Much of this information was collated by the Unfettered Mind in the Autumn and Winter of 386YE as part of their investigation into the influence of eternals on Imperial magic.

Overview

The eternals are the most powerful inhabitants of the six other realms of existence. Some possess great temporal power commanding armies of soldiers, ruling great cities or claiming extensive lands in their realm. Others appear to be solitary individuals with only a few allies or servants. All of them have unique magical abilities that they can offer to those who deal with them, if the bargainer is prepared to pay the price.

Eternals, as the name implies, appear to be mostly immortal. They don't consistently age or change over time in any predictable way, and in some cases even the idea of death seems strange. While mortal magicians may argue the nature of Phaleron, the being claims to be an actual library, and is completely unconcerned with life and death as a mortal might understand them. There are some eternals that seem to undergo significant changes, but their fundamental nature seems to remain the same. For example, Basileia Brazen replaced Basileus Flint and seized control of the City of Locks, just as Flint replaced Basileus Kade years earlier. Through all these changes, though, the City of Locks endures and in each cycle it is ruled over by an eternal devoted to intrigue, power, and treachery.

There are exceptions: Azoth apparently results from the union of two earlier eternals of the Night realm named Murit and Soghter, but in this case there is speculation that they are all the same creature undergoing a cyclic transformation as an expression of the fundamental nature of change. Likewise, the shifting prestige, power, and relationship of Eleonaris and Jaheris seems to be an expression of the "duality" of nobility in the Summer realm.

What is clear is that eternals do not age, or change in a gradual way in the manner of mortal beings. When they change, the changes are fundamental and swift. An eternal that has presented the same face to the Empire for decades or centuries might suddenly change that face, but its new expression is tied inextricably to the underlying principles that form the core of its identity.

Not every eternal has the same level of interest in the Empire, but the Imperial Conclave has the power to define the status of those that do via a Declaration of Alignment. Doing so has a powerful but poorly understood hearth magic effect that can make it more or less difficult for the eternal to use their powers to affect the Empire. A list of the current status of all Eternals can be found on that page.

The list of eternals below is not exhaustive. Rather it consists of those beings familiar to the Empire, usually because they have shown an interest in it at some point since its formation.

Eternals Interested in the Empire

The creature known as Capradan, the Horned Hunter, is a being of the Spring realm whose true nature is unclear. It is either a very potent herald or a lesser eternal concerned with primitive concepts of hunting and killing for sustenance.