Lore
The Fallen
“I eternally come again to this identical and selfsame life, in the greatest and even in the smallest, so that I again teach the eternal recurrence of all things.” —Thus Spake Zarathustra, Nietzsche
You might think of them as angels. But these are not the angels of Hallmark cards: brass trumpets, picnicking in the clouds. In their true essence, they are trans-temporal, swirling engines of wing and blood, fiery eyes that peer around the corners between worlds. Dark, radiant beings conjured from fresh battlefields, a Frankenstein’s Valkyrie, forever crashing to Midgard. What grief demands their hate, what vast, cannibal hunger?
Forever encircled within their domains, the Fallen are barred from worlds of time and space, hailing from a Realm which has neither. They are a kind of impossibility, entities on the other side of the mirror, encircled by an infinite Void. Air-gapped from the Cosmos.
To them, the human concept of time and space is akin to ants dwelling beneath a minuscule stone and calling it the world, and the breadth of their lives equates to a single inhalation. What might the likes of them want with an ant?
Picture this, if you can. You are absolute ruler of this singular Realm, bounded by infinite void. Immortal and omniscient within that universe, yet everything that exists there only a reflection of yourself. Imagine you are unable to ever leave the borders of that gilded cage.
One day you discover that there are songbirds who can fly freely through the sky far beyond your grasp. But they are small enough to flit through the cracks, and you can coax them into stopping by in their journey.
Perhaps you can send something along with them, which will again be returned to you one day, with a semblance of all they have done and known in the Cosmos outside those closed borders. This is the situation the twelve Fallen find themselves in.
The moment of conception grants them an opportunity to hitch a ride through life on the back of a mortal, beginning with an extended gestation in a small, sleepy mind. Anticipating the development of hands for manipulation, a mouth for tasting. A body waiting to be inhabited, and offer up its world.
The 12 Aspects of the Fallen
1. The Iron Vigilante
Bringer of vengeance
Aries ♈, Fire of Fire
Forceful, Vicious, Indomitable
Flaw: Obsessive
Shadow: The Soul Fisher
“This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object” (Dark Knight)
Popular culture: River Tam, Joan of Arc, Batman, Rorschach, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Beatrix Kiddo, John Wick, Furiosa, Mizu (Blue Eye Samurai), Ellen Ripley.
Mythology: Achilles (Greek), Ares (Greek), Cu Chulainn (Irish), Thor (Norse), Karna (Hindu), Horus (Egyptian), Gilgamesh (Sumerian).
2. The Hungry Star
Locus of passion
Leo ♌, Air of Fire
Magnetic Presence, Willful, Seductive
Flaw: Vanity
Shadow: The Empty Legion
“You would think that a rock star being married to a supermodel would be one of the greatest things in the world. It is.” (Bowie)
Popular culture: Tony Stark/Iron Man, Scarlet O’Hara, Narcissa Malfoy, Don Draper, Norma Desmond, Cersei Lannister, Joe MacMillan.
Mythology: Lilith (Jewish/Babylonian), Ishtar (Babylonian Mythology), Apollo (Greek), Ra (Egyptian), Sekhmet (Egyptian), Venus (Roman), Baal (Canaanite).
3. The Lone Hunter
Tracker of quarries
Sagittarius ♐, Water of Fire
Swift, Eagle-eyed, Single-minded
Flaw: Shoots First
Shadow: The Converse Twins
“The Way of the Samurai is one of immediacy, and it is best to dash in headlong.” (Ghost Dog)
Popular culture: Katniss Everdeen, Strider, Lara Croft, Daryl Dixon, Hawkeye, Geralt of Rivia, Frank Castle, Boba Fett, Van Helsing, Ellie (The Last of Us), Ahab, Django.
Mythology: Artemis (Greek), Diana (Roman), Rama (Hindu), Actaeon (Greek), Yoshitsune (Japanese), Mwindo (African), Hou Yi (Chinese).
4. The Blind Judge
Leveler of differences
Libra ♎, Fire of Air
Perceptive, Balanced, Severe
Flaw: Rigidity
Shadow: The Mad Prophet
“The law is hard, but it is the law.” (Carpe Jugulum)
Popular culture: Atticus Finch, Solomon Kane, Judge Dredd, Yojimbo, The Man with No Name, Matt Murdock, Leto Atreides
Mythology: Tiresias (Greek), Maat (Egyptian), Justitia (Roman), Nanshe (Sumerian), Tyr (Norse), King Solomon (Biblical), Ogma (Celtic), Zoroaster (Zoroastrian), Prudentia (Roman), Varuna (Hindu).
