overview of the series
In the beginning, a faction of angels spurned the will of Heaven and sundered the Veil into creation. As punishment, their souls were shattered into millions of fragments, called si'ru. The moment they crossed over, their si'ru mixed with corporeal matter, and they were reformed into physical bodies. No longer were they Aesari. They became the E'ine, the First Ones. In time, these beings gave birth to children of their own, born from the flesh of their prisons. These were the Lethen'al, the Fallen.
Another faction tried to stop the exodus with malicious force. These were the Lo'ademn, and they too were punished, cast out into the Chora, the space between the spaces. By the grace of the Creator, they still retained their angelic abilities, but were condemned to wander until their brethren returned home.
The portion of creation where the Veil was breached was set aside and moved into the Chora, lest any of the Lethen'al attempted to return. This otherworld was named the Sur, for it a gateway to other realms.
An angel of tremendous power, an Aesari named Tarek was positioned there, a lone guardian protecting the paths to Heaven. It is believed he held his post for millennia, but grew weary of his role. It is said he learned to hate the E'ine and the Lethen'al, and blamed them for his exile instead of his own impulsive actions. Soon, he took a new name; The Apostate, and he vowed to destroy his fallen brethren. His malice infected the Sur, and it became a place of darkness.
In the shattering of their si'ru, the E'ine forgot their past and who they once were. Gone was the purpose that led them through the Veil of Heaven, and the reason why they were here. They found clues to their truth, but answers eluded them. In the interim, they raised the humans to consciousness. But in time, the Lo'ademn learned that humans were easily corrupted, and their bodies effortless to steal. The Apostate walked the world in his borrowed skin, and with the monstrous hordes of his creation, the shrulks, he hunted the Lethen'al to near extinction. He was banished with the powerful magics of Thenaria Tu'renthien, the Matriarch, and the Lethen'al fled through the Gates of Golorath back to the Patresilen.
They locked the Gates behind them, and have not returned.
Seven thousand years have passed since the Apostate's exile. The E'ine are all but gone, killed by the Apostate long ago. The Lethen'al remain ignorant to their true past, but they have evolved behind the Gates. They have mastered the arts of magic and of war, so they will never be victims again. Every Lethen'al must pass through the Areth'kon, their martial school, and become a Blade. At the completion of their training, they must serve a tour at The Gates of Golorath, where their future will be decided.
But the old ways have grown stale, and new blood will challenge its rule.
