Ascension

Ascension is the process by which normal Wakened become full-fledged Deva. Many Deva were at one point just like your character — a confused individual fresh through the Gate, wondering what was going on. As they mastered the art of Bending and developed into well-adjusted people, their power continued to grow.

There are five Ascension levels. While the first four are well documented, Aeons tend to be a little more mysterious in nature. Each Ascension level is listed below, along with their unique abilities and duties.


Wakened

This is where everyone starts. Those who have just come through the Gate have no grasp of Bending, and therefore no powers. Only by letting go of their previous worlds and learning to utilize their own willpower do Wakened begin Ascending.

Not all Wakened automatically Ascend. Ascension can easily be refused if the person doesn't wish to have the responsibilities of maintaining worlds. Thus, there are Wakened who have been around for centuries and are perfectly content the way they are.

Angelii

Angelii act as messengers - they're the ones who keep records and act as couriers.

An Angelii's Bending is almost always superior to a lone Wakened's bending. Multiple Wakened can easily take down an Angelii, however.

Angelii can teleport and move very quickly so long as they are not using that ability in a violent manner. They cannot, for instance, teleport to attack someone, but they can to get away. They can also fly. Unlike Ashura, Angelii can sense the flaws and errors in worlds (in which case they are instinctively drawn toward them via a feeling of "wrongness" present), as well as oncoming reality storms.

Also, Angelii can actually interact with the inhabitants of a world, speak to them, and even, if they wish, live in the world as part of it. If they change too much, this has the effect of creating a splinter timeline, however; thus, Angelii were bound by the Deva to have to obey certain rules. An Angelii is easily forgetable in whatever world they inhabit, and seem to slip from people's minds (though the essence and the feeling of having met someone remains). There are exceptions to this rule: sometimes, a Deva's plan for a world or the best way to repair a flaw is to allow an Angelii to live as part of a world and operate within it. If need be, an Angelii can make themselves invisible while working within a world as well, though this takes a good deal of concentration and energy to manage.

Finally, Angelii do not have to be bound to an Ashura, but often are as the bond allows Ashura to easily locate their Angelii via conscious, focused effort. Over time, the bond between Ashura and Angelii can deepen enough to develop a one way empathy connection where the Ashura can sense what their Angelii is feeling (it does not work the other way; Angelii cannot pick up on the emotions of their Ashura or tap the bond to make use of it in any way). This empathetic ability is not automatic, however, and an Ashura must focus on their bond in order to read their Angelii.

Ashura

Ashura are repairmen and coders.

Oddly, Ashura do not automatically detect flaws in the world like Angelii do - they have a general sense, and if they actually encounter a flaw, they can usually see it. However, they cannot detect from a distance like an Angelii can. They also cannot automatically fly as Angelii can, nor can they teleport as fast or use super speed, but they can teleport offensively. They do the day-to-day maintenance of worlds, fixing things, putting things there, taking them out.

An Ashura's Bending is almost always superior to an Angelii. A few Angelii or several Wakened can defeat one if they work together.

Ashura are invisible to Dreamers by default. They can adjust their wavelength to become visible like an Angelii, but this takes a lot of effort. Their presence can be felt, but only abstractly - the presence of the Ashura of Trees, for instance, might make the trees in the area grow stronger and seem more magnificent.

Ashura are always bound to a particular Deva, and serve them. Without the bond to maintain their elevated power (which is accomplished by the Ashura gazing into the exposed eyes of a Deva), Ashura will lose their status over time and become an Angelii again.

Deva

Unlike the previous Ascensions, Deva are deliberate. Only by braving the Labyrinth do Ashura become Deva.

Deva can do everything Ashura and Angelii do; but there are far, far fewer of them, hence why they can't just do everything themselves. Deva also feel the threads of possibility constantly — they can see relationships between people as gossamer threads between them; can feel resonances and ways that an individual is connected to the rest of the universe in ways mortals cannot begin to understand.

The eyes of a Deva are always covered in some way, whether by use of a blindfold, bandages, sunglasses, bolted down pieces of metal, etc. Wakened and Angelii cannot look into the eyes of Deva without feeling disturbed and having the sudden urge to avert their eyes. This is because the eyes of Deva reflect the depth of their knowledge and power and it is simply too much for anyone less than an Ashura to handle.

A Deva is capable of diving into Chaos and finding possible worlds, or taking fragments of many possible worlds and weaving them into something new. Deva are master Benders, the very best, and always more powerful than Ashura… however, a collection of many wills against one can defeat them, and some Deva are only as strong as an Ashura. As Deva are very connected to thoughts, ideas, and the ebb and flow of reality, they are much more strongly affected by thoughts, feelings, and wills, particularly since a Deva is essentially a creature of pure will.

Making entire worlds takes considerable time and effort on the part of a Deva, and a Deva often needs help from fellow Deva and from its Ashura in order to be able to make a truly complete world. Some worlds are very simple or deliberately chaotic (e.g., Spongebob's world was probably only one Deva and its Ashura); others are huge, sprawling, collaborative efforts by many Deva and include many splinter or mirror worlds as new Deva decide they want to try a new twist on an old idea - the Transformers multiverse is an example of this.

