The Guardians of Malverand were the provincial rulers and leading protectors of the Malverand Empire. Appointed by Barachiel, they governed much of Valrindor, directed armies and public works, and carried out the emperor's orders. Their imperial administration dissolved after his disappearance and the wars among the guardians. Several guardians survived the empire through their Malverand hearts.
Government and Responsibilities
Barachiel assigned the guardians considerable authority within their provinces. They worked through local officials, attendants and skilled mages, controlling military forces, production and the distribution of essence. The guardians met at the Maraveth Ascendant Consulate and traveled in their own skyships. Their responsibilities extended beyond defense to settlement, agriculture, trade and the construction of cities.
- Michael and Raphael: Michael governed Maraveth and later Shaoying. Raphael was Barachiel's personal guardian and enforced imperial authority.
- Eremion: Governed Morindel and Blackcrag, organizing logistics and production.
- Remiella: Governed Thiravos and Theryssa, using water and earth magic to shape their lands.
- Jeremiah and Uriandel: Jeremiah founded Jazarel and directed its architecture. Uriandel governed Ashenford.
- Sigvariel and Isandriel: Sigvariel governed Varnhallow. Isandriel governed southern Malverand from Durakarn and Brighthaven.
- Thamrielle: Represented Malverand in Rahmavir and commanded forces sent there.
Resources
The guardians possessed Malverand hearts, which preserved their identities and allowed their bodies to regenerate. Their god cores supplied the power of artificial gods, giving them the strength to govern and fight across vast territories. Provincial armies, skyships, essence towers and imperial stores supported their rule.
The Malverand Vault beneath the consulate held powerful artifacts behind protections that blocked divine signatures. The guardians' knowledge of the vault survived the destruction of much of Malverand's technology.
History
Succession and Provincial Wars
Barachiel vanished when the gate to Vireen failed, leaving two pieces of the Spiral Shard. Michael became acting emperor, with Raphael enforcing his decisions. Attempts to take the shards failed, leaving the imperial succession unresolved. Barachiel's son Sariel eventually stole the pieces and withdrew to Xalmyrra, which broke away from central imperial rule.
The guardians increasingly pursued their own interests. Jeremiah seceded with Jazarel, and Raphael tried to force the province back into the empire. Eremion attacked Maraveth and seized resources for his own territories. Uriandel fought Sigvariel and entered Abraxas's service. Remiella overloaded while separating Thiravos from Theryssa, shattering the islands and causing a devastating tsunami.
Several guardians withdrew from governing, leaving local leaders and ambitious mages to form breakaway factions. The guardians' memories of earlier life faded over the centuries.
Michael and Sigvariel prepared a different answer to the wars: the Varnhallow temporal anomaly. They intended to produce an army within its accelerated time to aid Isandriel against the remaining guardians. Isandriel possessed Tal'Massar's power to unmake them, a safeguard Barachiel had entrusted to him.
The Order's Campaign
Isandriel joined Thalion Zenith and the Order of Thalion Zenith in their campaign against the guardians. At the Jazarel Battle, he unmade Jeremiah and Uriandel. Raphael and Eremion escaped, while the Order captured Thamrielle. The loss of provincial rulers left their territories to fragment into new states.
The guardians' imperial government did not return with its surviving members. In modern Blackcrag, Astrid recovered Eremion's heart from Morindel and supplied the essence that restored him. He joined Blackcrag's council, improving agriculture, trade, military planning and skyship technology while withholding much of his history. He later seized control of Blackcrag and prepared to march on Maraveth to claim the vault's artifacts.
The Guardians of Malverand were the provincial rulers and leading protectors of the Malverand Empire. Appointed by Barachiel, they governed much of Valrindor, directed armies and public works, and carried out the emperor's orders. Their imperial administration dissolved after his disappearance and the wars among the guardians. Several guardians survived the empire through their Malverand hearts.
Government and Responsibilities
Barachiel assigned the guardians considerable authority within their provinces. They worked through local officials, attendants and skilled mages, controlling military forces, production and the distribution of essence. The guardians met at the Maraveth Ascendant Consulate and traveled in their own skyships. Their responsibilities extended beyond defense to settlement, agriculture, trade and the construction of cities.
- Michael and Raphael: Michael governed Maraveth and later Shaoying. Raphael was Barachiel's personal guardian and enforced imperial authority.
- Eremion: Governed Morindel and Blackcrag, organizing logistics and production.
- Remiella: Governed Thiravos and Theryssa, using water and earth magic to shape their lands.
- Jeremiah and Uriandel: Jeremiah founded Jazarel and directed its architecture. Uriandel governed Ashenford.
