(This chapter serves as a compendium of knowledge about the world of this novel. It exists to give readers an easier grasp of the lore and systems within. You may skip it if you wish, though I wouldn't recommend that, it contains crucial insights, even if a few mild spoilers.)
◆General Info:
◆The Spirit Spell:
The Spirit Spell affects young people all over the kingdoms, duchies, and cities, young adults within the range of 16 and 19. The spell is like a curse and also a protection. Those that are selected are obligated to protect the world from spirits, and they are called Spirit Warriors.
◆Spirits (WOE):
The spirit has been rumored to have been made in many ways, by the spell, by a curse, or by a supreme entity, but no one really knows. Regardless of the origin, all spirits share one truth: they are the embodiment of negative emotions; fear, agony, rage, nightmares, and more.
They are collectively called "Woe."
Even individually, a single spirit may be referred to as "a Woe."
These entities manifest in countless forms; monstrous, humanoid, or otherwise, shaped by the darkness within the human mind.
◆Negative Emotions:
★Fear – Panic, Terror, Paranoia, Dread, Anxiety, Horror, Apprehension.
★ Agony – Suffering, Sorrow, Despair, Misery, Anguish, Torment, Hopelessness
★Rage – Anger, Envy, Hatred, Jealousy, Wrath, Spite, Malice
★Nightmare – Delirium, Hallucination, Illusion, Madness, Dread, Phobia, Delusion
◆Woeplane:
The Woeplane is a dimension formed from the collective consciousness of mankind, a world born from the fears, pain, and rage of its inhabitants.
Each Spirit Warrior, upon blooming, is cast into a Woeplane corresponding to their mark: Fear, Agony, Rage, or Nightmare.
This dimension is mainly populated by monsters, humans, and other shapes taken by the Woes, that is, people's fears, nightmares, anger, imaginations, paranoia, etc. Whenever a Spirit Warrior blooms, he enters the Woeplane, either of Fear, Agony, Rage, or Nightmare.
Each Woeplane contains a central conflict that has to be resolved for the Spirit Warrior to return back to his normal existence, but in an evolved state.
◆The Spirit Realm:
The Spirit Realm is a vast, ruined magical world populated by Woe creatures and spirits. It is the place Woes are born, evolve, and take over. Spirit Warriors are sent there by the natural order after they survive the Woeplane, to kill and absorb these negative energies from consuming mankind. When they accomplish this very hard and treacherous feat, they become Acolytes.
◆The Acolytes / Awakened:
The Acolytes are people, or more like rank of people that have passed the first Spirit Spell trial, which is the Woeplane, and have successfully established a connection with the Spirit Realm. Each of them possesses special powers and a way to enter the Spirit Realm, seek out and destroy Woes and their Seeds before they tear the Veil, thus protecting the real world.
◆The Veil:
If the Seed sown by a Woe is not found and destroyed, it expands, adapts, and addicts until a gate is torn in the Veil. Then Woes will enter the world through it and rip the world apart. Therefore, it can be said that the work of an Acolyte is to destroy Woe Seeds and Woes as well, though.
◆Spirit Warriors (Spirit Tamed):
A Spirit Warrior possesses the ability to absorb these negative emotions and use them to their benefit, and must be strong-willed to do so. A Spirit Warrior is either marked with Fear, Agony, Rage, or Nightmare. No Spirit Warrior is marked with two Woes / two negative emotions; therefore, any tamed Spirit Warrior focuses on the Woe he is marked with and defends the others against it.
★Basic and Common Terminologies★
◆Early Bloomers / Legacies:
The Legacies are those whose Spirit Spell mark blooms early. They are often very powerful and tend to go up the ranks early, and are mainly from noble homes, though they are a bit rare.
◆Normal Bloomers / Progenies:
The Progenies are those that bloom at the normal time; they are the majority.
◆Late Bloomers / Relapsed:
These are very, very rare and scarce.
★The Spirit Warriors are of six ranks:★
● Bloom
● Acolyte
●Revenant
● Master
● Specter
● Saint
◆ The Broken Veil:
Not to be confused with *the Veil*. The Broken Veil is a conquered, torn Veil which now serves as a portal and also as an anchor for the Acolytes to enter and to leave the spirit realm. It lies in the inter-dimension.
◆Memory:
It is a magical item tied to the essence of a Woe. They are absorbed from the soul essences of the Woe and can be channeled, converted, and manipulated depending on the system of the Spirit Warrior that absorbs it.
