@Dracosolon
The Sidar may serve Laroth's purposes, but they are completely unaware of this. They still revere Arawn, and in some cases actively worship him despite how indifferent he is to this fact. Some still offer prayers and praises to Arawn and his angels, including Gyra herself. She does not hold their ignorance against her. It is also likely that Arawn ordered Basium to leave them alone, and although he did
They are not technically undead. They might seem similar, but they abhor the undead and would react violently if you insulted them so. The undead have their souls held back from their eternal rest, usually against their will. When not sustained by a living body, a mortal spirit remaining in Erebus grows weary and sick. This sickness can pass to the world around, spreading the sort of corruption that transformed the paradise of Nemora into the hell-like Dead Lands once the local Well of Creation was stopped up to prevent the sluaghs drawn there from escaping to the next world. Much like Vampires, Shades retain their very much living bodies. Their souls do not linger in Erebus passed their time, but rather slowly move into the Netherworld, piece by piece, while the body still lives.
Yeah, it doesn't seem like the Ljosalfar don't epitomize their sphere as well as many other spheres do. I many ways they seem like the most stagnant of civs. It should probably be noted however that the Nature sphere does not only stand for change, but for change that is so slow that no one can notice it while it is happening. It is not only opposed to the stasis of ice, but also to the radical change of fire. They may only seem more constant because humanity has experienced such radical upheavals that have forced renaissances and declines while the elves stayed the steady course. One thing I can say though is that the younger elven leaders show the cynical pragmatism that many gain with age, and the childlike idealism of the past lives on in only a few ancient individuals such as Arendel Phaedra.
@tribble
All I can say with certainty about the Stygian Guards is what is found in the Bestiary:
Bestiary of Erebus said:
Stygian Guard- The stygian guard are the silent servants of Hastur. They exhibit no attempts at communication and little evidence of thought outside of their ability to ruthlessly follow commands. When they aren’t being commanded they seek out pools or other bodies of water and sink unmoving to the bottom unless disturbed.
The fact that they are listed under the Danalin section may indicate that they may be former angels of the God of Water who have betrayed their god to serve the Archangel of Mind. Hastur, The Lord of Nightmares, now dwells in Danalin's vault whispering in his ear so as to corrupt his dreams and create The Octopus Overlords. He cannot control the Overlords fully, but has more influence in their religion than anyone.
My first thought however was that Stygian Guards, like Drowns, are a type of Thrall. Thralls are mortals (whether living or dead) that are possessed by violent and unpredictable spirits taken captive in Camulos's hell. Hastur surely has plenty of hunter demons loyal to him which take many denizens of this hell as slaves. A weak mortal body hosting a powerful chaos demon could become so mutated as to be completely unrecognizable.
Bestiary of Erebus said:
Thrall- A thrall is a person possessed by one of the violent spirits form Camulos’s hell. They are known to be incredibly strong, unpredictable and violent. Unholy priests who can control the demon often use thralls as elite warriors. A thrall at full power often manifests significant physical mutations including things like tentacles, extra limbs, horns and overgrown muscles. Some become so transformed they no longer appear human.
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