Name: Gaius Lancaster
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: 19
Hair Color: Blue
Eye Color: Brown
Status: Alive
Birthplace: Epheria Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 36: A Poisonous Woman (1)
Titles: Blacksmith, Former Rune Mage, Aurora's Instructor
Attributes: Earth
Skills: Although he can't use weapons, he is familiar with all types of weapons
and can even teach others how to use it. He's also very knowledgeable about runes
and Witches.
Familiar: None
Family: Lillian Lancaster (Younger Sister)
Name: Kian Blaise?
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: 23
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Green (left), Scarlet (right)
Status: Alive
Birthplace: Unknown
First Appearance: Chapter 25: That Which Exists but Shouldn't (0)
Titles: Unknown
Attributes: Darkness
Skills: Unknown
Familiar: Volos, a 4 meter snake
Family: Ethan Blaise (Father?), Name Unknown (Sister?), Name Unknown (Sister?), Aries Nicaea (Mother?)
Name: Karyuel Cassian Di Epheria
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Status: Alive
Birthplace: Imperial City of the Epheria Empire, also known as Epheria City
First Appearance: Chapter 13: Monster of the North (1)
Titles: 31st Emperor of the Epheria Empire
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Immortality gifted by a Witch
Familiar: Unknown
Family:
Aurora Grannis Di Epheria (Ancestor)
Karyuel Cassian Di Epheria (Ancestor)
Name: Tanya
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Age: 16
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Brown
Status: Alive
Birthplace: Tamriel Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 6: A Trust Misguided Brings Destruction (Part 1)
Titles: Assassin, Battle Maid
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Assassin skills
Familiar: Unknown
Family: Anya (Younger Twin Sister)
Name: Anya
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Age: 16
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Brown
Status: Alive
Birthplace: Tamriel Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 6: A Trust Misguided Brings Destruction (Part 1)
Titles: Assassin, Battle Maid
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Assassin skills
Familiar: Unknown
Family: Tanya (Older Twin Sister)
Name: Abel Parteda
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: 39
Hair Color: White
Eye Color: Unknown
Status: Alive
Birthplace: Epheria Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 3: The Duke of Rizar Summons His Familiar (Part 1)
Titles: High Priest of the Sage Temple
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Unknown
Familiar: Unknown
Family: The Holy Temple's Current Cardinal (Father)
Mikhail Shuhart (Foster Son)
Name: Dorsen Marcade
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: 36
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Status: Alive
Birthplace: Epheria Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 3: The Duke of Rizar Summons His Familiar (Part 1)
Titles: Rune Mage
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Very knowledgeable about rune magic and runes. He has already made many contributions to the Magic Research Institute.
Familiar: Unknown
Family: Unknown
Name: Raya Kasser
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: 36
Hair Color: Gray
Eye Color: Purple
Status: Alive
Birthplace: Epheria Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 13: Monster of the North (1)
Titles: Captain of Rizar Knights
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Unknown
Familiar: Unknown
Family: Halon Bayonhilt (Younger Brother)
Name: Siathrich Niall
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: 21
Hair Color: Gold
Eye Color: Violet
Status: Alive
Birthplace: Unknown
First Appearance: Chapter 21: Monster of The North (Part 9)
Titles: Swordmaster
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: As his title suggests, he's good with a sword, but because of his playful personality this can be rarely seen.
