Overview
The Guardians of Malverand were the long-lived ruling cadre of the Malverand Empire. Under Barachiel, they governed provinces, met in the Maraveth Ascendant Consulate, carried out imperial expansion, and handled guardian rebellions and magical disasters for the empire.
Their power rested on two Malverand projects: Malverand hearts, which kept them alive and let them regenerate from wounds, and god cores, which made them shard wielders.
Authority
As Malverand expanded across Valrindor, Barachiel assigned guardians to govern independent regions. Michael governed Maraveth and later Shaoying, Raphael remained Barachiel's personal guardian, Eremion controlled Morindel and Blackcrag, Remiella oversaw Thiravos and Theryssa, Jeremiah founded Jazarel, Uriandel ruled Ashenford, Sigvariel held Varnhallow, and Isandriel governed southern Malverand from Durakarn and Brighthaven.
The guardians commanded provincial governments, mages, attendants, armies, constructs, and skyships. The guardians' code required diplomacy and imperial stability. When Eliona slaughtered an opposing faction in Shaoying and rejected diplomacy, Barachiel ordered Raphael to restrain Eliona and had Isandriel unmake Eliona before the gathered guardians.
Collapse
Before the collapse, the guardians backed Arcanis's research and sponsored projects such as the Vireen gate. Their order broke after Barachiel vanished in the Aethrendar Gate collapse and the spiral shard split. Michael became acting emperor. Sariel took the shard pieces to Xalmyrra, Raphael pushed to restore imperial authority, and guardian-governed provinces splintered into rival secessions.
By the Fall of Malverand, the surviving guardians were the danger Isandriel, Thalion Zenith, and the Order of Thalion Zenith moved to end. Michael and Sigvariel created the Varnhallow anomaly to give Isandriel an army against the remaining guardians. The Fall of Malverand killed or removed guardians. Malverand hearts and hidden survival plans allowed Raphael, Eremion, Eliona, and Azarion to remain threats long after Malverand itself collapsed.
Guardians and Imperial Kin
- Barachiel: Emperor of Malverand who appoints and directs the guardians.
- Michael: Guardian of Maraveth, acting emperor after Barachiel's disappearance, and creator of the Varnhallow anomaly.
- Raphael: Barachiel's personal guardian, later restorationist leader, and threat operating from Rahmavir.
- Eremion: Guardian of Morindel and Blackcrag, logistics specialist, and later power behind Blackcrag.
- Isandriel: Guardian of Durakarn and Brighthaven, Barachiel's failsafe, and the Unmaker allied with the Order.
- Jeremiah: Founder of Jazarel, later ruler of the Jazarel Empire, and a combatant in the Jazarel Battle.
- Uriandel: Guardian of Ashenford, later servant of Abraxas, and one of the guardians killed at Jazarel.
- Sigvariel: Guardian of Varnhallow, Michael's temporal ally, and later the Skarnheim ruler known as Sigurd.
- Remiella: Guardian of Thiravos and Theryssa, wielder of the wave shard, and the cause of the islands' shattering.
- Thamrielle: Guardian, Rahmavir envoy, Sariel's mother, and later survivor of the Plains of Eternity source war.
- Eliona: Newer guardian over Shaoying whose breach of the guardians' code led to her execution and later revival.
- Azarion: Later Raphael-aligned guardian, second-generation god-core wielder, and participant in the Attack on Kaldaryn and the Battle for Cyndarel.
- Sariel: Barachiel's son and imperial prince who took the spiral-shard pieces to Xalmyrra after Barachiel's disappearance and intensified the struggle over Malverand and the spiral shard.