5. The Rebel Dreamer
Muse of Transformations
Aquarius ♒, Air of Air
Intuitive, Expressive, Ruled by Chaos (Luck)
Flaw: Ruled by chaos (Cursed)
Shadow: The Mistress of the Labyrinth
“Underneath all reason lies delirium and drift.” (Deleuze)
Popular culture: The Doctor (Doctor Who), Neo (The Matrix), Syd Barrett (Legion), Morpheus (Sandman), Amélie Poulain, Star-Lord, Luke Skywalker, Evey Hammond, Chihiro Ogino, Will Byers, Lain Iwakura.
Mythology: Orpheus and Prometheus (Greek), Māui (Polynesian), Quetzalcoatl (Aztec), Monkey King (Chinese), Raven (Native American).
6. The Arcane Illusionist
Mirror of appearances
Gemini ♊, Water of Air
Adroit, Chameleon, Deceptive
Flaw: Conceited
Shadow: The Wandering Trickster
“A mask tells us more than a face.” (Oscar Wilde)
Popular culture: Mystique (X-Men, Sherlock Holmes, The Master of Disguise, Lucifer (Sandman), Keyser Söze, Ozymandias (Watchmen), Q (Star Trek: TNG), Jareth (Labyrinth), Loki (MCU).
Mythology: Loki (Norse), Hermes (Greek), Thoth (Egyptian), Tezcatlipoca (Aztec), Eshu (Yoruba).
7. The Mad Prophet
Attractor of weirdness
Cancer ♋, Fire of Water
Inspiring, Contagious, Manipulative
Flaw: Unstable
Shadow: The Blind Judge
“When you're mad, you don't know you're mad. That's what makes you mad.” (The Kindly Ones)
Popular culture: Fox Mulder, Rust Cohle, Randle McMurphy, Sybok (Star Trek V), Rasputin (Hellboy), Dale Cooper, Muad'Dib, Eleven (Stranger Things), Lord Asriel (His Dark Materials).
Mythology: Cassandra, Dionysus, Laocoön (Greek), Tiresias (Yoruba), Volos (Slavic).
8. The Converse Twins
Adept of opposites
Scorpio ♏, Air of Water
Wise, Clever, Knowledgeable (Obscure)
Flaw: Conflicted
Shadow: The Lone Hunter
“Man is not one, but two. He is evil and good, and both must die that the good may live.” (The Magician)
Popular culture: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Two-Face (DC), Gollum, Norman Bates, Nina Sayers (Black Swan), Tyler Durden, Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Kevin Wendell Crumb (Split), Dorian Gray.
Mythology: Janus (Roman), Thanatos and Eros (Greek), Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu (Zoroastrianism), Set and Osiris (Egyptian), Huginn and Muninn (Norse).
9. The Soul Fisher
Shepherd of the lost
Pisces ♓, Water of Water
Empathic, Insightful, Trustworthy
Flaw: Martyr complex
Shadow: The Iron Vigilante
“The king's wounds are the wounds of the land, and the land suffers when the king is not whole.” (The Mists of Avalon)
Popular culture: Charles Xavier, Gandalf, Moana, Will Graham (Hannibal), T'Challa/Black Panther, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Dude (Big Lebowski), Mufasa.
Mythology: Osiris (Egyptian), Mimir (Norse), Manannán mac Lir (Celtic), Avalokiteśvara (Buddhist), Jesus (Christianity), The Fisher King (Arthurian), White Buffalo Calf Woman (Lakota).
10. The Empty Legion
Connector of domains
Capricorn ♑, Fire of Earth
Connected, Schemer, Multi-tasker
Flaw: Dissociated
Shadow: The Hungry Star
“We’re all puppets, Laurie. I’m just a puppet who can see the strings." (Watchmen)
Popular culture: Frank Underwood, Gus Fring, The Borg, Tommy Shelby, Legion (X-Men), Mr. Robot, Hannibal Lecter, Agent Smith, Ford (Westworld), Darth Vader.
Mythology: Legion (Semitic), Hades (Greek), Anubis (Egyptian), Ereshkigal (Sumerian).
11. The Wandering Trickster
Fool of the divine
Taurus ♉, Air of Earth
Crafty, Resilient, Adaptable
Flaw: Myopic
Shadow: The Arcane Illusionist
“A man with no motive is a man no one suspects. Always keep your foes confused.” (A Storm of Swords)
Popular culture: Tyrion Lannister, Captain Jack Sparrow, The Artful Dodger, Han Solo, Aladdin, Malcolm Reynolds.
Mythology: Anansi (African), Pan (Greek), Coyote (Native American), Maui (Polynesian), Kitsune (Japanese), Reynard the Fox (European), Puck (English), Hanuman (Hindu).
