Caelumar Culture

As a people who believe themselves to be heavenly emissaries and paragons of virtue, Caelumar culture reflects their typical role as the final authority, protectors of the good, and providers of safe haven and sanctuary, drawing many parallels to Angelic depictions from Justinian's Byzantium. While severe and harsh, they are also honorable and fair, as they are used to any problems necessitating their attention being far beyond simple, easy solutions. Though 'regional' differences from planet to planet are present, the following is typically true and serves as a good baseline.

Heavenly Spheres

The Caelumares are culturally organized into castes known as 'Choirs' or 'Spheres', with each denoting different tasks and responsibilities. Though all positions are of importance, the spheres themselves are arranged according to their proximity to their God, Goddess or Heavenly Pantheon. Additionally, the higher they are in their hierarchy, the more bizarre and otherworldly their forms become when their powers are unfettered, with the sight of their strongest being harmful to the sanity of mortal minds.

First Sphere

Those belonging to the First Sphere are the most likely to directly serve the planetary ruler or rulers, and being closest to them, are also the most divinely powerful and inhuman of them all.

• Seraph: Literally translated as "Burning Ones", these highest ranking leaders of the Caelumares also serve as throne guards, watching over their masters and keeping their inner sanctums safe. Seraphs - or Seraphim - are best known for their set of six wings, and when provoked, their garb of flame and the cleansing incendiary magic that they favor. Less well known however, is their angelic singing voice.
• Cherub: Acting as a palace guard, the Cherubs are Caelumares that are charged with protecting the residence of their god or gods and the general vicinity. With four wings, the Cherubs posses considerable power, but are most remarkable for their tetramorph ability. In addition to their normal 'angelic' form, Cherubs can transform or partially transform into three other pre-selected animals to gain or switch out traits and abilities as needed. They are often mistakenly mixed up with 'Putti' - winged infants - by humans.
• Ophanim: Direct servants of the gods, Ophanim see to the every need of their heavenly masters. Despite being the third highest ranking Caelumares however, their forms are relatively standard, with only two wings. Even then however, they are powerful, and are expected to spring to defense at a moment's notice.

Second Sphere

Caelumar of the Second Sphere have jobs associated with governance of other Caelumares, guiding the world, and protecting it from harm.

• Dominion: Masters and Mistresses of the Caelumares, the Dominions coordinate and manage the efforts of those below them. Divine in appearance, even for Caelumares, they are rarely seen by mortals due to the nature of their work. They are most well known for their preference of light and hard-light based magic.
• Virtue: Overseers of space, time and the magic that flows through the world, the Virtues keep reality regulated and functioning properly by performing regular maintenance at the behest of the gods. As a result, their magic is particularly adept at not only making subtle changes to universal constants, but also constructing, fabricating, and deconstructing items.
• Power: The warrior caste of Caelumares, they are charged with making divine intervention against threats magical, unholy and demonic. Their powers are focused on combat, but are well rounded to provide flexibility both on the battlefield and within the darkest dungeons.

Third Sphere

The Caelumares most often encountered by 'mortals', those of the Third Sphere are charged with much more direct intervention. Delivering messages, guiding mortals and steering nations, they are the furthest from their God, yet as a result, are all the more human and better suited to communicating in ways that can be understood.

• Principality: Under the direction of the Dominions, the Principalities watch over large groups and institutions. This includes things such as nations and churches as well. In addition to this task, they also oversee smaller groups of Caelumares and coordinate their efforts. These Caelumares are most known not for just their mentoring and guardianship of nations, but also for the education that they provide.
• Archengel: Assigned to overseeing all messenger Caelumares, Archengels not only oversee the Caelumares below them, but act as divine messengers, heralding major change or words of great magnitude. Additionally, they are most known for working miracles, causing chains of events to begin and the like.
• Engel: As those most concerned about the comings and going of mortal peoples, Caelumares have the most personal relationship with the peoples of the world. Though they are tasked with numerous jobs, they are most well known for acting as guardians to individuals, guiding mentors and messengers of the divine.

