[ Myrioi ] [ Aura | Avenger | Epariti | Demiourgoi ]
Aura Myrioi
Wind Nymphs
The myrioi are organized into three sacred legions, each one assigned to protect a particular aspect of Arcadian culture.
The first legion of the myrioi are the aurae (ore-EYE is plural, the singular form is aura). Their philosophy can be summed up thus: Law should serve life, not the other way around. They embody the cyclical nature of Arcadia and its harmonious natural order—its predictable weather patterns, its bounteous fields, and its symmetrical landscapes. The aurae are mainly found in the perfect pastures of Abellio, where they live in pastoral hilltop communes shrouded by fog, at the bottom of Arcadia’s perfectly circular cenote lakes, or in cloud castles which rotate around the Orb of Light and Day. Aurae are rarely seen by planewalkers, for they can move through the waters without making waves, flit unseen through the clouds without casting shadows, and dart between fog banks without stirring up the wind—when they so wish. They can also create rainclouds, windstorms and lightning, when it is the right time for them.
The Storm Kings call these beings the ‘wind nymphs’, and treat them as valued servant-subjects. When a Storm King determines the weather in Arcadia should change, they send a missive to the aurae—this might be a flock of doves, or a whisper on the wind, or a message in a bottle cast into the river. The aurae ensure the wisdom of the Storm Kings is enacted, and the sacred patterns of Abellio are maintained. With their powers over air and water, the aurae nurture the perfect gardens, labyrinthine hedge mazes and glittering fountains of the layer.
Although the aurae focus mainly on the rivers, land and skies of Abellio, they are not defenceless when Arcadia herself is threatened. While their sister myrioi the avengers provide the military muscle to stand against invaders, the aurae play their part by manipulating the environment of the plane to cast invaders into cloying fog, drench them with freezing rain, buffet them with fierce winds, or strike them down with lightning.
The Wind Nymphs in Combat
Unlike their sisters the avengers, aura are generally not combative or particularly brave; their raison d’être is to ensure the weather in Arcadia runs to time, the crops are watered regularly, and the rivers flow to schedule. But neither does this mean they are cowardly. Should an aura be threatened, is she is alone, she will typically hide or flee, using her ability to fly or swim, to head for the nearest cloud or river and lose her pursuers. When in a group, however, especially if avengers are present, aura will stand their ground. They prefer to attack from range, buffeting enemies with blasts of wind from their surprisingly strong wings, or casting spells to hinder their opponents. If backed into a corner though, they are able to partially transform one limb into an elemental water form and attack with cold, heat or bludgeoning damage.
Law isn’t chains, sister—it’s the reason the flowers know when to bloom
—Aura maxim
The Philosophy of Natural Law
Here’s where the wind nymphs diverge from their silver-skinned sisters on Buxenus. While the avengers see law as a rigid social framework that must be imposed and maintained through discipline, the aurae value law as a natural order that underlies all creation. They don’t see it as their duty to enforce rules—instead they embody the fundamental principles that make the seasons turn, the rains fall, and the crops grow. They believe that true purpose flows from understanding your place in the greater pattern, not from following arbitrary restrictions cooked up by governments.
This makes them seem somewhat chaotic to more rigid celestials, but the wind nymphs have tumbled to a dark that their militant sisters don’t appreciate—nature has its own perfect laws, and when you align with those deeper principles, a list of rules to follow become unnecessary. Think of them as nature spirits who’ve embraced the laws of nature, without losing their wild hearts. They appear as tall, graceful ladies with features that shift subtly with the seasons, although unlike the leaves on the trees they remain a metallic sky blue all year round. Their hair moves like grass in the wind, and their eyes are as deep as the sky on a clear day. Unlike the metallic perfection of the avengers, myrioi feel alive, organic, part of the plane they’re sworn to protect.
The Four Orders of the Storm
Each aura belongs to one of four orders, each sworn to serve one of the Storm Kings who rule Abellio from their impossible citadels. But here’s the twist, cutter – they don’t serve the Storm Kings directly. Instead, they serve the principles those bloods represent, making them simultaneously loyal to and independent from the weather lords themselves. Storm Kings may come and go—they’re mortal after all—but the aurae have been around long enough to know better than to get too attached to a particular high-up.
Order of the Ventae
Wind Sisters
The Ventae (VEN-tie; singular VEN-ta) are the messengers and wanderers among the aurae. They hail from the lands near the Wind King (who should really be called the Wind Queen but the title’s been King for so long that nobody really cares any more), although they travel all across the plane making sure the clouds keep to schedule. It wouldn’t do for too much or too little rain to fall after all; that sort of sloppiness might be expected on the Prime but it has no place in Arcadia. The ventae teach their sisters that even in the perfect order of Arcadia things must flow and shift to remain healthy. These sisters specialize in swift travel, reconnaissance, and carrying word between the scattered communities of Abellio and Buxenus.
