Lucence
A shield and a guiding principle, Lucence is the magic of Justicars, who view their path as the road to peace and prosperity for others. It is the power to manipulate light, to bring order to the self and by doing so extend it to others; to extend an arm towards perfection and divinity, leading others down the path of truth and justice always. Or at least... it was meant to be that way.
Contents
The Origins
Like with many magics, the first blessed with the Mark of Lucence were those most faithful to the Adac, Venadak, who offered them the Mark so as to aide them in guiding others from harm and suffering. Unlike with most magics, the first practitioners of Lucence were also the most powerful. They were called the Light-Touched, or the Empyreans by humankind, beings gifted with what appeared to be some aspect of Venadak's divinity. In fact, this was later revealed to be untrue, as the Light-Touched later fell away from Venadak's teachings.
The Loss
Almost immediately upon the creation of Lucence, it was in turmoil. Despite the Order professed by Venadak and his flock as a path towards salvation, the Mark's lifespan on Atharen has been discordant and tumultuous, inspiring internal strife and externally, a fearful desire to see it destroyed. Lucence is, of all the Marks of magic, among the most powerful and that power appears naturally designed to inflict hubristic desires upon the gifted. Lucence is often said to be a sort of trial - for one to survive it and gain the full breadth of its power, they must wrestle order and virtue with the wicked desires of the unshaped mind. It is believed that Venadak crafted it this way with intent, as only the righteous may bear his gift, while the faltering souls quickly lead themselves to ruin.
In the Age of Old, those originally gifted with the magic were instructed by Venadak directly, taught to achieve order and balance within all aspects of their being; their mind, their body and souls. Guided by the God himself, the first Lucence mages quickly became incredibly powerful, mastering the art within years or even months in the case of many. They were directed to use their might to guide others down a righteous path, living as exemplars of justice and heroism. This was the origin of the name 'Light-Touched', a name that continues to be associated with these original mages. They were called this as they appeared to be gilded in all ways by light; they brought harmony and peace wherever they went, bringers of the God's good will.
Never would Venadak have expected, however, that these mages would come into conflict with one another. Lucence has often been called a curse by scholars, as those who wield it often believe themselves to be right and righteous above all others. As the Light-Touched spread throughout Atharen, they began to acquire large followings who viewed them with almost divine reverence. Before long, their followers overlapped, and on the fringes of their influence they began to clash by reason of their conflicting views. At first the Light-Touched allowed these differences to occur, believing their good teachings would lead their followers towards eventual peace. Before long however, armed conflict broke out between their respective flocks, and the cordial distance held between the original practitioners of Lucence quickly morphed into bitter rivalries.
This enmity existed in flux at first, and for many years the Light-Touched refused true conflict with one another. Eventually, they did fight. Many of them died, often those most reluctant to fight their peers. Fearful of facing the same fate as their dead brethren, and warned by Venadak who they were becoming increasingly distant from, the Light-Touched returned to the core of their following and in an almost simultaneous fashion, began to isolate themselves. One of them - a man named Kyras - emerged from the sanctum of his temple and instructed his followers to heed his word in the grounds of the fledgling city below.
Some of the residents of the city, suspicious of his order, left to warn others of the madness that encroached him. The other residents of the city were never heard from again, the entire population appearing to disappear. Not long after, Kyras emerged from that shell of a city as a being of immense power. He became the first Empyrean, an Ascendant of Lucence. Afraid to be dominated by this almost divine being, the remainder of the Light-Touched followed suit. Their cities too were emptied by an almost rapture-like event, the inhabitants vanishing overnight. They all emerged with the same power, and their first act was to bear arms together and band against Kyras, felling him for forcing their hand and making them act with the vile will to self-preserve. It was like they had cast their sins upon him, expunging themselves of wrongdoing in the process. They claimed, then, that they would do better.
