Shattered Sanity

(Imperial Academy, Professor Hall’s Lecture)

Professor Hall smiled as he observed the silence that had gradually settled over the enormous lecture hall.

He had never once asked the students to stop talking, nor had he needed to reprimand anyone for whispering amongst themselves, yet by this point, practically every conversation had disappeared on its own.

’Good, I guess I’ve still got it in me to teach.’

He thought, as he allowed the silence to persist for another moment, before turning to write on the chalkboard once again.

"If Ascension is visualized as a journey, then naturally, we require some way of determining how far along that journey an individual has travelled.

Over thousands of years, scholars discovered that there are nine particular milestones along this journey where the qualitative difference from the previous stage becomes so substantial that simply describing the individual as stronger than before becomes inadequate.

At each of these milestones, something fundamental changes within the Ascendant, whether that change concerns the quantity of Aether their Soul Vessel can contain, the density and quality of that Aether, the manner in which it moves through their body, or the influence they can exert upon the world surrounding them.

Because of this, we have given each of those milestones a specific name, allowing us to broadly divide the journey of Ascension into nine major ranks."

Professor Hall finished writing before stepping aside, revealing nine names arranged vertically across the board.

He pointed towards the first.

"The very first rank, and the one most of you sitting in this hall currently stand at, is Ember Rank.

Ember is where your journey as an Ascendant truly begins. Reaching it means your Soul Vessel has successfully awakened and, for the first time, you’re capable of consciously absorbing, storing and commanding Aether.

Before that happens, you still possess a Soul Vessel. Practically everyone does. The difference is that an unawakened Vessel can’t properly interact with the Aether surrounding it.

Once it awakens, that changes. Your Soul Vessel begins drawing Aether from the world around you, and from there, depending on your training and elemental affinity, you can learn to use that Aether to strengthen your body, empower your weapons, or manifest techniques and spells.

Now, Ember is technically the weakest rank the Empire formally recognizes as an Ascendant, but don’t make the mistake of hearing the word weakest and thinking it to be weak.

A properly trained Ember is already considerably stronger than an ordinary human.

Put one against several conventional soldiers and, assuming they know what they’re doing, the Ember will usually come out on top.

There’s a reason Embers form the backbone of nearly every serious military force in the known world.

Look at our own Imperial Army. Most of the Ascendant soldiers manning fortifications, holding battle lines, patrolling dangerous territories and fighting within ordinary formations are Embers."

Professor Hall moved his finger towards the second name upon the board.

"After Ember comes Spark Rank, and this is where the stability and capacity of your Soul Vessel begin to improve considerably.

An Ember has awakened their Vessel and can store Aether, yes, but the process is still fairly crude.

You lose more Aether than you should, you can’t retain as much of it as you’d like, and performing techniques tends to consume more than is strictly necessary.

When you break through to Spark, the Vessel becomes much more stable. It can hold larger reserves, but more importantly, the Aether inside it begins to compress and refine.

And that second part matters more than you might think. An Ascendant’s strength isn’t determined solely by how much Aether they possess.

Imagine two Ascendants with roughly the same reserves. On paper, they might appear evenly matched. But if one possesses denser Aether and can perform the same techniques while using less of it, then sooner or later the difference becomes obvious. One of them is still fighting while the other is wondering where all their Aether went.

That’s the real advantage of Spark. More Aether, denser Aether, and better efficiency when using it. You can maintain reinforcement for longer, perform more techniques before exhausting yourself and generally exert far more power than you could as an Ember.

So, within the Imperial Army, Sparks commonly serve as elite soldiers, squad leaders, junior officers and lieutenants. They’re also frequently trusted with commanding groups of Ember Rank soldiers, which should give you a fairly good idea of where the Empire considers them to stand."

Riven listened carefully as Professor Hall’s finger moved towards the third rank.

