Custodes Oculis Solis (Custodians of the Solar Eye, also Prefectus Solis) is a priestly order of Thoth tied to the solar cult, known in two forms: heron-headed priests before the Hiatus, and faceless figures of golden light serving Pope Alejandro Sixto.
| Type | Order |
| Apparent seat | Palace of the Prism |
| Spanish entry | Custodes Oculis Solis |
Forms
- Heron-headed priests, a historical order that “lived in the water that was carried away” (Ritornello / Ardisvala before the disaster). They may have had a celestial court of heron-headed animals.
- Prismatic guards at the Palace of the Prism after the Hiatus: “humanoid[s] of solidified golden light with a face of polished gold. No features. A pectoral of an imperial eagle holding a sun-eye.” Their aura is of the positive plane.
The archive holds that both are one order: the earthly form before the Hiatus, and the celestial form reactivated for the Pope within the Ravenloft domain during the fifteen-year Hiatus.
Functions
- Escort. When the Palace’s librarian reports to his superior, two silent, featureless custodians appear beside each companion.
- Positive energy, harmful to undead and to vampires such as Caladan.
- Judgment. A custodian weighs a person’s morality before taking them to the Pope; whoever forces the prismatic circle is destroyed.
- Procession. The celestial procession Numa Pompilius saw before dying in the Temple of Thoth — crossing a portal, taking a companion’s body, leaving manuscripts — is attributed to them. Argus, a “Georgian with a tattooed cross”, was present, possibly as an initiate.
After the Ardipithecus / Argus event, custodians took the Seekers to judgment before the Pope.
Relationships
- Enemies: undead, vampires, demons, and Caladan.
- Historical seats: Halls of Thoth and Ritornello.
- Possibly related to the Knights of the Scar of the Sun.
Gallery
