Stoicheian

Organisation

The organisational structure of the Stoicheian is not built on lineage or political alliance, but on a principle of elemental resonance. They do not require marriage or families because their creation is closer to fission or a spontaneous eruption of pure material essence when conditions in the Void or the World align perfectly. When one “finds a new host to animate”, as described, it’s a re-infusion of their divine elemental spark into a mass of inert matter, often leaving the original husk to decompose into its fundamental, non-sentient components—a return to the raw material.

Among the different types of Stoicheian, there exists a subtle, unstated hierarchy of primacy based on elemental relationships. For example, those tied to stone and metal often display a deeper, slower wisdom and act as silent, unmoving custodians of the earth’s crust. They tend to clash with the dynamic and volatile elements like Fire and Wind, whose purpose is change and dispersion. There is no true ruler, but the older Stoicheians, those who have passed their spark on many times, possess a greater density of elemental power and command natural respect within their specific element’s community.

Their solitary nature is a direct consequence of their origin in the Void. They learnt to exist in ultimate isolation, where only one’s own elemental integrity mattered against the nothingness. This fundamental solitude makes communal existence alien and unnecessary. They only converge when a threat to the global elemental balance requires a concerted, overwhelming force—such as an external intrusion that threatens to violate the deepest natural laws of the world’s composition. In such moments, the sheer destructive synergy of all the Stoicheian elements operating in unison is said to rival a world-ending cataclysm.

The perceived “hostility” toward other races is, more accurately, a profound, near-absolute disdain for the ephemeral nature of life. Mortal races, driven by short lives and fleeting desires, are considered a chaotic disturbance—a momentary rash on the eternal skin of the world. Their actions against mortal settlements are rarely driven by malice; rather, they are a simple, logical culling or cleansing, where the temporary structures and beings are swept away to allow the permanent, enduring forces of nature (the elements they represent) to continue their essential cycles.

“Such an odd lot, these powers divine—not even fighting for power, they merely exist—for some balance thing.”

—Skjald Sejrik

 

To create a longer and more nuanced list, we can use the concept that the core elements branch out into more specific, powerful aspects of the material world and its forces.

Elemental Archetype Primal Element Root Core Concept & Archetype

• Earth are Absolute Stability, and Unyielding Mass. Typically large, rooted to the ground, and their movements carrying the weight of ages.
• Water are fluidity, and physical connectivity. Manifesting in all forms of liquid—from crushing waves to a perfect sphere of shimmering dew.
• Fire are Radiant Energy, and Transformation, and appear as towering, chaotic forms of pure, incandescent flame, volcanic heat, and light.
• Air are Unbound Motion, Pervasive Intellect, and represent the invisible, pervasive medium that connects and encompasses all things.
• Aether/Void is the Space Between All Things. The original material of the divine consciousness that makes the other elements aware.
• Hylean Earth/Matter The embodiment of inert, raw, unrefined material; the philosophical concept of Matter itself.
• Metallurgic Earth/Stone The Stoicheian of refinement, structure, density, and all Metals.
• Glacial Water/Earth The principle of extreme Cold, stasis, permanence, and crystallized structure (Ice, Frost).
• Fulguric Fire/Air The essence of violent energy transfer, instant change, and Electric/Lightning force.
• Aetheric Air/Void The celestial matter, upper atmosphere, or the divine spark that gives the elements Consciousness.
• Telluric Earth The force of subterranean pressure, seismic activity, Stone, and deep, hidden power.
• Chronometric Void/Astral The element of Time as a fundamental physical constant (often linked to the astral or celestial in various traditions).
• Solaric Fire The divine principle of Light, Radiance, and Heat—sustained, life-giving energy, distinct from destructive fire.
• Lunacian are the embodiment of Hidden Flux, power derived from cyclical change, and the hidden rhythms that move within the world. 

The Earth Stoicheian (Stability, Mass, and Foundation)

The Earth Stoicheian are the embodiment of Absolute Stability, Unyielding Mass, and the Principle of Immovable Foundation. They are the pure, original concept of the material that resists change, a divine force of patience and weight that anchors the entire physical plane against the drift of the Void. They are the primary source of the Telluric (pressure) and Hylean (matter) archetypes. Earth Stoicheian are typically mountainous in scale and always appear rooted to the ground—be it as a colossal monolith of unworked granite, a shifting wall of rich black soil, or a massive, walking continent of clay and bedrock. Their movements are slow, deliberate, and carry the weight of ages. They communicate less through sound and more through a profound, low-frequency resonance that can cause the ground to tremble with their displeasure or satisfaction.

