Entities (timeline)
When the Gods died, their essence formed beings of pure energy that became known as entities. Entities form on Aetherius without personalities, memories, or distinct powers, and their primary focus in the early days of the Age of Mortality was to explore the world around them. It just so happened that, at the same time, mortals began to organize themselves around concepts, ideals, and faiths once again. It had been several years since the death of the Gods, but that longing to belong to something bigger than yourself is present in many people, and so cults began to form.
At first, cults seemed to resemble Divine Orders - a group dedicated to the protection of the weak and the innocent invoked the name of Protector, perhaps a nod to the fallen Vahin - but soon began to embrace larger, more complex ideals. These ideals began to attract the attention of the entities, who were becoming more familiar with the world. Many entities attached themselves to a cult and became something like a figurehead for the group, and as the cults grew in size and status, so too did the entities.
Soon, the Cult of Conquest became the first of the cults to achieve a significant amount of power and prestige in addition to attracting an entity. In the year 6 AM, Zhiash gathered followers of Conquest in the Areish Mountains at the cult's altar. A blood rite was performed, resulting in the transformation of Zhiash into Hastati, the first of the Ascendari.
Soon after Zhiash's transformation, Omyedhi was drawn to the Cult of the Eternal Flame and became Samaos, the Dread Flame. The following year, mortals learned that the entities could consume one another and gain the strength and wisdom of the victim - the entity known as Paesa swallowed up Qinlan and then Ronol, leaving their cults defeated and broken.
The Cult of the Wild Hunt was the next to achieve the status of Sect, raising Zarah up to Ascendari and becoming Isra, the Wild Huntress. The hungry Paesa was lured by members of the Cult of the Leechwood into the Al'drym Woods in the middle of the year 8 AM, who deceived her with claims of boundless power for her to consume. In reality, they sought the energy for themselves and Paesa was sapped dry by the Leechwood, and the Diabolus named Olanre rose in her place.
New entities would continue to be born and then have their life snuffed out over the coming years: Osila was born in the year 15 AM, as was Svorai in the following year. In the year 21 AM, the Rashirmir Cult became a Sect and raised the entitity Binoud into Dianos, the morphae. In 23 AM, the entity known as Cadra took a mortal vessel, the Archknight Arnatta - she would later become the diabolus Nyrohi. A decade later, in the year 32 AM, Hastati, the first ascendari, murdered Dianos in the temple of Rashirmir, provoking the ire of Svorai. The two entities battled and in the end, Hastati died and its essence was released into the world again.