Kyrian
General
- Classification
- Celestial (Sapient)
- Faction/Affiliation
- Bastion
- Homeworld
- Shadowlands
- Area(s)
- Bastion, Border-Ethereal
- Languages
- Quietish, Any
Kyrians were the angelic souls that occupied the Shadowlands realm of Bastion, and the most devout of their number were entrusted with the duty of ferrying the souls of mortals to Oribos where they would be brought before the Arbiter.
History
The first kyrian was Kyrestia the Firstborne, who reigned as the ruler of Bastion since its conception eons ago. While the truth of her origin was not known, it was wildly speculated that she was the first mortal to have ever died.
Description
Kyrian was the name given to all mortal souls that passed into the realm of Bastion, and they were easily identified by the blue complexion of their skin. However, due to the nature of their duties and roles, kyrians were divided into multiple different sects that denoted the Purpose they pursued.
Acolyte
Acolytes were new souls that arrived in Bastion, and unlike their ascended brethren, they still maintained much of the identity that they held in life. As a result, Acolytes could come in every shape and size, and they were welcomed to find a new noble Purpose in the idyllic realm. A new kyrian could remain as an Acolyte for as long as they desired, as while it was required to unburden themselves of their mortal memories and identities to become Ascended, that path was not demanded of all arrivals in Bastion—only those that chose it. Acolytes could serve the realm in any number of ways, though the pathway to Ascension was left open to them always.
Aspirants
Aspirants were those kyrians that chose to pursue the path of Ascension. Kyrian Aspirants underwent rigorous training and meditation in order to unburden themselves of their mortal lives, with the end result being a winged, ascended kyrian that was capable of entirely unbiased treatment to any soul they encountered.
Ascended Kyrians
Ascended kyrians were identified by the presence of their massive feathered wings, which served to ferry them across the Shadowlands and the Border Ethereal where recently deceased mortals awaited them. Ascension amongst kyrians required the complete removal of any mortal memory and identity, as their role in death necessitated them be entirely unbiased and objective to remove any risk of unfair treatment of the souls they cared for.
While they bore a blue-skinned, humanoid appearance, their limbs were elongated and alien, and in their truest form, they lacked any facial features and instead appeared semi-blurry and indistinct. However, mortals that viewed them would see a figure with traits that matched their own. Such an ability aided in easing the dead into their new existence, as they frequently responded best to an entity that looked familiar.
This unique ability also spawned many different encounters of “angels” and tales of near-death experiences where people believed to be greeted by loved ones, as the projected appearances of ascended kyrians were typically very generic and could easily be attributed to any number of loved ones in a state of duress.
Watchers
Kyrian Watchers, otherwise known as “Spirit Healers”, spent almost the entirety of their existence lurking in the Border Ethereal where they monitored the edge of the Veil for the arrival of recently deceased souls. It was their responsibility to monitor these souls and assess if they were ready to pass on into the Shadowlands, as forcing a soul to pass risked the soul getting lost in the In-Between, where it could fall victim to any number of horrors.
Watchers sometimes interacted with these souls directly if they sensed the soul could be coaxed into passing on, and they were the ones most angel myths were attributed to. Their existence was meant to be a secret, and they possessed the ability to wipe the memories from mortals that saw them, though powerful individuals—or lucky ones—could sometimes resist such an ability, thus carrying such stories into the living world. Watchers were also able to reverse death and had the ability to harness powerful resurrection magics, though it was an ability they did not use often.
If a Watcher deemed a soul ready to progress to the afterlife, they would call forth a kyrian Bearer to ferry them to the Shadowlands.
Bearers
Kyrian Bearers were a sect of kyrian that were entrusted with the role of ferrying mortal souls to Oribos where they could be assessed by the Arbiter and sent to the afterlife most suited for them.
Paragons and Hands
The Paragons were the heads of each of the five temples of virtue in Bastion, and they were regarded to be true paragons of the virtue they represented, while their Hands were hand-picked by a paragon to serve as trusted second-in-commands and cherished advisors and attendants. While Paragons and their Hands normally were responsible for maintaining order in their temples while other disciples saw to Aspirants, they would step in to attend to pressing matters that called for more experienced attention.
Paragons and Hands were also notably larger than other Ascended kyrians, thus towered over many that communed with them.
Disciples
Disciples were ascended kyrians that served one of the five temples of Bastion, where they served beneath the Paragon in order to help them fulfill their duties and attend to the Aspirants of the realm.
Forsworn
Forsworn kyrian were kyrian whose doubts, memories, and other mortal burdens drove them to a path of despair or lamentation. Their skin darkened to a deep purple, and their wings blackened, which allowed them to stand apart from their brethren. A kyrian “falling” was typically seen as a cry for help, and normally the Hands and Paragons were quick to help them find their path once again.
Falling in such a manner was not permanent, and a kyrian could once more return to a state of balance with proper aid.
However, those that remained in their Forsworn state became renegades and exiles with their own motivations apart from the noble Purpose they had been chosen to pursue. These renegade Forsworn were normally hunted by their brethren, and when captured, were exiled from Bastion so that they could be judged by the Arbiter once more.
Notable
 |
 | Uther the Lightbringer | Knight of the Silver Hand | Deceased |
| Warcraft Creature Types |
|---|
| Aberration • Beast • Celestial • Construct • Demon • Dragonkin • Elemental • Fey • Giant • Humanoid • Monstrosity • Ooze • Plant • Undead |
| Celestial Creatures | |
|---|---|
| Sapient | Cloudrunner • Constellar • Guardian • Kyrian • Naaru • Steward • Val'kyr (Frostbourne • Sunborn) |
| Non-Sapient | Cloudstrider • Etherwyrm • Glimmerfly • Larion • Pegasus • Terrapin |