Familiar: Unknown
Family: Unknown
Name: Halon Kasser
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: 30
Hair Color: Gray
Eye Color: Purple
Status: Alive
Birthplace: Epheria Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 13: Monster of the North (1)
Titles: Elran Mansion's (The Rizar's Main Mansion) Head Butler
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Unknown
Familiar: Unknown
Family: Raya Bayonhilt (Older Brother)
Name:
Gender:
Species:
Age:
Hair Color:
Eye Color:
Status:
Birthplace:
First Appearance:
Titles:
Attributes:
Skills:
Familiar:
Family:
Name:
Gender:
Species:
Age:
Hair Color:
Eye Color:
Status:
Birthplace:
First Appearance:
Titles:
Attributes:
Skills:
Familiar:
Family:
Name:
Gender:
Species:
Age:
Hair Color:
Eye Color:
Status:
Birthplace:
First Appearance:
Titles:
Attributes:
Skills:
Familiar:
Family:
Name: Ellias Effira Di Epheria
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Status: Deceased
Birthplace: Imperial City of the Epheria Empire, also known as Epheria City
First Appearance: Chapter 1: Death of the Black Witch’s Daughter (Part 1)
Titles: 7th Emperor of the Epheria Empire, Summoner, Light Sage, Hero
Attributes: Light
Skills: Unknown
Familiar: White Tiger
Family:
Helena Grannis Vankreift (1st Wife)
Aurora Grannis Di Epheria (Daughter)
Millianna Carna (2nd Wife)
Karyuel Cassian Di Epheria (Descendant)
Name: Helena Grannis Vankreift
Gender: Female
Species: Witch
Age: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Status: Deceased
Birthplace: Epheria Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 1: Death of the Black Witch’s Daughter (Part 1)
Titles: Previous Emperor of the Epheria Empire, The Black Witch, Eldest Daughter of Duke Vankreift
Attributes: Darkness
Skills: Specialized in dark magic and curses
Familiar: Unknown
Family:
Karyuel Cassian Di Epheria (Previous Husband)
Aurora Grannis Di Epheria (Daughter)
Name: Alphonse Rizar
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Status: Deceased
Birthplace: Elran City in Rizar Dukedom, Epheria Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 3: The Duke of Rizar Summons His Familiar (Part 1)
Titles: Previous Duke of Rizar, Military Commander
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Unknown
Familiar: Red Lion
Family:
Elianna Tear (Wife)
Lucius Rizar (Son)
Name: Elianna Tear
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Age: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Status: Deceased
Birthplace: Elran City in Rizar Dukedom, Epheria Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 24: Monster of The North (Part 12)
Titles: Previous Duchess of Rizar
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Unknown
Familiar: Unknow
Family:
Alphonse Rizar (Husband)
Lucius Rizar (Son)
Name: Millianna Carna
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Age: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Status: Deceased
Birthplace: Epheria Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 1: Death of the Black Witch’s Daughter (Part 1)
Titles: 7th Empress of Epheria Empire
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Unknown
Familiar: Unknown
Family:
Ellias Effira Di Epheria (Husband)
Aurora Grannis Di Epheria (Stepdaughter)
Name: Harrison Ascarot
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Status: Deceased
Birthplace: Epheria Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 7: A Trust Misguided Brings Destruction (Part 2)
Titles: Brain of the Empire
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Unknown
Familiar: Unknown
Family: Ascarot Duke (Father)
Name: Coux Fermion
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Status: Deceased
Birthplace: Epheria Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 9: A Trust Misguided Brings Destruction (Part 4)
Titles: Captain of the Ascarot Knights
Attributes: Earth
Skills: Unknown
Familiar: Unknown
Family: Unknown
Name: Ethan Blaise
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: 53
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Scarlet
Status: Alive
Birthplace: Epheria Empire, Blaise Dukedom
First Appearance: Chapter 25: That Which Exists but Shouldn't (0)
Titles: Prime Minister, Duke Blaise
Attributes: Exceptional Affinity for Wind
Skills: Unknown
Familiar: Skylark Bird (Deceased)
Family: Kian Blaise (Son), Name Unknown (Daughter), Name Unknown (Daughter), Aries Nicaea (Wife)
Name: Isla
Gender: Female
Species: Witch
Age: 32
Hair Color: Green
Eye Color: Dark green
Status: Deceased
Birthplace: Epheria Empire
First Appearance: Extra: Aurora & Isla, Past & Future (Part 1)
Titles: Former noble, Mercenary, Aurora's Instructor
