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The Diamonds, unique in their flawlessness, sought to expand their perfection across the galaxy. |
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—Garnet, "Your Mother and Mine" |
The Great Diamond Authority was the matriarchal body of Gem leaders. Its membership consisted of White Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Blue Diamond, and, prior to Era 2, Pink Diamond.
They were once the absolute ruling power over the Gem Homeworld and its remaining active colonies until the beginning of Era 3 and their replacement through democratic elections.
Despite this, the Diamonds still seem to retain their status as leaders on Homeworld, even if to a lesser extent. Even still retaining some influence over Homeworld, the Diamonds have begun dedicating themselves to helping Gems through their new specialties.
Previous Description & Influences[]
Overview[]
Before they changed their ways, the Great Diamond Authority had complete control over every Gem and their race's endeavors. As confirmed in Steven Universe: End of an Era, each Diamond was responsible for overseeing a specific part of Homeworld society. White was the leader and in charge of establishing Gemkind's identity. Yellow and Blue, holding second-tier status, oversaw Homeworld's military and culture respectively. Pink was in charge of throwing celebrations for the achievements of the other Diamonds.
The Diamonds used their essence to create new Gems, who would become subordinates and dedicated their lives in the name of their Diamond. Gems were distinguished by the diamond emblem on their uniform, corresponding to the color of the Diamond they served.
In order to expand the Gem race, the Diamonds took control of celestial bodies for colonization purposes. This would allow Gems to be mass-produced by utilizing outside resources. Each Diamond owned specific colonies and was in charge of making sure they were successful. Gems produced on a specific Diamond's colony was under their control; for instance, Gems produced on Earth belonged to Pink.
Displays of Loyalty[]
Most Gems were very loyal and legitimately believed the Diamonds were the most elite beings to ever exist. Some were passionate and enthusiastic about working for any Diamond. The loyalty Gems had for their Diamonds was such that some would do anything to avenge them. In addition to being widely regarded as a tragedy, Pink Diamond's "death" incited more than a few Gems to go so far as to seek vengeance on her behalf.
Appropriate & Expected Behaviors[]
Before Steven's intervention, it was mandatory for Gems to show absolute respect and loyalty to any Diamond they interacted with regardless of whether or not they served them. Appropriate behaviors include addressing a Diamond (most commonly the one they belong to) as "My Diamond", saluting them by forming a diamond shape over their chest with their hands and optionally giving them many gracious titles, often to the point of bootlicking and excessive flattery before speaking with them.
At Homeworld balls like the ones formerly run by Pink, the Diamonds sat on their elevated thrones while members of their court indicated their presence. Then, they can either accept or reject their court members. Specifically, at the Era 3 Ball Steven witnessed this when Gems including his mother's old Jades lined up at his throne believing him to be Pink and tell him "Pink Diamond! It's wonderful to be in your presence!" followed by "Wow! So radiant and sparkly!" and "Wow! So radiant and exquisite!"
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Pink, quit fooling around! White Diamond is going to be there! We have to present her with our best possible selves, just as our Gems present us with their best possible selves. |
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—Blue Diamond, "Together Alone" |
Just as other Gems were expected to behave in a certain orderly manner, the Diamonds were expected to do the same. They had to present themselves as professional and powerful yet elegant and magnificent. This was not only to set an image of themselves for the Gem race but also to White Diamond, the former highest-ranking Gem in the empire.
Symbols[]
The symbol of the Great Diamond Authority appears on many Gem structures and has changed over time. On the structures built during Era 1, the logo consisted of four connecting diamond shapes: white (top), yellow (left), blue (right) and pink (bottom). As of Era 2 structures, the Pink Diamond symbol was removed leaving only the white, yellow and blue symbol shapes (now in the form of overlapping triangles with a small dark triangle in the middle; it was only three connecting diamond shapes in Nephrite's drawings). In addition to appearing on structures, the redesigned symbol appeared on the interiors of all modern Gem ships.
Current Description & Influence[]
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Yellow: I've disbanded my armies, I've liberated my colonies! |
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—Yellow, Blue, White and Steven, Steven Universe: The Movie |
After the events of "Change Your Mind", when the Diamonds saw the error of their ways, the Great Diamond Authority changed significantly. While the Diamonds continue to rule over Homeworld, they allow every Gem to live freely the way they want without judgment or punishment. Gems are free to fuse with whoever they please, and the caste system was dismantled so that no Gem is better than another. While Steven Universe: The Movie displayed that the Diamonds are not completely adjusted to this new way of life, they have made great strides to be more considerate leaders and accepting of everyone.
In "Homeworld Bound", it's revealed that Homeworld has adopted some kind of democracy, meaning the Diamonds, despite retaining a level of importance on Homeworld, have allowed Gems to take charge as leaders of their kind through elections. With the significant change of leadership in Gem society, the Diamonds have replaced their previous responsibilities with new ones that would help other Gems:
- Yellow Diamond has discovered her power to change Gems' appearances and starts using it to undo her forced fusion experiments by assembling all of their pieces, putting them together, and correct any anomaly to their forms. She has also showed her desire to help the Gems inside the Cluster and also put her powers to the disposal of any former corrupted Quartzes who wish to have their horns diminished.
- Blue Diamond, having realized her wish to help other Gems feel better instead of sharing her pain with them, discovered the ability to vaporize her tears of sadness into clouds that have the ability to induce a feeling of pure joy to anyone who comes in contact with them. With these clouds, she is able to help Gems feel better whenever they are unhappy or with emotional problems.
- White Diamond, after spending thousands of years controlling other Gems with her mind-controlling power, has decided to help Gems to feel better about themselves by letting them control her. Through this, she is able to make Gems confront their own selves and accept themselves for who they are. At the same time, White is also able to get to know that Gem better through their connection.
History[]
Up to 20,000 years Ago[]
The exact history of the Diamonds themselves remains unknown, including when and how they came to be. Based on the murals in the Earth-Moon Base and drawings from "Familiar" White was created first followed by Yellow, then Blue and finally Pink. What was known was that the Diamonds were to be eternally considered the most perfect, powerful and absolutely flawless Gems by virtually all of their peers and it can be assumed this was how they rose to power over the entirety of their species, using the influence they gathered to collectively cull a following of any "lesser" Gems. When the Great Diamond Authority officially formed, White Diamond established laws and rules to govern and essentially shape Gem society to her own design, an influence that lasted for untold eons all the way to the present.