- Sigvariel and Isandriel: Sigvariel governed Varnhallow. Isandriel governed southern Malverand from Durakarn and Brighthaven.
- Thamrielle: Represented Malverand in Rahmavir and commanded forces sent there.
Resources and Technology
Arcanis developed the Malverand hearts to keep the guardians alive. Michael volunteered for the first implantation. A heart drew on its owner's essence, preserved their identity and regenerated injuries; even the destruction of the body could leave a heart capable of restoring its owner. The guardians initially restricted the technology to themselves rather than distributing it throughout the empire.
Arcanis's god core program pooled spells and essence from thousands of mages. The guardians received cores of the first generation that developed into independent gods, supplying far greater power than their original magic. Barachiel relied on the Spiral Shard instead. The gods could communicate with their wielders and influence them; Eremion admitted his god Khauren into his heart.
Michael established the Malverand Vault beneath the consulate to conceal experimental cores, weapons and other imperial technology. Its protections blocked divine signatures, while a Malverand heart allowed access. Provincial armies, essence towers, skyships and gates supported the guardians' administrations. After Arcanis disappeared, Malverand could maintain much of its existing infrastructure but lost the researcher who developed its most advanced systems.
History
Formation and Imperial Service
Michael and Raphael belonged to the council that chose Barachiel to lead Malverand. Barachiel recruited promising mages as guardians, while Arcanis's research strengthened their rule. Uriandel developed electrical technology for the empire.
The guardians' code required diplomacy and the preservation of imperial stability. Eliona, a former overseer at the consulate appointed to govern Shaoying, violated it by slaughtering an opposing faction instead of negotiating. Barachiel had Raphael restrain her and ordered Isandriel to destroy her body before the other guardians. Michael then took responsibility for Shaoying. Eliona's heart survived the execution and was recovered by Eremion.
Barachiel created Isandriel and gave him Tal'Massar as a concealed safeguard against immortal rulers, including himself. Michael and Raphael raised Isandriel, but Raphael did not know the full purpose of his creation.
The Spiral Experiment and the Vireen Gate
Barachiel's first activation of the experimental Spiral Shard over Morozkaya drained enormous quantities of essence, killed millions and triggered earthquakes and a tsunami. Raphael's attempt to shield fleeing citizens failed when the draining stripped the peninsula of essence. Barachiel stopped the tsunami and subsequently used the shard to remove corruption, restore land and provide food.
The guardians sponsored Arcanis's expedition to Vireen, providing skilled mages, artisans, god cores and hearts for the gate project. Michael and Eremion tested the passage successfully. When Barachiel entered it, Eremion tampered with the gate under Khauren's direction. Khauren had arranged for an unknown being to attack the emperor there. Barachiel reached Vireen mortally damaged and entrusted his heart to Eira. Arcanis followed him through the broken passage and also died on Vireen. Those remaining in Malverand knew only that the gate had failed and the emperor had disappeared.
Succession and Provincial Wars
The failed Vireen gate expelled two pieces of the Spiral Shard into Malverand. Michael became acting emperor, with Raphael enforcing his decisions. After Sariel, Eremion and Uriandel failed to take the shards, the guardians opened the succession to any respectable mage who could wield one. Many candidates died. Michael then required a candidate to defeat a guardian in single combat before attempting the shard. No one resolved the succession. Barachiel's son Sariel eventually stole the pieces and withdrew to Xalmyrra, which broke away from central imperial rule.
The guardians increasingly pursued their own interests. Jeremiah seceded with Jazarel, and Raphael tried to force the province back into the empire. Eremion attacked Maraveth and seized resources for his own territories. Uriandel fought Sigvariel and entered Abraxas's service. Remiella overloaded while separating Thiravos from Theryssa, shattering the islands and causing a devastating tsunami.
Several guardians withdrew from governing, leaving local leaders and ambitious mages to form breakaway factions. The guardians' memories of earlier life faded over the centuries.
Michael and Sigvariel prepared a different answer to the wars: the Varnhallow temporal anomaly. They intended to produce an army within its accelerated time to aid Isandriel against the remaining guardians. Isandriel possessed Tal'Massar's power to unmake them, a safeguard Barachiel had entrusted to him.
The Order's Campaign
Isandriel joined Thalion Zenith and the Order of Thalion Zenith to end the guardians' wars. At the Jazarel Battle, he unmade Jeremiah and Uriandel. Raphael and Eremion escaped, while the Order captured Thamrielle. The loss of provincial rulers left their territories to fragment into new states.
