Guardians of Time

The Guardians of Time, usually simply refered to as Guardians and collectively known as the Six-Fold God, were transcendental beings entrusted with aspects of the universe.

Guardians

 * White Guardian of Light and Order
 * Black Guardian of Darkness and Chaos
 * Crystal Guardian of Dream and Fantasy
 * Red Guardian of Justice and Truth
 * Azure Guardian of Equilibrium and Balance
 * Gold Guardian of Life and Death

Nature and power
Physically, the Guardians existed in Calabi-Yau Space. Together the Guardians were the Six-Fold-God of the Six-Fold-Realm. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel) Though the Guardians seemed to be above technology, the Fourth Doctor mentioned "Guardian technology" in reference to the first Key to Time, (TV: The Armageddon Factor) so it may be a case of Clarke's Law. It may also have been that the Key was equal to the power of the Guardians.

The Guardians were also considered to be immortal. The White Guardian explained when Turlough believed the Black Guardian destroyed that they would always exist until the universe no longer needed them. The Black and White guardians also seemed to draw strength from their respective elements, becoming stronger or weaker depending on the state of their elements in the universe. (TV: Enlightenment, AUDIO: The Destroyer of Delights)

The Eighth Doctor claimed that the Guardians did not have the power to stop the universe from expanding. (PROSE: Dominion) However, the Seventh Doctor stated that they were capable of altering time on a grand scale and that the power they represented could not exist on something as small as a planet. (PROSE: Blood Heat) Additionally, they could pull the arms off spiral galaxies and were one of the powers of the Omniverse which could do anything. He implied that the Time Lords might have made a deal with them because of this power. (PROSE: No Future)

The Guardians possessed the power of transmogrification and could alter time so that "nothing would ever happen" to a person. (TV: The Ribos Operation) Though the White Guardian was able to summon the Doctor's TARDIS and cut its power, (TV: The Ribos Operation) the Black Guardian was unable to break through the its defensive systems for unexplained reasons. He could also be dispersed by releases of energy such as the breaking of the Key to Time, (TV: The Armageddon Factor) the shorting-out of time differential, (TV: Mawdryn Undead) or contact with Enlightenment. He could also channel his power through an individual. (TV: Enlightenment)

Interactions with other beings
Because of their immense power the Guardians were not bound by physical laws but rather codes of conduct as were the Chronovores and possibly other transcendental beings. (PROSE: No Future) This would explain why the Black Guardian "must not be seen to interfere." (TV: Mawdryn Undead)

The existence of the Guardians was known to the Time Lords. (TV: The Ribos Operation) Rassilon himself only knew of two Guardians, the twin opposed pairs representing Black and White. Rassilon also considered the Great Old Ones "sub-Guardians". (PROSE: Divided Loyalties)

The Eternals also knew of the Guardians of Time and respected them greatly, calling them "Enlighteners." (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel) They set up the games that kept the Eternals amused. (TV: Enlightenment)

The Guardians used other beings as willing or unwilling instruments. The White Guardian sent the Fourth Doctor and his companions on quests for the two Keys to Time (TV: The Ribos Operation, COMIC: Time & Time Again), while the Black Guardian assigned the Shadow to stop him (TV: The Armageddon Factor). The Guardians were themselves agents used by the Grace. (AUDIO: The Judgement of Isskar, The Chaos Pool)

The Black Guardian employed another agent, Turlough, (TV Mawdryn Undead) to kill the Fifth Doctor and later, with the White Guardian, sponsored a contest for a group of Eternals to win Enlightenment. (TV: Enlightenment) The Crystal Guardian, however, simply pursued private games. (PROSE: Divided Loyalties) They could also act together to directly re-shape creation as the Six-Fold God, as when they retroactively un-did the very existence of Prometheus. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel)

Known Guardians
The Guardians numbered six in all (PROSE: Divided Loyalties). The Black Guardian represented Darkness and Chaos. (TV: The Ribos Operation) The Crystal Guardian represented Dream. (PROSE: Divided Loyalties) The White Guardian represented Light and Order. (TV: The Ribos Operation) The Red Guardian represented Justice, the Azure Guardian represented Equilibrium and the Gold Guardian represented Life. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel)

A fictional Beige Guardian once appeared to force the first eight incarnations of the Doctor to defeat all their past enemies at once, but it was actually just a video game Izzy Sinclair was playing on the Time-Space Visualiser aboard the Doctor's TARDIS. (COMIC: Happy Deathday)

Behind the scenes

 * The existence of the Celestial Toymaker as a character on Doctor Who pre-dates the introduction of the Guardian mythos. Later continuity retroactively made him a Guardian.


 * Hecuba (called the Queen of Time) was the sister of the Celestial Toymaker, though whether she herself is a guardian, or how she was connected to them or their role is not specified.


 * As of yet, the Guardians have not made an appearance in the new series, though it was believed by some that the woman in The End of Time was a form of the White Guardian. Also, the Trickster, who was revealed to be an Eternal in The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, is reminiscent of the Black Guardian.


 * It is unclear whether the Guardians are a group of entities or a species. They share similar, reality-altering powers with the Chronovores and the Eternals who call them "Enlightened," possibly hinting that the Guardians are more advanced Eternals.