Xan

Xan Ranking:: Aengul Proxies:: Brotherhood of the Golden Lion Domain(s):: Order Hostility: Friendly Note: AenguDaemonica fall under jurisdiction of the LT.

History

Xan is a descendant Aengul the likes of Tesion, Fastial and Artifai. He is the Aengul of order and guardianship. He wishes to see order preserved among the mortal planes, as he wishes for the mortals to survive and thrive. Why he feels this way is not entirely clear, whether it be out of generosity towards the mortals, or out of amusement surrounding their actions. Regardless, as a result of this, he sometimes rewards mortals who demonstrate a strong sense of guardianship and fortitude, those who promote order among mortals. Often times, these gifts are merely a strengthening of one’s mind, will or body. However, to those who embodied the traits of Xan most boldly, he would grant magical skills akin to clerical magic. Perhaps the most notable of Xan’s followers was Hilan the first. His family from generations before him had been granted gifts from the Aengul for their willpower and devotion, both to spreading his ideals and to watching over other mortals. The magic was passed down generation to generation, with a member of his family always serving as Prophet to the Aengul. This was possible due to the family’s connection with the Aengul, as the family’s bloodline contained diluted Aengul blood descended distantly from Xan.

When Hilan became Xan’s Prophet following his father’s passing, he immediately demonstrated prowess unmatched by any who’d come before him. As the very embodiment of the traits Xan represented, Hilan’s relationship with his patron was far closer than was typical. He devoted all of his time and energy in spreading his word to those who he deemed worthy of Xan’s cause. Holding extraordinary prowess in mind, will and body, Hilan excelled in the magic both arcane and holy, as well as skill with traditional weaponry. He rose to the highest position within the Order of the Golden Lance, a company his family had been a part of for generations. For many years, he was seen as the shining light leading their Order, besting evil after evil which threatened those he sought to protect. As Hilan grew older, the threat of Setherien and Chysteria became apparent. Xan warned his disciple of the grave threat these two posed to the mortals, and of what attentions he could gather. With his guidance, the Order hunted the two tirelessly. Though Chysteria was eventually bested and destroyed, the young drakaar Setherien disappeared, fleeing to a far-off land. At Hilan’s urging, the Order prepared to hunt the drakaar to the very edges of the world, so he would pose no threat to mortals ever again. Hilan beseeched his patron to seal Setherien where he was so the Order could hunt him down and attempt to slay him, and after some time, the Aengul complied. This proved to be a grave mistake, as this decision led not to Setherien’s defeat, but instead to the slaughter and immolation of the entire Higher level of Order of the Golden Lance 9 people, save the son of Hilan and a scant few survivors, soon there after scattering to god-knows-where.

By this time, the Prophet had died, and the son of Hilan, became the new one. From the battle with Setherien he had grown old and terminally ill, surviving only due to his own magic. He taught each of his three grandchildren portions of his vast knowledge, and when he decided it was time to pass, he begged his patron one last favor. With Hilan’s death, Xan fortified one aspect of each grandchild’s strength. Herun was given the strength of mind, Shara, the strength of will, and for Hilan’s namesake, Hilan II, the strength of body. The three shared their grandfather’s and father’s strengths, with Shara serving as the new Prophet to Xan. They now follow Xan’s path, travelling with the mortals, preparing to one day confront Setherien... if they survive to get the chance. With all the passing time, the three searched Anthos with their combined might, cloaked and hidden from the general eyes of the populace, planting artifacts for those after to find to aid against the drakaar, and eyes forever set upon the north, yet by now their gifts remained in strength, but age slowly began to force them into the same predicament as their grandfather, save less severe. Seeing their perhaps last chance, the three retreated to a distant location, an island off the coast of Anthos, harboring perhaps many more secrets than it let on. There to this day they wait, in a virtual elysium fueled by their Anguel Xan, keeping them stable until the day those of the mainland find clues to their location and follow them to their ultimate destination; the three.

The Order of the Golden Lance

Then, The Order of the Golden Lance was not always named as such. When the order was first created, it was under a different name. No, it was not until the Order received the lance that the name of the order was changed, due to the power of the weapon. It is unclear what the Order was named before they received the lance, or how they attained it, as any documentation from that time was lost to time. It has been passed down, however, that the lance was created by Xan the Aengul, eventually finding its way into the hands of the Order. For this reason, the weapon is known as the Lance of Xan. Though its powers are not entirely clear, it is said the Lance could defeat the most powerful evils. It holds an extremely powerful enchantment, shining a bright emerald light, holy in nature. A wound from this weapon would be powerful enough to kill Setherien.

