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The Lords of Order are a group of magic beings possessing nearly unlimited power. They grant their agents the authority to act on their behalf, serving as a counterforce to the Lords of Chaos as both are engaged in a constant struggle for universal supremacy and the direction of raw magic.[3][4]

Description

On New Earth, most of the Lords of Order were immensely powerful entitles made up of energy, born fully developed, considering themselves beyond sex and form, and typically inhabited mystical objects of lore. However, it was possible for Lords of Order to develop and manifest in physical form and develop similarly to humanoid lifeforms (i.e Amethyst and Arion).[5][6] Furthermore, it is said that Lords of Order also don't typically engage in procreation, believing it to be an act that invites chaos, though some Lords of Order have done so regardless.[7]

On Prime Earth, the Lords of Order were similar to their previous counterparts in that both could manifest in a physical form. Some of the earliest of the Lords of Order, however, were once human beings with physical form, whose body decayed as a byproduct of raw magic and became mystical beings of energy.[3] Using mystical artifacts known as the Cosmic Log and the Book of Souls, they are said to be able to enforce true order in existence.[8]

History

New Earth

Origins

The first Lords of Order were born before creation[9] from Darkworld, a realm of magic created by the sleeping dreams of the eponymous cosmic entity that created these gods whom represent aspects of chaos, order and the balance between the two. Chief among the Darkworld lords were three siblings. They were Gemimn, a being dedicated to order, Chaon, a being dedicated to chaos, and Tynan, a being dedicated to maintaining the balance between the two, also known as a Balancer.[10]

Another group of Lords of Order originated from Cilia. Forming around the same time as the Maltusians[11], these Lords of Order were one of the first sentient races in the known universe[12] and were born fully developed.[13]

War Between Order and Chaos

Chaos and Order have been fighting a cyclical battle for eons. First Order is dominant, then Chaos, then destruction and renewal and then it starts over again. Originally, the struggle was depicted as one between Good (Order) and Evil (Chaos); it is currently depicted as a balance between the useless extremes of stagnation and anarchy.

The two opposing forces are bundles of mystical energy, who usually depend on servants to accomplish their goals. They can take physical form by possessing a living being, as in the case of Nabu or Mordru, or empower humans to act as their agents, as in the case of Terataya and T'Charr (a Lord of Order and a Lord of Chaos respectively), who empowered Hawk and Dove to act in their stead. The sole exception to this is Amethyst, who is the product of a union between one of the Lords of Order and a citizen of Gemworld. As a result, she is the only one of the Lords who possesses a truly physical form.

A Lord of Order and a Lord of Chaos were also sent to the Dreaming as representatives of their realms. Kilderkin of Order manifested as a lidless box with a servant djinn holding it, and Shivering Jemmy of the Shallow Brigade of Chaos as a young blond girl with a balloon.

Infinite Crisis

During the events of Day of Vengeance, Eclipso seduced the Spectre into slaughtering most of Earth's magic users after she claimed that magic was the source of all of Earth's evil. The Spectre's rampage on magic users resulted in the death of the wizard Shazam, the destruction of the Rock of Eternity and the release of the forces contained within it.

In the Day of Vengeance Special, Nabu called together a team of magical beings to stop the Spectre and seal the Seven Deadly Sins. Nabu confronted the Spectre, whose anger grew so great that the Presence took notice and sent the Spectre to his new host. In the process Nabu died and with him the Ninth Age of Magic. Before his death, he gave the helmet of Doctor Fate to Detective Chimp to give to the new Doctor Fate. Although Nabu and his spirit would no longer be a part of the helmet, it would still have significant powers. After a failed attempt by Detective Chimp to put the helmet on, he asked Captain Marvel to throw the helmet down to Earth and let it land where it will, letting fate pick the next Doctor Fate.

The deaths of the Lords of Order and Chaos caused magic to break down into its basic raw state, triggering the end of the Ninth Age of Magic and the beginning of the Tenth. Amethyst and Mordru are the only known Lords to have survived into the Tenth Age.