Language

Universally, all Caelumares are capable of speaking in a more evolved and refined version of Latin known as "Lingua Caelum", or 'Speech of the Heavens'. The reason for this is unknown, however, the key differences between Lingua Caelum and traditional Latin primarily has to do with the refinement of the language and the resolution of various grammar and spelling conventions that have produced problems in the past. Additionally, the language itself contains entirely new words for more modern terms that did not originally exist in the language such as computers or lasers. Perhaps more importantly however, is the inherent trait that all Caelumares seem to posses. When dealing with any other language descended from Latin, the Caelumares quickly adapt, learning the new language in a fraction of the time it would have taken otherwise.

Honor, Duty and Justice

One of the key facets of Caelumaric culture is that they are both honor and duty-bound. Though they do not directly speak of it, it is clear through their actions, or lack of, that they consider honor to be a hard line which they cannot breach. Caelumares detest lying in any form, even if it is for the greater good. For this reason, it is very uncommon to ever encounter a Caelumar willing to lie even when pushed to the point of desperation. The integrity of their beliefs and morals are considered to be impeccable as well, as they prefer fair fights and will almost never go back on their word. Additionally, Caelumares have a strong sense of duty, giving them a superb work ethic. Regardless of what position they are in or how much they may detest their assigned task, they always perform to the best of their ability.

Though Caelumares are known to be the harbingers of justice, their appearance or intervention had historically meant that events had spiraled out of control and can no longer be easily remediated. They have a particularly practical yet cut and dry sense of justice which may strike people as harsh. With them, there is no room for discussion; justice is an order to be obeyed, not a dialog for better terms. For this reason, they try not to impose their will upon others when not working for any heavenly forces, and will instead prefer to defer to others around them, or assess the morals and beliefs of those around them and follow that. Their own sense of justice is instead reserved for moments when the justice of others around them is insufficient, as a sort of last resort due to its harshness.

It is commonly believed that when a Caelumar comes to make a ruling, no one will be happy, as the parties involved had allowed the situation to degrade to a point necessitating Caelumaric intervention.

Social Etiquette

Though Caelumares feel the full range of emotions and express them like any other human being, their reputation for being cool and level headed stems from their strong self-discipline. Negative feelings such as hate and anger are tightly controlled, however their effects can still be seen coloring their speech and actions. In comparison, it is acceptable for positive feelings such as happiness and joy to be expressed, however, even these have their limits, and are typically displayed in a mild fashion. Caelumares typically have a more reserved and polite demeanor, and as a result, are rarely ever seen fully expressing their mirth or desires. Further complicating their cultural mores towards their emotions is the job or occupation an individual holds. Caelumaric soldiers for an example, are known to be more stoic, while guardians are typically more personable.

Caelumares are also known for universally looking down on all others, and though there is a typical lack of malice, many may find this to be offensive. It is most prevalent with younger Caelumares that have yet to learn being careful with their word choice however. It is also worth noting that though they act as mentors, protectors and guides to many, consorting with the lesser peoples is considered a disgusting heresy.

Warfare

Due to their nature, Caelumaric warfare relies on speed, maneuverability and power concentrated at key locations during key points in time. They have historically preferred to act as flying cavalry, wielding long bows or a contus lance as their primary weapons, and swords as their sidearms. As a direct result of this, Caelumaric soldiers also make for excellent military commanders in modern conflict, favoring mobile, combined arms tactics. However, their shortcomings are made readily apparent when having to deal with an insurgency, as they are most suited for field combat.

Fallen

The Caelumares known as "Fallen" or "The Fallen" are those who have committed a heresy such as disobeying heavenly orders, directly opposing the will of the heavens or even fornicating with a lesser being. Regardless of reason or intent, they are ostracized and cast out from Caelumaric society. Additionally, their feathers will be magically changed to black as a mark of shame. Though societies who worship the Caelumares may reject them as well, those that do not cast them out often note that out of all the Caelumares, those who are Fallen are also the most human in that their emotions are more unfettered. Usually, they are still more reserved than the humans and humanoids around them however.

Perhaps more importantly though, is that those that are Fallen are not necessarily bad people. However, those Caelumares that would be considered people of poor moral quality would most often be found as a Fallen, but only after being ousted. As a result this has lead to The Fallen generally having a negative connotation with many societies.