Chapter 5: The Power Structure of the Adept Disciplines
(A.N): this chap is for better understanding of the power system in the world.
In the grand world of Solstern, the essence of power lay in one's affinity with Essentia—the fundamental energy that allowed certain individuals, known as **Essentia Adepts**, to manipulate the world around them. Over time, Adepts had been classified into five distinct disciplines, each possessing its own unique strengths and mastery over different facets of the universe. Within each discipline, there were six known **tiers** of power, with only the most legendary individuals reaching the highest levels, revered as gods.
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### The Five Disciplines
The system of Essentia mastery was defined by the five core disciplines:
1. **Elementalists**: These Adepts manipulated the primal forces of nature—fire, water, earth, and air. Elementalists were the most common type of Adept, and their power, though straightforward, could be devastating in its application. Elemental storms, volcanic eruptions, tidal waves—these were but a few of the feats a skilled Elementalist could summon. The most advanced among them could even combine elements, creating entirely new forms of destructive or protective magic.
2. **Arcanists**: Specialists in arcane magic, Arcanists delved into the mysteries of Essentia itself. They could manipulate energy directly, casting complex spells and manipulating reality in ways beyond elemental control. Arcanists often served as strategists, scholars, and researchers, exploring the deeper metaphysical aspects of Essentia. Their power came from their understanding of the intricate laws that governed Essentia, allowing them to reshape and redirect its flows.
3. **Conjurers**: Masters of summoning, Conjurers called forth beings and objects from other realms. They could summon both physical creatures and ethereal entities, binding them to their will. These summoned forces could range from elemental spirits to powerful beasts, or even entire armies of the undead. Advanced Conjurers could summon entities so powerful that they rivaled the Adepts themselves.
4. **Sentinels**: Sentinels were the protectors, able to enhance their physical bodies with Essentia. They were warriors who could manipulate their own strength, speed, durability, and endurance, becoming living weapons. In battle, Sentinels were unstoppable forces of destruction, capable of shrugging off blows that would kill lesser beings. Some Sentinels could even manipulate their own healing, becoming nearly immortal.
5. **Divinities**: The rarest and most feared of all the disciplines, Divinities had mastery over the **concepts** that governed reality itself—creation, space, time, light, and the fundamental laws of existence. Divinities had the ability to bend, reshape, or even erase these concepts, making them unmatched in power when fully realized. It was said that only one in a million Adepts could awaken as a Divinity, and those that did were often seen as both saviors and threats to the world itself.
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### The Tier System
Every Adept, regardless of discipline, was ranked according to the **tier system**, which measured their connection to Essentia and their mastery over their chosen discipline. The tier system was broken down as follows:
- **Tier 0: Initiates** – These were individuals who had not yet awakened their powers. They possessed no active connection to Essentia and were considered normal humans, albeit with latent potential. Marcus, at 17, remained at this tier for now, as the official age of awakening was 18. Upon reaching this age, one would either awaken their Essentia or remain a mundane forever.
- **Tier 1: Adepts** – Upon awakening, an individual became a Tier 1 Adept, gaining access to the most basic level of their discipline. There were 100 levels within Tier 1, and as they progressed, they became more proficient, with each level marking a deeper connection to Essentia. A Tier 1 Adept might learn to manipulate basic elements, cast simple spells, or summon lesser beings.
- **Tier 2: Masters** – Reaching **Level 100** meant becoming a Tier 2 Master, a significant milestone in an Adept's journey. Tier 2 Adepts had a deep understanding of their discipline, capable of feats that could reshape battles and cities. Masters were the backbone of most noble houses, commanding respect and authority.
- **Tier 3: Grandmasters** – Grandmasters were those who reached an unparalleled level of mastery within their discipline. A Tier 3 Adept could single-handedly turn the tide of a war. For Elementalists, this meant creating storms that could destroy entire fleets; for Arcanists, this meant casting spells that could alter reality itself.
- **Tier 4: Archons** – The pinnacle of most Adepts' ambitions, Archons were beings of incredible power, few and far between. The emperor of the Solstern Empire, for example, was a Tier 4 Archon, his power unmatched by any other living being in the empire. Archons could bend entire regions to their will, controlling Essentia in ways that seemed almost divine.
- **Tier 5: Demigods** – Very few Adepts ever reached Tier 5, and those who did were regarded as legends. They were often called **Demigods**, as their power rivaled that of deities. Marcus's father had been a Tier 5 Demigod, a fact that weighed heavily on Marcus's mind as he considered the legacy he was expected to uphold. A Demigod could reshape the very essence of the world around them, and their power was so immense that even the emperor feared their wrath.
- **Tier 6: Gods** – The highest level, **Tier 6**, was more myth than reality. Those who reached this tier were said to be able to manipulate the very concepts of the universe at will. Divinities at this level were worshiped as gods, capable of reshaping time, space, creation, and life itself. None had been recorded in recent history, and some doubted whether such beings had ever existed at all.
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### Levels Within Tiers
Progressing from **Tier 0** to **Tier 1** involved 10 levels, with each level signifying a step closer to awakening one's Essentia. From **Tier 1 to Tier 2**, there were 90 additional levels. Reaching **Level 100** meant becoming a Tier 2 Adept, unlocking the full potential of one's discipline. The higher the tier, the more levels one needed to ascend, and the rarer it became to progress.
Each level brought a deeper understanding of Essentia and a greater connection to one's discipline. At Tier 1, an Adept was still discovering the basics of their power. By Tier 2, they had mastered its fundamental principles, and by Tier 3, they were bending those principles to their will.
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### The Empire's Power Struggle
In the present era, the strongest person in the empire was the emperor himself, a **Tier 4 Archon**, who wielded the **Essentia of Light**. However, the Imperial Family was in a precarious position. Once, the family had commanded the **Essentia of Time**, bending the flow of moments to their will. But in this era, no one in the Imperial Family had been born with the time element affinity.
The empire now pinned its hopes on the **crown prince**, a young man the same age as Marcus, who would awaken at the age of 18 in two months. The court whispered constantly about the possibility of the **Essentia of Time** returning with the prince's awakening. If he inherited the coveted time element, it would restore the Imperial Family's near-divine control over the empire.
Marcus couldn't help but feel the pressure mounting. He, too, had only two months until his awakening, and the world seemed to watch both him and the crown prince with bated breath. While the imperial family hoped for the return of time, Marcus was haunted by the shadow of his father—a Tier 5 Demigod. Would he even come close to reaching the power his father had wielded? Or was he destined to fall short?
The rivalry between Marcus and the crown prince was unspoken, but ever-present. At 17, both stood at the edge of awakening, and the future of the empire hung on what powers they would inherit.
Would the empire regain its grip on time? Or would the House of Aurelius rise again, with Marcus as its Divinity, master of creation and perhaps more? The answers would come in just two months, when the world of Solstern would witness two awakenings that could change everything.