The Imperators are the Gods of the Nobilis Universe. They come in five major flavors or codes:
- The Angels are from Heaven and claim primogenitor.
- The Demons are the Fallen Angels and follow the code of Hell.
- The Gods of Light and Darkness were born as Adam and Eve ate of the Fruit of Knowledge and represent human will of self-destruction and the preservation of the species.
- The Imperators of the Wild are from outside creation originally, though they remember nothing of this past life nor can they leave. They have taken up the sword in defense of their new home.
Imperators are embodiments of certain aspects of reality. These generally share a common theme, but sometimes that theme can escape intuition. Most Imperators grant these shards of themselves, their Soul Shards, to mortals, so that they don't have to be present on Earth and can participate in the Valde Bellum, or true war, against the Excrucians. This process transforms the mortals to Nobles.