Remember awhile back when I made a post with terms and definitions? Well, this is part 2! Also I edited a term from the original post.

Classifying Koelth, Pt. 2

Sealer – Any creature, human or otherwise, who has been born with a natural resistance to magic. Whereas abominations suffer from an excess of magical influence, sealers lack the sorts of residual and vestigial magic that even normal humans have. Like abominations, sealers can vary greatly in their ability to affect magic. Due to the passive nature of most sealers’ abilities, they rarely learn of these powers. Universally used term.

Asperser – A paragon who turns renegade during the process of receiving their guardian’s blessing. This is the rarest form of magical blessing by far, and all records indicate that the only way this can happen is if one guardian intervenes in the ritual of another, one of the greatest taboos among the guardians. The intervening guardian presents an idea to the would-be paragon that they cannot resist, leading them to completely reject the blessing of their original guardian. As a result, the asperser receives two blessed artifacts: his original paragon artifact and a separate renegade artifact. Unlike a normal renegade, whose renegade weapon is simply a twisted version of their paragon weapon, the asperser’s paragon weapon retains its original power, and their renegade weapon has its own distinct power. Primarily Trialian term. Ex: Cecil

Grand Sealer – A sealer whose abilities allow them to combat paragon level magic. At this level of power, sealers are not simply resisting magic, but actively manipulating it. When fighting against a non-magical opponent, nothing is gained. When fighting against a powerful mage, however, what would be a weakness for others becomes a strength for the sealer. Primarily Trialian term.

 

S-Rank Hybrid Classifications

Note: It is not uncommon to have hybrids of previously mentioned classifications. However, they rarely receive any special recognition. When they reach S-Rank, however, it then becomes noteworthy. In the below cases, all aspects must be S-Rank. We are dealing with characters whose nature is no weaker than Grand Sealer, Slayer, Paragon, Iconoclast, World Eater or Archfiend. A slayer who is also blessed is only a paladin if they have paragon magic, for example. These classifications are rare enough (except maybe the paladin) that you will never see more than two or three introduced into a single story (probably). You will see two of them, for sure, in the River’s Tale, but you’ll get no more spoilers.

Paladin – A slayer blessed with paragon level magic. Many paragons, renegades and exemplar learn how to fight against other magic users due to their frequent encounters with them, but without their own magic, they find themselves lacking. The paladin has trained himself to take on mages even if he is deprived of his own magic. Societally, their respective roles as paragons or renegades remain unchanged, but when they are put to the test, their skills in physical combat give them an edge. Primarily Trialian term.

Archangel – An archfiend blessed with paragon level magic. For all their merits, paragons, renegades and exemplars are limited by a lack of diversity in magical ability. They have only the magic which they are blessed with. Much the same could be said of archfiends. Their abilities are vastly broadened if they have two magical talents instead of one. Thus, archangels have a keen edge in battle. Most archangels, rare as they are, are exemplars, as the guardians’ sense of balance typically precludes archfiends from being paragons proper, and, as a result, they are rarely renegades. Primarily Trialian term.

Soul Bender – A grand sealer blessed with paragon level magic. Grand sealers are dangerous on their own, but gifted with paragon level magic they become a force to be reckoned with. Capable of manipulating the magic of others and commanding powerful spells of their own, it is not hard to see how legends arose claiming that soul benders could affect souls themselves. Most soul benders, rare as they are, are exemplars, as the guardians’ sense of balance typically precludes grand sealers from being paragons proper, and, as a result, they are rarely renegades. Primarily Trialian term.

Demi-Soul – An iconoclast blessed with paragon level magic. Demi-souls have twice the magical power of paragons, but are no more susceptible to magical burnout than a regular paragon. Normally, demi-souls are created unintentionally, as some forms of apostate magic can be shielded from the guardians. Naturally, if the guardian cannot tell that an individual is magical, they would have no trouble further blessing them. Often reluctant to be chained to a master, there is a disproportionately high number of demi-soul exemplars who go renegade. Primarily Trialian term.

Resonator – A world eater tether blessed with paragon level magic. Unlike other such combinations, resonators typically become paragons before becoming world eaters. Earthbound guardians are not beholden to the same laws and customs as the ascendant guardians, and as such care little whether or not a human is already blessed. Depending on the circumstances, such a bonding can force a paragon to go renegade. However, several outside factors play into this. Primarily Trialian term.

Dual Soul – A paragon blessed by two guardians. If one person represents the values of two guardians equally, he may find find himself blessed by both. Once a rare but real thing, it is now one of the greatest taboos among the guardians. Primarily Trialian term.

Fiend Hunter – An archfiend with slayer training. Oftentimes an archfiend finds itself the target of paragons, exemplars, slayers and even other abominations. Thus, when facing mages and those trained to fight mages, it is useful to have non-magical skills with which you can defeat them. Primarily Trialian term.

