“
A solitary Divine will lose their perspective, become... untethered.”
Elects are the pilots of Divines, synthetic beings of enormous power revered by the Divine Principality. The intended role of Elects in their relationship with Divines is to ground them and their perspective to non-Divine personhood and the Principality, keeping them on track to further the Principality's goals.[1] They also serve as powerful symbols that are immensely useful in Principality's imperial project. In the words of Burden Bittenbach:
“
When Stel Kesh or Stel Nideo or who-the-hell-ever came up with the idea of the Elect—someone chosen to pilot and interface with and speak to and corral these incomprehensible and unpredictable and minacious beings called Divines—they simultaneously, whether intentionally or not, invented the untimely death of the Elect too.
And deaths like that do not damage or disrupt or derail the engine of history. They fuel it.”
Role[edit | edit source]
Chosen Elects enter the training program around the age of 17,[2] which is a months-long process involving various ceremonies.[3]
Even with broad reverence across the Principality and the power of a Divine, Elects are still targeted to be killed. A known example of a group that specializes in killing Elects is the Apostolosian Swordbreakers.[4] Because Divines are central to the culture of the Principality, to mitigate conflict between Stels, there are treaties in place to allow Elects' bodies and the wreckage of Divines to be reclaimed after they are killed or destroyed.[5]
History[edit | edit source]
When the philosophy of the Resonant Orbit shifted to become Asterism, Divines came to embody the best aspects of the state itself. As such, Elects represent the Principality's ideal citizens, after whom everyone is encouraged to model themselves.[6] The constellations of Asterism, "organizational diagrams and schema that are meant to 'clarify' your position in society",[7] understand house leadership as connecting the Elects to the leader of each Stel and to their Divine, meaning they are expected to work in harmony towards a three-way leadership.[8]
Notable Elects[edit | edit source]
PARTIZAN[edit | edit source]
- Dahlia: Elect of Commitment
- Gallica: Elect of Present
- Hyacinth and Laurel: Elects of Motion
- Rye: Elect of Space
Road to PALISADE[edit | edit source]
PALISADE[edit | edit source]
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Spoiler warning! This section contains major spoilers for PALISADE 37: Reach In / Reach Out Pt. 1. Tread carefully! |
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "A solitary Divine will lose their perspective, become... untethered." – The Road to PALISADE 02: HOUNDs Pt. 2 at 04:24:36.
- ↑ The Road to PALISADE 02: HOUNDs Pt. 2 at 00:09:27
- ↑ The Road to PALISADE 02: HOUNDs Pt. 2 at 01:16:25
- ↑ PARTIZAN 03: SHORESIDE RECOVERY - DINNERDATE, 00:31:17
- ↑ PARTIZAN 03: SHORESIDE RECOVERY - DINNERDATE, 00:28:04 - 00:29:01
- ↑ "They look up to an Elect. And say, ‘... I should guide myself like the pilot of the Divine’" – Road to PARTIZAN: Ech0 & Dusk to Midnight, 01:57:27 - 01:57:41
- ↑ Road to PARTIZAN: Armour Astir (Pt. 1), 00:09:08 - 00:09:34
- ↑ Part of a hierarchical structure like The Great Chain Of Being in medieval Christianity; Road to PARTIZAN: Microscope (Pt. 1), 01:13:40 - 01:14:16