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Sovereigns serve in the Valde Bellum: this much is not under dispute. Yet the alliance of Imperators disguises the fundamental reality that the five major forces (Heaven, Hell, Light, Dark and the Wild) and the numerous solitary gods and serpents do not have the same ultimate goals. Their methodologies and the sacrifices they are willing to make to win the war vary as well.

The five major Codes -- Heaven, Hell, Wild, Light, Dark -- are themselves things of Spiritus Dei. Just as the Imperator of Reptiles, by existing, creates reptiles on many worlds, these Codes---since their creation---inspire the ability to choose them.

An angel is born knowing the Codes of Heaven, Hell, and Wild. The Code of Heaven suits their disposition, and almost always they adopt it. Humans have limited perception, and only see these ideals in confused visions. However, on becoming a Power, some of the scales fall from their eyes, and they understand this choice. They hear the Codes of Heaven, Hell, and Wild, that sing through Creation; they hear the Codes of Light and Dark, that echo through the Earth; and they hear their Imperator's Code, if it's something else entirely.

Either the Power understands -- not always instantly, but quickly -- that one of these Codes is truly virtuous, the road that they must follow, or they're stuck delving inside themselves to create their own ideals. If they do so, it makes Commencement harder, because they can't just pick any old beliefs that "sound good at the time" -- they need to root yourself deeply in their new or old ethics if they want to have the moral fiber they need to survive as a Power. The major Codes are the major Codes in part because adopting one does give one the strength to ignore the others.

In other words, the major Codes are not taught: they are inspired wisdom. To be a Power is to understand the call of Heaven, the blasphemous whispers of Lucifer, the dream of the Wild, the clear hope of the Light, and the nihilistic hate of the Dark. Powers build their own philosophical structures around their Codes, because you don't have to agree with every little point Lucifer makes to accept Hell's principles, and so forth -- but the three central points of each philosophy rarely vary. It happens, of course, but for all practical purposes a Power who changes one of the major points has built their own Code. That's not too much of a problem, since none of the Codes exalt slavish conformity.