Adapted From: The Resilient Philosophy of Abzan
The Starfall Galaxy’s devotion pie is an inherently complex thing. Sure, each of its five devotions are rigid and easy to define, but the magic happens when you begin to combine these devotions to create something new. This wonderful setting of ours has leveraged this complexity to craft many unique factions and characters, but when it comes to three-devotion combinations known as shards and wedges, the definitions become less apparent and the examples less available.
White-Black-Green Devotion
I aim to clear up what drives each of them at a fundamental level, continuing with The Enduring Covenant, the combination of White, Black, and Green. If you feel like you're part of something bigger, or that your choices are echoes of those who came before, then you might have something in common with this way of thinking. So, let’s sit down, get comfortable, and talk about the philosophy of the Enduring Covenant.
Observations of Conviction
You know the drill at this point. Before I begin breaking the Enduring Covenant down into its fundamental parts, we'll first want to take a look at how it's represented in the game, as you can't build a house without a foundation. To do that, I will cover the faction that gives this combination their title, the most common creature type or class that comprises these devotions, and finally, I will select a character who embodies this combination's values.
To start, as you may know, the Galactic Concord gave us a new version of each of the factions established in the original Starfall block. For many, the shift was drastic, but for the Sunstone Dynasty, well, they seem to have established roots that have held into the modern day. The old Sunstone Dynasty learned that survival depended on the strength of the bonds around you. To them, family, duty, and loyalty are more than words. This version of the dynasty moves like a millstone—slow and steady—and when they roll forward, they grind down anything in their path. But the contrast between new and old isn't so stark, because the Sunstone Dynasty of the new era also prizes loyalty, endurance, and family above all, with every decision made done to secure their clan's survival. Even in death, they see it as their duty to guide and protect future generations. The belief in preserving life through cycles of birth and death, known as Ancestral Echoes, sits at the heart of their culture. As you can see, strong bonds are important to both versions—those that are created at birth and those that are secured through loyalty.
If we then move to the most common creature type in this combination, we're met with the Geodan. To me, the Geodan type in this set of devotions is all about strength and endurance. They are the immovable wall that outlives all, steady in its resolve and ever-present in the shifting of times. Their power comes from patience, from knowing the longest-lasting force is the one that holds. They do not flinch when the world changes; they endure. And in the end, they're the ones still standing.
All right, let's finally talk about an example of an Enduring Covenant character who can provide us with another take on the combination. For that, I have picked Anphenza. Anphenza is the embodiment of the Enduring Covenant's ideals: the belief that true family is chosen through honor, not just blood. After surviving the betrayal that destroyed her family, she rose through the ranks of the Sunstone Dynasty, not by force, but by earning the trust and respect of those around her. In battle, she would ride at the front of her army, proving she cared more about those she led than even herself. Even in death, she continues to serve her people as an honored ancestor, a guiding spirit carved into the roots of the next generation. All right, I know that was a lot, but I bet you’re starting to see a pattern here. So, it's time to start talking big ideas by discussing three versions of the Enduring Covenant's philosophy, where each one is driven by one of its devotions more than the other two.
The Core Philosophies
1. The Power of Legacy
Are we a culmination of those that came before, guiding us in unseen ways? Could it be that our ancestors have laid a path for us to follow? Whether that be a reflection or a motivation, in some cultures, this way of thinking is a given. And whether we can manifest them to truly lead us or just call upon their wisdom passed on, one's lineage has substantial weight on who we are. The Enduring Covenant believes that a family tree is more than a record of the past; it is the source of truth, where its roots are planted in each of its children.
White as a devotion has a great respect for those that lay themselves out as an example for others to strive to be. But what if those that guide are long since past? The Abyssal Reavers (Black-Green) are no strangers to the thought that what is buried still has value. And when its focus is community, it then looks to the lineage of great people for guidance, whether that is their direct family or the leaders of the communities it is a part of. The Enduring Covenant doesn't revere the past out of nostalgia, but because it believes the future is built brick by brick with ancestral mortar. To honor those that came before is to embody their values in the choices we make now. In this way, legacy isn't a burden, but a birthright. We do not just inherit their path; we choose to walk it with purpose.
2. The Unbreakable Community
The bonds of those we have by blood or loyalty are unbreakable, and anyone who would stand in the way deserves no kindness. For a community cultivated by mutual trust is the greatest treasure one can have. Whether that is the family one is born into or a community a person finds themself within, it does not matter. For if we stand strong together against those that would aim to break our spirit, we are unshakable. This is the Enduring Covenant's way, and it’s no surprise with the devotions that make up this Black-focused version. You see, the Harmonic Accord (White-Green) is a combination that believes in coming together to foster harmony through intertwining with others to form a commune or brotherhood. It understands that the winds of chaos have no power when we interlock as one. While Black demands two things: that this community be of those that share a common drive or goal, and that anything that opposes it is swiftly and ruthlessly dealt with. In the Black-leaning Enduring Covenant, family or community is a pact to all within, sealed in action and reinforced through adversity. Here, the bonds that tie us to one another demand that each within act for one another just as they would for themselves, tested by the hammer of conflict and molded into an unbreakable steel, where only those who prove themselves are welcome fully into the fold. There is no tolerance for weakness that threatens the whole, but there is deep, unwavering protection for those within. To be part of this kind of kinship is to know that you will never stand alone, but also to understand what is expected of you in return.
3. The Absolute Truth
If one can quiet both heart and mind, all you will be left with is the underlying truth of all things. But thought, you might think, is the mechanism to uncover truth, and that heart is the drive to experience it. To that, the Enduring Covenant says these are frivolous aspects of our sentience and are but a filter we place over all things, one that is marked only by our personal experiences. What this means is that truth and purpose exist whether we interact with it or not, and in fact, our interaction with it changes the outcome of what we see. Instead of framing things through our own experiences, we must open our minds and quiet the noise. These concepts are not all too unfamiliar to Green. You see, a devotion that is closest to the base form it was born into. While the Subtlety Collective (White-Black) is a pragmatic and practical combination, one who deals in absolutes—in the black and white of existence, if you will—to this version of the Enduring Covenant, a combination that lacks both Red and Blue, the whims of one's passion or the distractions of abstract theory hold little value. Emotions can cloud and speculation can distort. What is left is that which endures, what lasts—those paths tested and proven by time. There is a resilience to finding the quiet space where truth resides, because within it, you are unmoved by the whims of change. You are rooted in absolutes, the same that have lasted for eons past. You simply are and will be.
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