Champion

Champion is the term used to refer to different individuals that become loyal supporters of either a deity or a cause. They are usually mighty warriors, powerful mages, or a combination of both. Many champions are mortals, and their condition grants them new abilities, sometimes even changing their very nature to something 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 (maybe 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 undergo her trial to become her champion, preferring him over Percy de Rolo due to his relation with secrecy (although she would grant the gunslinger the knowledge to design the Prime Trammels, saying he had "the ingenuity of a madman").

In addition to the goddess' blessing, Scanlan was given a book called the The Tome of Isolation. Ioun's 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 Kord
This champion acts as the servant of the Stormlord, god of competitions and storms.

At some point before 835 PD the Xhorhasian barbarian Yasha Nydoorin, magically dominated by Obann, found a shrine to Kord, and the god's influence freed her from mind control. From that point, Yasha became a devoted follower of the Stormlord, following his commands whenever she could, and being particulary interested in any sight of storms. He, on the other hand, was particularly interested in the aasimar's potential and the darkness that still tainted her soul; occasionally, the deity would send her dreams with messages, warnings and challenging encouragement. At some point, he even sent a creature made of pure lightning to fight Yasha at sea, in order to test her strength. Kord cares in his own way about Yasha, showing his pride and welcome when she was freed from Obann for the second time, and sending her signs of her redemption, which eventually became physical when Yasha's aasimar wings became feathered and functional again.

When Yasha and her friends were preparing to face the Tombtakers, she obtained the Holy Avenger, a powerful sword property of Kima of Vord. The weapon could only be used by a paladin, but through dreams the Stormlord encouraged her to focus her strength, calling her an "avatar of the Storm Lord". Later, he challenged her in a dream, making her battle multiple storm spirits alone. When she succeeded, she became a champion, and she attuned to the Holy Avenger despite the weapon's requisite. Kord's care about the zealot barbarian would only grow from that moment. After the Mighty Nein destroyed Cognouza, Yasha decided to visit her home with her girlfriend, facing the anger of her tribe; when the Xhorhasians warriors were to attack the adventurers, the Stormlord sent a lightning bolt that blasted from the sky and charred a line in the ground between the two groups, which intimidated the charging cavalry into calling off the attack.

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 weak enough that part of her predilect mortal race has abandoned her worship, while others suffer under the influence of the Chained Oblivion. Wanting to gain influence in the Material Plane again, the Spider Queen started using the Circlet of Barbed Vision, one of her artifacts, to manipulate a group of adventurers, tempting them with power and the possibility of doing evil. She finally succeeded when Opal, a warlock, put the circlet on her head to try to help her sister. Afterwards, Opal found she was unable to remove the crown.

Months later the circlet had changed Opal's appearance, making her scarier, and Lolth was able to communicate with her easily, and even affect her magic. The goddess tried to convince the warlock to seek the Children of Malice, while the adventurer proposed they improve Lolth's image so she wouldn't be associated with evil among the mortals. The Spider Queen responded by proposing to make Opal her champion, and offering her a test that would have turned her into a horrible monster if she failed; however, the human succeeded, becoming a champion and awakening her vestige in the process.

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

In history there had been at least 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 known Champion of Pelor.

Five of these known champions have 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.

Champion of the Raven Queen
This champion acts as a servant of the Matron of Ravens, the goddess of death.

Three champions of the Raven Queen were known as Clay, Dust and Stone. The three of them gave great importance to funerary rites, and when a hero died in a battle, they debated about what to do with the body. The goddess, explaining that she had already taking what was rightfully hers (the soul of the hero), adviced them to seek instruction from The Wildmother; Melora solved the debate making the champions part the body in three parts: Clay kept the head, Dust the main body and Stone the limbs, and each of them proceeded to apply the funerary rites they deemed correct, honoring in the process different gods. Their families continued taking care of the dead after them, honoring their ancestors' mission.