At some point, the Diamonds imposed a social hierarchy on Gem society based on an individual Gem's abilities and skills and how they would best serve the Diamonds' goals. Those deemed better and more useful received different privileges than others; this created pockets of inferiority and superiority complexes due to inequalities and the established knowledge of numerous Gems ranking lower while fewer Gems ranked higher (in many cases). In order to keep the system intact, Fusions between two or more different types of Gems were not allowed. This prevented two or more lower-class Gems from fusing and altogether becoming a different Gem, usually one considered higher or out-of-place in the system. In addition, the Diamonds divided Gems into groups that appeared to partially be based on color; some belonged to White, some belonged to Yellow, etc. All Gems were usually required to wear uniforms with a Diamond insignia to signify the Diamond they belonged to.
The Diamonds also appeared to be in charge of different aspects of Homeworld and as such divided Gems accordingly into different groups for the purpose of carrying out related duties; for instance, Yellow Diamond was said to be in charge of Homeworld's military and Blue Diamond was stated to have control over Homeworld's diplomacy.
According to "Your Mother and Mine" the Diamonds wished to spread their "perfection" throughout the universe and expand their race into an almighty empire. To do this the Diamonds turned the Gem species into a spacefaring race, expanding outward from Homeworld to colonize other places beyond their home galaxy. Upon colonizing a suitable planet, over an indeterminate period of time, they used the planet's resources to create new Gems, installations, structures, and outposts. Worlds colonized ranged from proper planets and moons to mere asteroids. Planets possessing a biosphere of any sort were not avoided; in fact, habitable planets might have been preferred as potential colonies over barren, lifeless worlds due to the rich minerals commonly found. As stated time and again and first shown in "It Could've Been Great" the completion of colonization efforts on an inhabited world would inevitably lead to the extinction of all life existing on said planet and render it inhospitable to non-Gem lifeforms. Based on Homeworld's overall indifference towards organic life (ranging from slight disgust to outright contempt), it appeared there were no qualms over colonizing worlds with native or preestablished life and what the completion of said colonization would mean for them in the long run. It is unknown how many of the Diamonds' current and previous colonies once possessed a biosphere before the completion of their colonization. Once a colony completed itself, it was firmly established that when Gems were created on a certain Diamond's planet, they belonged to them by default. For example, Gems made on a Yellow Diamond colony belonged to her.
The Diamonds had relatively strong relationships with each other; for instance, they would play games with Pink Diamond. Pink also hosted parties in honor of the other Diamonds' achievements. However, Pink often upset the other Diamonds by doing things for which she would be punished; she had her Pearl taken away, something that strained their closeness. She had also begged Yellow and Blue Diamond for a colony until the former gave in despite her doubts and placated this desire by giving her Earth. Around the start of Earth's colonization, the Diamonds had altogether colonized 43 planetary bodies and two star systems (again according to the Moon Base).
Over 6,000+ Years Ago[]
Pink Diamond and her Gems arrived on Earth and began the process of colonizing the planet, constructing several Gem installations and structures including the Prime Kindergarten. After several years of relative inaction, Pink became bored concerning the reality of actually managing a colony. When informed by her new Pearl that the first Quartz soldiers were emerging from the Kindergarten she expressed an immediate desire to interact and socialize with them but quickly dismissed the notion due to it being unbecoming of a Diamond in the eyes of her fellow Diamonds. It was at this time Pearl remarked how she could shapeshift into the form of a Quartz thus leading to Pink creating her "Rose Quartz" persona.
When Pink became fascinated by the organic life on Earth's surface she eventually realized the colonization process was harming the life already present on the planet itself. Over the next several years she began a prolonged series of discussions involving her begging Yellow and Blue Diamond to allow her to spare Earth from such a fate. As a result, Blue created a human zoo to satisfy Pink but this only served to further enrage her. After countless attempts by Pink to convince the other Diamonds to let her properly preserve life on Earth Pink decided to use her alter-ego of Rose to scare other Gems off Earth alongside Pearl by staging a Rebellion.
Over 5,750+ Years Ago[]
In an attempt to assist Pink in suppressing the Rebellion and desperate to complete the colonization of Earth, Blue sent her court with her to the Cloud Arena to investigate the uprisings. Among these Gems was a Sapphire who came to Blue and told her she foresaw the rebels attacking the Arena, but that they would be cornered and captured after "poofing" two of the Rubies protecting her along with herself and some Gem bystanders, ending the rebellion. As told, Rose and Pearl attacked Blue's court and everything played out according to Sapphire's prophecy until one of Sapphire's Ruby guards saved her from Pearl causing them to accidentally fuse into a new Gem named Garnet.
Disgusted and distracted by the fusion, Blue Diamond told Ruby she would be shattered for fusing with a member of her court and allowing the rebels to escape regardless of whether or not she had fulfilled her duty. Despite Ruby's protests, a distraught Sapphire fled with her into Earth's wilderness where they again came across Rose and Pearl, this time joining the Rebellion they had fought against as Garnet. After encountering Garnet, Rose/Pink revised her earlier desire of scaring Gems off-planet to fighting not just for life on Earth, but for other Gems' freedom.
Once again at Earth's Moon Base, Pink Diamond held an audience with the other Diamonds once more requesting the cessation of Earth's colonization, informing them it was because of the newly-formed group of Homeworld rebels calling themselves the Crystal Gems. Even Blue became irritated by Pink's excuses and explained Rose could not hurt her and she could not be allowed to halt the progress of a single colony due to rebellious Gems. Blue explained that as a Diamond all Pink had to do was smile and wave while her Gems completed Earth's colonization and the superior forces of Homeworld made sure the Crystal Gems were to be no more.
Over 5,500+ Years Ago[]
Under her disguise, Pink recruited enough Gems to her cause to officially wage open war against Homeworld. Over the course of the next 1,000 years, countless Gems on both sides of the conflict were shattered in the ensuing battles and any plans of continuing the colonization of Earth began to crumble. Pink (as Rose) was more or less able to keep the Crystal Gems in contention with Homeworld's power due to her unique healing abilities.
