Sentinel

Sentinel (歩哨 Hoshō) is the most common term used to refer physical personifications of the principles of the universe and its governing flows. They are also known as God Fragments (神の断片 Kami no danpen) by the Church of Castelia or simply as Deites/Angels in other religious cults throughout the universe.

The word "Sentinel" originates from their original duty of guarding, govern and embody a specific aspect of the Eternal Cycle imparted by the Sacred Root. Their reference to the figure of God, is due to them being the largest fragments of the omnipotent divine entity that shattered itself in order to create all of reality and be one with it.

History
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Information
Sentinels balance out the universe and play a significant role in the Infinity Equation where they are found by humans to represent universal constants called “Attractors”. They act as manifestations of the core principles of the Sacred Root and their presence often exert influence over space-time continuum necessary to mantain stability in the eternal cycle and limit entropy consumption as well as the growth of the Hollow Tree.

With the exception of Seraph s and Sephir s, they manifest themselves in dimensions with the highest concentration of thought-particles affine to their nature produced by the driving force of their inhabitants (for example in a universe where the forms of life develop strong relationships is most likely to become host to Love). The process lasts years and projects the Sentinel into a lower plane granting a physical body. To do so, one of the mortals is chosen by the Sentinel to be his Herald, essentially a mortal vessel and partner that allows higher-planes beings to take form into lower ones. The sentinel presents to him during dreams, hallucinations or visions before eventually completing its bond once reached their physical mature age.

It is usually considered a great honor to be the herald of a Sentinel; mortals with such privilege are extremly rare and there are few than 1000 throughout the infinite ever-expanding universe. When linked to their sentinel they are granted immortality as well as other powers which can vary based on the nature of their dimension. The eternal cycle guarantees the balance, as once every million years sentinels detach from their heralds when thought-particles deplete either due to a civilization dying or simply due to stagnation. This is not always the case as the 3rd circle universes all still retain their sentinels from way more than a million year with Castelia holding it for more than a billion. Even in such exceptional cases though, the link must be transferred to another mortal at the end of each cycle.

There can never be more than one sentinel for each dimension. Having two attractors at the same time can distort the space-continuum very quickly and tear the universe apart. Such disasters are uncommon but have caused various grades of apocalyptic events throughout the history of time. It also seems that 3rd-dimensional planes are most likely to spawn sentinels due to the "hungry" nature of their inhabitants who create larger quantities of thought-particles as opposed to higher dimensional beings who are often complacent with the order of the universe.

Hierarchy
Each personification of the universe derives from a larger aspect that encompass its form and which they have spawned from at a given point in time. The universe is structured in 9 layers called Circles who encompass all dimensions with the same types of influence who exert with different radiance, based on their physical embodiement. Each of them also stems from a specific family class called Dogma and share the same kind of powers:


 * 1) Sephir (ルート Sefia): Also known as Sacred Sentinels or 5 Pillars of Creation, are the core principles of the universe and its existence and the largest fragments of the original divinity. They reside inside the Sacred Root and never come in contact with the lesser planes.
 * 2) Seraph (セラフ Serafu): Also known as Inner Sentinels or 7 True Angels, are special types of Sentinels which reside in the 2nd circle tasked with protecting and supervising the Sacred Root. They personify the Eternal Cycle and know how to use the archaic forms of the sacred dogma.
 * 3) Thrones (玉座 Gyokuza): Also known as True Sentinels or 5 Laws, embody the driving forces that keep the universe evolving.
 * 4) Rulers (定規 Jōgi): Also known as Liminal Sentinels or Elder Ones, embody the forces that govern and rule the mortal planes.
 * 5) Truths (真実 Shinjitsu): Also known as Truth Sentinels, embody the forces of unmoving magnitude and form a link between the lower circles and the upper circles of the universe.
 * 6) Essences (エッセンス Essensu): Also known as Core Sentinels, embody the concepts related to abstract reasoning and the unknown.
 * 7) Empireals (帝国 Teikoku): Also known as Radius Sentinels, embody the concepts related to enlightenment and transcendence.
 * 8) Cherubs (ケルビム Kerubimu): Also known as Creation Sentinels, embody the concepts related to actions and symbols.
 * 9) Virtues (美徳 Bitoku): Also known as Aspect Sentinels or Young Ones embody the concepts of the material spheres such as emotions and feelings.

Powers and Abilities
Sentinels are extremely powerful beings that can be commonly referred to as gods by many civilizations. They transcend the limits of mortality and hold absolute domain over the dogma of the concept they incarnate whether is a primordial force, a governing flow, or an abstract. They also all share various set of powers and possess them in varying degrees depending on their hierarchy:


 * Attractor of Thought: As all sentinels are attractors of thought-particles, they naturally possess superhuman durability, strength, stamina and immortality.
 * Manipulation of Thought: Depending on the their Dogma, they can manipulate thought-particles to manifest phenomenons related to their essence.
 * Divine Heraldry: During early stages of manifestation, sentinels are able to choose their next herald to make themselves physical into lower planes.
 * Manipulation of Senses: All sentinels are able to distort the senses of mortal beings, but are not able to distort the senses of another sentinels if not of a higher hierarchy or of the same Dogma.

Notable Members and Groups

 * 5 Pillars of Creation: Time, Space, Reality, Entropy, Harmony (Sephir)
 * 7 True Angels: Purity, Providence, Humility, Patience, Temperance, Justice, Endurance (Seraph)
 * 5 Laws: Life, Death, Authority, Energy, Quintessence (Thrones)
 * 7 Sins: Wrath, Sloth, Lust, Gluttony, Pride, Envy, Greed (Essences)
 * 5 Elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Aether (Truths)
 * 7 Days: Might, Fear, Prophecy, Ministry, Delight, Guidance, Bravery (Cherubs)
 * 7 Virtues: Truth, Love, Courage, Wisdom, Creativity, Tolerance, Freedom (Virtues)