Article 6: AP Castes
The Angelic Protectorate has existed for at least as long as the Golden Alliance, but their recorded history doesn't stretch back quite as far. The primary reason for this has to do with a phenomenon that occurs on the AP's planets known as The Light. Since what the Divine claim to be is the beginning of time, The Light has formed on planets near the center of the galaxy in the form of a tremendous pillar of light stretching past the atmosphere, large enough to be visible from space. The closer the planet is to the black hole at the center of the galaxy, the larger that planet's Light is, and the presence of this magical phenomenon serves to protect any life-harboring planets from the intense radiation this huge black hole would throw their way. This effect also seems to subvert the ambient magics in that sector of the galaxy, making it much harder for non-Divine races to develop magical powers on their own, empowering the Divine's own Light-derived technology, and disrupting traditional GA-tech BioWarp drives to such a degree that for centuries travel through that sector was considered impossible. This has served to keep the AP systems relatively insular, and in the early recorded years of the Angelic Protectorate, this extended to the point of each planet's own Divine staying exclusively around that planet, using their spaceflight technology only to patrol their own solar system.
In these early days of the Angelic Protectorate, The Light's utility to each individual Divine was fairly uniform. The planet's apparent allotment of Divine would emerge from The Light whenever some planetary-scale threat to stability and safety came to pass, the Divine would use their advanced technology and magical abilities to deal with the threat, then they would walk back into the light, disappearing there until they were needed again. There were recorded instances of the same Divine emerging from The Light on a planet multiple times over the ages, but aside from their name and duty they carried no memories from their previous incarnations. All of this changed completely, however, when an event the Divine refer to as The Covenant occurred.
According to the AP's Immaculate Judges, The Covenant was a deal that the creator of the galaxy who resides within the galactic core struck with all sentient beings, a renewal of a promise to provide for and protect them against evil. Sometime around BC200, all Divine who existed with The Lights of their numerous planets emerged simultaneously with a new mission ingrained within them, to live alongside the non-Divine populations of their planet and create a society to safeguard the innocent and good there. The Light remained on each planet, however(and formed on other planets thanks to the now-spacefaring society that resulted), and its purpose shifted from simply storing and powering the Divine within to purifying and revitalizing them. Now, Divine who are killed or who enter The Light step back out, their sins washed away along with their memories, with a new body that will in theory allow them to serve their purpose with greater success. This change led to a rejection of The Light by some that eventually built into The Schism that created the Devilings, but that's a topic for another entry.
Regardless of the number of times a Divine has reincarnated themselves in The Light, they will always emerge with the same purpose. This has led to the creation of a caste system wherein certain duties have been determined to be more important and thus those with those duties are able to command those who perform lower duties. There are ten "Orders" of Divine not counting the Valkyries and Volk, each seemingly its own subspecies of Divine, and these Orders are ranked into four Spheres of influence.
Sphere One consists solely of the Judges. Judges do not exist on every world, with planets closer to the galactic core more likely to harbor one or more of them. They claim to interact on the most direct level with the Creator of the galaxy, and issue orders to all other spheres that reflect that. The judges themselves are divided into a pair of "types". Immaculate Judges claim to have emerged personally from The Light at the beginning of time and, unless killed, have lived through that time to the present. They are notoriously hard to interview and none as far as I know have arrived at MSF High. Sentinel Judges, on the other hand, previously emerged along with other Divine and would often more personally interact with their subordinates, many of them bowing in reverence themselves to the Immaculate. Sphere One Divine live in lavish and ornate mansions with many Sphere Three and Four servants bound to them.
Sphere Two of Divine consists of the Cherubim, the Powers and the Thrones, and perform duties as the leaders of the various other Divine races. Cherub Helmsmen claim dominion over space itself, making decisions regarding patrols, resource distribution between planets, and the movements of their own fleet. They are the least territorial of the second angelic sphere, as they feel a duty to multiple worlds. Throne Executors serve as protectors of their own worlds, burdened with the command to keep their ward planet safe at all costs. Hailed as royalty even by the non-Divine on their worlds, they tend to throw themselves into the light as a gesture of penance when their failure leads to a large loss of life. Power Operatives' motives are much harder to pin down, though they are more numerous than the Cherubim and the Thrones. They claim to work under direct orders of the Creator, using subtle means to achieve said Creator's "Mysterious Ways". Officially, however, they are the caretakers of The Light itself, and it's apparently through their regular non-reincarnating contact with said Light that they hear the will of the Creator. Sphere Two Divine have their own personal homes decorated with proof of their various military victories.
Sphere Three of the Divine include the Seraphim, the Virtues, and the Archangels, all of which serve important roles but are usually not given their own autonomy, invariably serving under one or more first-sphere Divine. Seraph Callers serve as liaisons between the Divine of the Angelic Protectorate and other races, and while they are often excellent negotiators, their words are also backed up by the potential threat of orbital bombardment from their supporting crew. Virtue Discerners act as local mediators and investigators, solving problems that arise among the Divine and the other races on their planets. Archangel Crusaders are essentially military officers, coordinating the Angels directly beneath them both in battle and out as they create public works for the good of their homeworlds. Sphere Three divine usually have their own personal quarters with the size and luxury determined by their success in their specific fields.
Sphere Four of Divine are the Angels, Dominions, and Principalities. Principalities are the civil engineers in the Divine world, creating structures, vehicles, infrastructure and equipment and putting much time and care into the quality of both. Dominions, more specifically, are each assigned to design and assist Principalities in the building of a single capital or transport scale vessel or up to three identical smaller patrol ships, after which they are assigned to those ships as a pilot/engineer. A typical squadron of ships will consist of a single Archangel commander, a Dominion pilot/engineer, and an Angel pilot. Angels are the most numerous Divine race, and will serve both as troops, pilots or crew in battle as well as farmers, transporters, miners, and other more menial jobs necessary for the production and movement of resources. Sphere Four Divine live in communal housing and are only recognized for the most outstanding of work.