Around 5,050 Years Ago[]
As the Rebellion continued to rage on with no end in sight Pink (as Rose) began to fear that soon there would be no one and nothing left to protect. Eventually, she decided she no longer wanted to be a part of the Great Diamond Authority and came to believe the other Diamonds did not truly care for her, only doing so and showing affection for their own ambitions of establishing a more "perfect" empire as their endgame. Thus, to cut her ties from Homeworld permanently and end the Rebellion once and for all Pink devised a plan to fake her shattering at the hands of her alter-ego. At the Rebellion's climax, she set this plan into motion; using her natural abilities to turn ordinary dirt into false pink Gem Shards, she consumed them and had Pearl shapeshift into Rose. "Rose" then "shattered" her with a sword in public outside her palanquin causing everyone (including the other Diamonds) to believe Rose assassinated Pink. The plan succeeded, allowing Pink to reform and live the rest of her life as Rose while the presumed death of Pink Diamond sent Homeworld into disarray, turning the war in the Crystal Gems' favor. Unfortunately, this singular act would turn out to be a massive and devastating error in judgment on Pink's part.
With the "death" of Pink, it became clear to Homeworld that Earth was no longer fit to be a Gem colony. Presumably, under Yellow Diamond, loyal Homeworld Gems began collecting Shards of shattered Crystal Gems and experimented with them. In these horrific and painful experiments, various Gem Shards were forced to fuse together creating monstrous amalgamations of limbs. After enough experimentations, a gargantuan Gem geo-weapon called "the Cluster" was created and embedded into Earth's deep mantle for the purpose of one day destroying the planet upon forming and to be utilized as a planet-destroying superweapon.
As the Crystal Gems' victory in the war became more apparent the Diamonds sought their own extreme measures to end the war, enraged at the loss of Pink and Earth. At the war's end, they instructed Homeworld commanders on Earth to initiate a mass evacuation of all loyalist Gems off the planet. Due to the abrupt and chaotic way it was carried out, not all of Homeworld's forces were able to leave before the three remaining Diamonds combined their powers to launch a Corrupting Light at Earth. They hoped this last-ditch attack would obliterate every rebel Gem still on the planet. Unbeknownst to them, both Homeworld Gems who had failed to evacuate as well as virtually all remaining Crystal Gems exposed to the light survived, but at the terrible cost of enduring a fate possibly worse than death: They became corrupted and mutated into monstrous feral creatures with their sentience all but stripped.
The Diamonds and Homeworld left Earth completely unaware of the fates they brought upon the Gems there. Only a very small number of Gems survived the attack and avoided corruption. Pink (as Rose), Garnet and Pearl survived thanks to Pink's shield which protected them from the light's effects. Lapis Lazuli, who was imprisoned in a mirror was protected from exposure to the light; Bismuth, who was similarly imprisoned via being bubbled was inadvertently protected; Amethyst, who was still incubating was also protected from the light. With the Diamonds having abandoned the Earth the Rebellion had ended in a technical Crystal Gem victory, but at a terrible cost. No other Gem, whether they had allegiance to the Crystal Gems or Homeworld was known to have survived unscathed from the Diamonds' final attack. With the "death" of Pink, the Diamonds divided her still-loyal Gems amongst themselves; some went to Yellow, some went to Blue and the others presumably went to White.
Due to putting an extensive amount of their preexisting resources into colonizing Earth and then later waging a costly war to suppress the insurrections of the Crystal Gems, a resource crisis emerged on Homeworld following the conclusion of the Rebellion. With the colonization of Earth being a failure, Homeworld received no net profit from their endeavors and thus the stock of Homeworld's supplies plummeted in the years following the Rebellion's end. As a result, the strengths of Gems produced after began to dwindle. This period of time that continues on in the present is known as "Era 2" while the time predating the Rebellion was known as "Era 1". When Era 2 began most of the Quartzes made on Earth took over Pink's zoo in her memory. Also, Era-2 Gems such as newer Peridots were physically weaker due to Kindergartens lacking resources, becoming very dependent (and ultimately over-reliant) on advanced technological enhancements.
Recent Events[]
Pink Diamond continued to live on as Rose Quartz with Pearl and Garnet, the last remaining Crystal Gems active. At some point, Amethyst emerged long past overdue in the Prime Kindergarten and was welcomed with open arms by Rose into the Crystal Gems. Over the next several millennia they continued to protect Earth and desperately tried to heal the Corrupted Gems. Rose eventually fell in love with a human named Greg Universe and gave up her physical form to have a son named Steven Universe.
As years went on the Diamonds continued colonizing worlds and Pink's "death" affected each of them. White Diamond went into seclusion, not leaving her ship for eons. Blue Diamond went into a deep depression and would constantly mourn over Pink to the point where she began to forego her duties of ruling the Gem empire. Meanwhile, Yellow Diamond tried pushing Pink out of her memory and erasing any remnants of her legacy she could in order to keep herself a composed leader. Yellow tried having many discussions with Blue over the subsequent millennia about how they should've moved on but Blue never listened.
Current Events[]
Season 1[]
Yellow Diamond wished to know how the Cluster was progressing inside Earth. She assigned one of her Peridots to check the Cluster's status. When Peridot eventually discovered there were Gems still on Earth, she assigned a veteran Jasper to protect her and a time lost Lapis Lazuli to serve as an informant when visiting the planet.
Season 2[]
A grown Steven and the Crystal Gems were able to thwart their plans but Peridot managed to receive information for Yellow Diamond acknowledging the Cluster was emerging as scheduled to destroy Earth. Since the Crystal Gems destroyed her ship Peridot found herself stranded and tried to contact Yellow Diamond through the Communication Hub but there was never a response. Eventually, she found a Diamond Communicator at the old Moon Base and contacted Yellow Diamond allowing herself to talk directly to her.
Peridot reported the Cluster would emerge shortly which Yellow Diamond found pleasing. However, due to being swayed by the Crystal Gems Peridot requested they terminate the Cluster because it would mean sacrificing all of Earth's resources for a single weapon. Peridot reported she had already devised a plan to use Earth's resources without disrupting the organic life but Yellow Diamond did not care to hear her out. Because of this Peridot insulted Yellow Diamond and became an ally to the Crystal Gems. After the call ended Yellow Diamond furiously attempted to terminate the traumatized Peridot by remotely detonating the Communicator.