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Hindsight (the ability to see the past), throwing knives
Familiar: None
Family: Unknown name (Ex-husband)
Unknown name (Son)
Name: Jarvik Kenward
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: An old man
Hair Color: White
Eye Color: Gray
Status: Alive
Birthplace: Epheria Empire, Argyros Dukedom
First Appearance: Chapter 40: A Poisonous Woman (5)
Titles: Royal Doctor
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Medical skills
Familiar: None
Family: Vale Kenward (Grandson)
Vale Kenward's Mother (Daughter-in-law)
Vale Kenward's Father (Son)
Name: Vale Kenward
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: 14
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Status: Alive
Birthplace: Epheria Empire, Rizar Dukedom
First Appearance: Chapter 40: A Poisonous Woman (5)
Titles: None
Attributes: Light
Skills: Medical skills, healing
Familiar: None
Family: Jarvick Kenward (Grandfather)
Name unknown (Father - deceased)
Name unknown (Mother - deceased)
Name: Mikhail Shuhart
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: Early 20s
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Dark
Status: Alive
Birthplace: Epheria Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 30: That Which Exists but Shouldn’t (5)
Titles: High Priest of the North Holy Temple
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Unknown
Familiar: Unknown
Family: Abel Parteda (Foster Father)
Name: Lillian Lancaster
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Age: 17
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Status: Alive
Birthplace: Epheria Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 37: A Poisonous Woman (2)
Titles: Unknown
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Great potential and skills with using a sword
Familiar: Unknown
Family: Gaius Lancaster (Older Brother)
Name:
Gender:
Species:
Age:
Hair Color:
Eye Color:
Status:
Birthplace:
First Appearance:
Titles:
Attributes:
Skills:
Familiar:
Family:
Name:
Gender:
Species:
Age:
Hair Color:
Eye Color:
Status:
Birthplace:
First Appearance:
Titles:
Attributes:
Skills:
Familiar:
Family:
Name:
Gender:
Species:
Age:
Hair Color:
Eye Color:
Status:
Birthplace:
First Appearance:
Titles:
Attributes:
Skills:
Familiar:
Family:
Name: Alexander Peruka
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Status: Deceased
Birthplace: Elran City in Rizar Dukedom, Epheria Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 13: Monster of The North (Part 1)
Titles: Previous Marquis
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Unknown
Familiar: Hutia Fox
Family: Unknown
Name: One
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: Unknown
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Status: Deceased
Birthplace: Epheria Empire
First Appearance: Chapter 29: That Which Exists but Shouldn’t (4)
Titles: Duke Blaise's Shadow Knight
Attributes: Unknown
Skills: Poison, archery
Familiar: None
Family: None
Home of two Empires. The Tamriel Empire that lies in the south region, and the Epheria Empire that lies in the north region.
The continent is made up of 4 different powers. Besides the two Empires, there is also the Caeinuut Tribes and the Neutral Kingdoms.
The Imperial City of the Epheria Empire where the royal family lives.
The Tamriel lies south of the Empire, or rather, south of the Rizar Dukedom. Just beyond the Etern Mountains is the border to enter the Tamriel Empire. The God of Chaos and War, Vieyar, gave his blessing to a warrior, who then founded the Tamriel Empire, becoming the first Emperor.
The royal families of the Empire have weapons called Regalia, weapons with special runes inscribed.
It's also said that the Tamriel and Epheria Empire went to war once a long time ago. But was forced to put their differences aside due to the Corrupted Region spreading in both Empires.
The entire north region of the Epheria Empire is under the Duke of Rizar. The territory is called the land of snow and beasts because it is covered in snow all year long and is just outside the border of the Corrupted Region, where beasts and other dark creatures roam.
Although the soil is nearly barren and food production is low, the Dukedom receives its revenue due to owning two large mines and six small mines to make armors and weapons.
Most of the citizens there are blacksmiths or at least have some knowledge about blacksmith. The Dukedom is known for producing high-ranking blacksmiths. Because of this, people from all over come there just to get there hands on the first-rate equipment created by them.