◆Noxen:
This is the dark, negative energy spread by a Woe and evolved by a warrior when he kills a Woe. It is what fuels the Memory... like its magical quality.
◆Echo:
These are magical essences evolved by a warrior when a Woe is slain. Echoes are absorbed from the soul cores of Woes; they are the determinant of one's evolution to the upper ranks.
◆Soul Core:
A mystical core of one's soul/spirit. It is capable of accumulating and storing vast amounts of Echoes and other soul essences.
◆Soul Aspect Rank:
A measure of power that is based on the quality of one's Soul Core and the purity of their ranks. Unlike humans that have only one Soul Core, Woes have more than one depending on their class. There are seven aspects of Soul Ranks:
● Marked / Sealed
● Awakened
● Ascended
● Transcended
● Sovereign
● Celestial
● Divine
Just like warriors ascend or rank up their aspect unto divinity, Woes rise unto profanity. Their Soul Cores are seven, based on the Spirit Spell:
● Shrouded
● Manifested
● Fallen
● Corrupted
● Forsaken
● Unholy
● Profaned
◆Class:
This is a measure and classification of power based on the quality of a Woe's Soul Core. Remember, Woes have many Soul Cores depending on their class. They are of seven classes, ranging from having one to seven Soul Cores respectively:
● Beast
● Monster
● Demon
● Devil
● Tyrant
● Calamity
● Titan
In clearer understanding, a Woe with three Soul Cores with, let's say, a (Manifested Soul Aspect) is said to be a *Manifested Demon*, while one with seven Soul Cores of a (Forsaken Aspect) is called a *Forsaken Titan.*
So also for Spirit Warriors: a Spirit Warrior that has reached the level of Master with a Soul Aspect of Ascended is called an *Ascended Master*; or maybe with a Soul Aspect of Sovereign, he is called a *Sovereign Master*. But the higher the climb, the fewer the warriors.
◆ Soul Aspect:
A confluence of one's innate affinities and choices manifested as magical specialization. Aspect grants warriors powers, but just as it was said, the Spirit Spell carries a curse, and once a bloomer evolves to Acolyte, he unlocks his Soul Aspect, which comes with the curse.
◆Attributes:
A passive ability corresponding to one's dealings, doings, and achievements, and also unique traits.
★Summary★
When a Bloomer returns from the Woeplane after accomplishing a given task, they evolve and return to the real world as an Acolyte, with their Aspect unlocked and Soul Core also evolved. They become able to absorb negative energies and commune with them.
An Acolyte, after the specific time given by the spell, gains an anchor to the Broken Veil and can access it. If he chooses to enter through it into the Spirit Realm and face a Woe and its Seed, he can, and if he succeeds, he becomes a Reverent. Their soul gains a third Aspect ability, and their Soul Aspect might evolve, depending.
Reverents have easier access to the Spirit Realm and possess a more balanced potency of absorbing negative energies. They are always alert should any Bloomer fail to destroy a Woe Seed and die, thereby letting a Woe free... to rush, kill the Woe, and heal the Veil.
Reverents evolve to Masters, and Masters to Specters. As the ranks go higher, the number of warriors decreases, so only very few Specters exist, talk less of Saints.
★Spirit Untamed:★
There was a hollow in the Spirit Spell after the last Woe raid on humankind, and this was the manifestation of a rare mark whose bearers were called *The Untamed.* The Untamed are very rare, about a dozen of them in the whole world.
Many Untamed might be marked, but only few survive the Blooming stage to Acolyte. Those that are strong and lucky enough to survive do their best to stay hidden, for a reason that you will discover later in the story.
◆General Info:
Unlike the Spirit Tamed, who are classified into divisions and possess the ability to absorb only one negative energy, the Untamed are marked with the ability to absorb all four negative energies: Fear, Agony, Anger, and Nightmare, and in the end, it consumes them.
The Untamed are seen as Woes themselves, since people tend to believe they are already corrupted with negative energies.
Everything in their system is the same as that of the Tamed, except for their rank hierarchy. Though six ranks, they differ:
■ Bloom
■ Rebirth
■ Defiler
■ Master
■ Harbinger
■ Eidolon
Remember; Unlike the Tamed, the Untamed can absorb all four energiess, but doing so gradually consumes their souls.