History of the Powers of Light

The Elohim were once a mortal group, convened in the twilight days of the Elven Empire as the power of the Drow was rising, and elven culture was stagnating in decadent luxury.

The group was called Noldanor. In ancient elven their name meant Knowledge of Light or Illuminated, and they appointed themselves the task of stopping the spread of the decay that threatened their civilisation. Following the precepts of one of the Elvan Gods worshipped prior to the sundering they dedicated themselves to the cause.

They believed in purity of spirit, and discipline of mind and body. They saw the casual use of magic as one of the prime causes for the decadence of the elven people, and counselled against it.

In the end, the task proved too large, their numbers too few, and they failed in their attempt to reverse the decadent trends that ultimately destroyed elven civilisation. As the fall began, and the war spread, they fought to the last with a bravery that has seldom since been seen in all of the ages of the world.

Although the Noldanor perished in the fall, their wisdom and beliefs did not completely leave the world, for they had planned and trained for this outcome. Their apotheosis was a planned and deliberate act, so that they might stand against the Powers of Darkness, as some form of protection for mortals in later ages of the world.

The spirits of the Noldanor passed beyond the mortal realms, and because of their dedication and training, they retained traces of their former existence, eventually forming immortal beings, the Powers of Light, composites of the mortal beings that once were.

Philosophers generally agree that the spirits that formed still reflect the aims and methods of the original groups within the Nolandor:

• Those that sought to directly interfere with the plans and goals of those who had chosen the dark paths, and who believed in the use of military force, are believed to have eventually become the driving force behing the Elohim known as Michael.
• Those who spread the word, sought to reveal and make public the corruption, and tried to return those who walked in darkness back to the light formed Gabriel.
• The Noldanor that became Raphael where those who worked to indirectly foil the travellers upon the dark paths by teaching and pointing out the perils of Evil.
• Uriel was formed primarily from a group known as the Order of Kohath who investigated all manner of mysteries to ferret out any unseen corruption.
• Of Sammael's origins little is known, but there is supposition that there was a secret order behing the Noldanor working to co-ordinate its fight against evil, and Sammael may be the result of their souls merging. Other scholars believe, given Sammael's unusual and recent reappearance, that those who became Sammael had walked into the paths of darkness themselves, attempting to find a way to defeat the evil.

More recently the Powers of light have been worshipped themselves and form the predominant religion in the Western Kingdom.