The Rizar Dukedom was once known as the Kronos Dukedom. Those with Rizar bloodline, all end up being influential figures in the military. The Head of the house usually ends up becoming the Grand General of the Imperial Army.
Named by the previous Emperor, it is located in the Dukedom of Rizar. It is the largest city in Rizar, where the Duke's main mansion is located. It is also the City located closest to the Corrupted Region.
There are a total of four gates.
Entrance to the Corrupted Region. The deeper one went, the darker it gets. Eventually coming upon black fog that makes one lose their way. Entering without a guide or a rune protection will make it difficult for one to leave the forest.
Lands where the erosion swallowed everything and evolved the plants and animals that lived there into monsters. Other unknown creatures also appeared, killing anyone or anything that approached indiscriminately. Even the humans who entered there without protection weren’t spared from the acidic rain or the polluted air.
The Corrupted Realm lies just behind Elran City and has eroded most of the north and east of the Emperia Empire. But it wasn’t only this Empire that was troubled by the erosion. The border of the Corrupted Realm expanded through the Tamriel Empire to the Caeinuut Tribes.
There are numerous theories to why the erosion started. One is because after the Black Witch's curse, the spirits that protected nature returned to the Spirit Realm. The other is because the Black Witch's curse disturbed the balance in nature, making the Goddess of Goddess of Harmony and Law, Alafia, lose her power.
It appeared one year after Aurora's death.
They worship the Supreme Goddess of Harmony and Law, Alafia and believe that balance will bring peace.
There is a total of four temples. The Sage Temple in the Imperial City. The North Holy Temple is in the Rizar Dukedom. Not much is said about the other two Temples. Each Temple has one High Priest and Holy Lady.
The Cardinal and Saint Witch live in the Sage Temple.
The Holy Temple were neutral and very influential due to the blessings the Priests received from the Goddess. But after the Black Witch's curse, they have lost their blessings. Now, they must rely on the Imperial Family.
The Holy Temple records all historic events and store them in the Temple's libraries. While any citizen can read these books, only those with special passes are allowed to read books with locks.
They used to believe that Witches who were born with an abnormal amount of mana were abominations that broke the balance of harmony and labeled them as evil beings that needed to be purged.
But a thousand years later, Witches are protected by the Holy Temple and are given the title of Saint.
Ranks
As the name suggests, it is an institute dedicated to researching magic, or in particular, rune magic. It's located in the Imperial City of the Empire. Not much is known about them in the novel yet. The only person named as a member so far is Rune Mage Dorsen.
The Blaise Dukedom located in the west of the Emperia Empire is known for their political power. The Head of the Blaise Household always groom their heirs to become the next Prime Minister.
The Argyros Dukedom located south in the Epheria Empire is known for their knowledge in medicine.
The Dion Dukedom of located east of the Epheria Empire and is known for their economic power. They are mostly in charge of all mercenaries.
Snow covered mountains that is located the border of the Rizar Dukedom. Once you exit the mountains on the other side, you'll enter into the Blaise Dukedom. While the mountains are covered with snow, there are many rare herbs that grow there due to the cold climate and high altitude.
Elran Mansion - The Rizar Family's main mansion located in the outer parts of the Elran City.
Witches are humans who awaken black mana cores. Meaning they can use an unlimited amount of mana without running out. After a Witch goes through their 2nd awakening when turning 16 years old, they are categorized into four types.
Elemental - An offense Witch that can use one of the eight elements to attack from a far distance. The strongest type of Witch.
Reinforcer - A Witch that can reinforce their body. This ability focuses mainly on protecting themselves and sometimes others as well.
Perception - A Witch that can use either mental and psychic abilities. Although it is mostly not very strong, it can be very useful.
Gifter - A Witch that can actually gift a person or persons a special ability. This type of Witch is very rare and only a few people know about their existence.
It's said the reason Witches are looked on favorably a thousand years is due to a Witch who presented the rune system to help humans use magic. Although not confirmed, it's said that the Witch was blessed by one of the Supreme Gods.
