Published by the Congregation of Academia, Luxor Citadel
The Empyrean Concepts are figures from legend, and their influence still grips the world to this day. They are aptly named for their origin of Genesis, said to be the creator of Luciradis. Each manifestation is different among vessels of power based on their perception of the general concept of its power.
As an example, the concept of a seer can mean various things. If the vessel is a warrior or predator, the concept manifests itself as imminent foresight, while in invokers, the concept manifests as the traditional far-seeing glimpse into the future.
Once mortal, the Concepts vied for power and domination over the world, razing the land and dooming all living beings upon it. This era was only known as The Scarring. It was only through the Concept, the Creator, that this everlasting struggle would finally come to an end. In the aftermath, the Creator reduced all the Concepts to their very essence, and split it across the world, hoping that their powers would never be reunited. The Creator, in turn, disappeared from Luciradis altogether, their whereabouts unknown to this day.
In modern times, the powers of the Concepts are much more subdued and controlled due to the essences of the Concepts taking shelter within vessels. These vessels are dubbed the Ascendants, persons that wield powers equal to the Concept they are associated with. It is for this very reason that the Ascendants take the namesake of the Concept itself, due to their proficiency in wielding the corresponding Concept’s powers.
It should be noted that each Ascendant can have multiple Empyrean essences, but their proficiency in wielding their powers are proportional to the amount of essence that is housed within the Ascendant. Therefore, if a being were to appear with greater Empyrean essence than that of an existing Ascendant, that being would be crowned as the new Ascendant, while the former Ascendant is demoted. The way this is determined is through a medical apparatus commonly found in clinics across Cicatri Ciel.
(May rework the above)
Mankind, since the rise of Ascendants, have carefully monitored and nurtured these would-be warriors, guiding the Concept essences to very specific, powerful beings. Nowadays, the appearance of an Ascendant can be linked to positions of power within a nation, or a beast of legend. Only certain people truly know who some of these Ascendants are, as the rest of the world lives in ignorance of its influence, only hearing their deeds through legends. With more people being born into this world, the essence of the concept becomes more diluted, until there comes a new generation that will have no magical capabilities.
Below details all of the twelve known Empyrean Concepts within this world, and the manifestations of their powers.
The Creator
Not much is known about the Creator, save for a few faded texts and legends. The Creator boasted power unlike any other, and as such triumphed over all other Concepts in The Scarring. Its power was as its namesake: the power to create, but deciphered texts suggest the Creator also had a mastery over destruction as well. The contents as to what it creates can only be inferred from the remaining ancient texts, which state that the Creator had wielded immense spiritual power, capable of manifesting objects of power through the conversion of the surrounding spiritual energy. As such, the deaths of many during the Scarring only served to empower the Creator, eventually surpassing the powers of all other Concepts. As they say, destruction and creation are two sides of the same coin.
The last texts that our scholars have translated dealt with the aftermath of the Scarring and the subsequent disappearance of the Creator. While all the other Concepts were reduced to their very essence, the Creator was kept whole. Past that, it is inferred that the Creator had subsequently disappeared from the world, as no new texts succeeding our latest were found about the whereabouts of the Creator. Therefore, combined with these deciphered texts along with our own observations, it is accurate to say that there are no Ascendants housing the essence of the Creator.
Although traces of the Creator end there, there is reason to believe that there is a connection between it and the prevailing religion of Cicatri Ciel: the Luxori Covenant. The original texts that founded this religion date not too far back from when the Creator’s whereabouts mysteriously vanished. Given that their religion worships the Creator and its “teachings”, it may not be a coincidence, but attempts at further research into this line of thinking only led to more fictitious accounts, and we have thus ceased this avenue of inquiry.
