Avatar (Annunaki)

"The avatar have always aided this World. They are its citizens in more ways than one. They will aid you in your struggle to survive The'Galin's coming."

- Tralin, The Temple of Hope

The Avatar are the oligarchic leaders of the Annunaki, a parasitic race of reptilians who bind themselves to their hosts' souls. According to their race's mythology, they were considered sent by the divine, the reason for which they were called "Avatars."

The hosts of these Annunaki become "Avatar" only when the characteristic they represent fits their nature. Most Avatar have one host each, with the exception of Truth, who has three hosts simultaneously (although one might argue that the primitive Truth in Atlas Maxwell counts.)

The Avatar, who are eight in total, are the subject of the prophetical Legend of the Eight, as told in the two books of the same name, as written by the dwarf Sigarin. Each of the Annunaki Avatar represents an elemental force and the unity of these forces is required for the hope of Creation.

History
According to Erebus, seven Annunaki were sort of primal aspects of creation, forces which antedate the elements of Lore, from which they took their names—Life, Death, Peace, War, Eternal, Truth and Transient—, before progressing toward elementalization (Mostly Harmful). This process took place only after the Devourer's fourth return to Lore, when Garavin became the Avatar of Eternal and his daughter, Celestra, left Lore to pursue the Network. Celestra, who came to be known as "the Huntress", willingly became the Avatar of Transient, and rallied the five original others into joining her and father's efforts against the Network.

During this struggle and in the aftermath of Erebus' involvement, Truth was torn in two, a process that some say drove it mad, with its second half becoming Lies. This brought the number of the Avatar to an even eight, and Celestra noted that this number matched the number of Lore's primal elements. Realizing that this could give them a foothold, each Avatar chose an element, and mastered it entirely to become a mirror of Lorithia's creation. In the years since, the Avatar fought the Network from within and without, and other than Celestra and Garavin, each was forced to change hosts many times, Forsaking their hosts in the process. Of all Avatar, Atlas Maxwell is the only one to have served as an Avatar to two of them, namely Truth and Lies.

During the years prior to the Devourer's fifth coming, Balius became the Avatar of Death, before fathering his firstborn, Edward, for whom Death Forsook him. Cursed into a half-life state, Balius became the Werepyre, and later Dracopyre Nightbane to continue "living".....

Avatars and hosts
The eight avatar, and their known hosts, are as follow as:
 * Life, whose element is Light, has had only one known host: Tralin, Drakel monarch of the land of Deren.
 * Death, who mastered the element of Darkness, has had three known Avatar: Balius, Forsaken in favor of his firstborn, Edward, and eventually, Cenara.
 * Peace, whose focus is the Ice element, has only had known one: Twig, whose race as a Moglin causes certain problems and behaviour changes.
 * War, whose mastery is over Fire, has only one known host, the pyromantress Mercuria.
 * Lies, whose element is Water, is the only Avatar not to be one of the original seven, for it is the half of another, Truth. It has had three known hosts: Atlas Maxwell as its original host, as well as the Taladosian Riona Shadowgale, who was Forsaken in favor of her son, Danail.
 * Eternal, who mastered Energy, had a long-time Avatar, Garavin, who adopted the moniker of his Annunaki as "The Eternal". He was Forsaken after a thousand years in favor of Hans Olo, having accomplished his task.
 * Truth, the "mad" Annunaki who mastered the Earth element, who split in two and has many host over the years, including Kaliope from before his splitting, Atlas Maxwell (who received a piece of Truth from her, becoming Lies). They were both Forsaken with the birth of Rosa. Though Kaliope died, Maxwell continued living and had two further children, Tasha and Sasha, who also became Avatars of Truth through him. Though it is split amongst many people, but it is found most strongly in Maxwell's daughters, making them the true Avatar of Truth. Other known hosts are Makkisar and Jacob.
 * Transient, whose element is Wind, has not changed hosts for almost a thousand years; its only known host currently being the Huntress, Celestra.