Glamor
First Sphere Seraphim
Glamor, as a First Sphere Seraph, rests at the highest rank in the angelic hierarchy. Seraphim are the closest beings to God in existence and cannot be seen by humans in the physical world under any circumstances.
Yet, since the dawn of history, there have been discoveries of statues depicting a six-winged snake traversing the heavens. Most likely these have some connection with The Book of Revelation, written by a Lumen Sage and found in the scriptures of Ithavoll.
Of course, this means there must have been a sage capable of connecting to Paradiso and conversing with Glamor through spiritual means.
Valor
First Sphere Cherubim
As his name would imply, Valor is a warrior that regards bravery in the highest degree. Taking the form of a shield, he stands with Valiance at the front lines of Paradiso’s wars against Inferno.
It is said that when the people are in need, a warrior clad in solid gold armor will appear to rescue them, carrying a sword and shield of incredible power. While fending off incoming evils with the shield, the warrior will eliminate its enemy with a single blow of its sword, claiming victory for those with a strong-held faith.
Golem
A biological weapon made by the God of Chaos as a means of protecting his city.
It is able to freely shapeshift into countless biological creatures, accessing their signatures and morphing its liquid metal body into their form. Upon encountering an invader, Golem immediately analyzes their threat level and switches to their most appropriate battle form for their disposal.
With the God of Chaos presently absent, it is still said to lie dormant, ready to obliterate those who would carelessly enter Aesir’s realm.
Fortitudo
Auditio
Among the spiritually powerful of the Middle Ages, it was thought Paradiso held for all a Divine Will, and as a result, they developed heavenly logic. The concept of the “Cardinal Virtues” was born of this logic, and classifies Paradiso’s Divine Will into four broad groups.
These Cardinal Virtues occasionally become physical manifestations of the great intentions of Paradiso, and are known as the Laguna, inspiring awe in the masses. Personifying courage and fortitude, Fortitudo has been depicted as a terrifying being sporting an enormous face and two dragon’s heads. He is said to be capable of summoning magma flows at will.
Sapientia
Auditio
Artists have often depicted the Cardinal Virtue of Prudence, Sapientia, as a marine animal roaming the depths of the sea. This is likely due to the human disposition to characterize the sea as the source of all life, a veritable fountain of prudence and wisdom.
It is also thought that Sapientia is responsible for the rise and fall of the tides, and natural phenomena such as tsunamis. The grand idea that the living seas could be nothing other than Divine Will at work is actually evidence of Sapientia’s narcissism, even among the other Cardinal Virtues.
When a man born as a slave led his people to freedom from ruling oppression, it is said that it was only Sapientia’s favor that parted the seas and allowed for their escape.
Worship
Second Sphere Powers
Ranked sixth in the angelic hierarchy, Worship is a Second Sphere Power with the body of a giant warship.
In contrast to Kinship, a Power used for transporting angelic armies across the battlefield, Worship uses the divine power of God to decimate his enemies. Worship’s entrance into the fray is a sign that the battle is reaching its climax.
Past followers of Laguna believed to sacrifice their souls and become part of the ship was to receive the highest form of bliss.
Iustitia
Auditio
Within Paradiso’s Divine Will, also known as the Cardinal Virtues, Iustitia, or Justice, is known to take a particularly strange physical manifestation. A large mass covered with numerous faces, and extending outward via countless tentacles, Iustitia could easily pass for a demon.
This may be due to the fact that those depicting the angel are filled beyond comprehension with awe at the sheer difficulty of encouraging justice in the world. Among Paradiso’s Divine Will, there are those who believe that Iustitia is the closest of the Cardinal Virtues to hell.
Justice is said to be based upon rules established by man, to be followed by man, and changing one’s viewpoint can lead to a change in what is evil. This uncertainty may be a manifestation of the existing folklore and depictions of Iustitia.