The Empyreans found new followers - more than ever before. The purging of their old flock was spoken of with reverence; rather than a horrific act of greed, it was said that their old followers were ushered towards eternal peace. This rapturous 'Eternity' quickly became a defining concept of the Empyreans, who began to form what was among the world's first true religions. Treated as Gods, they forged their own tenets, and began to cooperate with one another as different members of an overarching pantheon. They appeared to have learned from their past mistakes, writing together a script for the faith and its tenets, one that would not overlap or brew the same conflict as before. For a long time, the Empyreans lived in harmony with one another, and their societies thrived. In fact, it is said that they helped to build the first true civilizations, even competing with the Elven Gods as the premier faith of the Hytori for a time. In addition, they acted as shepherds to humanity, filling whatever void was left by the Living Gods.
But perhaps in a twist of irony, like the followers they had sacrificed to get to where they were, one night all of the Light-Touched vanished without a trace. As none of them had ever initiated others into Lucence, first because of Venadak's wishes and then by their own desire to frantically hold on to their superiority, the magic was lost completely and Atharen would not see it again.
Concepts
Light: The Justicar are able to manipulate light. Of all their abilities, this is perhaps most inherent to the Mark. It should be noted that this light is not considered natural, but magical, and so it does not move as quickly as light from the sun. The light generated by the Justicar can have highly variable properties, and based on the opacity of the light it appears to become increasingly more dangerous. While the Justicar's light manipulation is defined by a few abilities, they can use ether to manipulate it almost freely, so long as it falls within the bounds of their level of mastery.
Order: Order is the aspect of Lucence that allows for the mage to improve upon their physical prowess. The premise of Order is not necessarily aligning or balancing the form, but actually bringing it closer to divinity; the mages of Lucence believe that divinity is the perfect construct of Order, and that replacing their mortal limitations with ones drawing on the divine will dramatically improve their capabilities. This limited form of Apotheosis is one that draws on Venadak's might, adding it to their own. Or, for an Empyrean, it draws on the inherent power of their collective conscience.
Creation: Creation is something only done by the apex of Lucence mages. In fact, only an Empyrean is truly capable of tapping into this domain within the Mark. Creation is seen as the path towards Ascension, as only a mage who understands it can learn to convert souls into power. It is the ability to create constructs of light that wield their own form of sentience, as well as - shockingly - to bend reality itself with light, though this can only be done by a mage who has reached their Ascent.
Initiation
The initiation process for Lucence is the only one that lasts well beyond the point of acquiring the Mark. It is seen as a trial, inlaid within the Mark by Venadak to challenge those who would seek to bear His divine might, judging their worthiness.
Lucence offers visions to its bearers. These visions come with grim compulsions; the desire to see them fulfilled, coinciding with an intense, righteous vindication filling their mind with primitive need and rage. These visions always appear to be calls to justice, and will often come in the thick of the moment. If a Justicar is to witness a Noble abusing their power or exploiting the poor, they may view a future premonition in a distorted world, often touched by blinding red radiance. This vision will be one of themselves, perhaps butchering the Noble for their transgressions, or at least otherwise brutalizing them. These visions always appear to be violent, and with them come a burning intensity. With the vision still replacing the Justicar's living reality, they will be able to see nothing else but this potentiality, and will be guided to act it out. Such premonitions will happen incredibly often, and until the rank of Journeyman, they will come with increasing intensity and frequency.
If the Justicar is to indulge their Mark, and enact their premonition, the consequences can often be dire, leading to their self-destruction. Worse is often the moral quandaries they face with themselves, as their gratuitous need to act as a violent enforcer can conflict with their self-image. Always after indulging these compulsions, the mage will face immediate moderate Overstepping once the feeling of vindication subsides, leaving them vulnerable to retribution, whether of the law or the blade.
Upon reaching Journeyman, these visions will begin to subside, and before long they will entirely fade. But the trial - forcing the Lucence mage to distinguish between true justice and mere blind vindication - will always remain, always challenging the Justicar to act with compassion. For this reason, nearly ninety percent of Justicars either die not long after receiving the Mark, or give up the fight entirely and forbid its use, attempting to clear their mind of such righteous thoughts. Even for those who leave Lucence behind, however, the trial can be a life-long battle.