Season 4[]
Blue Diamond visited Earth, specifically the location where Pink was allegedly shattered believing it would be the last time she would visit the planet before the Cluster destroyed it. Steven tracked down her location with his father Greg when he started having dreams where he saw through her eyes and cried her tears. When they arrived Greg revealed himself to Blue Diamond's Pearl. While crying Blue Diamond explained her confusion that a fragile race such as humans could thrive on Earth but on the exact same world a powerful Gem such as a Diamond could've been believed destroyed. Greg offered Blue his condolences and explained he also lost someone and understood how she felt (the two never realized they were mourning over the same being). Touched by Greg's sympathy, Blue Diamond abducted him to take him to Pink's Zoo believing she was sparing him from the Cluster, obviously unaware of its then-inconceivable nullification a while before her visit.
Once at the Zoo Blue entered Pink Diamond's old room and began crying again. Yellow Diamond came in and was visibly annoyed, telling Blue she should still shatter all of Pink's Rose Quartz Gems because she was supposedly shattered by one of them but Blue wished to preserve all of Pink's Gems and her legacy as a whole. Yellow Diamond, her Pearl, and Blue Pearl sang in an attempt to make Blue feel better. They told Blue that for the good of the Gem race's empire she had to move on and become a strong leader instead of moping around all the time. When the Crystal Gems came to infiltrate the Zoo and save Greg they told the Gems working there they were dropping off Steven as a special delivery. The Zoo's administrator Holly Blue Agate brought Sapphire and Ruby to Blue Diamond and told her she foresaw her wanting more humans for the Zoo. Blue Diamond believed Sapphire (though surprisingly not recognizing her or the accompanying Ruby from long ago) saying the window to preserve the Earth's inhabitants was closing due to the Cluster. Yellow realized it was what Blue Diamond wanted and when she discovered the Cluster hadn't emerged yet she told Blue there was still time to collect humans.
When Peridot first discovered Gems still on Earth, Steven listed off some of his human friends which she reported to Yellow Diamond. Using this list Yellow and Blue Diamond sent two elite Gems, an Aquamarine, and her Topaz assistant to retrieve them. In order to save his friends Steven reluctantly turned himself in as Rose Quartz, the Gem believed to have shattered Pink Diamond.
Season 5[]
Topaz and Aquamarine took Steven and his friend Lars Barriga, the latter of whom was caught when he failed to escape from Aquamarine's personal ship to Homeworld where he was put on trial in front of Yellow and Blue Diamond for the murder of Pink Diamond. Yellow wished to just get the trial over with so Steven could be shattered, but Blue wanted to hear him out. After the Diamonds' defense finished stating the case Steven tried explaining what happened even though he had no idea which only made Blue Diamond upset when he got all the facts wrong. Steven's lawyer explained witnesses said Pink stepped out of her palanquin when Rose Quartz attacked her from the front, but that did not make any sense because Rose wouldn't be able to get past all of Pink Diamond's Gems. She stated that only someone of supreme authority could meet with Pink personally and blamed Pink's murder on one of the Diamonds. Furious, Yellow poofed both of the Zircons. Blue yelled at Yellow Diamond asking her to restrain herself. While they were distracted Steven and Lars escaped on Blue's palanquin and Yellow warned him he was on their world now.
Blue and Yellow then made a trip to Earth to personally awaken the Cluster which Yellow did by slamming her ship into the ground. This popped its bubble and allowed the Cluster to form a hand that ended up wrestling Yellow Diamond's ship. Meanwhile, Blue noticed the Crystal Gems and stepped out of her ship to battle them. Suddenly, Lapis returned to Earth to join the Crystal Gems. The Cluster is able to wrestle Yellow's ship onto Blue's which crushes both ships and Blue Diamond. Both Diamonds emerged from the wreckage to further battle the Crystal Gems together. The Diamonds were able to get the upper hand, Yellow poofing Peridot, and Lapis and knocking Steven unconscious. Steven then awakened in a ghost-like state and telepathically told the Diamonds he had Pink's gemstone. This caused the Diamonds to cease fighting. Steven then awakened to find the Crystal Gems and the Diamonds watching him with Blue Diamond exclaiming: "It's you... Pink!"
After the revelation that Steven had Pink's gemstone, Blue and Yellow are incredibly relieved that she was never shattered after all and were willing to be civil with Steven and the rest of the Crystal Gems. They reveal that they were completely unaware of the corruption that befell the Gems who remained on Earth, as the attack was actually intended to entirely destroy them. After they are able to only temporarily succeed in uncorrupting Nephrite Blue and Yellow Diamond wondered if White Diamond may be able to help but quickly attempt to dismiss the idea, owing to White's supposed temper. However, after Steven insisted they decide to return to Homeworld using Pink Diamond's old ship to try to enlist her help. Upon arrival to Homeworld, which appeared to be in a highly damaged state White Diamond's Pearl (actually Pink Diamond's Pearl who was stolen from her) appears and summons Steven (referring to him as Pink Diamond as well) to appear before White Diamond. When he appears in her palace, White Diamond puts on a calm and motherly demeanor in welcoming him back but also acts quite dismissive and condescending, repeatedly cutting him off and referring to the Rebellion and the overall events that have transpired on Earth as a "little game" before sending him off without warning.
After that he goes to his mother's palace for the first time and meets the Pebbles, later chatting with Yellow Diamond in the Extraction Chamber and Blue in the Onsen. He has his mother's clothes made to fit his body size. The Pebbles make furniture all night and prepare for the Era 3 Ball.
Later, Steven gets Yellow and Blue to agree on a ball in order to get a chance to talk to White about the corrupted gems; but this fails with White not coming and Steven accidentally fusing with his love interest Connie Maheswaran resulting in Yellow throwing them into Pink's old prison tower.
After an unknown length of time, Blue Diamond visited and confronted Steven in the tower over the commotion Stevonnie caused at the ball, demanding an apology. Steven refuses as he feels he'd done nothing wrong, and confronts Blue in turn for how often she and Yellow made Pink miserable for not meeting their expectations. Forced to recognize how much happier Pink had been on Earth than Homeworld because of the freedom she had, Blue has a change of heart and releases the prisoners, beginning to address Steven by his own person.
Blue attempts to help Steven and Connie retrieve the bubbled Crystal Gems but was momentarily stopped by Yellow Diamond resulting in a fight between the two. Yellow refused to let Steven and Connie escape with the Gems nearly poofing Blue in the process until Steven makes her see that their constant striving to make the Gem empire perfect merely drove away everything they loved. Now in agreement over Steven and the Crystal Gems, Yellow and Blue escort Steven and Connie to Pink's ship but are prevented from escaping when White docks her own ship on top of it.
