Champion

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Champion is the term used to refer to different individuals that become loyal supporters of either a deity of a cause. They are usually mighty warriors, powerful mages or a combination of both things. Although it's not always a requisite, many champions are mortals, and their condition makes them gain new abilities, sometimes even changing their very nature, becoming more divine.

Divine Champions
Due to the Divine Gate, neither the Prime Deities nor the Betrayer Gods can interact directly with Exandria. Divine champions are usually the ones who take care of their deities' interests in the Material Plane, defeating their enemies, defending their cult or representing them in great quests.

Divine champions don't necessarily have to be active followers of their god in order to obtain that position: a moment of need and common interests can forge that relationship (sometimes after some sort of trial), and sometimes it leads to the champion becoming an actual follower of their divine benefactor. In a less ideal situation, it can also be possible for a deity to forcefully obtain a champion through blackmail, torture and/or corruption; in those cases, the champion becomes a tool for the god, obeying orders without choice.

Blessings, magical weapons or artifacts can be both the beginning of the process for an individual to become a champion or a gift that the deity bestows upon their champion to make them stronger.

Champion of Ioun
This champion acts as the servant of the Knowing Mistress, goddess of knowledge.

Ioun chose Scanlan Shorthalt, as a weaver of stories and a speaker of histories, to be her Champion. In addition, Scanlan was given a book called the The Tome of Isolation. The goddess' choice, as well as the cause she was supporting, the defeat of Vecna, made her new champion a prime target for the newly ascended god.

Champion of Lolth
This champion acts as the servant of the Spider Queen, goddess of deceit and spiders.

Her fight with Kord and banishment behind the Divine Gate has left Lolth week enough that part of her predilect mortal race has abandoned her worship, while others suffer under the influence of the Chained Oblivion.

Champion of Pelor
This champion acts as a servant of the Dawnfather, god of the sun and the harvest.

In history there had been five Champions of Pelor; one of them, Yos Varda, leader of the Beacon of Arms, fought and was defeated by Vecna during the first attempt of the lich of becoming a god.

Centuries later, Vecna attempted again (with more success) to achieve divinity, and Vox Machina was trying to obtain the support of different gods to defeat their enemy. When Pelor questioned if any of the adventurers thought themselves worthy of being his Champion, Vex'ahlia remained speechless. To encourage her friend, Keyleth tried to claim the title, motivating the ranger to offer herself to be the Champion. The Dawnfather tested Vex, and after finding her worthy, granted his blessing to the hero, making her the sixth Champion of Pelor.

Each of these champions has been memorialized with a star on the Crest of Whitestone, as Pelor is the patron god of the city. After Vex'ahlia became a champion herself, Percy de Rolo pointed out that they would need to add a sixth star to the crest, effectively doing so at some point before 832 PD.

Empowered Champions
There are certain champions in Exandria that, through their own will and deeds or through some great destiny made for them, have achieved a great power, nearly god-like; along with their power, they usually gain a limited form of immortality, or at the very least, an extended longevity that allows them to life way more that what would be expected for their mortal lineage.

These champions spend most of their time in seclusion, lending their power to others, and it is believed that said isolation is precisely what allows them to grant such gifts, while they reserve their full strength to face an event worthy of them. While the secluded champions can obtain their power through their follower's worship, that's not always the case, and some of them can remain powerful even when they are despised by others.

Known Empowered Champions
The following individuals, despite their different stories and reputation among their kinsfolk, are considered Secluded Champions and can become idols for those who seek them as patrons, leaders or objects of worship:


 * Azgrah, Lord of the Deep Dwelling: A duergar hero venerated by many deep dwarves in the Emberhold.
 * Flavia, Queen of Unending Storms: A cloud giant ruler.
 * Suthine, Eternal Princess of Vulkanon: A fire giant aristocrat in a city-state of the Cliffkeep Mountains.
 * Valdemar, Draugr-Jarl of Farborg: A frost giant chief.
 * Ghaladron, Traitor to the Iron Crown: A hobgoblin outcast from the Iron Authority.
 * Tevrosk, Whose Axe Was Wreathed in Flowers: An orc warrior.
 * The First Favored Champion: A stone giant of great age, presumably the oldest of the secluded champions.
 * Typhoe, the Dreaming Shark: A powerful storm giant.

These champions are mythic iconoclasts: this means that each of them, in one form or another, attacks or criticizes cherished beliefs or institutions. Examples of this are Azgrah taking attributions related to Laduguer and surpassing in popularity the Crawling King himself; or Ghaladron betraying the dictatorship of his nation.

The Apotheon
Moreover, Alyxian, the demigod-like champion known once as the Apotheon, holds a power similar to these entities, and if he were to be absolved and freed of his prison, the state he would be in would be equivalent to that of a secluded champion.

Trivia

 * The first wielder of Mythcarver, who helped forging it with her magical songs, was a champion herself, but both her name and her cause have been lost in history.
 * The way of divine empowerment that allows some champions to become patrons for other mortals is similar to the empowerment Artagan enjoyed as The Traveler, although in his case his position as Archfey (an already god-like being) made the transition easier.
 * It is unclear if this type of champions have a limit on how many followers they can grant magic to, or if said followers would lose their powers the moment the champion gathers their full strength again.