The Shimmering Wings
Previous Ascendant: Orsilus of Arodraenix
Current Ascendant: Saria Pulse
The Shimmering Wings is a title referring to the ancient dragon of legend, Arodraenix, during the Scarring, and is known for its heightened primal senses. The most notable aspect of this is the ability to keenly hear the beats of the heart. In addition to this, the Shimmering Wings is known to effortlessly rally all the beasts of the land and sea to their side. During the Scarring, this power proved very useful in not only the defense of its territory, but also the conquest of lands beyond its own. It’s aptly named as such from the vivid drawings from ancient texts, giving the wings a vibrant amethyst color alongside the blindingly white scales of the dragon.
The descendants of Arodraenix bear the power of the Shimmering Wings, giving priority to the new breed of dragons that emerged unscathed from the Scarring. Therefore, it is highly unlikely, if not impossible, that non-draconic beings would be able to have any essence of the Shimmering Wings.
The Paragon
Previous Ascendant: Leoris Varens
Current Ascendant: Arzen Lynos
The Paragon is known for their stalwart protection against the Concepts during the Scarring. It doesn’t hesitate to retaliate against those who wrong him for not only its sake, but for the sake of the beings it is protecting. Its manifestation of power is skewed towards the protection and retaliation of others, which can range between powerful offensive magicks to extremely resilient defensive magicks. It is not uncommon for Ascendants to be seen using both offensive and defensive magicks, but since the rise of the Monarchy of Stalwryn, Paragon Ascendants are mostly seen with powerful defensive magicks.
When the Scarring first began, the Paragon was stationed in a certain strip of land that would later become territory of the Stalwryn Kingdom. Possessing the strength and resilience, alongside the most powerful invocations, the Paragon began their attack on the other Concepts once the Seer had attacked a small village in its vicinity. Much to the dismay of the villagers he was protecting, the Paragon paved a path of vengeance, never looking back to see the destruction it had wrought.
The Seer
Previous Ascendant: Driardos Malairse
Current Ascendant: Iris Riedel
The Seer is known for their foresight and perception into the future. This ability manifests differently in most Ascendants, giving each Ascendant different time ranges at which the Ascendant can peer into the future. It can range from a few seconds to centuries into the future, the former of which is quite useful in combat since it allows the Ascendant to quickly read their foe’s movements. In all instances, the power only grants the user a glimpse, specific enough to detail what might happen, but vague enough to remove any and all context from that moment.
In addition to incredible perception, another trait of the original Seer was their masterful control over the soul and spiritual energy. It is not the same as soul manipulation, however, but it refers to
Deciphered texts preceding the Scarring described the Seer holding immense hatred and contempt towards the other Empyrean Concepts before the events of the Scarring, though previous texts would suggest otherwise. It is said that it was then that the Seer peered into the future and witnessed a revelation: the future beheld the end of the Empyrean Concepts.
The Stargazer
Previous Ascendant: Unknown
Current Ascendant: Unknown
The Stargazer, as was written in the ancient texts, was notably the most passive of the Concepts. When threatened, it will act out of self-defense, however this is the only known scenario in which we can discern its feats during the Scarring. Instead, most of the texts name the Stargazer aptly for its unending activity of looking skyward. What it thinks about when looking up to the heavens is unknown.
In certain folklores of eld, the Stargazer boasted incredible celestial magic, using astrology with the positions of celestial bodies in the sky. Depictions of the Stargazer shows that it is capable of a much more primitive version of psychokinesis, which does include telepathy. However, from what we know now of telepathy, it requires a strong bond with the individual it is trying to influence. As such, it can be assumed that its would-be Ascendant would be equally as strong, no matter the amount of remnant within the individual. However, even with its overwhelming power, the Stargazer rarely utilized it, according to ancient texts. Even less so, there are very few instances where an Ascendant of this Concept has emerged publicly.
The Lifeline
Last Known Ascendant: Karos Varens
The Lifeline, as depicted by various ancient texts around the continent, was a master of healing invocations.