Soul Breaker – A grand sealer with slayer training. Grand sealers are dangerous on their own, but trained in the arts of slaying they become a force to be reckoned with. Being virtually immune to magic, they are the ultimate anti-mage weapon. Even an asperser would do well to steer clear of a soul breaker. Primarily Trialian term.

Dark Paladin – An iconoclast with slayer training. Many iconoclasts learn how to fight against other magic users due to their frequent encounters with them, but without their own magic, they find themselves lacking. The dark paladin has trained himself to take on mages even if he is deprived of his own magic. Primarily Trialian term.

World Stalker – A world eater tether with slayer training. Often world eater tethers will learn slayer arts to be able to defend themselves against the various magical foes they face and, on rare occasions, their own familiar. Between the familiar’s power and the tether’s skill, the world stalkers are nearly unstoppable when they set their minds to a task. Primarily Trialian term.

Fallen Angel – An iconoclast born as an archfiend. It is hard to determine whether a fallen angel’s powers come more from their iconoclastic magic or from their archfiend magic, as both emerge at a young age. However, they channel each variety of magic through different methods. Because of their natural magic affinity, archfiends make for very dangerous iconoclasts. Due to the methods by which most apostates are made, both aspects of a fallen angel’s magic work well together. Primarily Trialian term.

Fiend Eater – A world eater tether born as an archfiend. It is hard to say what might give rise to such a pairing, but it is undoubtedly a formidable one. The tether and the familiar play off of one another’s magic so well that it would be foolish to cross them without being prepared. Primarily Trialian term.

Soul Cleanser – An iconoclast born as a grand sealer. Few examples of this combination are known. The effects of forcing magic through the body of a sealer of any degree seem to be erratic and unpredictable. Sometimes it results in an artificial abomination, because the body cannot properly absorb the magic; other times it produces relatively normal humans, with the added magic simply filling the gap left by the victim’s anomalous nature. In rare cases, the victim’s nature and their magical weapon remain separate but intact, making for a powerful combination. In either the first or the last case, a grand sealer who achieves iconoclastic magic can be quite the potent anti-mage. Primarily Trialian term.

Soul Eater – A world eater tether born as a grand sealer. Though no harm is intended, this pairing can be dangerous for the familiar, as the sealer’s abilities will sometimes drain the familiar’s magic, causing harm. Why an earthbound guardian would endure such a punishment willingly is unclear, though some suspect that they are trapped by the sealer’s magic. Either way, this unlikely combination proves quite useful, with both parties being able to manipulate and shape magic skillfully. Primarily Trialian term.

Disruptor – A world eater blessed with iconoclast magic. Unlike other such combinations, disruptors almost exclusively become iconoclasts before becoming world eaters. Earthbound guardians, while far more in tune with magic than any human, sometimes struggle to detect iconoclast magic, and therefore would likely bond with one unintentionally. However, the knowledge of their tether’s magic would also have little bearing on the guardian’s decision to become a familiar. Primarily Trialian term.

The Elephant in the Room and Final Notes

No doubt you have noticed something missing from the above list. There is one combination I haven’t accounted for. Well, there is a simple reason for that: sealers and abominations, by their very nature, exclude each other from coexisting. Sealers lack normal levels of magic, and abominations possess greater than normal levels of magic. If you had a person who was born as a sealer and an abomination, what you would probably see as the result is a normal human. There is no exception to this rule thus far, and there likely never will be. As it is, the chances of encountering more than one of each type of hybrid character are extremely low. World eater and slayer combinations are by far the most likely. Slayers are the product of training which anyone could theoretically learn, while world eaters are the result of a magical entity taking a shine to a particular person. Iconoclast and grand sealer combinations are the least likely. Sealers are rare, with only a handful existing in a single generation in Trialias, and there might only be two or three grand sealers among them. Due to the taboo nature of apostate creation, the actual number of apostates in the world is believed to be low; however, occasionally, when a successful method is discovered, there is a spike in the number of known apostates. Iconoclasts are rarely immediately noticed; often the magic increases in power as the child cursed with it grows into maturity, much like an abomination. Somewhere in the middle you find paragon types and abominations. Abominations are not terribly uncommon, but archfiends are exceptionally rare. Since all three major Trialian nations have a negative view of abominations, there are several organizations that hunt them. Fiend hunters, therefore, are more common than archfiends without slayer training. There is a set number of paragons each generation due to the fact that each guardian may pick one and only one paragon, with rare exceptions. However, there is always a predictable but varying number of renegades and exemplars. When a paragon turns renegade, oftentimes a guardian with have an exemplar on hand to replace them. Due to the inevitable conflict between paragons and renegades, and even between paragons and rival paragons, many fighters on both sides learn slayer magic to counteract their foes’ magic, thus paladins are common.