After Yellow, Blue and Steven's attempts to reason with White failed and White places the former two under her control, Steven manages to infiltrate the interior of White's ship with the Crystal Gems' help to face her directly. White insists that Steven is merely Pink having managed to deceive herself into thinking she was someone else and tries to bring her back by pulling her gemstone out of him. But when the gemstone merely reformed into a pink version of Steven and White threw a tantrum over the loss of Pink Diamond Steven's rebuttal caused White to realize she was just as flawed as everyone else and finally made her vulnerable enough to be reasoned with.
Upon returning to Earth and arriving at the same time as Lars and his crew the Off Colors, the Diamond Authority—together with Steven—were able to cure the Corrupted Gems by bathing in Rose's Fountain and amplifying its healing properties. Steven remained on Earth while the other Diamonds returned to Homeworld. Taking Steven's lessons to heart they begin easing their old system's strict rules including the ban on cross-Gem Fusion.
Steven Universe: The Movie[]
After spending two years learning a new peaceful way of life from Steven, the Diamonds appear to still be in charge of Homeworld and its colonies but are much more lenient and democratic about their ruling. The Diamonds are slowly learning to get rid of their past ideologies by treating every lifeform as equal and accepting everyone for who they are because they understand nobody is flawless.
Over a broadcast that reaches all across Homeworld and its colonies, White Diamond announces that Steven is taking over in Pink's place, but when Steven rejects the offer, the Diamonds sing "Let Us Adore You" in an attempt to get Steven to stay with them on Homeworld since they miss Pink so much and he reminds them of her.
At the end of the movie, the Diamonds travel to Earth because they decide they want to live with Steven there. However, upon seeing the destruction caused by the events of the movie, they decide not to, believing Earth to be disgusting. Steven reintroduces the Diamonds to Spinel, whom they have not seen in 6,000 years, and they fall in love with her. The Diamonds' desire to love and care for someone combined with Spinel's desire to entertain and be someone's friend leads to a perfect match; Spinel leaves Earth to live with the Diamonds in their palace on Homeworld.
Steven Universe Future[]
The Great Diamond Authority has been confirmed to remain in the show, as Yellow, Blue and White Diamond were shown in the show's opening, alongside Steven Universe (formerly Pink Diamond).
In "In Dreams", Blue Diamond's head appears as a dolphin, Yellow Diamond's head appears as a pineapple, and White Diamond's legs are seen. In "Bismuth Casual", Steven told Connie's friends from Cram School that White pulled his gem out of his body and from the fusion of Stevonnie on his mother's side.
In "Homeworld Bound" It is revealed that the Great Diamond Authority has been replaced with democratic elections. Despite appearing to still possess some authority regarding ruling Homeworld, the Diamonds are revealed to be dedicating their time to help other Gems in any matter they can help with.
Members[]
White Diamond[]
White is the head of the Great Diamond Authority and paramount ruler of all Gems and their intergalactic empire. She had governed Gem society as she saw fit in her own fundamental ideology of perfection though after she realized that she herself was imperfect she began to reconsider Homeworld's way of life. During Era 2 she had remained secluded inside her ship with Pink Diamond's first and former Pearl acting as her eyes and ears.
In "Legs From Here to Homeworld" it was explicitly stated she wasn't like other Gems or even the other Diamonds. Blue and Yellow affirmed this statement with Blue further commenting that White hadn't left Homeworld in eons.
Former Subordinates[]
Former Colonies[]
- 28 planetary bodies (by the time of Earth's colonization)
Yellow Diamond[]
Yellow is one of the Diamond matriarchs. She was the former superior of Peridot as well as the current superior to other Gems made for her. As the commander of Homeworld's military, Yellow's role is to colonize other worlds in conquest and expansion of the Gem empire. She commenced the Cluster as a project to acquire a "geo-weapon" after Earth was deemed unfit to be a colony following the Crystal Gems' rebellion.
Almost all of her subordinates (except her Pearl, "Doc" and "Navy") have a small yellow diamond insignia on their chests in two symmetrically connecting diagonal black lines.
Former Subordinates[]
- Peridot
- Yellow Pearl
- Topaz
- Jasper
- Prosecuting Zircon
- Hessonite
- Demantoid
- Bismuths
- Topazes
- Emerald
- Nephrite-XJ Cut-763
- Nephrite-XJ Cut-763's crew
- Unknown Agates
- Rubies
- Citrines
- Jades
- Peridots
- A Blue Quartz
Former Colonies[]
- The Jungle Moon's orbital planet (formerly)
- Multiple asteroid mines
- 2 star systems and 7 unknown planetary bodies (by the time of Earth's colonization)
- Yellow 4 (destroyed)
- Hundreds of crystal system colonies
- Crystal System Colony 215 (formerly)
Blue Diamond[]
Blue is one of the Diamond matriarchs. She was the superior of Ruby, Sapphire and many other Gems made for her. According to herself, she is responsible for enforcing the laws and rules of the Gem Empire promulgated by White. Her subordinates have a large blue diamond on their bodies or similar design to Yellow's subordinates with a small light Blue Diamond insignia on their chests in two symmetrically connecting diagonal dark lines.
According to Rebecca Sugar blue-colored Gems tend to be oriented towards diplomatic roles.[1]
Former Subordinates[]
- Sapphire
- Ruby
- Lapis Lazulis
- Blue Pearl
- Holly Blue Agate
- Aquamarine
- Defending Zircon
- Pyrope
- Unknown court members
- Two Rubies
- Three Amethysts
- Three Topazes
- Former subordinates of Pink Diamond
- Comby
- Jades
Former Colonies[]
- 9 unknown planetary bodies (by Earth's colonization)
- Crystal system colonies
Former Members[]
Pink Diamond[]
Pink was a former member of the Great Diamond Authority. A significantly younger Gem than her fellow Diamonds, she begged them for a colony until she was finally given one: Earth. Her subordinates had outfits similar to the current outfits of all currently seen Diamond subordinates, with a small Pink Diamond insignia on their chests in two symmetrically connecting diagonal black lines. Once the colonization of Earth began, Pink became so fascinated by the organic life living on the planet that she later decided she did not want to go through with completing the colony. Pink came up with multiple excuses to the other Diamonds as to why they should not continue colonizing Earth, but they would not listen. Eventually, Pink created an alter-ego named Rose Quartz via shapeshifting, and Pink and her Pearl rallied up enough Gems who felt similarly about the Earth and started the Rebellion. Upon meeting Garnet, she decided to turn the Earth into a haven for other Gems who had similar experiences.