The Mark of Lucence is a winged blade of light, with a ring surrounding the beginning length of the blade, one that glows intensely as ether or emotions stir in the Justicar. It is always located in the same place; the upper center of one's back, between their shoulder-blades. Upon being initiated, all Justicars receive permanent darkvision.
Overstepping
The drawbacks listed below do not always come in pairs, and certainly not simultaneously. Some may come and others may not.
Lesser: Nausea, fatigue, headaches, muscle spasms, dehydration
Moderate: Bleeding through the nose, eyes and ears, intense cramps, seizure-like shocks and spasms, internal bleeding, vomiting and weakness
Severe
Righteous Mania: The Justicar becomes manic in their need to enforce a perverted sense of justice and purity. The longer this state lasts, the more impurity they see around them, and the stronger the compulsion becomes to burn it away. Righteous Mania is horrific in that it almost always leads to Self-Exaltation, due to even worse overuse of magic following it.
Self-Exaltation: The Justicar, regardless of their level of mastery, will begin to perform Exaltation as a result of lost control over their Mark. Only - they will perform the ability on their own soul, burning themselves from within with smoldering light. The process is elongated and filled with intense suffering, and as the Justicar dies they begin to lament the faltering of their ideals, before eventually becoming a statue-like husk of ash.
Mutations
The mutations of Lucence often relate to one of its domains (light, order, creation). They may also draw on the ideals of the Justicar, or the principles of a warrior, or enforcer of the good. They tend to appear somewhat angelic in nature, and the deeper one goes into Lucence the more they appear to be touched by a kernel of divinity. Justicars also tend to begin to appear more physically robust and healthy as they develop their mutations. Many of them begin to see their hair color change to gold or white, and just as many will be lit with divine, shimmering icons upon their form, similar to the Mark of Lucence but with lesser vibrancy.
Abilities
Ray: Acquired at Novice. Ray is one of the foundational abilities of Lucence, allowing the Justicar to release beams of light from their palms. Ray actually develops based on the mastery of the mage using it, allowing for a plethora of different effects over time, though it will always appear as either a high or low-intensity beam of light. At Novice, Ray is a simple beam meant to illuminate certain areas, expanding outward up to fifty feet. At Apprentice, Ray can increase in intensity at-will, and will begin to slowly burn those touched by the light.
At Journeyman, the light becomes fairly intense and it will begin to cinder those touched by it fairly quickly, forcing them to protect themselves from the light. At Expert, Ray becomes high-intensity to the point of being blinding, and will quickly burn those touched by it with divine light, setting them ablaze with white flames that will begin to sear through their skin before visibly immolating their muscles. At Master, Ray no longer needs to be utilized by the Justicar's palms; instead, it can descend from the sky or anywhere above a designated area, shining a high intensity heavenly beam upon that area that the mage can even expand by adding ether. Before the light ray strikes, the ground where it is meant to appear will begin to illuminate with golden light for around two seconds. The higher-ranked variants of Ray do expend more ether, but this ability is not very costly.
Bulwark: Acquired at Novice. Bulwark is an early ability, yet one that is quite powerful and unique to Lucence. It wards the Justicar with an internal layer of light and radiance, one that protects them against corruption. It also appears to have the added effect of resisting mind-altering effects from external sources; while this effect is more minor in combating Mentalism, it appears to significantly reduce the influence of spiritual beings such as the Kindred, or Corrupted Ones. The way this works is through the manipulation of the Justicar's ether, reinforcing the dominance of their own natural Order. By doing this, they repel contradictory influences, at least to some degree. As a note, this does not provide protection against corruption caused by Overstepping and arcane abuse. It is meant to repel external corruption, not internal.