Rune magic in simple terms is an alternative to spirit magic that uses runes to form and activate magic. Instead of sacrificing mana to the spirits, one would only need to pour their mana into the rune they want to activate. It is said that 'runes' are ancient characters used by Gods, in other words, 'The Language of the Gods'. It is said to be more powerful than spirit magic, but due to anyone not being able to use their true powers, a limit is placed on the runes through the use of sigils.
There are 33 basic rune characters, including 'man-made runes'.
Man-Made Runes - These are runes created by Rune Mages or other powerful organizations. These man-made runes are not usually shared with 'outsiders' and only members of organization or family can uses these runes. For example, the status and healing rune was created by a Rune Mage that belongs to the Holy Temple. (Mentioned in chapter 45)
One-word Runes - As it says, these are runes made up of one word and can be activated through the use of the basic three-layered sigil. For example, an aura shield is considered a one-word rune because one can activate it through the word 'shield'. But at a unique shield that uses an attribute such as 'light shield' or 'earth shield' are considered runes with more that one word. (Mentioned in chapter
Types of runes mentioned so far:
Forbidden runes, like forbidden magic, are curses that use blood as the median to activate. While curses are related to the darkness attribute, even if one did not have any affinity with darkness, they could still use it. The rule of nature is the four cardinal directions, while the rule of limitation restricts the user's mana. In the end, curses ignore the rules of magic.
Spirit Magic was the only widely known type of magic a thousand years ago. It is where the user offers their mana to the spirits to use magic.
For example, if the user wants to use a fire-based magic, they would need to offer their mana to fire type spirits. Spirits can not be seen unless they want to show themselves, unlike spirit beasts that form contracts with humans.
However, after the Black Witch's curse, all spirits hid themselves from humans completely, by staying in the Spirit Realm.
A derogatory name used to describe criminals or incompetent people who could not obtain a rune after their mana awakening at eight years old because of the weakness of their. They are treated as worthless people.
After committing a crime one can have their Rune forcefully erased by the Holy Temple. While runes are inscribed by Rune Mages at the Magic
Research Institute, the Priests at the Holy Temple have a special rune created by them that can allow them to remove a sigil.
A sigil is what Nobles and some of the commoners call the rune inscription on their body. A rune inscription is an inscription of a single rune, while a sigil is in the form of a small magic array.
[ The two sigils below is further detailed in Chapter 56. ]
A three-layered sigil is used mostly by commoners.
The center layer which is called the first-layer has the rune for mana. The second layer has the runes for the four main elements, and the last layer has the layers for the four directions. The four main elements can be considered to be the core world's energy, in other words, nature. It can activate mostly any one-word runes, even if it doesn't fall under the four main elements. It uses the rule of [nature] and [limitation]. It limits one use of mana.
A five-layered sigil has the basic components of the three-layered sigil, but includes two more layers. It can only be used by aristocrats.
While the first layer is the same as the other sigil, the second layer is called ‘power’. It’s where either the user’s affinity for the elements is inscribed or a special rune that allows them to use other unique runes. The third layer is called ‘restriction’. It's a border to help the user to control the array and not lose control when using their sigil. The five-layered sigil can activate all basic runes, including other unique runes, as long as the user has an affinity to the element connected to it.
Mana is a source of energy, both internal and external, that exists in people, places and objects. It is connected to the elements and can be used to form magic by offering mana to the Spirits.
The vessel that contains mana is called the mana core. It does not have a conscious and is considered to be a tool. And because the mana core is part of the body, it has a limit to the amount of mana it can hold. The darker color of core they awaken, the more mana it can store and the stronger spells they can use.
A person can awaken their mana core when turning eight years old and test their affinity with the eight elements. When a person uses magic, the color of their mana at that moment indicates which element they are using.
Mana is said to be gifted by the gods. And it can only be altered by those said gods. So, trying to increase the amount of mana your mana core can hold was like going against their wishes. And therefore, this will in return corrupt your own mana. This act is thus labeled as forbidden magic.