Raphael and Eremion temporarily combined their remaining strength against the Order and agreed to divide imperial territory between them. Eremion gave Raphael Eliona's heart, allowing Raphael to restore her. Raphael ordered Eliona to remain behind during the final war, study the Order's magic and recover the surviving hearts if the guardians fell. The Order destroyed Raphael's and Eremion's bodies and broke their fleets in the Fall of Malverand, ending their effort to restore the empire.
Aftermath
Michael, who ruled Varnhallow as Eltaru, died overloading himself to end its temporal bubble. Sigvariel left Varnhallow and later led independent Skarnheim as Sigurd. Isandriel became the Order's leader as Isaac and carried out Thalion's instruction to purge Malverand's history.
Eliona found Raphael's heart after centuries of searching and supplied essence in the new Morindel until he regenerated. They withdrew to Rahmavir, where Raphael planned to regain territory and Eliona studied Varnhallow's spell. Azarion, one of Eremion's former shard wielders, also survived through a Malverand heart and joined Raphael's forces. These surviving armies served individual guardians rather than a restored imperial government.
In modern Blackcrag, Astrid recovered Eremion's heart from Morindel and supplied the essence that restored him. Eremion joined the council, improved agriculture, trade and skyship technology, and eventually made himself king. He concealed his ambitions and worked with Raphael against Isandriel. Thalena later defeated him during the war with Blackcrag; red lines then destroyed his body, leaving the heart in her possession.
The Guardians of Malverand were the provincial rulers and leading protectors of the Malverand Empire. Appointed by Barachiel, they governed much of Valrindor, directed armies and public works, and carried out the emperor's orders. Their imperial administration dissolved after his disappearance and the wars among the guardians. Several guardians survived the empire through their Malverand hearts.
Government and Responsibilities
Barachiel assigned the guardians considerable authority within their provinces. They worked through local officials, attendants and skilled mages, controlling military forces, production and the distribution of essence. The guardians met at the Maraveth Ascendant Consulate and traveled in their own skyships. Their responsibilities extended beyond defense to settlement, agriculture, trade and the construction of cities.
- Michael and Raphael: Michael governed Maraveth and later Shaoying. Raphael was Barachiel's personal guardian and enforced imperial authority.
- Eremion: Governed Morindel and Blackcrag, organizing logistics and production.
- Remiella: Governed Thiravos and Theryssa, using water and earth magic to shape their lands.
- Jeremiah and Uriandel: Jeremiah founded Jazarel and directed its architecture. Uriandel governed Ashenford.
- Sigvariel and Isandriel: Sigvariel governed Varnhallow. Isandriel governed southern Malverand from Durakarn and Brighthaven.
- Thamrielle: Represented Malverand in Rahmavir and commanded forces sent there.
Resources and Technology
Arcanis developed the Malverand hearts to keep the guardians alive. Michael volunteered for the first implantation. A heart drew on its owner's essence, preserved their identity and regenerated injuries; even the destruction of the body could leave a heart capable of restoring its owner. The guardians initially restricted the technology to themselves rather than distributing it throughout the empire.
Arcanis's god core program pooled spells and essence from thousands of mages. The guardians received cores of the first generation that developed into independent gods, supplying far greater power than their original magic. Barachiel relied on the Spiral Shard instead. The gods could communicate with their wielders and influence them; Eremion admitted his god Khauren into his heart.
Michael established the Malverand Vault beneath the consulate to conceal experimental cores, weapons and other imperial technology. Its protections blocked divine signatures, while a Malverand heart allowed access. Provincial armies, essence towers, skyships and gates supported the guardians' administrations. After Arcanis disappeared, Malverand could maintain much of its existing infrastructure but lost the researcher who developed its most advanced systems.
History
Formation and Imperial Service
Lothar helped establish the empire's leadership. He gave Michael and Raphael powerful ice magic and advised Barachiel's government. Barachiel's ability to learn and copy quickly helped him direct the empire's research and development.
Michael and Raphael belonged to the council that chose Barachiel to lead Malverand. Barachiel recruited promising mages as guardians, while Arcanis's research strengthened their rule. Uriandel developed electrical technology for the empire.
The guardians' code required diplomacy and the preservation of imperial stability. Eliona, a former overseer at the consulate appointed to govern Shaoying, violated it by eradicating a faction of child kidnappers and murderers rather than negotiating with them. Barachiel had Raphael restrain her and ordered Isandriel to destroy her body before the other guardians. Michael then took responsibility for Shaoying. Eliona's heart survived the execution and was recovered by Eremion.
Barachiel created Isandriel and gave him Tal'Massar as a concealed safeguard against immortal rulers, including himself. Michael and Raphael raised Isandriel, but Raphael did not know the full purpose of his creation.