For most of the Rebellion, she led a double life, leading her fellow rebels as Rose and shapeshifting back to continue serving as a Diamond. Pink used the Crystal Gems as another excuse as to why they couldn't colonize Earth, but the other Diamonds would still not listen. She eventually decided she wanted to leave her life as a Diamond behind and live as Rose Quartz forever on Earth with the Crystal Gems and humans. Pink Diamond crushed some dirt and turned it into pink Shards which she ate; she then had Pearl shapeshift into Rose and poof her in public, leaving the shards behind. Everyone who witnessed the event believed Rose shattered Pink, and only Pink herself and her Pearl knew the truth. Pink reformed as Rose and led the Crystal Gems to a Pyrrhic victory. The other Diamonds took her "demise" harder than anticipated, unleashing a blinding light that corrupted most Gems unfortunate enough to remain on Earth.
Many Era-2 Gems appeared to be largely unaware of the Rebellion, as evidenced by Peridot's ignorance of the Crystal Gems in "Marble Madness" and "Leggy's" own in "Back to the Moon". This suggested events leading up to Pink Diamond's "death" were not frequently discussed, which may be indicative of the devotion and respect Gems have for the Diamonds; this extended to the point where the Rebellion was blatantly covered up altogether. However, in "The Trial" the defending Zircon reveals that every Gem has heard rumors of Pink Diamond's alleged death.
Pink's "death" affected the existing past, present, and future Gems in many different ways. Some Gems, like the Diamonds and those who served her, continued mourning her and showing animosity towards Rose, not knowing they were one and the same. Others like the defending Blue Zircon tried to make sense of what really happened to Pink. The Zircon even questioned how a Rose Quartz - a Gem identified as a threat - was able to slip past Pink's guards and entourage in the first place.
Former Subordinates[]
- Jades
- Pearl
- Pebbles
- Pink Pearl
- Nephrites
- Nephrite Facet-413 Cabochon-12 (Centipeetle)
- Nephrite's Crew
- Quartzes
- Agates
- Amethysts
- Carnelian
- Jaspers
- Rose Quartzes
- Unknown Quartzes
- Sapphires
- Spinel
- Bismuth
- Hessonite
Former Colonies[]
Transportation[]
- Main article: Diamond Ships
- Main article: Diamond Palanquins
The Diamonds use custom ships to travel from place to place and seem to use their palanquins to move around alien planets.
Episode Appearances[]
Season 1 | ||||||||||||
Season 1A | ||||||||||||
1. "Gem Glow": | Absent | 14. "Lars and the Cool Kids": | Absent | |||||||||
2. "Laser Light Cannon": | Absent | 15. "Onion Trade": | Absent | |||||||||
3. "Cheeseburger Backpack": | Absent | 16. "Steven the Sword Fighter": | Absent | |||||||||
4. "Together Breakfast": | Absent | 17. "Lion 2: The Movie": | Absent | |||||||||
5. "Frybo": | Absent | 18. "Beach Party": | Absent | |||||||||
6. "Cat Fingers": | Absent | 19. "Rose's Room": | Absent | |||||||||
7. "Bubble Buddies": | Absent | 20. "Coach Steven": | Absent | |||||||||
8. "Serious Steven": | Pictured | 21. "Joking Victim": | Absent | |||||||||
9. "Tiger Millionaire": | Absent | 22. "Steven and the Stevens": | Absent | |||||||||
10. "Steven's Lion": | Absent | 23. "Monster Buddies": | Absent | |||||||||
11. "Arcade Mania": | Absent | 24. "An Indirect Kiss": | Absent | |||||||||
12. "Giant Woman": | Absent | 25. "Mirror Gem": | Absent | |||||||||
13. "So Many Birthdays": | Absent | 26. "Ocean Gem": | Absent | |||||||||
Season 1B | ||||||||||||
27. "House Guest": | Absent | 40. "On the Run": | Absent | |||||||||
28. "Space Race": | Absent | 41. "Horror Club": | Absent | |||||||||
29. "Secret Team": | Absent | 42. "Winter Forecast": | Absent | |||||||||
30. "Island Adventure": | Absent | 43. "Maximum Capacity": | Absent | |||||||||
31. "Keep Beach City Weird": | Mentioned | 44. "Marble Madness": | Absent | |||||||||
32. "Fusion Cuisine": | Absent | 45. "Rose's Scabbard": | Absent | |||||||||
33. "Garnet's Universe": | Absent | 46. "Open Book": | Absent | |||||||||
34. "Watermelon Steven": | Absent | 47. "Shirt Club": | Absent | |||||||||
35. "Lion 3: Straight to Video": | Absent | 48. "Story for Steven": | Absent | |||||||||
36. "Warp Tour": | Absent | 49. "The Message": | Absent | |||||||||
37. "Alone Together": | Absent | 50. "Political Power": | Absent | |||||||||
38. "The Test": | Absent | 51. "The Return": | Mentioned | |||||||||
39. "Future Vision": | Absent | 52. "Jail Break": | Pictured |
Season 2 | ||||||||||||
1. "Full Disclosure": | Absent | 14. "Historical Friction": | Absent | |||||||||
2. "Joy Ride": | Absent | 15. "Friend Ship": | Pictured | |||||||||
3. "Say Uncle": | Absent | 16. "Nightmare Hospital": | Absent | |||||||||
4. "Love Letters": | Absent | 17. "Sadie's Song": | Pictured | |||||||||
5. "Reformed": | Absent | 18. "Catch and Release": | Mentioned | |||||||||
6. "Sworn to the Sword": | Pictured | 19. "When It Rains": | Absent | |||||||||
7. "Rising Tides, Crashing Skies": | Absent | 20. "Back to the Barn": | Absent | |||||||||
8. "Keeping It Together": | Absent | 21. "Too Far": | Absent | |||||||||
9. "We Need to Talk": | Absent | 22. "The Answer": | Flashback | |||||||||
