Eshtael
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The most neutral of all Aenguls, Eshtael is thought by some to arrange material dealings such as distributing births and deaths. She is the Aengul of Balance after all. The truth, however, is that Eshtael does not bother herself with such simple things. Her concern is keeping the very world in check. Balancing the warring forces of dark and light, moral and immoral, nature and progression. It doesn't matter to her what progress either side makes so long as things stay even, balanced.
It was because of her work that Eshtael bid the other Aenguls to not destroy Iblees but instead chain him. When it looked as if Azdromoth would destroy the elves, Eshtael stepped in and he too was chained for a time until she saw fit to release him.
It is rare for Eshtael to descend to the mortal realm, only doing such on the scarce occasion when she deems something too harmful for balance at their moment in time. Thus not many remain who have seen this Aengul but she is depicted in art as a seraph wielding a staff of radiant light. Her realm, Bastille, has had only one being known to have left it and thus we have only rumors of how it might appear. Most speculate that Bastille is a towering city of silver and white set atop the clouds with naught but open sky above. Of course the appearance matters little as Eshtael’s only use for her realm is a prison. Doomsayers whisper that Bastille holds great horrors, even an Aengul in chains that fell far from grace, just waiting for the Lady of Balance to release them when time has come for the world to end.
Unlike many other Aenguls, Eshtael has no following. She gives out no powers and the theology of mortals matters not to her. As such she lacks the raw strength and power others of her kin have and signs of her work exist only in the imprisonment of those unlucky enough for her to appear before.
Full Lore
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Canonized Name: Emma Sigil: Balanced Scales Naturally the most neutral of all her brothers and sisters, the Aengul Eshtael represents the worldly aspect of Balance in its manifested forms: some reason her to be the provisioner of the Heavens, evenly distributing things like births and deaths among the mortal populace alongside other material dealings. In truth, Eshtael makes it her occupation to keep the very world itself in check. The eternally warring forces of dark and light, moral and immoral, nature and progression are all her business (though their outcomes are not so important, as she sees to it only that all things eventually keep their balance) and she has kept an ever-watchful eye upon them throughout the ages. It was She who bid to the rest of her kin in council to not destroy but chain the Betrayer in the end of the First Age and thusly became a steadfast voice of judgment among the Aenguls, She who chained the terrible Titan Azdromoth within her realm when he was sure to lay waste to all of Malin’s folk, and She whose hand has always been there to guide and serve the Balance of all things. Depicted within mortal artistry as a female seraph with a staff of radiant light (and known among some human circles simply as Emma), Eshtael has descended on scarce occasions to conduct business upon the earth. The few to encounter her or be unlucky enough that she seem them a threat to the balance of things see her as an ineffably otherworldly figure before they are spirited away to her realm, Bastille. The BastilleEshtael, like all her kin, resides mostly within her realm: a place called Bastille, it is said (those who do stare upon it tend not to leave) to appear quite like a city of massive spires and towering parapets of silver and gleaming white resting upon the clouds. It, however, is deceptive in appearance. Bastille is not a city but a prison constructed to house anything and everything Eshtael sees as too dangerous and harmful to the balance of the world at their moment in time. Eshtael does not kill, but instead places these threats and detriments within a sort of timeless stasis within the towers of Bastille. It was here that the Titan Azdromoth spent so many years, roaming the boundless white skies of the realm, unable to ever find his way out of the perfect prison Eshtael constructed until the day came that she saw Azdromoth fit to return to the waking world, and spirited him back to it. Just who exactly has been snatched up by the Aengul and locked within Bastille’s confines is mostly unknown, for Azdromoth is the only known to ever leave the impregnable penitentiary; some whisper that the Lady of Balance has locked up great horrors in its depths, waiting for the day that the world must come to an end. Others say that perhaps a fellow Aengul of hers who fell far from grace rests inside Bastille in chains. Whatever may be inside, Eshtael has kept them there for the sake of the world’s balance. FollowingUnlike many of the other Aenguls, Eshtael carries no faithful following among mortality. She offers no powers to any would-be acolytes and trifles not with the machinations of theology among the masses. Her business in the world is her own and as a result she lacks the raw strength and power that others like Xan carry with themselves. Instead she makes work of the nature of the realm she built in order to see to it that all things find their balance. Present DayIt is difficult to discern what exactly Eshtael is concerning herself with at any time, as most of her influences are just about removed from palpable existence upon their imprisonment, but it is rumored among some that the smoke and ash rising from the West has drawn her attention. |
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