The Reflection
Previous Ascendant: Unknown
Current Ascendant: Erina Hayashi
The Reflection was noted to be a master of illusory arts, capable of distorting an individual’s cognition beyond their recognition. The individual behind the title is not native to Cicatri Ciel, but an akumari native from the southern landmass. According to the akumari elders of Gensōkyo, they came with a following of nomadic akumari, looking for a place to settle. Strife had followed the Reflection, and so their nomadic clan split into two; those that followed the Reflection were known as the Illusionists, while those who stayed behind dubbed themselves the Dreamweavers.
Scrolls from the temples of Gensōkyo depict the Reflection as an individual that never liked to stay in one place. Thus, it was at a certain point in time that the famous akumari departed from the Illusionists’ new abode in search of more adventure. They joined a party of adventurers and travelers, and was not seen again for decades until the advent of the Scarring.
The Navigator
Previous Ascendant: Cyrus Orico
Current Ascendant: Rietta Wrynia
The first records of the Navigator were discovered through the ramblings of sailors, speaking of a person that could only be described as a natural compass. It was able to guide ships to their destinations without fail, and without duels with the unpleasant seas. Thus, this person was given the title of the Navigator.
The Navigator is most known for their masterful control over elements of nature, which include proficiencies in invocations of all Roots of Magic. In the ancient texts, it is said that the Navigator was directly responsible for the thriving haven of Galaderyn, showering their land with plentiful harvests and rich wildlife. However, during the Scarring, the Navigator is known to conjure various natural disasters in the conflict of power. These natural disasters are what led to the isolation of the elves, their race never peeking outside their gates to see the razed land beyond them.
The Navigator’s powers all manifest as masteries of separate elements. For example, an Ascendant could be capable of only water-bending, while another could be proficient at manipulating the winds. All records of the Navigator’s Ascendants show that each and every one of these Ascendants are of elven descent, as practiced invokers and manawards from the Ferros Republic share many similarities with the Navigator.
The Harvester
Last Known Ascendant: Unknown
The Illuminator
Previous Ascendant: Runo Illustros
Current Ascendant: Varant Illustros & Altair Illustros
The Matrix
Previous Ascendant: Unknown
Current Ascendant: Kallie Myrai
The Matrix is a Concept best known for their thirst, and subsequent storage, of knowledge. All that the Matrix interacts with is recorded within their very soul. To that end, all of our current knowledge is thanks to the power of the Matrix, essentially acting as one enormous library, a wellspring of knowledge, so to speak.
In deciphered illustrations and scrolls, the original Matrix, despite its name denoting one of great intellect, was quite the opposite. The path that evolution took eventually reached the point where those now known as terrakin first gained a level of intelligence found in more human-like races. The original Matrix was but a young terrakin yearning to learn more about Luciradis past their sedentary tribe, having no notable powers themselves.
The Convergence
Last Known Ascendant: Unknown
The Convergence was said to be the original creator of the popularized sundial device of eld, giving the people of Luciradis the ability to accurately tell time without having to tediously observe the positions of sun and moon, but rather through the shadows of the sun. The individual behind the title is said to be a master artisan and lauded as the first timekeeper. Due to the popularity of the sundial, the master artisan’s services became high in demand, which led the artisan to hire apprentices throughout the land to aid in his work. Soon after, the master artisan left his workshop to travel the lands with a party of adventurers, leaving behind various blueprints and notes to his apprentices.
It is said that during the Scarring, the Convergence produced tools of war, including firearms, spears, swords, and accessories of legendary status. These legendary relics are safely stored in various exhibits; though their time has passed, it serves as inspiration for future craftsmen and artisans. The knowledge behind the creation of these tools have been lost to time, but the methods in which to extract the properties of various materials have been passed down to the Ascendants of the Convergence.
Following the Scarring, those workshop apprentices built up their names following the legacy of the Convergence, and dispersed throughout Cicatri Ciel to not only further their craft, but also provide for the towns and cities they come across. Thus, in today’s Cicatri Ciel, one can find many workshops that laud the name of the apprentice artisans from the Convergence.