Vigil: Acquired at Apprentice. Vigil wraps the mage with an intense aura of light, generally focused around their legs and feet in appearance, acting as a ward against backlash by providing their form with true Order. It does not literally block attacks, but is useful for preventing a mage from the negative consequences of their physical enhancements; for example, crushing a boulder with one's fists will not break the bones in one's knuckles if they are protected by Vigil's light. It also does offer the Justicar a small level of magic resistance, and makes them fully immune to their own Lucence abilities while it is active. At Master, Vigil appears to generate the appearance of intense, radiant wings of light upon the back of the mage, as well as making their eyes glow a solid white-gold while active.
Beacon: Acquired at Apprentice. Beacon is almost identical to Ray in its progression, following the same path from Novice to Master. Only, Beacon works with blasts rather than sustained rays, whether to temporarily illuminate an area as the Beacon passes, or to target enemies with individually generated blasts. Beacon both deals kinetic or physical damage to those it touches, as well as burning them with an intensely focused holy light. At Expert and Master it is truly lethal, with a single direct impact capable of killing others instantly. Beacon also sears right through most targets, continuing to pass on and leaving those in its path as charred ash.
Dominion: Acquired at Apprentice. Dominion is the second 'Order' domain ability, but rather than defending the mage against otherworldly effects, it allows them to enhance their physical capabilities. It is the first of a few abilities to do so. Dominion causes the image of the blade from the Mark of Lucence to replicate over the torso, the arms and legs, glowing fiercely with golden light. It is performed by clasping the Justicar's hands together almost as if praying, and is often finalized by the lifting of their weapon. Once Dominion is performed, it dramatically enhances the strength of the Justicar. The extent and duration, as well as limitations, are written per-rank of mastery in the progression tiers below.
Austerity: Acquired at Apprentice. Austerity is the third 'Order' domain ability, and it increases the physical endurance of the mage using it, not only making their body physically more durable but also increasing their stamina and pain tolerance. Austerity causes the image of the ring - or shield - from the Mark of Lucence to replicate over the torso, the arms and legs, glowing fiercely with golden light. It is performed in the same manner as Dominion at first, by clasping the hands together in prayer, before bringing the mage's arms together in an 'X' before their torso, signaling their desire to defend themselves. Like Dominion, its exact effects and limitations are detailed in the progression tiers.
Penitence: Acquired at Journeyman. With Penitence, the Justicar may imbue their weapon or their body (particularly their shoulders, elbows, fists, knees and feet) with a gold, almost lightning-like radiating energy. Upon striking an object or person, a portion of the imbued energy will immediately radiate out into the blow, generating a golden lightning-bolt like strike upon the area of impact between the weapon (or imbued area) and the impact point. The more ether imbued, the more powerful each strike will be, with Penitence lasting roughly a minute before it needs to be re-applied. Penitence is more deadly against the undead and those with Blights, as well as those the Justicar strikes out against as a result of their inherent drive towards justice.
Dawnfire: Acquired at Journeyman. The Justicar will hold out their hand, and before their palm (with the radius depending on mastery and expenditure) the air will appear to radiate with heat, visibly, as if simmering. Green streaks of energy will ripple through the air, and pulses of fractured light will bleed through those streaks. After a time, the radiation of heat will become intense, at which point this ability begins to consume ether. The longer it is held, the more intense the heat, to the point where divine white fire will begin to bleed into the very air, razing foes before the Justicar. The Justicar may also raise their weapons before the field of heat to receive a coating of light upon them, making their weapons burn with an otherworldly flame that appears to burn others from within upon contact. The Justicar is immune to the heat and fire from Dawnfire.
Celerity: Acquired at Journeyman. Celerity is the fourth 'Order' domain ability, enhancing the speed of the Justicar. Celerity causes the image of the wings from the Mark of Lucence to replicate over the torso, the arms and the legs, shimmering brightly in much the same manner as the other two. Celerity begins with prayer as well, keeping that prayer stance as the mage lowers their body into a running stance, putting their weight into their knees. As with the other two enhancement abilities, Celerity's exact properties are defined below.
