The Order of Eliphas

Some background on one of the main organisations in the story, the Order of Eliphas.

Background
Founded in 1416 by a monk known only as Eliphas, the Order were originally a group of seven men who travelled Europe performing missionary work, offering medical services and schooling for the poor - all without payment. In return, they would ask the recipients to spread the word of their doctrine; "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which provided a true insight into nature, the physical universe and the spiritual realm.

It is rumoured that the Order were also involved in supernatural incidents, preventing or repelling demonic attacks on Earth. As their identities were never revealed, the 7 Brothers of the Order are often consigned to folklore or legend - with communities in many European countries perpetuating the myth that they were in fact Guardian Angels or Holy Saints.

The Righteous Balance
The Righteous Balance, an equilibrium between the Holy Kingdom, Humanity and Hell, has been in existence for nearly 600 years.

On his deathbed, the last surviving member of the Order of Eliphas requested an audience with the angels. To further protect humanity they established the Righteous Balance, a means of ensuring that humans could live without fear of demonic attack.

Since angelic and demonic intervention with humans was expressly forbidden - going against humanities right to free will, Heaven agreed to bestow seven humans with the power of angels, and in return, they would uphold the 7 virtues on Earth; Chastity (Castitas), Temperance (Temperare), Charity (Caritas), Diligence (Industria), Patience (Patientia), Kindness (Humanitas), Humility (Humilitas).

To ensure that this agreement remained mutually beneficial, a religious parliament was formed. Heaven appointed members to a newly formed body, the Angelic Council, who would monitor the 7 'Holy Saints' of Earth and represent the Holy Kingdom in parliament.

Over time the Order and Angelic Council extended an olive branch to demons, giving them the right to representation in parliament and certain democratic rights in exchange for controlling demonic activity on Earth and reducing the threat of rogue or Lost Demons.

As Hell was overflowing with sinners and cases of Lost Demons were escalating, the demons accepted and formed a parliamentary body of their own, The Horde.

After a period of relative peace, in which the demons appeared to be controlling rogue activity, they requested help in controlling the overflowing Hell kingdoms. The religious parliament concluded that allowing Hell to be governed by 7 Generals would further reduce the threat to mankind, thus, Hell appointed 7 demons to rule the sin Kingdoms (Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy & Pride).

In modern times, the Righteous Balance has now come to mean the equilibrium achieved through the existence of 7 Saints on Earth and 7 Generals controlling Hell. The Diahgo story takes place just as that balance appears to be shifting.

About the name
The Order and its founder, Eliphas, are both named after Alphonse Louis Constant, or Eliphas Lévi as he was known, a 19th Century French occult author and magician.

Their backstory is inspired by the supposed feats of Christian Rosenkreuz and his a secret society of mystics, the Order of the Rose Cross.