Temperantia
Auditio
Temperantia, the true embodiment of the Cardinal Virtue of Temperance, is often illustrated as an epic giant. Its body rising like a castle, Temperantia possesses two treelike arms—a composed figure said to illustrate the total reverence in which the Laguna are held by the faithful.
When the true power of the virtue of Temperance is laid upon our world, it is said to come as a tornado, capable of swallowing an entire country. Humans are helpless to guess at the impetus behind Divine Will, whether it be anger or happiness, and are left only with prayers and promises of personal temperance if only the heavens should make the storm subside.
Balder
Lumen Sage
According to the Vigrid Chronicles of Avellaneda, the 500-year struggle between the Umbra and the Lumen ended with the defeat of the last remaining sage at the hands of two Umbra Witches. Yet, as if to mock these records, a masked man appeared before Bayonetta with the power of the heavens and the swiftness of light.
The Lumen had not perished. —Preface
The True Vigrid ChroniclesSaavedra
A bright light seeps through the mask’s crack. It is a light unlike anything else found on Earth—the light of the Right Eye. Long ago, a tyrannical man was said to have left the Umbra Witches and Lumen Sages to their demise. Legends claim he killed his wife, sabotaged his daughter, and deceived the people, all for the sake of building a new universe with the Eyes of the World. He was said to have achieved an omniscience almost equal to that of a god. How this man came to obtain this ambition remains unknown, yet a glimpse of the truth can be seen in the fragment of history the Prophet revealed to Bayonetta. A young man had been called from the Vigrid of 500 years past to modern day. In his hands he held a weapon ready to strike out at his enemy. His name is Balder.
Later he would be known as the Tyrant Sage. In the Prophet’s vision, however, he seems only lost in rage, seeking revenge for the death of his wife, Rosa. —Chapter 4
The True Vigrid ChroniclesSaavedra
Balder achieved his revenge. Yet another battle awaited him. An endless battle with the soul of Aesir, trapped inside him until his death.
“My dear, sweet child... Fear not, for I am always watching over you...” —Epilogue
The True Vigrid Chronicles Saavedra
Prophet
Waiting for Bayonetta and Loki at the Gates of Hell was the masked Lumen Sage and a mysterious unknown figure. The unknown presence seemed to have an outline that blurred ever so slightly, as if it were not an actual physical form. Yet from it radiated an ominous aura, so thick one could feel the insides of their body being ripped apart.
Seemingly neither purely physical nor purely spiritual, not angel nor demon, for an instant a hint of confusion flashed across Bayonetta’s features as she looked upon this fearsome opponent.
“Umbra Witch, is that the limit of your power? Did you never open your eyes to your true potential?” —Chapter 3
The True Vigrid Chronicles Saavedra
Loptr
Was it reality or all just a dream? Finding herself in the midst of the Great War, 500 years ago, Bayonetta was suddenly attacked by a young boy with the exact appearance of Loki.
After the symbol of their clan, the clock tower, was destroyed, the Umbra began to scatter, routed by their enemy. Demons and angels filled the sky, warring with each other in a violent swirl of chaos.
Bayonetta knew where these events would lead. She was now faced with a momentous choice: would she change the course of history?
However, the possibility that it was all a trap was never far from her mind. She had traveled from the past to the future, and then back again—the second time in her life she was made to leap through the dimensions of time and space.
The boy’s mouth slowly contorted into a grin. His smile... how he stood there looking at Bayonetta... made his intent clear.
“I shall take back the power which belongs to me. The power of the Eyes of the World. You shall not interfere.” —Chapter 5
The True Vigrid Chronicles Saavedra
Aesir
God of Chaos
Light, darkness, and chaos.
When the three worlds were divided at the dawn of time, Aesir was chosen to rule the World of Chaos. Possessing the power of the “Overseer,” he existed in a dimension different from our own, watching the infinite possibilities that layered to form history from a viewpoint surpassing that of time and space.
His name, Aesir, is said to signify God in meaning, yet it has no connection to faith, morals, or religious teaching. Aesir is simply a supernatural being that could not be categorized by mankind any other way. If the legends passed down in Noatun contain any truth, it was mankind itself who divided the God of Chaos into his two personalities: Loptr and Loki.