"Flame Rank is where the difference becomes considerably more dramatic, because this is the first advancement where Aether ceases to behave merely as something stored within your Soul Vessel and begins naturally circulating throughout your body.

At Ember and Spark, an Ascendant must deliberately draw upon the Aether within their Vessel whenever they wish to reinforce themselves or perform a technique.

Upon reaching Flame, however, a continuous circuit is established between the Soul Vessel and the rest of the body, causing Aether to circulate naturally through the muscles, organs, bones and pathways of the Ascendant even when they are not actively fighting.

And the difference between being able to do this and not is enormous....."

He paused, as he let the emphasis of that point set in before continuing.

"At Flame rank, your body becomes stronger, your reactions become faster, techniques can be activated more efficiently, your endurance increases dramatically, and the delay between deciding to command Aether and actually doing so becomes considerably smaller.

This is also where the difference between ranks begins becoming increasingly difficult to overcome through ordinary talent alone.

A gifted Ember might defeat an average Spark under the correct circumstances, but defeating a competent Flame while remaining at Ember becomes an entirely different proposition.

Within the Imperial military structure, Flame Rank Ascendants frequently serve as knight captains, company commanders and senior battlefield officers, while outside the military they are powerful enough to become important noble retainers, city defenders or respected figures within smaller organizations."

Professor Hall continued towards the fourth rank.

"Beyond Flame lies Inferno Rank, where the circulation established during Flame matures to such an extent that the Ascendant effectively begins functioning like a living furnace of Aether.

At this stage, both the Soul Vessel and the pathways carrying Aether throughout the body undergo another substantial evolution, allowing enormous quantities of energy to circulate without damaging the Ascendant carrying it.

An Inferno possesses vastly greater reserves than a Flame, but once again, quantity alone is not what makes the rank terrifying.

The amount of Aether they can release at once increases enormously.

A technique that might affect several opponents when performed by a Flame can potentially engulf entire formations when performed by an Inferno, while physical techniques can carry enough force to destroy fortifications and tear through groups of lower-ranked Ascendants.

At that point, you are no longer merely fighting the enemy standing before you.

You possess enough power to influence an entire section of a battlefield.

For this reason, Inferno Rank Ascendants frequently serve as Legion Commanders, generals, senior sect figures and some of the most valuable military assets possessed by major noble families.

The presence of even a single enemy Inferno is significant enough that military commanders must account for them when planning a battle, because leaving one unchecked against ordinary soldiers can result in the destruction of entire formations."

The fifth name waited above it.

"Radiant Rank represents another fundamental change, because until Inferno, Ascension is primarily concerned with improving the Aether contained within yourself and increasing what you can accomplish by releasing it.

At Radiant, that relationship begins to reverse.

Your Soul Vessel becomes powerful enough that the Aether within you starts exerting a persistent influence upon the Aether surrounding you.

This phenomenon is commonly described as an Aura Field.

A Radiant no longer needs to consciously manipulate every trace of Aether within their immediate surroundings, because their very presence begins influencing the environment according to their affinity.

A powerful Flame-Affinity Radiant might cause the temperature surrounding them to rise and naturally draw Flame Aether into their vicinity, while an Earth-aligned Radiant may find the Earth Aether throughout the surrounding terrain increasingly responsive to their commands.

The exact manifestation differs tremendously between individuals, affinities and Disciplines, but the underlying principle remains the same.

At Radiant Rank, the battlefield itself begins responding to your presence.

People of this rank are exceedingly rare, and within military hierarchies they may serve as Grand Generals, Imperial Marshals or commanders entrusted with entire campaigns, while major sects and noble families frequently place Radiants among the highest positions within their organizations.

A single Radiant appearing upon a battlefield can alter the outcome of a war."

Professor Hall’s finger finally reached the sixth name.

"Then we arrive at Paragon."

For the first time since beginning his explanation, the expression upon Professor Hall’s face became noticeably more serious.

