Apostolosians

Spoiler warning! This article contains major spoilers for all of the Divine Cycle. Tread carefully!

Apostolosians are an offshoot of humanity. They have humanoid forms, but may have varying levels of fishlike features. Many have gills on their necks and visible scales on their faces or bodies; some may be slightly iridescent or have unusual skin colors.

Culture

Apostolosian culture makes a lot of reference to classical Greco-Roman and Byzantine culture in its names, aesthetics, and governance.

Aesthetics

COUNTER/Weight establishes that Apostolosian architecture uses a lot of marble and sandstone in classical or neoclassical styles. Tiles and mosaics are big. Clothes and other visuals tend to favor "hard lines and dark colors".

In Twilight Mirage, an Apostolosian ship is mentioned whose interior contains a reflecting pool surrounded by sand, rocks and columns. Like the ships in COUNTER/Weight, it has a large observation window.

Gender

In COUNTER/Weight, Apostolosian had a six-fold gender and pronoun system based on their six Eidolons.

By PARTIZAN, the Apostolosian pronoun system has expanded, along with the number of Eidolons. A shortened form of a chosen Eidolon's name is prefixed to an Apostolosian person's first name; this short form is what may be used as a pronoun. The other prototypical pronoun is they/them. Not all Apostolosians use these pronouns.

History

Apostolosian Empire

See also: Apostolosian Empire

Apostolos was founded by refugees brought with Rigour into the Golden Branch after the explosion of the second stellar combustor. They created a mech called Apokine to direct them; it was controlled jointly by the wills of the people using hyper advanced technology.

Eventually Apostolos became an empire which extended through the Golden Branch. The ancient mech was lost, but the ruler of Apostolos was still called the Apokine. When the empire encountered OriCon and the Diaspora, it attempted (and failed) a war of expansion, later called the Golden War.

Golden Demarchy

See also: Golden Demarchy

The Golden Demarchy was government which appointed its officials by sortition from pools based on the six Eidolons and led by an elected Demarch. It succeeded the Apostolosian Empire after its decline in the Golden War. Not much is known about the period between the creation of the Demarchy and Apostolos's reappearance approximately fifty thousand years later. Lots of things probably happened.

Stel Apostolos

See also: Stel Apostolos

After the Divine Principality emerged, it started encroaching on Apostolosian territory. In reaction, Apostolos returned to imperial governance led by an Apokine.

The Principality's machinations made sure Apostolos was eventually incorporated within the Principality. Stel Apostolos became a driving force in the war with the Branched. Eventually, however, the betrayal that caused Apostolos to become a Stel also caused Apokine Dahlia to begin a civil war between Stels Kesh and Apostolos.