It was with this weapon, the Lance of Xan, that the Order of the Golden Lance hoped to defeat Setherien. They brought the weapon with them when they followed Setherien from Asulon, and the weapon was held by the son of Hilan when the Order was smote by Setherien. It was only by the cunning of Setherien that they were defeated, for the power of the Lance would most certainly have wrought a killing blow to the drakaar. After the Order was slain, Setherien transformed into the form of a mortal, reaching down to clasp the weapon and learn what he could from it. However, at his touch, light surged from the weapon to the drakaar’s hand, ensnaring it, tearing at the creature’s taint. It was only when the drakaar poured much of its power into the weapon that the light receded, the lance shattering into many fragments of golden metal, being cast from the mountain of the final battle.

Enraged by the pain the weapon had caused him, Setherien sought to punish those who had caused the pain further. Backing away from the weapon, not daring to touch any shard of the holy metal, Setherien forced the souls of the recently departed to remain, enslaving them to his will. Setherien created the Harbingers in his anger in hopes that they could dispose of the weapon, only later realizing their utility to him. From this point, Xan being the guardian aengul he is, called forth the final survivor, Hilan, to grasp each shard of the weapon, each harboring an aspect of its whole form, to be sent away, across Anthos and out of the Drakkar’s fatally corruptive grasp. As the successfully immolated Harbingers finally took form and donned their enchanted armor, the leader, now dubbed Vak’thuul, caught but a glimpse of the retreating Hilan. For the last few glory years of his life, Hilan searched the land for the remaining pieces of the Lance, yet due to unfamiliarity with the land, and the Lance’s no longer magically imbued form, he was unsuccessful having to accept defeat... yet a plan forming in his mind, in the form of his grandchildren.

Having been scattered, there do remain a certain number of golden lance, albeit much, much more than the original estimate would have Anthos believe. The force deployed to Anthos was only the most elite of the Lance, the strike force in a way, designed keyly for the destruction of Drakaar. The team composed originally of 9 mortals, Hilan carrying the Lance of Xan for the Order, with the team leader so to speak being now known as Vak’thuul. Back in Asulon though, as the end times drew near and natural disasters abound, an artifact was brought forth, not necessarily of Xan’s origins, but rather... a slightly more malevolent deity. Upon the device, and there after portal’s activation, the energy produced from it was enough to send the world into violent disorder, causing further destruction as the Order moved into the portal, to the land we knew, and know, as the Fringe. Upon their entrance, all seemed stable for the time, the portal throwing off vast amounts of energy upon either opening, yet for the time staying stable, this was not to last though. Flourishing and building within the Fringe, the Order deftly fought off any threat within, until they noticed something peculiar happening with their entrance to the world. On both sides of the portal, the energy produced had almost a pollutant effect, the Lance’s original base being beneath the shore of the cloud temple, the excess energy seemed to both kill fish via overstimulation, and transfer to the waves, making them much more violent, crashing onto the shore and eventually tipping docked boats.

Having not dealt with this type of magic before, the Lance, or shall I say most, a few staying behind to observe the consequences, decided that closing the gate was the best option, their home within the Fringe more of a utopia than they could have imagined. Upon deactivation, the portal’s frame fell inwards upon itself, all appearing normal, until the device itself released what was held within. Said substance, or more should I say energy, pulsated up and out of the Order’s location, water fortunately capturing almost all of the violent energy before it reached land, ironically though, this was what also led to some... unfortunate, consequences. What is said to have happened to Asulon, was a great wave washing over the landscape, natural disasters ravaging the land, and in general nature showing her displeasure towards the mortal races; this though, was only what those wanted to believe, to cover the truth.

In Anthos, we find the Lance no more as an order, but rather the descendants of the few who stayed behind to witness the Asulon tragedy. Unaware of their roots, these are second generation members of the oder, their parents having stayed quiet to keep a secret, yet inevitably having learned some of the true occupation of their elders. The names of the descendants are lost with time, yet will undoubtedly soon surface, with the inherent blessings of the Anguel Xan, these offspring will still hold some of the passive gifts of those before them, small things like ability to lead, strength, and aptitude for holy magick.