"Everything I have described until now represents increasingly profound transformations of the Soul Vessel, but Paragon Rank is where an Ascendant begins approaching the limits of what modern scholars understand mortal Ascension to be capable of achieving.

At Paragon, the Soul Vessel, physical body and elemental affinity reach a degree of integration that lower-ranked Ascendants cannot properly replicate.

Aether ceases to feel like an external power being commanded and instead becomes so thoroughly integrated with the Ascendant that ancient scholars described Paragons as living embodiments of their affinities.

Their Aether reserves are immense, their physical bodies can endure forces that would kill lower-ranked Ascendants almost instantly, and the scale upon which they can influence their surroundings becomes difficult for ordinary people to comprehend.

A Paragon does not command a company, a legion or even necessarily an army because....

A Paragon is a military force in their own right.

They can devastate cities, destroy enormous armies if left uncontested, reshape sections of terrain during prolonged battles and decide conflicts between nations simply through the threat of their participation.

As far as modern civilization is concerned, Paragon represents the highest rank we still possess meaningful knowledge about."

The silence throughout the lecture hall somehow seemed heavier than before.

Professor Hall looked towards the final three names written above Paragon.

"Which brings us to the portion of this lecture where knowledge begins turning into history, and history begins turning into speculation."

Riven’s eyes moved towards the board.

Three ranks remained.

Professor Hall pointed towards the seventh.

"The seventh rank is known as Mythic.

The eighth is known as Sovereign.

And the ninth..."

His finger moved towards the final name.

"...is the highest stage of Ascension recognized within the surviving records available to modern civilization.

The Gods."

Professor Hall turned back towards the students.

"Unfortunately, I cannot stand here and explain those three ranks to you with the same certainty with which I explained Ember through Paragon.

No confirmed Mythic or Sovereign Ascendant has been publicly recorded within the known world for approximately five hundred years, and our understanding of how an individual crosses the barrier beyond Paragon has largely been lost."

A few quiet murmurs finally spread through the hall.

"Do not misunderstand what I am saying.

We know Mythic and Sovereign existed.

We possess historical records describing them, ruins attributed to their battles, artifacts supposedly created by their hands and accounts written by civilizations that lived during periods when individuals of those ranks still walked openly through the world.

What we do not possess is a reliable understanding of how to become one."

Professor Hall gestured towards Paragon.

"The barrier separating Paragon from Mythic remains one of the greatest unanswered questions in the study of Ascension.

Major sects have researched it for centuries.

Imperial scholars have dedicated entire lifetimes to studying surviving records.

Ancient families possess fragments of techniques supposedly inherited from eras when higher Ascendants still existed.

Yet despite all of that, modern civilization has failed to produce a publicly confirmed individual capable of crossing that threshold."

Riven found himself staring at the final ranks upon the board.

Professor Hall continued.

"Even Paragons themselves have become extraordinarily rare.

The Imperial Commander of the Valdrak Empire is rumored to have reached Paragon Rank, as are the leaders of several of the greatest sects and the ancient protectors serving the Four Great Ducal Houses.

Notice my choice of words carefully.

Rumored."

Professor Hall smiled faintly.

"At that level, information concerning an individual’s true strength becomes one of the most valuable military secrets a nation or organization can possess.

The Empire does not publicly announce the exact strength of its greatest protector, just as the Great Ducal Houses have no interest in informing their enemies whether the ancient monsters protecting their families truly reached Paragon twenty years ago or two hundred years ago."

The professor explained as Riven gulped nervously at those words.

"As for what Mythics and Sovereigns were actually capable of accomplishing, surviving accounts become increasingly difficult to separate from exaggeration.

There are records of Mythics reshaping landscapes during battles, destroying armies through a single technique and producing elemental phenomena that persisted long after they departed.

Accounts concerning Sovereigns are even more extraordinary, with some ancient texts describing individuals capable of permanently changing entire regions through their Aether.

Whether every one of those stories is accurate, I cannot tell you.