Archetype & Behaviour: They are the quiet sentinels of boundary and permanence. They despise anything that seeks to erode, move, or corrupt a fixed place, viewing growth and decay only through the lens of geological time. Their “rashness” is an act of absolute solidification—they can bind vast regions in unyielding stone or simply stop all movement and change within their domain, resulting in mass suffocation and petrification. They hold deep contempt for the fleeting and airy nature of the Air and Fire Stoicheian.

 

The Water Stoicheian (Fluidity, Emotion, and Connection)

The Water Stoicheian are the embodiment of fluidity, universal solvent, and the principle of deep emotional and physical connectivity. They represent the surface of the world’s matter that is forever moving and seeking equilibrium, binding all things together in a constant, relentless cycle of flow. They are the source of the Lunacian (tides/cycles) and Glacial (stasis) archetypes.  Water Stoicheian manifest in all forms of liquid—from an immense, crushing wave of abyssal water to a perfect sphere of distilled, shimmering dew. They often take on graceful, serpentine, or tidal forms, always reflecting their environment while maintaining their essential, cool nature. They are intrinsically linked to the emotions of all living things, absorbing and magnifying feelings as the tide follows the moon.

Archetype & Behaviour: They are the patrons of intuition, memory, and purification. They are simultaneously the most gentle and the most inescapable of the elements; no boundary can hold them, and they possess the patience to wear down any opposition over time. Their “rashness” is a sudden, all-consuming deluge—an emotional and physical torrent that drowns structures, washes away history, and resets emotional landscapes, often with an almost mournful indifference to the suffering they cause in their quest for equilibrium.

 

The Fire Stoicheian (Transformation, Passion, and Destruction)

The Fire Stoicheian are the embodiment of Radiant Energy, Violent Transformation, and the Principle of Passionate Will. They are the divine force of change and consumption, fuelled by the conviction that the only way forward is through relentless combustion. They are the foundational source of the Solaric (sustained light) and Fulguric (instant energy) archetypes.  Fire Stoicheian appear as towering, chaotic forms of pure, incandescent flame, volcanic heat, and blinding light. They are kinetic, loud, and constantly in motion, expressing a ferocious, impatient vitality. They are often described as having the most defined personalities—passionate, prideful, and impulsive, seeing themselves as the only necessary catalyst for growth.

Archetype & Behaviour: They are the agents of rapid change, destruction for the sake of creation, and unbridled ambition. They have an adversarial relationship with the slow Earth Stoicheian, who they view as stagnant and cowardly. Their “rashness” is the universal conflagration—a sudden, absolute wipeout that leaves behind only ash and glass, purging the world of all weakness so that something purer, or at least newer, can emerge from the void they create.

 

The Air Stoicheian (Motion, Intellect, and Freedom)

The Air Stoicheian are the embodiment of Unbound Motion, Pervasive Intellect, and the Principle of Universal Freedom. They represent the invisible, pervasive medium that connects and encompasses all things, governing breath, wind, speed, and the quick transfer of knowledge and thought.  Air Stoicheian are the most difficult to perceive, often existing only as a sudden, impossible silence, a violent, directional gust, or a localised, swirling vortex of absolute vacuum and pressure. When they solidify, they take on ephemeral forms like fast-moving clouds, transparent crystalline structures, or rapidly cycling gaseous spheres. They are highly intellectual and detached and utterly value freedom of movement above all else.

Archetype & Behaviour: They are the divine carriers of messages, ideas, and abstract thought. They hold a profound disdain for boundaries, fixed locations, and heavy material existence. Their “rashness” is a terrifying, dispassionate storm or vacuum—a total separation of one element from another, where they either accelerate all motion into uncontrollable chaos (hurricanes, tornadoes) or simply remove the air from a region entirely, leaving behind silent, breathless entropy.

 

The Aether/Void Stoicheian (Space, Quintessence, and The Beyond)

The Aether/Void Stoicheian is the embodiment of the Fifth Element, Pure Celestial Quintessence, and the Space Between All Things. They are the original material of the celestial realm and the divine consciousness that makes the other elements aware. This archetype is the direct conceptual link to the Void where the Stoicheian originated. They are the most abstract and divine-looking of the five, often appearing as perfect geometrical shapes, shifting fields of starlight, or the pure, cold, dark-matter density of space itself. They do not merely reside in the space between the elements; they are the space. They are utterly alien to mortal perception, often causing disorientation or a profound sense of cosmic vertigo.