Their order focuses on speedy flight, and the ability to read the wind’s messages. A venta can travel across the infinite plains of Abellio in hours rather than days, riding currents of air that only they can perceive. They’re also the diplomats of the sisterhood, able to speak with air elementals, thriae, and even the birds and busy insects of Abellio. Mission-wise, the ventae serve as an early warning system for Abellio, detecting threats to the pastoral harmony long before they become serious problems. They’re also the ones who ensure news travels between communities, helping to prevent community isolation that could lead to stagnation or corruption.
Order of the Hyades
Rain Sisters
The Hyades (HIYA-daze) embody nourishment and growth, understanding that the natural order serves life by providing what’s needed when it’s needed. These sisters are the healers and gardeners among the aurae, and they working closely with Rain King (tho’s also a Queen) the thriae to maintain the perfect agricultural systems of Abellio. They’re most interested in plant growth, healing, and purification. With the right rain dancing ritual, a group of hyades can coax crops to grow in perfect rows without forcing them, heal diseases by washing them away with cleansing waters, and even purify corrupted areas by calling down gentle precipitation that cleanses both soil and spirit. They’re also skilled at cloudworking, able to call light rains exactly where and when they’re needed. The hyades ensure that the abundance of Abellio nourishes all who call it home. They work particularly closely with petitioners who are learning to live in harmony with natural law, preferring to teaching by example rather than lecture.
Order of the Nephelae
Cloud Sisters
The Nephelae (neffel-EYE) are the protectors and nurturers, and they understanding that sometimes the greatest service law can provide is to shelter the vulnerable from harm. These sisters specialize in defence, concealment, and creating safe spaces where growth can occur without interference—and they work with the Cloud King to ensure there are safe places in Abellio. Chant goes it’s the nephelae who cloak the realm of Meriadar, the secretive power of reformed mongrelfolk, in its protective mists. Indeed, their powers revolve around protection, illusion, and environmental control. Rituals used by the cloud sisters can wrap vulnerable communities in concealing mists, create barriers of solid air to deflect attacks, or establish zones of perfect calm where heated tempers cool and reasonable discussion becomes possible. They’re masters of defensive weathersmithing, able to create localised climate conditions that favour their allies. With these abilities, nephelae serve as Abellio’s guardians and peacekeepers, but unlike the avengers, these aurae prefer prevention to punishment. They’ll rather hide a community from raiders rather than fight them, or create conditions that make violence impossible rather than defeating violent actors.
Order of the Keraunoi
Lightning Sisters
The Keraunoi (keh-ROW-noy; singular is keh-ROW-nos) are certainly the most militant of the aurae, but their approach to justice focuses on transformation rather than punishment. They come from the lands of the Lightning King, and share something of his tempestuous nature. Keraunoi believe that dramatic action is sometimes required to restore the proper balance of the natural order, and their rituals combine destruction and renewal in equal measure. A group of karaunoi can call down lightning intended to targets corruption without harming the innocent, or summon thunderstorms that that scatter hostile forces to the winds. Chant goes they’re also capable of weather-divination, reading omens in storm patterns or interpreting the future in the shape of lightning bolts. The keraunoi serve as Abellio’s last resort when more gentle methods fail, but even their interventions aim to restore harmony rather than simply defeat enemies.
A tree forced upright breaks.
—Aura maxim
One guided by sunlight thrives.
Place in Arcadian Society
The aurae are respected by the avengers but viewed with some suspicion due to their less rigid interpretation of law. The Harmonium finds them useful enough—after all, who wouldn’t appreciate bountiful harvests and predictable weather—but also ethically unreliable. Aurae will cooperate with re-education efforts if they agree with the goals, but they’re just as likely to shelter so-called “problematic” individuals if they believe those cutters are being treated unjustly.
Among the petitioners folk however, the aurae are beloved. After all, they’re the myrioi who understand that law should serve life, not constrain it. A farmer trying to with failing crops (or more likely more produce than they can possibly harvest) is more likely to seek help from the Order of Hyades than from official Harmonium agricultural advisors, who have a habit of charging windfall taxes or commandeering produce for “harmonious redistribution”. A community threatened by raiders will trust the Order of the Nephlae to protect them without turning their home into a military camp.
The thriae, in particular, have a special relationship with the aurae. Both groups understand the importance of working with natural cycles rather than against them, and some aurae will spend time among the thriae learning from the bee-folk’s ancient wisdom about harmony between civilisation and pastoral land, or their ancient techniques of fortune telling.
Suggested names for aurae: Septentria, Aquila, Vulturna, Subsolana, Eurua, Euroausta, Austeronota, Euronotua, Africa, Zephira, Eurua, Circia.
Source: Jon Winter-Holt. Canonwatch: These creatures are homebrew, and named after the aurae, or wind nymphs of ancient Greek and Roman myth. I wanted something that tied into the Storm Kings of Abellio, who are otherwise rather lonely figures. The suggested names are feminine versions of the names of the twelve winds from Ptolemy’s world map (from circa 150 CE).