Familiars are summoned spirit beasts, considered to be lifelong partners of their summoner. Familiars are ranked from low to high, 5 being the lowest and 1 being the highest. Rank 1 familiars are called Sacred Familiars. The color of a spirit ring indicates the Familiar's rank during summoning.
According to Priest Abel if the contract between a Familiar and the Summoner is forcibly broken will cause them both unfathomable pain and can damage the Summoner's mana core.
A summoner only has a single Familiar in one lifetime. If the Familiar dies, the summoner loses the ability to make a contract with another spirit beast. However, if the summoner dies first, the Familiar will follow.
Summoner and Familiar Skills (so far in the novel)
An ancient summoning ritual used to summon spirit beasts from the spirit realm. The summoner uses their blood and a short spell as the medium to call for their familiar. Most spells are different but what doesn't change is how the summoner has to state their full name and spill their own blood. Not all summoning rituals are successful and can end in failure if no spirit beast answers the summoner's call.
The ring that appears when a spirit beast successfully answers the summoner's call is called a 'spirit ring' and shows what rank the spirit beast (familiar) is.
When the summoning is successful, both parties (summoner and familiar) must agree to the conditions of the contract. The summoner must complete the contract by naming the familiar.
Knights are aristocrats that have sworn their loyalty to a single master. While rare, there are some commoners who end up becoming a Knight. Each noble household has their own Knights that serve only that household. The Knights that serve the Imperial Family are known as Imperial Knights.
Knight Ranks
Shadow Knights - These are special elite Knights that are trained from a young age and given a name by their master. They specialize mostly in assassin skills and collecting information. They are usually tasked with protecting their master from the shadows. Only the four Dukes of the Epheria Empire has shadow Knights.
Dame is a title used for female Knights. So far, only one female Knight is properly introduced in this novel. Dame Beatrice Jeune.
The Rizar Knights are widely known as the Black Gold Eagle Knights. There are two divisions in the Rizar Knights. The Black Gold Knights known as the "swords" that protects the Dukedom and follows their Commander (Lucius Rizar) to the battlefield, and the "guardians" that handles internal affairs of the Dukedom, known as the Eagle Knights.
Wild, normal animals that were affected by the erosion in the Corrupted Region evolve and become dangerous. Unlike Spirit Beasts that have mana cores like humans, the corrupted realm beasts have what is called a catalyst crystal core.
- Evolved Beasts: Ranked from E to A. The lowest being rank E and the highest being ranked A. But even ranked E evolved beasts can be dangerous if they work in a pack.
- Mutated Beasts: A higher rank of evolved beasts, classified as rank S. They have a unique ability called 'berserk mode' that makes them more dangerous to handle. The berserk mode is when the beast quickly absorbs the erosion around them, increasing their mana and power attack.
The consuming is when the Witch’s mana runs wild and tries to consume their host’s life, and occurs when a Witch turns 16 years old. A Witch’s mana core can store an unlimited amount of mana, causing their body unable to handle it.
After a human first awakens their mana core at age 8, they naturally gather mana until reaching their limit. And each time they use magic, the mana will deplete and refill again.
A Witch’s core, however, does not run out of space and constantly absorbs mana throughout the years as they age. Absorbing mana for eight years is the borderline of what the body can handle. That’s why when a Witch is close to their 16th birthday, they’ll become very weak and ill.
The Witch will get a high fever, and be unable to control their mana. If they aren't able to hold on, they'll end up in a coma or in the worst case, die.
Spirit beasts are beasts from the spirit world. Although there used to be spirit beasts that lived in the human world a long time ago, after the Black Witch's curse and the appearance of the Corrupted Realm, the spirit beasts retreated back to the spirit world.
Now, the only way to make a contract with a spirit beast is by using the summoning ritual. A spirit beast will only answer the call if the summoner is suitable.
Spirit beasts are categorized into three types:
- Combat beasts that specialize in attacking enemies from a close range.
- Armor beasts that focus on defense and ranged attacks.