Archetype & Behaviour: They are the divine philosophers, aloof arbiters of the universal laws that govern physics, gravity, and the relationship between matter and non-matter. They are silent and rarely interfere, understanding that they are the highest common denominator. Their “rashness” is not one of fire or flood but a cosmic nullification—a sudden, brief expansion of the Void’s emptiness, where the physical laws that bind matter together temporarily cease to function, resulting in chaotic dissolution and temporary reality shifts.

 

The Hylean (Raw Matter/Inertia)
This branch of Stoicheian embodies the pure philosophical concept of Hylē, or unformed matter. They are the most patient and sluggish of their kind, seeing all action as a temporary disturbance to their state of perfect, divine inertia. Hylean Stoicheian manifests not as a single material but as a composite of dense, non-reactive substances—think deep oil, compressed shale, or featureless iron ore. They are the silent custodians of mass, gravity, and potential energy. Their “rashness” is expressed as the inevitability of total, crushing collapse, acting only when a chaotic force threatens to dissolve the very concept of existence into non-existence.

 

The Metallurgic (Refinement and Structure)
The Metallurgic Stoicheian are the divine patrons of structure, sharpness, and purification. They are inherently logical and disciplined and often appear as polished, perfect geometric forms of divine bronze or silver. Their domain covers not just raw metal but the concepts of order, cutting-edge precision, and law. While they seem less impetuous than Fire or Wind Stoicheian, their swift, decisive judgement is far more absolute. To a Metallurgic Stoicheian, intrusion by mortals is not an annoyance but a structural flaw to be surgically removed for the sake of integrity.

 

The Glacial (Stasis and Absolute Cold)
The Glacial Stoicheian represents a paradox: a Stoicheian born of both Water’s fluidity and Earth’s solid permanence. They are the living embodiment of entropy halted, ruling over absolute zero, crystalline structure, and endless night. Their existence is a demonstration of power through stasis, often appearing as towering, silent forms of blue-white ice that radiate an aura of crushing cold and profound loneliness. Their rashness is the sudden, irreversible creation of an ice age, plunging a region into frozen immobility to reset and cleanse the chaotic cycles of life and growth, a process they view as necessary rest.

 

The Aetheric (Celestial and Quintessence)
These Stoicheian are the closest kin to the astral divines, embodying the Aether—the uncorrupted, light-filled material of the astral sea. They are rarely seen on the ground, manifesting as shimmering, nebula-like forms or spheres of pure, silent light. They represent the spark of consciousness and the immaterial perfection that permeates and separates the elements. Their “rashness” is abstract and cosmological, often involving the sudden infusion of divine purpose or overwhelming clarity into a mortal event, which, while beneficial on a cosmic scale, can completely unmoor and shatter mortal society.

 

The Fulguric (Electric Force and Violent Change)
The Fulguric Stoicheian embody the pure, uncontrolled destructive energy of lightning and electric force. They are the principle of immediate, kinetic transformation and the bridge between the turbulent Air and the intense Fire elements. Their forms are rarely static, often appearing as shimmering columns of crackling energy, sudden bursts of white-hot light, or spheres of intense plasma that follow chaotic, erratic paths. They are the most immediately volatile of the Stoicheian; they are the flash of an idea, the instant of irreversible change, and the spark that ignites mass into action. Their “rashness” is their defining trait: they operate without patience for process or deliberation, seeing every situation as a circuit that must be completed, often with catastrophic and explosive results. They have an inherent contempt for the slow, meandering pace of mortal life and even the gradual power of the Earth Stoicheian.

 

The Telluric (Subterranean and Seismic Power)
The Telluric Stoicheian represents the divine power of the deep Earth, seismic pressure, and volcanic magma. While the Hylean are inert matter and the Metallurgic are structured matter, the Telluric are the living embodiment of tectonic stress and the furious, churning core of the world. They are the architects of mountains and the shapers of continents, moving with the patient, inexorable slowness of geological time. They manifest as monolithic figures of cooling obsidian, veins of incandescent ore, or masses of pressure-scarred bedrock. Their strength lies not in combat prowess but in sheer, suffocating density and the ability to command the world to crack and shift. Their “rashness” is rare but terrible: when provoked or when they perceive a structural weakness, they will initiate catastrophic earthquakes and eruptions, fundamentally reshaping entire regions to re-establish a natural balance that only they truly comprehend.

