Aasimar
Aasimar are rare among the Populi, marked not by wings or constant radiance, but by an enduring alignment with forces older and larger than mortal societies. They are often mistaken for chosen champions or divine emissaries, yet most Aasimar reject such titles. Their nature is quieter and heavier—less a blessing than a burden carried across generations.
Where others inherit culture, Aasimar inherit orientation.
Origins and Nature
Aasimar do not channel divine will so much as reflect it, imperfectly and at a distance. All Aasimar ultimately derive from a single divine source, though none claim to comprehend His will in full.
They arise most often in lineages that remain unusually stable across upheaval—cultural, ecological, or magical. Long stewardship of critical sites, sustained proximity to powerful Mana flows, or survival through repeated Collapse can all leave such an imprint.
This resonance manifests differently across individuals: heightened perception, unnatural calm amid chaos, or an instinctive pull toward places of structural or moral importance. Many Aasimar recognize their nature only when the world around them begins to fail.
Relationship to Power
Unlike Clerics, Aasimar do not serve through prayer or doctrine. Unlike Sorcerers, they do not generate power from within. Their abilities reflect alignment, not authority or volatility.
In times of stability, Aasimar may seem unremarkable. In times of Ecological Collapse, they become unmistakable.
Their presence often coincides with:
- regions of Mana instability or Mana Burn
- failing Castelas or threatened Urbs
- sites where Blight has crossed from injury into systemic decay
For this reason, some scholars describe Aasimar as symptoms rather than causes.
Aasimar and Habitat
Aasimar are most commonly found in Castelas, especially those anchored to ancient structures or persistent Mana flows. They are also found, less frequently, in marginal Urbs near fault lines of history or belief.
They avoid the Mines, which they describe as spiritually opaque or silent. Prolonged time underground often dulls their perception and causes profound unease.
Few Aasimar remain in any one place for long. When a structure stabilizes—or finally fails—they move on.
Culture and Society
Aasimar do not form nations or lasting institutions of their own. When they gather, it is temporarily: to witness, to judge, or to intervene at critical moments.
Many serve as:
- wardens of ancient sites
- mediators during ecological or political crises
- observers attached to Castelas councils or mobile Urbs leadership
They are often respected, occasionally resented, and rarely understood.
Aasimar in the Modern Age
As Ecological Collapse and Mana Burn grow more common, Aasimar births appear to be increasing—an observation that unsettles both scholars and rulers.
Some interpret this as a sign of impending renewal. Others fear it marks the approach of irreversible failure.
The Aasimar themselves offer no reassurance.
Adventurers and Outcasts
Many Aasimar leave because remaining would require choosing between intervention and complicity. Travel grants distance from expectation—and perspective on a world that no longer behaves as it once did.
They are drawn to companions who adapt quickly, endure hardship, or question inherited purpose.
Perception by Others
To most Populi, Aasimar are unsettling rather than inspiring. They do not promise salvation. They observe, endure, and act only when necessary.
Their most persistent myth describes them not as angels, but as weights upon the world—appearing where balance is strained, and departing once equilibrium is restored or lost.
Whether they represent hope, warning, or inevitability remains an open question.
What is certain is this:
Aasimar appear when the world is being tested.