10. "Chille Tid": | Absent | 23. "Steven's Birthday": | Absent | |||||||||
11. "Cry for Help": | Mentioned | 24. "It Could've Been Great": | Pictured & Mentioned | |||||||||
12. "Keystone Motel": | Absent | 25. "Message Received": | Appears | |||||||||
13. "Onion Friend": | Absent | 26. "Log Date 7 15 2": | Mentioned |
Season 3 | |||||
1. "Super Watermelon Island": | Absent | 13. "Kiki's Pizza Delivery Service": | Absent | ||
2. "Gem Drill": | Absent | 14. "Monster Reunion": | Mentioned | ||
3. "Same Old World": | Absent | 15. "Alone at Sea": | Absent | ||
4. "Barn Mates": | Mentioned | 16. "Greg the Babysitter": | Absent | ||
5. "Hit the Diamond": | Mentioned | 17. "Gem Hunt": | Absent | ||
6. "Steven Floats": | Absent | 18. "Crack the Whip": | Absent | ||
7. "Drop Beat Dad": | Absent | 19. "Steven vs. Amethyst": | Absent | ||
8. "Mr. Greg": | Absent | 20/21. "Bismuth": | Mentioned | ||
9. "Too Short to Ride": | Absent | 22. "Beta": | Absent | ||
10. "The New Lars": | Absent | 23. "Earthlings": | Mentioned | ||
11. "Beach City Drift": | Absent | 24. "Back to the Moon": | Pictured & Mentioned | ||
12. "Restaurant Wars": | Absent | 25. "Bubbled": | Mentioned |
Season 4 | |||||
1. "Kindergarten Kid": | Absent | 14. "The Zoo": | Absent | ||
2. "Know Your Fusion": | Absent | 15. "That Will Be All": | Appears | ||
3. "Buddy's Book": | Absent | 16. "The New Crystal Gems": | Absent | ||
4. "Mindful Education": | Absent | 17. "Storm in the Room": | Mentioned | ||
5. "Future Boy Zoltron": | Absent | 18. "Rocknaldo": | Absent | ||
6. "Last One Out of Beach City": | Absent | 19. "Tiger Philanthropist": | Absent | ||
7. "Onion Gang": | Absent | 20. "Room for Ruby": | Absent | ||
8/9. "Gem Harvest": | Absent | 21. "Lion 4: Alternate Ending": | Absent | ||
10. "Three Gems and a Baby": | Absent | 22. "Doug Out": | Mentioned | ||
11. "Steven's Dream": | Appears | 23. "The Good Lars": | Absent | ||
12. "Adventures in Light Distortion": | Mentioned | 24. "Are You My Dad?": | Mentioned | ||
13. "Gem Heist": | Mentioned | 25. "I Am My Mom": | Mentioned |
Season 5 | |||||
1. "Stuck Together": | Mentioned | 15. "Pool Hopping": | Absent | ||
2. "The Trial": | Appears | 16. "Letters to Lars": | Absent | ||
3. "Off Colors": | Mentioned | 17. "Can't Go Back": | Flashback | ||
4. "Lars' Head": | Absent | 18. "A Single Pale Rose": | Flashback | ||
5. "Dewey Wins": | Mentioned | 19. "Now We're Only Falling Apart": | Flashback | ||
6. "Gemcation": | Mentioned | 20. "What's Your Problem?": | Mentioned | ||
7. "Raising the Barn": | Mentioned | 21. "The Question": | Mentioned | ||
8. "Back to the Kindergarten": | Absent | 22. "Made of Honor": | Mentioned | ||
9. "Sadie Killer": | Absent | 23/24. "Reunited": | Appears | ||
10. "Kevin Party": | Absent | 25. "Legs From Here to Homeworld": | Appears | ||
11. "Lars of the Stars": | Absent | 26. "Familiar": | Appears | ||
12. "Jungle Moon": | Flashback | 27. "Together Alone": | Appears | ||
13. "Your Mother and Mine": | Flashback | 28. "Escapism": | Pictured | ||
14. "The Big Show": | Absent | 29-32. "Change Your Mind": | Appears |
Movie | ||||||||||||
Steven Universe: The Movie | Appears |
Future | |||||
1. "Little Homeschool": | Pictured & Mentioned | 11. "In Dreams": | Imagined | ||
2. "Guidance": | Mentioned | 12. "Bismuth Casual": | Mentioned | ||
3. "Rose Buds": | Mentioned | 13. "Together Forever": | Absent | ||
4. "Volleyball": | Pictured & Mentioned | 14. "Growing Pains": | Flashback | ||
5. "Bluebird": | Absent | 15. "Mr. Universe": | Mentioned | ||
6. "A Very Special Episode": | Absent | 16. "Fragments": | Pictured | ||
7. "Snow Day": | Mentioned | 17. "Homeworld Bound": | Appears | ||
8. "Why So Blue?": | Mentioned | 18. "Everything's Fine": | Mentioned | ||
9. "Little Graduation": | Absent | 19. "I Am My Monster": | Appears | ||
10. "Prickly Pair": | Absent | 20. "The Future": | Absent |
Trivia[]
- All of the Diamonds have diamond-shaped (rather than circular) pupils.
- The confirmed instrument of the Diamonds is a synthetic sound combining harmonette and strings processed by a synth which could also be heard in "Same Old World" and "Monster Reunion" when the Corrupting Light flashed. It was revealed in Steven Universe: Art & Origins that each Diamond also has a unique chord.[2]
- The past Era-2 symbol might've been a reference to the Triforce symbol from The Legend of Zelda as they both were three connecting triangles. It also bore a resemblance to the Mitsu uroko emblem of the Hōjō clan.
- The first Era-1 and current Era-3 symbol resembled the NFPA 704 diamond symbol with slightly different colors (one of the diamonds was red instead of pink) and the colors' positions switched. This similarity is heightened during Steven Universe: The Movie, as it is shown during The Tale of Steven that the color positions were then equivalent to the NFPA 704 diamond.
- Both versions of the symbol's order of colors seems to represent the location of the gem in the body of its owner: both Blue and Yellow Diamond have their gem in their chests, so they are equal in position in the middle row, whereas White Diamond has her gem in her forehead and Pink Diamond has it in the lowest position in her navel, hence in the symbol White Diamond is on the top and Pink Diamond is on the bottom.