 

The Chronometric (Time and Cosmic Rhythms)
The Chronometric Stoicheian are the most esoteric and least understood branch, embodying time as a fundamental, physical element that ties the Astral’s eternity to the world’s existence. They are the keepers of the deep cyclical rhythms of the cosmos, distinct from the short life cycles of mortals. Manifesting in forms that defy simple perception—perhaps as moving shadows that shift against light or as perfectly smooth, featureless spheres that absorb and radiate all colour—they are impossible to rush or delay. Their nature as void beings tainted by the astral makes them uniquely capable of observing the flow of all energies across vast epochs. Their perceived “rashness” is the most dangerous of all; it is not impulsive action but the sudden, non-linear adjustment of fate. They might collapse ten thousand years of history into a single day or cause a pivotal event to repeat itself, all in the service of correcting a perceived flaw in the universal timeline. They rarely interact with mortals directly, instead acting on the deep currents of causality itself.

 

The Solaric (Reflections of the Sun Stoicheian)

The Solaric Stoicheian are the embodiment of Light, Radiance, Sustained Heat, and the Cycle of Life-Giving Energy. They are not merely fire but the controlled, continuous blaze of the star, representing warmth, vitality, and the visible illumination that keeps the world from descending into the Void’s gloom. They are the offspring, or perhaps the focused fragments, of the Great Sun Stoicheian, carrying a diluted but perpetual spark of the celestial engine. Solaric Stoicheian appear as figures of dazzling, golden light, often maintaining humanoid or animalistic forms that seem to be woven from solidified sunbeams. They radiate an intense, yet usually non-destructive heat. Their presence is one of overwhelming clarity and active energy; they hate shadow, stagnation, and anything that draws resources without contributing. They embody the principle of constant output.

Archetype & Behaviour: They act as zealous guardians of growth, open spaces, and places of perpetual illumination. Their “rashness” is a scorching, purging impulse—a need to burn away corruption, stagnation, or anything hidden, often doing so with an indiscriminate intensity that harms the innocent alongside the wicked. They view their mission as one of constant vigilance, driven by the knowledge that their entire existence is a continuous gift of energy from the Great Sun. They fiercely resent the moon and shadows for their necessary, but to their mind, subversive, opposition.  The Solaric are directly dependent on the Great Sun Stoicheian for their power and purpose. They are the Sun’s agents on the world’s surface, manifesting in deserts, perpetual noon, or as sudden, blinding flares of divine inspiration.

 

The Lunacian (Reflections of the Moon Stoicheian)

The Lunacian Stoicheian are the embodiment of Reflected Light, Hidden Flux, Emotional Tide, and the Veil of Night. They are the opposite but necessary counterpart to the Solaric, representing power derived from cyclical change, subtle influence, and the protection afforded by shadow. They are the offspring, or fragments, of the Great Moon Stoicheian, carrying the subtle, pervasive energy gifted by the collective divinity.  Lunacian Stoicheian manifest as cool, silver, or opalescent forms, often shifting like water or mist and appearing only in reflected light—on a pool, a blade, or a pane of glass. Their energy is calm and deeply penetrating, but not warm. They embody the principle of change and receptivity. They govern tides, emotional flow, dreams, and the hidden rhythms that move beneath the surface of the world.

Archetype & Behaviour: Lunacians are the patrons of secrecy, meditation, and cyclical movement. They are masters of illusion and misdirection, preferring to influence through intuition rather than outright force. Their “rashness” is an act of deep, emotional flooding—a sudden, overwhelming surge of feeling, paranoia, or chaos that disrupts clarity and action. They are often melancholic, valuing the silent, eternal contemplation of the night over the sun’s burning activity. They see their role as essential for rest and the regeneration that can only occur away from constant divine light. The Lunacians are bound to the celestial cycles of the Great Moon Stoicheian. They are strongest when the moon is fullest and most visible, and their influence wanes as the moon darkens. They serve as the collective unconscious of the elemental world, allowing the deeper, often chaotic, impulses of the Wickeryadii and Void energies to briefly touch the surface.

In fact, there are many more Stoichean divines than those named here. However, a full list of all types would take far too long to put together. In addition, it dries out my mouth and makes me hungry. So let’s leave the Stoicheans to what’s already been said and instead delve into the dishes of culinary delicacies just presented—shall we?

“Why they didn’t just step in when the Great Invasion began made it clear that there’s no real mortal—Stoichean bond.”

—Skjald Yell'a'Beard

 

Special

Each is an Essence mana manipulator of their own elemental realm and immune to those energies.

“Don’t ever try to knee-bend them with energies of their own—as that will only strengthen them further.”

—Skjald Ulrich