Brilhado

The Brilhado are a race of beings resembling angels with lavender wings. Originally created as servants of the Light Lord, they were eventually turned to the Network, and so came to be known as the Fallen. Many serve the Network still, however a few have dared to join the fight against it.

Abilities
The Brilhado are all magically capable and have considerable talents for both light magic and necromancy. They are also possess strong telepathic abilites including the Cold, although only the necromancers and other mages are formally trained in the latter.

History
Little is known of the Brilhado before they fell, save that they were originally celestial servants of the Light Lord residing in the city of Aloria in the Outer Planes.

Xilar had been sent by The'Galin to convince the Elemental Lords of the growing corruption within creation and sought do so through the Brilhado, as they were direct servants of the Lord of Light. The Brilhado proved very receptive to his message, seeing many of the warning signs he spoke of; however, when the brought their concerns to the Light Lord, she would not listen. At Xilar's suggestion they went to the Darkness Lord as well, but he, too, only met them with reproach.

Xilar was still determined to accomplish his mission and switched tactics, seeking to turn the Brilhado into an example of the corruption he spoke of. He suggested that they take up the arts of necromancy and, more importantly, he emphasized the need for unity and proposed that the fledgling necromancers start off their undead army with any Brilhado who refused to go along with this plan and thereby threatened the race's solidarity. The Light Lord, horrified by their slaughter of their own kin, cast them out of her service and named them the Fallen.

The Brilhado were major players in the subsequent war on the ancient peoples of Lore, nearly wiping out the Githari and dealing a great deal of damage to the Drakel. As their destruction spread, they were joined by other races such as the Kresh, creating an early version of what would later be known as the Network. The Drakel and their allies eventually gathered for a final strike at a location known as the Hills of Blood and succeeded in banishing the Brilhado and their undead through a portal to another world.

A millennium (or two and a half, the timeline is not entirely clear) later, they returned to Lore under the leadership of Diviara Celegra. From their base on another world (later revealed to be the Mirror Lore), they sent their undead army to Neld to attack the warring parties there, and they themselves took to the battlefield as the fighting spread to Vandar and Deren. Diviara sought to corrupt Myr into the Network's ranks by using the Cold, but Myr's loyalty to the Darkness Lord was such that he was able to resist and secretly work against them. Their most important target in the area turned out to be the pocket of raw creation within the Deep, hidden underneath the mountain K'eld Ner was built against. While the energy of the Deep was ultimately kept from them by the combined actions of Falerin, Galrick, and Myr, the attack on Ner resulted in the death of Jano and Diviara's shattering of the Creation Orb.

It was during this period that the race's long-maintained singularity began to crack. Giliara Celegra, Diviara's younger brother, turned against the Network and escaped reprisal for it by seeking shelter in Deren and pledging himself to the Lord of Light. Diviara's son, Amilara, followed suit and turned the necromantic talents he had inherited from his father towards freeing the many undead the Brilhado had enslaved.

The conflict came to a head when the Derenians began their campaign to reclaim the shards of the Creation Orb from Diviara and his forces. Giliara saw an opportunity and tried to persuade Diviara to join him on the side of good, but the offer was rebuffed. Giliara refused to give up, though, and this continued until one of the other Brilhado decided to carry out his long-overdue death sentence, heedless of Diviara's orders that the matter be left to him. The lone Brilhado succeeded in ambushing Giliara at the Necromancer Fortress and striking a fatal blow, but it proved to be a costly mistake: watching his brother die spurred Diviara to kill the individual responsible on the spot and abandon the Network entirely.

Noteworthy Individuals
Giliara Celegra: Giliara was the first Brilhado heard of to actively fight against the Network. He initially planned to join it and got as far as initiation time, but thought better of it at the last minute and fled for Deren instead. He was unfortunate enough to cross paths with a very ill-tempered Akriloth on the way, and upon arriving he only got out “I come in peace” before collapsing from exhaustion and injury, and Darin had to rescue him from the ensuing mob. When he awoke he pleaded with Tralin for refuge, but although Tralin wasn't willing to hand him over to the masses, he didn't want to incense them any further than he had to either, and decided upon allowing him to leave in secret. When Giliara offered to share what he knew of Akriloth's rampage before going to his certain death at the hands of the other Brilhado, Darin pulled Tralin aside and managed to convince him to allow Giliara to stay. Some time later, Tralin gave him a chance to prove his honesty: go to Neld and attempt to open the sealed Light temple, which could only be done by a communicant of the Light Lord. Seeing little reason for the Light Lord to accept him and plenty not to, he was very much afraid but made his attempt anyway. His fears went unrealized and he became the first Brilhado communicant of the Light Lord since the Fall. He remained in Tralin's service for some years thereafter, and was eventually called on to aid in the fight for the shards of the Creation Orb. He tried to convince Diviara to change sides, but was killed by another Brilhado in his attempts. He continues to serve the Lord of Light in his afterlife.

Diviara Celegra: Giliara's older brother, he actually entered The’Galin's service, eventually rising to become a general and communicant of his. He was one of The’Galin's more faithful followers until Giliara's death, at which point his emotions won out and he fulfilled his brother's last wishes. While his primary allegiance has shifted to the Light Lord, he is still occasionally called upon by The'Galin and has had some interaction with the Lord of Darkness as well.

Amilara Celegra: Diviara's son and another Brilhado to have taken up service to the Light Lord. While a necromancer along with many others of his race, he uses his talents in that arena in a manner entirely opposed to theirs: While the Brilhado initially turned to necromancy as a means to suppress dissent, he views undead having no less of a right to free will than anyone else and has formed a close friendship with those who accompany him, even putting his life on the line for them when necessary.