas Eire - Keeper of Karma
Kaguya - Himegami of the Moon
Currently very, very vain.
Kimo - the Emperor of the Sun
Chancel - Sanctum Excelestia
Qualities
Megalomaniac King/Queen (-4)
Normal Magic (3)
Alchemy (1)
2 Banes (-1)
Convenient Gates (2)
Anchorable Magical residents (4)
Government
The Sanctum is under the absolute Executive rule of the Emperor who answers only to the Shepherdess. Administrative rule is under the 4 queens:
Alicia - High Queen of the Diamond Tower.
Lyna - Queen of the Ruby Gardens.
Elune - Queen of the Sapphire Sky.
Jessie - Queen of the Emerald Fields.
Judicial Rule is under the Absolute Court headed by the Shepherdess and the Supreme Court headed by the Noble of Justice and her Circle of Justiciaries.
Security
The city has a number of defense corps organized to different degrees by a number of Nobles.
The Chivalrous Gentlemanly TownWatch
The Magical Avengers of Love and Peace
Organized by the 5th Noble of Magic, a rather...odd Master of Magic who believed that wearing frilly clothing is a form of sacrifice to society and preached that magical power is exponentially proportional to the frilliness of one's clothing. Now maintained by the 7th Noble of Magic, Lyna, who kept up most of the traditions of the 5th.
The Upholders of Equivalent Exchange, the Eternally Passionate Flameheart Alchemists (EPFA)
Organized by the previous Noble of Alchemy, a rather fluffy and passionate Lady Alchemist, and maintained by the recently appointed Noble, Illumina, the EPFA are at best socially-involved nerds, at worst really, really messy vigilantes (unfortunately, more often the latter). They mainly keep the domain of the Alchemists, the Amethyst Shores, as well as their portion of the Ruby Gardens, safe...for a given value of 'safe'.
The Infallibly Just Circle of Justiciers
The Eternally Loyal Shieldmaidens of [Insert Place Name Here]
Organized by the current Noble of Loyalty,
The Ever-Watchful Lantern Kindlers and Lamp Bearers of the Stars
The Righteous Karmic-Retributioneer Monks of Karma
The LoreKeepers and Agents of Literary Vengeance, the Combat Librarians