Veil: Acquired at Journeyman. Veil allows the mage to manipulate light around themselves to disturb their appearance, melding with light in a way that nearly makes them appear invisible, though they are able to be seen as a prismatic refraction. Their shape can still generally be made out, but the reduction of visibility can make dealing with the hyper-physically enhanced Justicar extremely difficult. As a tell however, while using other light abilities the mage will shine more as the generated light reflects off of them. This will increase their visibility. The longer Veil is held, the more ether it drains, but it does not drain ether from the mage very quickly. Many Justicars find it comfortable to fight large stretches of a battle with Veil around them.
Stoicism: Acquired at Journeyman. Stoicism appears as an ornate, gilded wall of light with patterned embellishments that run across its length. It appears directly in front of the chest of the Justicar, and as they move their torso, so too will Stoicism move with them. Stoicism extends roughly eight feet on each side of the Justicar, and rather than blocking attacks from getting through, it slows their velocity and reduces the overall kinetic force of attacks moving through the barrier. This ability is useful in protecting a Justicar's allies, as well as providing themselves a frontal defense mechanism, collaborating with their heightened endurance from Austerity to make a skilled Justicar able to withstand blow after blow.
Temperance: Acquired at Expert. Temperance allows the Justicar to generate light blasts remotely, slowly closing their fists as an area begins to shimmer and brighten dramatically. These blasts can be done up to three hundred feet away from them, doubling at master and as an Empyrean, Temperance can be done as far as the eye can see. Depending on the radius of Temperance, it takes longer to initiate, as it is performed by crushing an orb of light that forms within the palm of the Justicar. The larger the blast, the more durable this orb, which produces the light in the area. While smaller blasts of a few feet may take a second to ramp up, large blasts can take several, or even considerably longer. These blasts tend to raze those within them with divine light, shining over their form radiantly at first, before all of their gleaming skin combusts into a searing flame.
Lightbinding: Acquired at Expert. Lightbinding enables the creation of solid constructs of light, though they are connected directly to the Mark by means of a feathered, thin arm of light. These constructs are not limited in appearance, though they are generally weapons or armor. Their size can be manipulated but can scarcely be made to be more than seven or eight times larger than regular weapons. These constructs can be projected from the Mark up to twenty feet away at Expert, forty at master, and a hundred as an Empyrean. Only two constructs can ever be created at one time. They are highly durable, and can deal crushing blunt damage, or slice through flesh and basic metals with ease.
Ascent: Acquired at Expert. Ascent allows the mage to suspend themselves with light, allowing them to levitate at first, up to ten feet off the ground. While at first this reduces their speed by nearly a third, by Master Ascent allows for full flight, finely controlled and with no noticeable loss of speed. Like Veil, the longer it is maintained, the more ether it consumes, though Ascent consumes very little. The light of Ascent appears to be physically lifting the mage while active, and so the underside of their body - or really anything facing the ground - will be lit with a shimmering radiance.
Refraction: Acquired at Expert. Refraction bends the light around the Justicar to create an aura, emanating a radiating glow outward that appears to almost thrum with movement. Refraction's auras have a complex color scheme of gold, warm colors like orange, and even light shades of pink. In total, there are three auras a Justicar can produce through Refraction. The first is the Aura of Mettle, which improves upon the vitality of the Justicar and allies within the aura (all auras extend around twenty feet outward in all directions). Those affected by the Aura of Mettle will find their endurance and pain tolerance increased as if they were benefitting from Austerity (and Austerity's effects will further amplify this), while also improving upon their recovery, such as by helping to clot hemorrhaging blood more rapidly and leveling the heart and respiratory functions of those blessed by the aura. The second is the Aura of Enmity, which affects foes, and will make surrounding foes psychologically more inclined to assault the Justicar rather than one of their allies. Finally there is the Aura of Retribution, which will enhance all chosen allies with a minor version of the effects of Penitence, allowing them to imbue their weapons or bodies with a violent, painful shock of radiance upon impact. Refraction expends a small amount of ether while it is maintained, and expends more depending on how many allies or enemies are chosen to receive its effects.
