The Five Afflictions are strange, amoral beings which cause destruction on Palisade. Their precise origin and purpose is unknown. However, they are known to have resided on the planet for thousands of years, long enough to have interacted with the New Earth Hegemony, and later the Divine Free States and Principality of Kesh. Each has pawns (minions) of its own, and has a unique negative effect on people in their presence.
They are kaiju, not saviors or heroic figures, though they sometimes interfere with the Principality's aims. The Afflictions will strike at anyone, regardless of their factional allegiance, and don't care much about collateral damage.
Their current auto-antonym names appear to come from the Afflictions themselves. Austin stated that Cleave, for example, "has called itself, or people have dreamt the name" Cleave.[1]
Dust
Also known as Pride's Mirror (by the NEH) or the Looking Glass (by the ancestors of the Divine Principality). "What if a mummy could be a mech, shawled and wrapped and deteriorating."[1]
Refrain
Also known as Yesterday's Reprise (by the NEH) or the Ghastly Chorus (by the ancestors of the Divine Principality). "An abandoned theater which appears as if from nowhere. Upon the stage, a spectral projection of a human that no one knows."[1]
Ravel
Also known as Labyrinth's Thread (by the NEH) or the Hedge Maze (by the ancestors of the Divine Principality). "Looks like a massive, loose brain neuron prowling the hills and valleys".[1]
Cleave
Also known as Whetstone's Opposite (by the NEH) or the Sanguine Hatchet (by the ancestors of the Divine Principality). One of Cleave's pawns is seen in "Into the World", and is basically "what if a dragon was made of knives".[2] It impedes communication using voiced, signed or written language.
Oversight
Also known as Hell's Facade (by the NEH) or the Empty Garden (by the ancestors of the Divine Principality). "A slowly moving statue whose features are always fluctuating under a stone shroud."[1]