Apostolosians

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

Apostolosians are an offshoot of humanity. Their forms are humanoid, but may have a varying number of aquatic or fish-like features. Many Apostolosians have gills on their necks and visible scales on their faces or bodies; some may be slightly iridescent or have unusual skin colors.

Culture

Descriptions of Apostolosian culture make many references to classical Greco-Roman and Byzantine culture. In COUNTER/Weight, some Apostolosians make unlikely claims that they are originally from Atlantis; this is not mentioned in other seasons.

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 tend to favor "hard lines and dark colors"; there's been reference to both ancient Greek and Roman fashions and more modern military-inspired looks.

Ships

The ship the Callisto features an onboard temple room and a windowed observation deck. The Holiday Gambit's interior contains a reflecting pool surrounded by sand, rocks and columns. Like the Callisto, it has a large observation window ("godspeed, glory Pt. 1").

Apostolosian ships sometimes deploy energy sails which glow neon gold. These golden sails allow them to travel in dark space using solar energy.

Gender

In COUNTER/Weight, Apostolosian society has a six-fold gender and pronoun system based on the 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 may be used as a pronoun. The other prototypical pronoun is they/them.

Not all Apostolosians are attached to the culturally-standard gender or pronoun system. Some, like Kal'mera Broun, eschew their Eidolon pronouns and go solely by they/them, and others, such as Ver'million Blue or Zig'ell Barbos, transition to other genders.

History

Apostolosian Empire

Main page: Apostolosian Empire

Apostolos was founded fifteen thousand years before the events of COUNTER/Weight by refugees brought alongside Rigour into the Golden Branch after the explosion of the second stellar combustor. They originally called themselves Apostles. The Apostles created a mech called Apokine to direct them; it was controlled jointly by the wills of the people using hyper advanced technology adapted from what they learned from Rigour.

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 prosecuted (and subsequently lost) a war of expansion that was later called the Golden War.

Golden Demarchy

Main page: Golden Demarchy

The Golden Demarchy was a 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 tens of thousands of years later. Lots of things probably happened.

Stel Apostolos

Main page: 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 allowed it to forcibly absorb Apostolos, and the newly-formed Stel Apostolos became a driving force in the Principality's war against the Branched. Eventually, however, the treachery that folded Apostolos into the Principality inspired Apokine Dahlia to begin a civil war between Stels Kesh and Apostolos.