Aesir bestowed upon humans free will by giving them the “Eyes of the World.” This, however, also gave birth to the ideas of triumph and defeat, truth and falsehood. People awakened to feelings of hate, betrayal, jealousy, and humiliation. The power of free will sparked an unstoppable surge throughout humanity that eventually led Aesir himself to wish to reclaim the power he had originally relinquished.
For someone who can travel through time and space, to take back the powers of the Overseer is to control the fate of the entire world across all time. Yet, humanity’s choices had sown the seeds of evil within Aesir. Whatever course of action Aesir may take can only be retribution for humanity’s sin...
Gomorrah
Devourer of the Divine
A monstrous creature hailing from the demonic wood, Johnson Forest. Taking the form of a dragon, it is incredibly fierce, identifying all that moves as game and devouring its prey. Territorial, is it most likely to be found alone.
Insidious
Consumer of All
A hellish ark that, while seemingly leading sinners to the Garden of Eternal Pleasures at the end of the world, was in actuality abducting them to compete in a massive bloodbath.
The souls who boarded Insidious were led nowhere. Surrounded by the stench of death and rotten flesh, they massacred each other, struggling over whatever morsels of food they came across.
With a unique organ in his body that converts death into demonic energy, Insidious always carries a tremendous amount of power. A myriad of hell’s creatures live within his gut, making him useful as an assault ship during wars with Paradiso.
If swallowed by Insidious, the only way to escape is to stand atop a tower of corpses and wait for him to open his jaw when he engages with his next feeding. However, those who take pleasure in killing may find their true Garden of Eternal Pleasure within this demon’s bowels.
phantasmaraneae
Twister of Flame
Phantasmaraneae nests upon a sea of magma, deep within the furthest reaches of Inferno. Rarely seen upon the face of the Earth, even sightings of the demon in hell are a seldom event, leading to its name, which means phantom spider.
While having the frightening appearance of a spider, it is a curious beast, and should one have the good fortune to encounter the Phantasmaraneae, one should treat it with care and respect, in hope of receiving rare treasures and secrets in return.
The Phantasmaraneae are growing increasingly violent, perhaps due to recent occurrences of unnatural phenomena in the human world. Sightings of the creatures outside their molten lairs may be related to this change in behavior. Anyone who encounters one is advised to take caution: Phantasmaraneae can spit magma from their stomachs capable of incinerating victims within seconds.
Alraune
Whisperer of Dementia
A woman who doused herself in mandrake poison and took her own life as a means of getting revenge on the husband who left her. The poison continued through her skin and devoured her soul. Consumed by delusions and hallucinations she was at last reincarnated in Inferno.
Myth places her as the young daughter of a noble estate, but none of her past visage can be determined from her current demon form. She searches the bottom of hell for the most exquisite souls, then injects poison into their nerves to make them eternal “lovers” at her palace.
Insatiable desire and obsession have painted her heart so thickly that she will never know peace. Not even with the sacrifices of a thousand souls, or a million...
Rodin
The Infinite One
An immortal man feared as the most dangerous demon in the entire barren wasteland of Inferno. Freely traveling between the human world and Inferno, it is nearly impossible to guess his location at any given time. His sudden visits to Inferno are said to be hunting its most savage, ruthless demons and taking their souls.
It is rumored that he was once a resident of Paradiso with the power of creation, but witnessing his acts in Inferno, most would think him more suited for destruction. Though his principle purpose for collecting the souls of Inferno’s denizens is to use them in making his weapons, he himself is almost never seen sporting anything other than his bare fists: true testament to their unbridled power.
As the famed weaponsmith of Inferno, he destroys to create, then creates to destroy. His true objective is still a mystery, though perhaps he is waiting for someone to appear who will finally have the power to undo him.
“Damn, been a long time since I had a workout like that. You come back soon, dig? I’ll be here... Waiting. Again.”