“And the Evil that was once vanquished shall rise anew. Wrapped in the guise of man shall he walk amongst the innocent, and terror shall consume they that dwell upon the earth. The skies shall rain fire, and the seas will become as blood. The righteous shall fall before the wicked, and all creation shall tremble before the burning standards of Hell.”
Belial: Funny story. Diablo and Baal were too chicken-shit to tell Mephisto that Inarius got Lilith pregnant. They tricked me into breaking the news. After learning the hard way that Mephisto was very much a shoot-the-messenger type, I decided never to tell the truth again.
“…and there I wonder if the great warriors on Mount Celestia, revering their everlasting masters upon that great bulwark, truly dobelieve that creatures of innate goodness are not capable of great evils. I have seen the darkness among the light and there is no turning back from the truth of the universe - that even those who believe in the greatest of goods are desperately evil, and will put their beliefs above the lives they swore to protect. They call me a monster, now, for what I have seen, said, and done, but they cannot see the monstrousness inherent in their own grotesque, diabolical faith.” - Excerpt from “Seven Treatises on Good and Evil”, written by the zyranis Tau.
Fallen angels and ascended devils. The story of Zariel, the angel who fell, is known widely amongst the universe and told as a warning story to celestials that might follow her path. But few know of the fate of the zyrani - at creation, either devilish or celestial, but given a new turning point to ponder: free will. Scholars throughout the ages have wondered whether creatures of absolute law such as celestials and creatures of absolute evil such as devils have free will to govern themselves - at least the followers of true gods and true devils seem to simply follow orders. Zyrani either attain or are created with true free will, and all choose the middle path, essentially estranging them from both sides of the war. Their free will allows them to realize the horrible truth that neither devil nor angel wishes to accept: that there is no true good and no true evil, and that the grey in between stretches to encompass everything.
Dethroned generals. Zyrani of either devilish or celestial side that choose the middle path are generally destroyed by other members of their circle in an attempt to stop the perceived “wrongdoing” of the zyranis. Those that survive this ordeal or who manage to escape have punishment placed upon them threefold: celestial zyrani have their wings torn from them and their healing powers removed. Devilish zyrani have their regeneration stripped, and their devilish eyesight reduced. Both parties lose a majority of their abilities and are reduced to lesser creatures of their type, but a zyranis who chooses this path becomes a new being and gains strength from their choice. They themselves become the in-between: a strange, otherworldly amalgamation of devil and celestial that is simultaneously both beautiful and horrific.
A new life. Zyrani that are removed from Mount Celestia or the Nine Hells settle in between: they find their place on the Material Plane, usually passing as high-ranking generals of armies or royal advisors, using their ability to change their physical shape in order to pass as a humanoid creature. Those who can count a zyrani amongst their allies has a powerful force behind them, as a zyrani isn’t tied to any particular way of life or code of behavior, and will fight for whatever cause seems best at that moment. The zyrani’s neutrality allows for them to see from a new point of view, and they rarely choose sides in humanoid conflicts such as wars, unless the conflict may be a personal attack on the zyranis’ place in the world.
Friends and companions. Because of their neutral stance and their willingness to live amongst humanoids without detection, zyrani can become allies with nearly all neutral-aligned parties. They may pass as a druid protecting a grove that represents the circle of life, or they may live as a scholar amongst men, studying the works of history. Some zyrani choose to live as powerful, legendary beasts, in seclusion, and others may instead seek fame as a master thief, talented artist or intelligent sage. Zyrani avoid companionship with celestials and devils out of fear of detection or out of disinterest, and they shun causes that are outright evil or outright good, such as cults or religious sects.
Hybrid nature. The zyranis has two creature types: celestial and fiend (devil). It can be influenced by an effect if it works on either of its creature types.
