Primordials

In Exalted, the Primordials are incalculably powerful spirits who created  Creation  (or possibly, just separated it from the Wyld). Primordials created the Gods as administrative assistants, to manage creation while they played the wonderous Games Of Divinity.

The Primordials originally lived in Yu-Shan  with the Gods managing affairs from the  Blessed Isle, until the Gods engineered a revolt against the Primordials using the Exalted as their agents (due to a powerful Geas placed on the Gods at their creation, the Gods cannot themselves attack their Primordial creators). Several Primordials were slain, becoming the Malfeans, other Primordials surrendered and were exiled from creation, becoming the  Yozis. With their death, the Malfeans cursed the Exalted with the Great Curse, leading to the  Corruption of The Solars  and the end of the  First Age. Even now, despite active efforts from the Gods, the Great Curse is effectively unbreakable. Since the revolt of the Gods, there are only two remaining primordials: Gaia and Autochthon; Gaia remains in Creation, while Autocthon fled into exile.

'Their Nature

The exact nature of the Primordials is open to extensive debate; the only primordials left are Autocthon and Gaia, and Gaia has not been extensively detailed. However, some information can be cleaned from Exalted: The Autocthonians  and  Games Of Divinity. GoD details the Yozis extensively, while E:TA covers Autocthon, who has some similarities to a Yozi. Within this section, we will assume that Yozis and Primordials are relatively close, although the Yozis may be twisted, perverte dor otherwise reduced slightly.

Unlike the Gods, who are somewhat comprehensible from the human perspective, and who can be bullied around even by a Terrestrial Exalted when necessary, the Primordials are a different order of being, closer to fundamental laws of the universe made manifest. The most basic difference between the Primordials and other entities is a simple matter of size and scope: Gaia is Creation; Malfeas, first among the Yozis, is a giant city containing all the other Yozis in some fashion, Autocthon is a separate realm unto himself.

In addition, the Essence of the Primordials is too large to be contained in one self. Primordials subdivide their personalities into at least 8 distinct souls, representing different aspects of their identity and worldview; these souls may themselves have subsidiary souls. In Autocthonia, these souls form an additional pantheon of deities.

Finally, life and death for Primordials is of a different nature than it is for other creatures. While Primordials can die, it appears to be more equivalent to a reconfiguration rather than a cessation of existence. Primordials do not enter Lethe  or reincarnate; they may be too big for such a concept to be meaningful; instead they become Malfeans. Malfeans, in turn are capable of activity - not the least of which being the creation of the Deathlords  and continuously plotting to bring Creation to  Oblivion. Even dead and asleep, the Malfeans are power incarnate.

GoD states that when a Yozi is slain, another aspect of the Yozi will replace the current one. This has happened to the Yozi Adorjhan  at least. It is not clear whether Yozis can be slain and turned into Malfeans.

Personality

The exact nature and behavior of the early primordials is open to debate; while the Yozis and Malfeans are certainly malevolent, that is at least partly a function of their death and imprisonment. The reason given for the Gods revolt against the Primordials is fairly petty: the Gods wanted to have the Games of Divinity for themselves. Given the state of Yu-Shan and the management of Creation, it is open to debate whether the Gods are an improvement over the Primordials.

Known Primordials
 * Gaia
 * Autocthon
 * Malfeas (Yozi)
 * Adorjhan (Yozi)
 * Cecylene (Yozi)
 * The Ebon Dragon (Yozi)
 * She Who Lives In Her Name (Yozi)
 * Cytherea (Yozi?)
 * He Who Holds In Thrall (Malfean)