- It also reflects the size of the Diamonds as White Diamond is the largest, Pink Diamond is the smallest and both Yellow and Blue Diamond are equal in size.
- The Great Diamond Authority was yet another of Ronaldo Fryman's paranormal theories proven to be true.
- He developed his theory in the first-season episode "Keep Beach City Weird", warning of the Great Diamond Authority. Peridot confirmed the matriarchs' collective name in the episode "It Could've Been Great".
- It was revealed in "Monster Reunion" that the Diamonds were responsible for the corruption of almost all remaining Gems on Earth.
- Nephrite drew the original Great Diamond Authority symbol without the lowermost diamond symbol when asked who or what caused the damage to her and the other Corrupted Gems, implying Pink was not involved with the attack. This was confirmed in "Your Mother and Mine".
- The circles placed behind the heads of the Diamonds in their murals resembled halos, a common motif in the sacred arts of Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. Combined with the remarks Gems used for the Diamonds it appeared light was extremely relevant in their iconography; this was most likely not ironic considering all Gems were basically living rocks that projected hard-light forms which took on feminine appearances.
- Although Gems usually served under a specific Diamond, Blue and Yellow Diamond seemed to have the same amount of authority over each other's subordinates. For example, Yellow told Holly Blue Agate to "Get to the point" in "That Will Be All" and poofed the defending Blue Zircon in "The Trial". Additionally, Emerald's uniform showed both Yellow and Blue Diamond insignias in "Lars of the Stars".
- Although, it could be stated that overall no matter what the gem is, a Diamond can basically tell ANY non-Diamond gem what to do, simply because of the fact that they are Diamonds and have the ultimate authority overall.
- Each of the Diamonds' personalities fell under one of the four fundamental personality types as established by the Ancient Greek Four Temperament Theory.
- White Diamond was phlegmatic as those under this personality type tend to conceal their feelings and even appear almost apathetic or robotic.
- Blue Diamond was melancholic as those under this personality type are highly emotional, introverted and can be easily depressed or somehow brought to tears.
- Yellow Diamond was choleric as those under this personality type are stubbornly independent, goal-oriented, decisive and act on facts rather than emotions.
- Pink Diamond was sanguine as those under this personality type are extroverted, outgoing and tend to engage in risk-seeking behavior.
- In the recent "Battle Of Heart And Mind" part of The Steven Universe Podcast, it was stated White had a motherly role among the Diamonds and served as an appropriate figure.
- It was also said in the podcast that the Diamonds metaphorically represent a "body", White being the superego, Yellow and Blue being the ego, and Pink being the id.
- Each of the Diamonds seemed to fall under different stages of the grieving process.
- White Diamond was Denial, believing Steven was his mother Pink Diamond and refusing to believe Pink was actually gone.
- Yellow Diamond was Anger, normally snapping rather easily whenever something related to Pink Diamond was brought up and wanting to destroy anything that reminded her of Pink.
- Pink Diamond was Bargaining, pleading for her fellow Diamonds to leave Earth alone.
- Blue Diamond was Depression, spending years mourning the loss of Pink Diamond and often being found crying.
- Steven was Acceptance, willing to accept anyone no matter who or how flawed they were.
- Later on, during the events of Steven Universe Future, Steven becomes Denial, as he kept denying all the issues he was passing through.
- Each of the Diamonds seems to possess a certain power associated to a certain aspect of a gem:
- White Diamond represents Mind and Self-Worth, with her powers allowing her to control any gem and allow them to control her.
- Yellow Diamond represents Form, with her powers allowing her to disrupt, correct or change a Gem's physical form.
- Blue Diamond represents Emotion, with her powers allowing her to make other gems feel her pain and also make them feel better.
- Pink Diamond represents Healing and Life, with her powers being able to heal any affliction of a Gem and restore life itself.
- As seen in "Little Graduation", the sign at the entrance of Little Home-School features a variation of the Great Diamond Authority symbol, with the four individual diamonds comprising the larger diamond recolored to represent the original Crystal Gems instead: the left diamond is white (Pearl), the bottom diamond is magenta (Garnet), the right diamond is purple (Amethyst), and the top diamond is pink (Steven) and elevated above the lower three.[3]
- The Steven Universe: End of an Era artbook revealed that Season 5 was originally going to have an episode alluding to the origin of the Diamonds, and the Gem race in general, but it was scrapped after the production order for that season got reduced. As Rebecca Sugar put it, the origin of the Diamonds is semi-mythical and the story is now part of "Gem religion" - thus even the version they were going to tell in that episode might have only been in vague or interpretive terms. The artbook also contained a scan of the detailed story timeline that Rebecca Sugar developed years before the show ended, as an internal guide to the writers: the very beginning of the timeline, however, contains a large section which is completely redacted (covered up with black bars). The only hint about its contents is the timeline stamp that wasn't redacted: "20,000 years ago".
- In a different section of this artbook, Sugar explained that they originally wanted to allude to the origin of the Gem race "way back in the Peridot arc". As Sugar explained, she kept trying to find a spot back in the Peridot arc "for her to 'Linus' - like A Charlie Brown Christmas - to recite a long, religious Gem monologue". However, they couldn't figure out a place to fit this long exposition dump that felt like it flowed naturally, so they put it off but thought they'd get back to it by the final season. Sugar said that "Gems are obviously technology" - i.e. they didn't evolve naturally, but they have their "own extensive mythology" that grew up around their origin (interpretive and clouded by legend but with a kernel of truth in it).
- Scattered hints in the TV series do show that the Gems have some sort of "religion", given the various abandoned temples and shrines left behind on Earth. The only specific hint about a creator-deity is the Moon Goddess Statue, which appeared back in episode 3 of Season 1.
- In a different section of this artbook, Sugar explained that they originally wanted to allude to the origin of the Gem race "way back in the Peridot arc". As Sugar explained, she kept trying to find a spot back in the Peridot arc "for her to 'Linus' - like A Charlie Brown Christmas - to recite a long, religious Gem monologue". However, they couldn't figure out a place to fit this long exposition dump that felt like it flowed naturally, so they put it off but thought they'd get back to it by the final season. Sugar said that "Gems are obviously technology" - i.e. they didn't evolve naturally, but they have their "own extensive mythology" that grew up around their origin (interpretive and clouded by legend but with a kernel of truth in it).
Gallery[]
References
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