Antovil, Areva, Lixue, and Nictyx are the Deva currently residing in Nautilus. There are also a number of known Deva who reside in their respective worlds:

  • Chattur’gha - Deva of Strength (Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem)
  • Incubus - Deva of Nightmares (Ink)
  • Lady Gaga - Deva of Fashion (no, we’re fucking serious)
  • Morpheus - Deva of Dreams (The Sandman)
  • Ninja (Ask A Ninja)
  • The King of All Cosmos (Katamari Damaci)
  • The Plant (Trigun)
  • The Log (Twin Peaks)
  • Ulyaoth - Deva of Magic (Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem)
  • Unicron (Transformers G1)
  • Xel’lotath - Deva of Insanity (Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem)

Aeon

Aeons are difficult to understand or explain. When a Deva becomes truly invested in a world, sometimes that Deva transcends and becomes that world. In other cases, a Deva might become invested in a particular concept, or an idea, and become that concept literally.

Aeons do not think at all like humans. Try to imagine how a sun would think, or a galaxy, or a black hole, or a planet, and you might have an idea of how an Aeon thinks. Maybe. Their thoughts cascade and bubble, and they have a strange perception of morality and ethics.

Examples of Aeon include the Heart of Nautilus (formerly the first Deva of Change; now an Aeon exemplifying change), the Allspark (aka Primus, the creator of the Transformers universe), Azathoth (of the Cthulhu Mythos) and Illuvitar (the creator of the Lord of the Rings universe).

Other known Aeons include

  • Kingdom Hearts (Kingdom Hearts)
  • The Gate of Truth (Fullmetal Alchemist)
  • The Island (Lost)
  • The Planet (Final Fantasy VII)
  • The Red Tree (Deadly Premonition)
  • The Spice (Dune)
  • The Town of Silent Hill (Silent Hill)

Nautilus's Ascended

Many characters, past and present, have Ascended to Angelii or Ashura during their stay in Nautilus.

Current Angelii

  • Azmuth
  • Connie
  • Juanita "Nita" Callahan
  • Keith
  • Nino Lahiffe
  • V

Current Ashura

  • Adela (Ashura of Courage)
  • Clef (Ashura of Magic)
  • Clu 1.0 (Ashura of Loyalty)
  • Irene Mallidias (Ashura of Redemption)
  • Link (Ashura of Heroes)
  • Suzaku Kururugi (Ashura of Fire)

Past Angelii

  • Agent Six
  • America
  • Augustus
  • Axel
  • Billy Cranston
  • Bulkhead
  • Caesar Salazar
  • Dana Tan
  • Darth Vader
  • Dead End
  • Death
  • Death the Kid
  • Denzel Crocker
  • Doctor Holiday
  • Flonne
  • Hei (Li Shengshun)
  • Jendayi
  • Johanna Barker
  • John Crichton
  • Ken Ichijouji
  • Kevin Levin
  • Kyle Madigan
  • Loki Laufeyson
  • Megamind
  • Michael Trinity
  • Miklo Braca
  • Miles "Tails" Prower
  • Mitham
  • Nathan Wallace
  • Ninth Doctor
  • Nott Lovell
  • Nunnally vi Britannia
  • Obi-Wan Kenobi
  • Optimus Prime
  • Optimus Prime (Animated)
  • Orihime Inoue
  • Pepper Potts
  • Pitch Black
  • Prowl
  • Ratchet
  • Rion Steiner
  • Romana
  • Rose Tyler
  • Roxas
  • Sanji
  • Scott Summers
  • Sideswipe
  • Six
  • Skyfire
  • Squall Leonhart
  • Tally Youngblood
  • Third Doctor
  • Thomas Jefferson
  • Tony Stark
  • Wally West (Kid Flash)
  • Wasp
  • Wendy Darling
  • Wheeljack
  • Wing
  • Wreck-Gar
  • Zack Fair
  • Zoro Roronoa

Past Ashura

  • Azmuth (Ashura of Invention)
  • Batman (Bruce Wayne)
  • Demyx
  • Fourth Doctor (Ashura of Asylum)
  • Iason Mink
  • Knuckles the Echidna (Ashura of Protection)
  • Lelouch vi Britannia (Ashura of Stratagems)
  • Lucas Kovach (Ashura of Memories)
  • Megatron
  • Nash Latkje
  • Prisoner No. 6 (Peter Smith)
  • Rex Salazar (Ashura of Machines)
  • Rip Van Winkle
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Starscream
  • Tenth Doctor (Ashura of Integrity)
  • V
  • Xemnas (Ashura of Oblivion)

How Ascended are Chosen and Trained

Every few months or so, Nautilus decides on a small group of individuals that he believes are ready to Ascend from Wakened to Angelii or from Angelii to Ashura. The decision is based upon change (defined as character development within game, see the Ascension Essay page for more information on how the OOC process is handled). Once Nautilus has made his choices, one of the Deva will announce the newly Ascended by name over the network and inform them that they will be expected to attend training to learn their new abilities.

Newly Ascended are always trained by one or more of the resident Deva. See the section on Ascension Training for more information.

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