- Mount spirit beasts that are mostly flying types and specialize in scouting.
All spirit beast can use magic, either as an attack or to improve physical/defense traits.
Spirit beasts that have been named so far in the novel is listed below:
The Four Heavenly Spirit Beasts
The four heavenly spirit beasts are classified as rank 1, sacred beasts, but they are on a higher tier than other sacred beasts. Each of the four spirit beasts represents a unique attribute and cardinal point that is different from the rule of nature used on sigils.
A magical artifact are very expensive tools that can absorb mana and activate spells impuded in it. Witches need these artifacts to go through the 'consuming' when turning 16. Artifacts come in all shapes and sizes. Some examples are weapons, paintings or jewelry. The larger amount of artifacts a Witch goes through during the consuming, usually means the stronger the ability they will awaken.
A blacksmith creates weapons and armors from minerals. A blacksmith that can make magical artifacts are called craftsman.
A system set by the Emperor and followed by Nobles. The previous Noble System focused on a person's bloodline, while the current system focuses on a the rank of a Noble's Familiar.
Duke >>>>> Rank 1, Sacred Familiar
Marquis >>>>> Rank 2 Familiar
Earl >>>>> Rank 3 Familiar
Viscount >>>>> Rank 4 Familiar
Baron >>>>> Rank 5 Familiar
Goddess of Harmony and Law, Alafia
God of Chaos and War, Vieyar.
God of Light and Creation, Noam.
God of Darkness and Death, Deorum.
God of Space and Time, Ashur.
Goddess of Hope and Love, Umniya.
Goddess of Protection and Flames, Estrella.
While the seven Supreme Gods were held in high esteem, only the tales of Alafia and Vieyar were spread far and wide in the two Empires.
Alafia was a Goddess devoted to the ideals of permanence, order, and stability. She controlled and manipulated all the laws of cause and effect.
However, Vieyar believed that the strong have the right to devour the weak. He wasn’t necessarily evil, but had a carefree principle. He thought that there was no need for such things as rules and laws, as they were nothing but collars that restricted a person’s heart, making them reject change.
Below the Supreme deities, are the Major Gods and the Minor Gods. Unlike the Supreme Gods, their names are unknown to those living in the human realm. This was because their power was too low to pass on their blessings and names to humans.
Amongst the Minor Gods, there is one known as the God of Destiny.
Each of four Holy Temple has a Holy Lady. The Holy Lady is someone chosen from the noble ladies every five years. The Holy Lady has many responsibilities including reading scriptures and praying.
Prayer Day is held every 6 months at all the Holy Temples to worship Goddess Alafia.
Because their Goddess was female, any conduct deemed as sexual or disrespectful towards women were not allowed on Holy Temple grounds.
Doing so would be an act of transgression against their Goddess. This was even more so on Prayer Day, which is why women are required to wear veils to keep their face hidden.
The Holy Lady of the Temple will lead the prayer and read from the scriptures. The High Priest will then bless the guests.
A catalyst crystal core is similar to mana cores, but instead of mana, it absorbs the erosion in the Corrupted Realm. This allows animals that were once normal to evolve and gain the ability to use mana.
The sizes and strength of an evolved beast determines the size and strength of its crystal. The only exception being mutated beasts. The location, size, and color differ from the others. Their cores are usually smaller and darker in color.
A weapon inscribed with a rune. This should be impossible because there are no weapons strong enough to take on the power of a rune, but the Tamriel Empire has somehow found a way around it. While it isn't completely known how, some have guessed that it's due to Tamriel finding a mine with a special, rare ore.
Supreme Commander (only one) >>> General (only five) >>> Lieutenant General >>> Captain >>> 1st Lieutenant >>> 2nd Lieutenant >>> Warrant Officer >>> Private
A Contract Scroll is a parchment made from evolved beast's fur and is used when making a formal contract between two or more people. The center rune symbol is anchored with the element 'earth' and a man-made rune called 'soul'. The runes are carved on the parchment during the process to make it, but you can’t see it clearly with your eyes.