Prime Earth

Origin

The first of the Lords of Order and the Lords of Chaos, their contemporaries, were born long ago during the creation of the universe from The Source, the forces from them creating the aformentioned beings. Their creation predated the Old Gods and the New Gods.[14]

Another group of the Lords were born long ago on Earth; when Hecate relocated herself to Earth 0 and gifted mankind magic, men and women alike took notice of her greater power and conspired to steal it to supplant themselves capable of ushering in their own version of order. Chief among the group was Mordru, who was charged with convincing and torturing her into giving up her magic to them in order to make better use of it. After years of captivity due to a ritual using her own power against her and the betrayal of the Olympian Gods when her husband, Hades, took on a new bride, Hecate let out a scream that shook all of reality and felt the dark presence of the Upside-Down Man. Her fury tore a hole in magic, allowing some of the darkness from the Otherplace to break through the veil of existence and gifted the men and women alike with the dark magic in hopes that they would eventually destroy themselves with it.[15][16]

With the power, the group of men and women became god-like and became among the Lords of Order, writing the laws of magic to better harness it. Mordru split off form the group and styled himself as the 'True Lord of Chaos', refusing to limit his magic to the rules of the his colleagues. The Lords of Order recognized their Magic of Order "often ended up destroying them from within, so they forced them to act within enchanted objects to survive. They also spread tales that they were not ascended mortals but godlike beings, so that they could feed of the power supplied by mortals' belief.[16]

Creating the Parliaments

During the dawn of humanity, the Lords of Order set forth and performed a ritual that convened the forces that infused the natural world with power. Called the "Parliment of Life", this ritual spawned the natural forces of the world: The Green, The Red, The Grey, The Divided, and The Rot.[17]

The Lords of Order

After many millennia of magic's unrestrained growth, the Lords of Order decided magic was out of control and required culling in order to prevent the world from falling to chaos. One of their number, Nabu, had used his relic to gain control of the superhero known as Doctor Fate and used Fate to lure the cosmic monsters called the Otherkind into the world to 'purify' it by devouring members of the magical community. After that had happened, the Lords of Order would destroy the Sphere of the Gods, severing magic from the universe and starving the Otherkind so that the Lords of Order could easily banish them and remain unopposed in ruling the magic of the universe. Once the invasion of the Otherkind was underway the Lords of Order used their relics to possess the powerful magicians Madame Xanadu, Ibis the Invincible, Prince Ra-Man, and Extrano.[18]

The renewed Lords of Order then hunted down the members of the magical community that had survived the attacks of the Otherkind and destroying the lesser realms of magic like Myrra. The Lords of Order nearly forced the refugees into giving up their powers but they were stopped by the Justice League Dark who had been given the power of Chaos Magic by Mordru. The League managed to trap Nabu in his own helmet, freeing the mortal Kent Nelson from his grasp, the rest of the Lords fled except for Cyra, the Lord that possessed Madame Xanadu, who was stabbed by Detective Chimp. The Justice League Dark's leader Wonder Woman then used the chaos magic to, relatively speaking, return the old magical order that the Lords had tried to destroy. Nabu's helm was then stored in the vaults of the Justice League Dark beneath the Hall of Justice.[19]

Trials of Harley Quinn

Roy Harper Cry for Justice
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Paraphernalia

Equipment:

  • Amulets of Power: A group of arcane artifacts in which are connected to the spirits of various Lords of Order. These artifacts, when donned by a invidiausl, have their spirits infused with the corresponding Lord of Order.
  • Cosmic Logs: A tool used by the Lords of Order in which allows them to follow the true order in the universe. It is done by following patterns set out in it's contemporary tool, the Book of Souls.[20]
  • Book of Souls: A tool accessed by the Lords of Order in which govern all of existence. Using this alongside the Cosmic Logs allows the Lords of Order to understand and enforce true order.[21]


Notes

  • On Prime Earth, there are conflicting origins regarding the Lords of Order. Originally, the Prime Earth's origin of the Lords of Order revealed in Justice League Dark were human sorcerer-monarchs whom ascended into a higher plane of existence. Other titles follow a similar origin to New Earth, as Green Lantern revealed the Lords of Order to being fundamental forces that were created by the The Source shortly before the Old Gods and New Gods alike emerged as a race.
  • Though the Lords of Order are generally known as the source of power of Doctor Fate, they were created in the mid 70s, when Fate was already an established character.

Trivia

  • On New Earth, Pantagones was viewed as the weakest Lord by his fellow Lords of Order and the Lords of Chaos.[7]

See Also

Links and References

Footnotes

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