Another champion was Purvan Suul, who served the Matron of Death faithfully with the help of Galdric the Moonlit Wolf. As part of the ritual in which he pledge hdimself to the Raven Queen, Purvan gave his name to the goddess, being known thereafter as simply "the Champion". When he died, he was interred with his powerfully-enchanted armor, the Deathwalker's Ward.

When Vex'ahlia died during the retrieval of the Deathwalker's Ward, her twin brother Vax'ildan made a bargain for her life with the Raven Queen, eventually donning the Champion's armor and becoming a new Champion of the Raven Queen. Vax'ildan served the goddess during his missions, and when he died, both established a new agreement: the Raven Queen would allow her champion to return to life as many times as necessary until Vecna, enemy of the goddess, was defeated, and only then would the soul of the rogue be hers. That deal was respected, and when Vax'ildan died permanently, he ascended to a new form of existance, still a champion of the Matron, but a celestial, an angelic entity known as the Champion of Ravens.

Champion of Sarenrae
This champion acts as a servant of the Everlight, the goddess of atonement and healing.

Sarenrae's good faith and belief that anyone can be redeemed led to the Lord of the Hells betraying her and decimating most of her followers in The Calamity. Any champion she could have had by then died in the conflict, and the goddess' influence and worship declined; for centuries, her remaining followers kept their devotion in private, and public temples of the Everlight, like the one in Vasselheim, fell to ruin.

The Prime Deity would influence Wilhand Trickfoot in dreams, inspiring him to leave his family's mischievious ways, and he did, teaching his descendants about the goddess. One of them, Pike Trickfoot, would become a cleric of Sarenrae. The deep gnome became a part of an adventuring party and channeled her goddess' power, being the main healer for her friends. However, after a particularly hard fight with a glabrezu, she was killed, being resurrected in a small temple of Sarenrae in Emon. That event made Pike more bellicose. While in one occasion she limited Pike's power for her lack of compassion, the Everlight generally cared about her cleric and supported her in her adventures. She, in turn, showed her devotion and helped restore her temples. Sarenrae supported not only Pike, but also Vox Machina, in her quests against the Chroma Conclave and Vecna. During the latter, they visited the Island of Renewal, in Elysium, and Pike and Scanlan Shorthalt entered the palace where they met the goddess in person. The Everlight praised Pike's actions, and gave her her blessing, sending her as her champion against the Whispered One.

After saving the world from the newly ascended god, Pike remained as Sarenrae's champion and the main support of the restoration of her cult, that is slowly being rediscovered. During another of Vox Machina's adventure's in Pandemonium, the Everlight answered her champion's calling and appeared in the battlefield, grappling a dust titan to help the adventurers.

Champion of Torog
This champion acts as a servant of the Crawling King, the god of torture and tunnels.

Unlike other deities, Torog chose one of his most passionate enemies as his champion: a warrior called Ganix, who led an army against the god but was defeated. Torog captured and tortured Ganix, twisting him into a monster called The Laughing Hand and cursing him to an endless cycle of servitude by trapping his heart in an extraplanar space. Mad and loyal to its master, the Laughing Hand became such a dangerous menace that it was sealed in a hidden location near Bazzoxan, originally created by Sehanine and Moradin to seal the Crawling king himself; several celestials of the Moonweaver martyred themselves to seal away the temple, knowing they weren't able to permanently kill the monster once known as Ganix.

The Laughing Hand was freed of its prison by Obann, a fiend who was following the commands of the Angel of Irons. With the help of a mind-controlled Yasha and Torog's champion, Obann freed another powerful entity, The Caedogeist, and continued the mission they unknownly were doing: destroy the shackle fanes that kept Tharizdun sealed. However, the Mighty Nein stopped them, and as part of the process they destroyed the Laughing Hand's heart, which allowed them to kill the monster for good.

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 these 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, 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 these 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
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 an empowered champion.

Trivia

 * The first wielder of Mythcarver, who helped forge it with her magical songs, was a champion herself, but both her name and her cause have been lost to 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 champion has 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.