Exaltation: Acquired at Master. Exaltation is the ultimate 'light' domain ability, and is the defining ability of the Justicar in many ways. Exaltation is performed in a few different ways, with varying levels of ether expenditure associated with each. The most simple way it can be used is by touch; by allowing a Justicar to make physical contact with you, they are able to perform a rapid and concentrated form of Exaltation, quickly burning the one they have contacted from within. If contact is extremely brief, Exaltation will fail to kill the affected. With contact of less than a second, an extreme burning migraine will inflict the target, and they will feel as if their skull is literally on fire. Almost immediately after, extensive internal damage is dealt, as the interior of the foe begins to burn from within. Extended over more than a second, and death is absolutely certain this way.
Another way to use Exaltation is by incorporating it with Temperance. Like Temperance, a light will appear in an area, though this light is more subtle. Those within the radius - which can be very, very large if one is willing to risk moderate or severe overstepping - will feel the effects of Exaltation more slowly, an intense pain; they will wrongly feel they are being immolated internally, and will often clutch their skulls or their chests in anguished confusion, with most lost to hysteria. Eventually, after around twenty to thirty seconds into the experience, the rising internal heat does become an internal flame. At this point, the degradation of one's body is rapid.
The confusion associated with Exaltation often makes it the most lethal, as does the weakness it inflicts, as it makes it difficult to escape its radius - even though that radius is detectable by means of the boundaries of light. This form of Exaltation typically kills those within over a minute or so, but due to its often truly massive boundaries it can be difficult for most to avoid this fate. This is generally the form of Exaltation that mages Ascend with, once they learn how to mend and coalesce these charred souls with their own.
The third form of Exaltation, most subtle and gradual, is done as an aura around the Justicar. Perhaps because of how subtle and slow-acting this form is, it is also the most grim, as those afflicted with it will die over a period of several minutes or more. It requires a constant feeding of ether by the Justicar, and that ether feed will expand outwards in the form of an invisible aura of light, perceptible only by Brand or other ether-detecting mechanisms. Whatever the case, most quickly realize that the origin point is the Justicar, as they will be the only one unaffected by its power. Those within will experience agonizing pain, fatigue and weakness, will face 'migraines' beyond the scale of what can normally be experienced, and will often flee or seek to hide in a mass hysteria. After a time, like with the other forms of Exaltation, their worn down and heated internal structure will begin to burn from within, but at a much slower pace. Generally the aura cannot be incredibly large without rapidly draining ether, and many Justicars keep a small aura around themselves throughout a fight, while continuously keeping themselves within range of their foes so as to wither them over time.
Whatever the case, death from Exaltation is always the same, whether immediate or prolonged: A fire will bleed through the soul of the judged, and from it will come a hungry white flame that will drain the life from them, though the flame itself never appears to be visible as it does not leave their internal structure. Once the process of Exaltation is complete, the fire will finally meld over their skin and wither their form into a standing monument of black stone, similar in appearance to asphalt, one that will never degrade or decay. Those burned by Exaltation always remain exactly as they were when they died, their position molded into the earth.
Nascence: Acquired at Master. Nascence can only be learned once the Justicar has masterfully learned all other abilities. It allows for the creation of constructs of light, ones that hold their own sentience. The construction of these beings is permanent. Nascence is the only 'Creation' domain ability within Lucence, and at first it is largely limited to constructing primitive orbs of light that pursue others or act in the defense of the Justicar or their allies. The power of these orbs - such as their ability to deflect or attack - is dependent upon the ether imbued.
As one develops within the Creation domain and learns to bring life to more complex constructions, Nascense allows a master of Lucence to create living soldiers of light, though only shortly after their creation do they fully submit to the Justicar's control. As an Empyrean, it can be used to construct small armies, crafting armed wardens of light to fight for the will of their creator, whom they revere. A primitive construction of life, the awareness imbued into these creations remains impressive, particularly considering they are constructed with nothing more than ether and will.