And any professor who claims otherwise is either considerably older than he appears..."

A few more laughs escaped throughout the lecture hall.

"...or considerably less honest than I am."

Professor Hall allowed their amusement to settle before looking towards the ranks once more.

"But the important lesson is not whether an ancient Sovereign truly split a mountain or whether some terrified historian exaggerated the size of the mountain afterward.

The important lesson is understanding the scale of the journey before you."

His finger returned all the way to Ember.

"Most of you are here."

It moved to Spark.

"Many of you will reach this."

Then Flame.

"A respectable number of Imperial Academy graduates will eventually stand here, although some of you will require considerably longer than others."

His finger continued upward.

"Inferno becomes rarer.

Radiant rarer still.

And by the time we reach Paragon, we are discussing individuals whose names can influence the decisions of nations."

Professor Hall finally withdrew his hand from the board.

"That is what the ranks of Ascension actually represent.

They are not decorative titles we attach to people because scholars enjoy categorizing things.

Every rank marks a qualitative transformation in what your Soul Vessel is capable of containing, what your body is capable of enduring and what degree of authority you can exert over Aether."

Professor Hall picked up the chalk again.

"However, rank tells us only how far an Ascendant has travelled.

It does not tell us how they fight."

Four words appeared beneath the ranks.

WARDEN.

ARCANIST.

FORGER.

BINDER.

"Traditionally, every Ascendant is classified according to one of four Disciplines, each describing the manner in which that individual primarily chooses to apply the Aether available to them.

Wardens specialize in directing Aether through themselves, strengthening the body, reinforcing weapons and developing the physical techniques required for close combat.

Arcanists specialize primarily in external manipulation, converting their Aether into elemental spells, ranged attacks, barriers and other manifestations capable of influencing targets beyond their immediate physical reach.

Forgers take an entirely different approach, specializing in shaping Aether into weapons, armor, constructs and artifacts.

While Binders focus upon establishing control over external entities, including spirits, Aether Beasts and summoned creatures."

Professor Hall drew a line between the first two words.

"However, the distinction between Warden and Arcanist has become considerably less important over the last several centuries.

Modern warfare repeatedly demonstrated that a pure Warden possesses obvious weaknesses against opponents capable of controlling distance, while a pure Arcanist becomes dangerously vulnerable whenever an enemy succeeds in closing that distance.

The solution was rather obvious.

Learn both."

At the point where the two lines connected, Professor Hall wrote another word.

WARRIOR.

"This is what we commonly refer to as a Warrior.

Warrior is not technically a fifth Discipline, despite how frequently you will hear the term used throughout the Empire.

It is simply the modern hybridization of Warden and Arcanist teachings, producing an Ascendant capable of reinforcing and fighting through their body while simultaneously commanding external Aether through spells.

In the modern age, finding someone who exclusively pursues Warden or Arcanist teachings has become increasingly uncommon, particularly among military Ascendants, because most conventional combatants eventually incorporate techniques belonging to both."

Professor Hall gestured towards Forger and Binder.

"Forgers and Binders remain considerably more specialized, which is why those Disciplines have retained much clearer identities.

The Imperial Academy nevertheless offers formal education in all four traditional paths, and nobody sitting inside this room will be forced to become a Warrior simply because modern military doctrine considers it the most versatile choice."

He placed the chalk down once again.

"Over the coming months, your professors will teach you how each Discipline develops, how techniques are classified, how affinities influence the paths available to you and why two Ascendants standing at exactly the same rank can possess wildly different levels of combat strength."

Professor Hall glanced once more towards the enormous ladder of ranks behind him.

"But regardless of which Discipline you eventually choose, never forget that the ladder itself remains the same."

His gaze travelled from Ember towards the distant ranks at the top.

"Every one of you begins your true journey here."

His finger stopped beside Ember.

"How far you climb from there..."

Professor Hall smiled.

"...is something I suspect the next several years will tell us."

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