The Spiral Experiment and the Vireen Gate
Barachiel's first activation of the experimental Spiral Shard over Morozkaya drained enormous quantities of essence, killed millions and triggered earthquakes and a tsunami. Raphael's attempt to shield fleeing citizens failed when the draining stripped the peninsula of essence. Barachiel stopped the tsunami and subsequently used the shard to remove corruption, restore land and provide food.
The guardians sponsored Arcanis's expedition to Vireen, providing skilled mages, artisans, god cores and hearts for the gate project. Michael and Eremion tested the passage successfully. When Barachiel entered it, Eremion tampered with the gate under Khauren's direction. Khauren had arranged for Oktlix to attack the emperor there. Barachiel reached Vireen mortally damaged and entrusted his heart to Eira. Arcanis followed him through the broken passage and also died on Vireen. Those remaining in Malverand knew only that the gate had failed and the emperor had disappeared.
Succession and Provincial Wars
The failed Vireen gate expelled two pieces of the Spiral Shard into Malverand. Michael became acting emperor, with Raphael enforcing his decisions. After Sariel, Eremion and Uriandel failed to take the shards, the guardians opened the succession to any respectable mage who could wield one. Many candidates died. Michael then required a candidate to defeat a guardian in single combat before attempting the shard. No one resolved the succession. Barachiel's son Sariel eventually stole the pieces and withdrew to Xalmyrra, which broke away from central imperial rule.
Over nearly three millennia of infighting before the Order's campaign, the guardians increasingly pursued their own interests. Jeremiah seceded with Jazarel, and Raphael tried to force the province back into the empire. Eremion attacked Maraveth and seized resources for his own territories. Uriandel fought Sigvariel and entered Abraxas's service. Remiella overloaded while separating Thiravos from Theryssa, shattering the islands and causing a devastating tsunami.
Several guardians withdrew from governing, leaving local leaders and ambitious mages to form breakaway factions. The guardians' memories of earlier life faded over the centuries.
Michael and Sigvariel prepared a different answer to the wars: the Varnhallow temporal anomaly. They intended to produce an army within its accelerated time to aid Isandriel against the remaining guardians. Isandriel possessed Tal'Massar's power to unmake them, a safeguard Barachiel had entrusted to him.
The Order's Campaign
Isandriel joined Thalion Zenith and the Order of Thalion Zenith to end the guardians' wars. At the Jazarel Battle, he unmade Jeremiah and Uriandel. Raphael and Eremion escaped, while the Order captured Thamrielle. The loss of provincial rulers left their territories to fragment into new states.
Raphael and Eremion temporarily combined their remaining strength against the Order and agreed to divide imperial territory between them. Eremion gave Raphael Eliona's heart, allowing Raphael to restore her. Raphael ordered Eliona to remain behind during the final war, study the Order's magic and recover the surviving hearts if the guardians fell. The Order destroyed Raphael's and Eremion's bodies and broke their fleets in the Fall of Malverand, ending their effort to restore the empire.
Aftermath
Michael, who ruled Varnhallow as Eltaru, died overloading himself to end its temporal bubble. Sigvariel left Varnhallow and later led independent Skarnheim as Sigurd. Isandriel became the Order's leader as Isaac and carried out Thalion's instruction to purge Malverand's history.
Eliona found Raphael's heart after centuries of searching and supplied essence in the new Morindel until he regenerated. They withdrew to Rahmavir, where Raphael planned to regain territory and Eliona studied Varnhallow's spell. Azarion, one of Eremion's former shard wielders, also survived through a Malverand heart and joined Raphael's forces. Raphael later led Eliona, Azarion and Rahmavir's chosen mages against Zarephon. They defeated its Oracles, incorporated surviving scholars and preserved the inscriptions around the Source. He directed Eliona and Azarion to investigate the Source and continued their training. These surviving armies served individual guardians rather than a restored imperial government.
In modern Blackcrag, Astrid recovered Eremion's heart from Morindel and supplied the essence that restored him. Eremion joined the council, improved agriculture, trade and skyship technology, and eventually made himself king. He concealed his ambitions and worked with Raphael against Isandriel. Thalena later defeated him during the war with Blackcrag; red lines then destroyed his body, leaving the heart in her possession.
Raphael again attempted to restore Malverand. Aldar defeated him near Cyndarel, and Alistair destroyed his body with a bomb and took his heart. Eliona and Azarion survived the following battles and surrendered their own hearts. They provided Thalena with records of Rahmavir and Alistair's activities in exchange for peace, and temporarily settled in Stella Aeterna. The pair gave up their immortality and their place in Raphael's campaign.