Empyrean Abilities
Host: Host constructs beings known as Sentinels, powerful light constructs much like the sentient entities crafted by Nascence. Unlike Nascence, however, which crafts somewhat rudimentary beings not too far beyond the skills of a foot soldier, the Sentinels created by Host are very powerful beings, wraiths constructed of light. They are crafted by a process simply known as scraping - the Empyrean releases one of the many souls from their collective and places it into the construct, generally a suit of armor made solid by light. That armor will then be melded with the black-asphalt color and appearance of the blended soul's exalted corpse, with the joints and otherwise empty areas being filled with an eminent golden light.
As Sentinels are a part of the larger framework of the Empyrean, members of their collective, they act with perfect coordination with one another as well as the Empyrean themselves. They are also skilled warriors, seeming to borrow from the skills of the Empyrean due to their connection. With this and the fact that they are difficult to fell, individual Sentinels can be rather powerful, though creating more than a dozen of them is a highly taxing feat.
Novice
As a Novice, it is difficult for a Justicar to even project light, the basic fundamental of the Mark. Much of their progress towards Apprentice is done by practicing Ray, learning to not only generate light but maintain it, and then maintain it at longer distances. Bulwark comes after, teaching the Novice of the domain of order, and how to internally project light as well as to embellish one's form with divinity. Another common way in which one progresses through this stage is by experiencing the Mark's light premonitions and learning to resist them, which appears to actually increase one's power and understanding of the Mark. Novice is a largely exploratory stage, though for many it is the most lethal, due to the Mark's prolonged initiation.
Apprentice
An Apprentice gains access to three new abilities, with Dominion and Austerity among them, the first of the Mark's physically enhancing powers. At this point, the Justicar can only have one 'Ordering' ability active at any given time (the three being Dominion, Austerity and Celerity), and these abilities will increase their affected physical qualities to be roughly double their original state. Ordering abilities last for three hours at this level. Aside from learning and practicing with these new abilities, Justicar improve upon their light manipulation in creative ways, and are now capable of generating solid light to defend themselves or others, though it is very weak at this stage. Most Justicars experience intense light premonitions at this point, though if they survive this stage their prolonged initiation effectively ends.
Journeyman
The third Ordering ability, Celerity, is gained at this stage as well as two other abilities. At this level, Ordering abilities increase the mage's physical qualities to be around three times their normal state, but they can still only have one active at any given time. Establishing an important trend for later on, Celerity boosts one's speed with considerably less potency than Dominion and Austerity boost spength and endurance, respectively. At this stage, Celerity increases one's speed by around fifty percent. Ordering abilities last for eight hours at this level. The light manipulated and generated by a Justicar at this stage can be more solid and durable, or can begin to painfully sear those that it touches. Justicar can now easily imbue their weapons and armor with light, increasing their durability.
Expert
An Expert Justicar can now have two Ordering abilities active at once, and in terms of appearance they will compliment one another: wings and a shield, wings and a blade, a blade and a shield, and so on. As a massive increase to their capability, the Expert also acts at nearly four times their physical capabilities in the first two affected categories, so one may have four times the strength and endurance they usually hold, for example. Celerity now doubles the Justicar's speed at a one-hundred percent increase. Ordering abilities last for fifteen hours at this level. The light manipulation of an Expert Justicar has become far more lethal, as well as quick, allowing them to craft solid constructs rapidly, though they will splinter and fracture after single uses. With the plethora of new abilities gained at this level, the Expert encroaches upon the full power of the Mark.