For example, the marriage contract between Aurora and Lucius in chapter 53.
This is a story driven romance novel focusing more on drama rather than things like action, and while the world-building isn't completely ignored it does take a step into the background.
Despite the author's allegations of having poor grammar, I couldn't find noticeable issues so far. The writing itself is also pretty decent, offering well-done descriptions of things and actions without turning into info dumps. You will also find one of the very few cases of POV switching done right.
So why just 3 stars then? I simply cannot get over the MC's ridiculous behavior. The author goes to great lengths to portray the miserable life she had, betrayed by her family, tricked by her first love, hunted down like an animal, then killed while cursing and swearing revenge only to have her soul imprisoned and suffer a 1000 years more.
Now what kind of person would you expect her to be after all this? I wouldn't have been surprised at all to see her as a raving lunatic hell-bent on revenge. But no, not even close. She finds herself in pretty much the same scenario as when she was betrayed by her fiance and instead of showing any hatred she gets attached to them and feels guilty because they are suffering from her mother's curse to the point where she's okay with letting herself get killed to alleviate their anger.
Seriously? Just let everything be water under the bridge and let's all love each other... I just... I can't read this.
Read More
This novels cover and title is what caught my attention at first. Until I read the first chapter and couldn't stop reading. The author has a way of making you feel for the female and male lead. The character's background story are all fleshed out, even the side characters. I like how the Witches are different from other novels. I wonder what will happen next. The female lead seems weak at first but you can tell she's changing. The Male lead seems cold but there is more to him. The world setting is vast and it would be nice to read more.
Read More
For the chapters ^_^... well even if english isn't my native language I try to make this work. Well... first, the story so far is interesting, the grammar is good and and it is overall wellwritten. 2. There is nothing partikular that jumps in my eyes as" hm, this doesn't match up" or something like that also thanks for the correction in the Timeline to 1k years...5k is really much and it would be very illogical to have either detailed records for the Black witch present nor even the kingdom still present... the characters so far feel very real since reasons for their actions are given, the worldbuild is good, the author could give more details about some things, I know its in many cases pretty much pointless or could give a infodump feeling for chapters (and can be used as an dirty trick to stretch things out) but if the author is good with speech (from what I see ist the case here) then it could make chapters even more interesting, gives more to the worldbuilding and can be used so that the reader 'feels' the book, (dont know if I make a good example:as he looks down the withered castlewall an arrow grazes his right cheek. A sting of pain brings him tears into his eyes. At the same time the blood trickles to the corner of his mouth he takes action to cast his spell. he screams orders to his commander on the south wall.) As if he was standing while a action takes place. For that the author could try to make an experimental chapter to read, one half with usual style and other with more Details... well suit yourself author its not my book and I would be angry with myself if something goes down the drain... wish everyone a good time reading and much fun.
Read More
Caught my eye on SHF. Its pretty rare, I normally don't read stories on ScribbleHub but I think this is the first story I've completed going through all the chapters aside from a few short stories. Sure it dumps a bit of info at first and and bit grammar could be worded nicely, but the plot pulls you in. Wanted to see if the MC will unravel the mystery of what happened to the world while she was gone. Worldbuilding is pretty nice. Really want to read a compendium of the lore in this story's world.
At times one can understand the main character's actions and thoughts, but at times it seems, as someone mentioned in another review, that despite all the tragedy and hurt she has experienced... how to put it nicely, she's a bit soft? She feels guilty what her parents did, but it is not her fault but her parents that caused others to suffer. Sometimes she seem more soft than jaded despite the past. But the main character's background is the most interesting and her observant personality too. It's interesting to see the flashbacks to her past add layer upon layer of what has made her to be now. The blacksmith stood out interesting too. The male lead changed personality a bit quick from icey cold to suddenly warm... but the main leads have good chemistry.
All in all though, good plot that pulls you in to read more and interesting worldbuilding lore. Can't wait to read more.
Read More