12. Mistress of the Labyrinth
Keeper of secrets
Virgo ♍, Water of Earth
Composed, Resourceful, Calculating
Flaw: Dark side (the monster in the Labyrinth)
Shadow: The Rebel Dreamer
“The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
Popular culture: Lisbeth Salander, Hermione Granger, Nancy Drew, Dana Scully, Lyra Belacqua.
Mythology: The Moirai/ Fates, Persephone/Kore (Greek), Brigid (Celtic), Isis (Egyptian), Saraswati (Hindu).
Scions of the Fallen
“You’re a flash in the pan
I'm the great I Am”
—Bowie, Blackstar
Forgetful avatars of forgotten gods, with one foot in the gutter and the other in the stars. Equally blessed and cursed, tethered to a long chain of incarnations they don’t yet know of.
Karma’s a bitch.
Fitting a kernel of eternity into a mortal frame is a messy affair. Maybe it should be little surprise that Scions often wind up a bit “off”. They are every bit as transient, fragile, or resilient as any other mortal — they are mortals after all, with a passenger.
Each incarnation is flawed and skilled in somewhat different ways, a different Aspect, called back to life in the present, whenever and wherever that happens to be.
Each a unique instance, no matter how many times they have forgotten who and what they are. Which part of their forgotten past will rise to the surface, and what falls by the wayside?
The Ascension
“I’m only human, and I have no doubt Spock will outlive me by many years. I can only hope that, once in a while, when people look at Spock's visage, they might sometimes think of me.” —Leonard Nemoy
Mortals endeavor, and then they fall. Such is the inevitable trajectory, like a train running along tracks in a circle: every epoch must end. The crux lies in what lingers amid the ashes.
Paradoxically, it is this capacity for loss that spirits revere and yearn for in mortal existence, while mortals themselves dream of eternity, neither fully able to comprehend the torment of the alternative.
There is something symbiotic about this dynamic. In each generation, a mere handful seem to become vessels for the Fallen's machinations, a kind of mutant capable of channeling a sliver of their actual power. At the same time, after so many incarnations, the Fallen themselves have been fashioned in humankind’s own likeness.
A theory even has it that the Aspects of the Fallen are an amalgamation of humanity’s collective psychic residue, the left-overs from after the Feyn have tried to scrape the bowl clean for another trip around the sun.
Ascension edges the generations ever closer to the divine limit, never fully arriving, always progressing. As the connection to their Aspect strengthens, Scions come to discover echoes of who they were and what they might become, ultimately either succumbing to their Aspect’s fatal flaw, or, more rarely, transcending it. While all humans possess this power in latent form, only those who are Scions, those otherwise bound by a pact with an entity, or the rare adepts that master arcane methods of direct manifestation who can wield the force of Ascension in their daily lives.
Not that this is not necessarily a positive thing for all involved. Upon surpassing a critical threshold of Ascension, the might of their Domain is unleashed—or inflicted—upon the world. When the herald of Divine Madness awakens, things can get a little hectic.
Strangers When Scions Meet
“Blank screen TV
Preening ourselves in the snow
Forget my name, but I’m over you...”
—Bowie
Another Scion is a familiar face in a sea of strangers, even if you can’t recall from where. Regardless of their shifting alliances across incarnations, it is often that the key to rediscovering their alternate lives and future potential resides in the Others. Encountering another Scion evokes an unrelenting itch in the back of the mind, often ultimately leading to ascension or disintegration.
Despite centuries of myth and legend woven in their wake, the Fallen themselves remain nameless entities. Names are after all a human convention. But through our own myths we can come to approximate them.
Incubating within human hosts for millennia, the Fallen have profoundly impacted the lives of their mortal vessels while simultaneously coming to understand themselves through a human lens. Whether opposed or allied in successive incarnations, they are the sole beings likely to help them recall who they have been, and who they might become. Each incarnation is distinct, a new facet, a fresh lesson to absorb once their life concludes.
These entities beyond the looking glass collect the stories of their Scions, safeguarded like sacred scripture in their eternal dream in the Underworld, a single candle that cannot be extinguished.
For them, these memories persist, whether etched in stone or wood, or buried in bone ash, their ongoing stories inflicting themselves time and again upon the world, unless the Feyn can catch their spirits in their transit through the Land of the Dead, and commit their tales to the fire.
Identity is tattooed on emptiness; a series of potentials, variations on themes. It can be no coincidence that whenever one of the Fallen have become renowned, the apocalyptic destruction that heralds the end of an age was often near at hand.
Through countless incarnations, they strive to deceive the ultimate tricksters: the agents of Death itself.
Become a part of the Fallen Cycle.
Plans are underway to develop the next chapters of the story. Stay tuned.