Master
A Master of Lucence is an incredibly powerful mage. They are capable of having all three Ordering abilities active at once, multiplying their physical traits such as strength and endurance by six times. Celerity caps out at a two hundred percent increase, tripling the Justicar's speed. When all three are active, they essentially replicate the Mark of Lucence across the mage's body, the radiant glow of each truly phenomenal to view. As an Empyrean, the multipliers remain the same, but an Empyrean's base physical attributes are well beyond that of their pre-Ascent, and so the changes can become quite dramatic. Ordering abilities last for a full twenty-four hours at this level. It is important to note that as these abilities' potency increases, they do cost more ether as well; it does require considerable expenditure to apply all three master-level Ordering abilities upon oneself. A Master of Lucence can now perform the Exaltation, and through time they will learn and begin to master the domain of Creation, allowing them to eventually open the way towards Ascension.
Ascension: The Empyrean
The Empyrean is the Ascendancy of Lucence, achieved only by true masters of the art. Alongside the Patron, the Empyrean is a being of almost God-like power, and it is only accessible to those who have mastered the concept of Creation from within Lucence.
The Empyrean was not intentionally created by Venadak; instead, it appears to be a perversion that exists within the Mark itself. As Marks do appear to be inspired by the Gods that create them, some of Venadak's self-ideals appear to be grafted within Lucence. As the King of the Gods, his penchant towards believing himself always righteous - and seeing himself as an aspect of perfect light and justice - has laid the foundations of the Empyrean within the Mark, an eternal calling to those most skilled in the art. Unlike with some other powerful magical awakenings, the path to the Empyrean is not a mystery. A master of Lucence always knows how to Ascend. What they must decide is whether they will perform the sacrifices necessary to achieve this goal, and become this being of immense power.
Near the end of one's progression into Lucence, they gain the ability of 'Exaltation'. This power, allowing the mage to sear others from within by cleansing their souls with light, must be replicated en masse. It needs to expand to an area large enough to consume thousands of people, burning them from within, their bodies becoming charcoal-colored husks morphed to look almost like clay from the heat charring their souls. In order to do this, the mage will experience heavy Overstepping, but one that will quickly be alleviated. Unlike with Exaltation, to become an Empyrean the mage does not simply rend these people of their souls; they sacrifice them.
Consuming their power, these souls will flow into the mage by the thousands and will coalesce with their own. This can only be done to those attached to or trusting of the Empyrean in some way, as if it is done to a Justicar's enemies, the collective conscious of these foes will surely destroy the mage from within. This, then, becomes a betrayal - one that changes the mage for all time to come. Not only does this merge the mage with the power of the sacrificed souls, but it also merges them with their ideals. An Empyrean is always forever changed after their Ascent, as they become the collective conscience of what is effectively a civilization. While their original soul remains dominant, their beliefs certainly do not go unaltered. If they were righteous beings before, they now become even moreso, guided by the will of something far greater.
It is unknown what the full powers of the Empyrean are. They become inherently much harder to kill; stronger, faster, more durable, capable of regeneration. Due to their dramatically enhanced natural physical capabilities, their Ordering abilities see massive improvements, as the base-line they enhance is far elevated. Their abilities to manipulate light are enhanced, allowing them to freely generate light however they wish at the expense of minuscule ether. While all mages achieve greatly enhanced capacity for ether conversion upon Ascending, an Empyrean appears to exceed even this, becoming a mage so far beyond the capabilities of other mages that the word fails to properly describe them.
Most of all, an Empyrean now appears to truly master the principle of Creation. No longer confined by the same mortal limitations, the thousands of souls within them allow them to interact with the Divinity of the planar boundary surrounding them, enabling the Empyrean to bend light in a way that manipulates reality. Some would call this 'Divine Magic', the reserve of the Gods. While an Empyrean cannot perform this on the level of a God, it is known that they are able to do it well beyond the capabilities of other mortals, without suffering consequences. This power over Creation allows them to craft masses of light constructs, effectively forging armies of their own.
The Empyreans have pure, unadulterated golden eyes, and their appearance seems to brim with radiance. They become free of physical imperfections, immune to poison and disease, immortal in that they cannot age and are immensely difficult to kill, and they are capable of exerting great physical might well beyond the limits of their race.
Notes
- Only an Architect, through a modded plot, can re-introduce Lucence to Atharen. There are no exceptions.
