Champions
When a person dies, their light is released from their body and becomes a part of the world around them. If enough people hold onto the memory of the dying person's legacy, then they can offer their light to preserve that person's own existence. People who persist after death in this way are considered divine beings and referred to as "Champions."
Champions exist as a "soul" present in the atmospheric light of Luxos, and their identity is kept distinct and preserved through the aforementioned regular light offerings. With an intrinsically direct tie to the world's purest form of light, Champions are able to access special powers and grant them to people on Luxos.
It's often thought that the Champion's soul has a "core." Some say that this core is affixed to the body, and moves along with the corpse when it's transported. Others say that a Champion's core is permanently chained to the place where the person died. Neither of these theories have been proven true or false, and people tend to believe in whichever brings them a greater sense of pride for their hometown or current residency.
Champions can act completely on their own whim and desire, but can only exist in and interact with Luxos with consistent, voluntary offerings of light. It's common for Champions to grant natural miracles—such as sparks to provide flame on a cold night or richer soils for a fruitful harvest—in exchange for offerings. Though they don't have a permanent physical state of their own, Champions can temporarily manifest in areas where substantial amounts of light have been collected.
A person can decide to give a small portion of their light to a Champion at any given point in their life. This act yields similar effects to using an aspect—specifically, the individual making the sacrifice accumulates cael. Because of the strain one risks by offering light, most people only go out of their way to offer light a couple times in their lives or for specific occasions (if ever). A stronger connection to a Champion is directly correlated to access to that Champion's power. People seeking anything from favorable weather to a traveler's blessing to salvation for a devasatated land will seek out and offer light to a Champion—to what degree depends on how willing the person is to offer light.
Sometimes, people will "swear" to a Champion (e.g. "Loni of Tenacity," "do the Ignited Eyes deceive me?"). This language is usually specific to a particular region or culture, and is considered a telltale way to recognize where someone may be from.
Pacts
In order to guarantee a more consistent flow of light offerings, Champions can form pacts with people on Luxos. The basic structure of a pact is between one Champion and one acolyte (person)—the Champion receives regular offerings of light and a point to manifest (i.e. speaking/acting through the acolyte), and the acolyte gains access to a significant portion of the Champion's power. Acolytes are also well-respected in society for their clear devotion to their pacts.
There are strict conditions and guidelines to follow with a pact, and failure to keep one's end of the bargain results in immediate, dramatic consequence. These guidelines are consistent across pacts, but the details may vary slightly depending on the individuals involved.
Between the Champion and acolyte, a specific "routine" for light offering is agreed upon (i.e. how much light, and how often it is offered). This practice is generally done in private and cannot be "rescheduled" once established. The light-drawing procedure itself renders the acolyte temporarily immobile and unaware of their surroundings. The amount of light offered shouldn't pose a risk for caelism for the acolyte—though it may cause fatigue or weakness, the process is otherwise painless. However, it is important to note that there have been instances of careless acolytes accumulating a significant amount of cael prior to a light-drawing session who end up quite ill after the procedure.
Breaking a Pact
Pacts between a Champion and an acolyte are broken through breach of the agreement. Because the pact is built upon mutualistic terms, it's not common to see one broken by either party. However, it's not entirely out of the realm of reason to break one. In most cases of this rare occurrence, a pact falls apart if one side perceives the pact as becoming unfair or unmanageable. For example, an acolyte may have had a significant lifestyle change that hinders their ability continue offering light. A Champion may feel like their power is being misused by the acolyte, and wish to sever ties before their reputation is further tarnished. Other reasons include no longer seeing the pact as beneficial or a sufficient enough means of power, or simply disliking the other party.
Unfortunately, there's no clean or painless way to break a pact. One individual must make the call, and that individual alone must suffer the consequences, even if it was a mutual agreement.
If the Champion is the one to break the pact, a piece of the Champion's power remains in the ex-acolyte in the form of light. Though they only possess a small portion of power compared to what was once available during the pact's intact state, ex-acolytes come out of the fracture notably stronger than the average person. On the other hand, the Champion comes out notably weaker due to a portion of their maximum reserve of light now within the ex-acolyte. If the Champion continues to form and sever pacts, eventually they won't be able to gather the light needed to sustain their existence, and will eventually fade permanently.
If the acolyte is the one to break the pact, they will receive a visual anomaly similar in appearance and effect to caelism. Manifesting as a sooty, black-iridescent blight, these marks permanently weaken the body part of which they happen to appear on. A mark upon the palm may render the ex-acolyte unable to firmly grip objects; one around the eyes may incur a loss of sight or smell. Most Champions will avoid forming pacts with anyone who possesses these marks, as they are considered indicators of a potentially unreliable acolyte. Other people on Luxos generally feel intimidated or uneasy towards someone with a mark, though some may be worried or curious about its origins; it is not unlike how one would react to seeing someone with a severe wound or scar. Despite public perception, marks are not something that ex-acolytes are persecuted for, nor do they siginificantly affect their social standing.