Divines

Divines
Divines are the primary weapons of the Autonomous Diaspora. They are semi-autonomous intelligent machines, each embodying a specific virtue or principle.

Divines vary greatly in size and appearance. Many possess the form of large, humanoid figures of various heights, but there are Divines that are similar to Hoplite power armor (Integrity), and even those without a corporeal form that exist as programming within other machines (Righteousness). While genderless, some Divines such as Grace choose to identify with a human gender.

It is difficult to match the power of a Divine: a single one may possess the capability of facing an entire OriCon capital fleet. Their unique nature also makes bypassing their programming nearly impossible. During the Golden War, the September Institute developed a method of directly accessing and altering a Divine's operations known as "fogging", but this process requires specialized neural cyberware and intensive training.

The relationship the Diaspora has with Divines is intuited by their very name. Overall, they are seen in an almost religious light, as caretakers of humanity and the Diaspora. Held in awe by Diasporans, other factions fear them thought they tend not to idolize them on a mythic level.

Candidates
Unlike the robotic weapons of  OriCon  and  Apostolos, Divines are piloted by bonded individuals chosen by the Divines themselves. These pilots are known as Candidates. It is an unparalleled honor in Disasporatic society to be chosen. Candidacy is typically a position held for life. Refusing the position or stepping down is unheard of.

Candidates are almost exclusively from the Diaspora itself. When chosen to to be a Candidate, citizens give up their former lives and identities, even taking on new names. Naming conventions for Candidates are mostly based on the biological family Bovidae, or similar mammals which do not exist in the Golden Branch. Candidates tend to be older teenagers and young adults. The physical and mental strain of piloting a Divine means they do not typically live to see their 30s.

With permission, you may use a canon Divine or create an original Divine. A Candidate will always be considered a Player Character if player created, but a Divine may be considered an NPC or secondary character. If you wish to use both as PCs, or have another player control your Divine, please talk to a mod. As of right now there is a two PC limit per person.

If you make a Candidate, you may not use the following names as they belong to canon characters who are not yet candidates in the RP timeline: Vicuna, Jerboa, Gerenuk, Kobus.