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A Glossary of Humankind:
for the Heir to a Great Legacy

By Kouta Midori

It all began in the year of 2094 with the insidious Bleak Begonia. A group of megalomaniacs with one goal: to destroy everything humanity had sought to build and start anew with them in power. And to do so, they started a worldwide war. One that would destroy any and all alliances between countries. The Bleak Begonias spread, their organisation growing. And they started to gain power, promising to defend the people from harm. Vowing to stop the war.

However, fresh from university, the youthful Sacred Eight would soon accidentally cause a turning point in the war. Alastair, Melantha, Balderick, Linnaea, Imelda, Keres and Alois travelled to Japan with their friend Ryuu, where they worked in an underground lab. They worked to uncover the truth about an oddity within the world that they’d discovered.

They had glass boxes that held different things: a plant, water, fire, and a light bulb. They pushed energy into those boxes. The plant, brown and dry, came back to life; it grew until it filled the box. The water started to move, a floating orb. Then crystals of ice started to spread through it, leaving a crystal clear ball of ice. The fire grew higher, even with no fuel left, and then extinguished itself when the energy was taken away. The light bulb shattered, electric sparks filling the box.

They spent so long in that laboratory, creating gloves that could wield that new form of energy in their own hands, testing it on different things, that the energy became a part of them. Its waves flowed through their bodies, through their veins, so miniscule it didn’t seem to be there. Then, when they left, finding the village they were in decimated, they felt it.

The energy was all around them.

A faint hum, a buzz within them, surrounding them.

Over time, after the energy became known to all, it was wielded to create new weapons and new ways of living. The Bleak Begonia fell to the Sacred Eight, whose power was greatest. The energy grew to become a part of everyone.

Until it became magic.

People started to develop powers, control over water and light, and the ability to grow flowers from their own skin. And with the magic came Nature. They became sentient and could watch over humanity as they learnt how to control their newfound abilities. And as humans used the magic to edit their genetics, often ending in painful deaths or colourful hair, They got involved.

Different sub-species of humans came into existence, such as Shifters, Vampires, Fairies, and so on that Nature influenced to prevent humans from further experimentation.

But as magic became the norm of life, a young man came along, destroyed by the war that ended only a few years before. Hideki. He spread his roots from Japan and into other countries, gaining underground support for his plan to rule over the world and prevent any further war. But as his power grew, it became harder to hide. Then, as he started to take over the world, The Alliance against Hideki formed.

Shortly after the creation of The Alliance came the titles. Nature, requiring people whom They could work with among the humans, created the Royals. It all began with the young Emperor Junpei Kaneo, the Emperor of Nature, and the Princess Belladonna Boucher, the Princess of Poison. There were six palaces created across the world.

The Imperial Palace, where the Emperor resided and ruled.

The Fifth Palace, also the Poison Palace, was the right hand to the Imperial Palace, and the ruler of that palace was the one with the most power besides the Imperial. The ruler of this palace could never become a king/queen/royal majesty as the actual palace would always be ruled by the princess/prince/royal highness.

The Fourth Palace, the Sakura Palace (Cherry Blossom) which is the second most powerful of the subordinate palaces.

The Third Palace, the Apple Blossom Palace.

The Second Palace, the Orchid Palace.

The First Palace, The Mizu Palace (Water) which is the least powerful of these palaces, however, it is more powerful than any of the other palaces that came to be.

The Royals fought valiantly to protect the world from Hideki and keep The Alliance from collapse, but Hideki never stopped. And as the Royals grew old, their children taking over the roles, they realised that Hideki was an immortal.

The war against Hideki continued.

 

 

Species - In terms of all who can read this, all are of the human species. There are many sub-species of human which came about through collective magic settling in certain regions when magic was first used in attempts to alter genes. A person cannot become a member of these groups by will as they are hereditary, unlike the specific type of Vampire.

 

Crow-Shifter: A being who can shift between a human and crow form. In past times, many Crow-Shifters would find a pack of Wolf-Shifters to work with. In modern days, as this group dies out, they instead seek out people who can make great use of their innate heightened agility and intelligence and benefit themselves.

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Fairy: A being who has certain uncommon characteristics. Many have wings; these come in many forms, traditional fairy-tale wings, dragon-like, etc. They’re born with a higher chance of developing a different genetic system from their parents due to their unique magic traits.

​

Shapeshifter: A being who can transform into other creatures. They can also transform their looks. It takes a great deal of magic to hold larger forms. When one transforms their looks, there is a timer that depends on the level of magical energy that an individual has. All Shapeshifters have a common flaw in each animal’s form, which takes the most magic to hide. In human form, it is green coloured skin, unique to Shapeshifters. Many Shapeshifters stop aging at a random age in their life; most live to be one hundred, but there is a common illness that is genetic that causes painful deaths between the ages of sixty and eighty mostly.

 

Tree Spirit: A being who is highly connected to nature in all its forms, mostly to land and forested areas. They draw power from this nature and share some common characteristics, slightly pointed ears and scented magic. Common hair colours include a reddish brown or an earthy brown.

​

Wolf-Shifter: A being who can shift between a human and wolf form. There are many subcategories within this subspecies, and most wolves of the same colour, e.g. blue, black, snow live together in packs, a general community with usually strong connections to other subspecies that live mostly away from urban areas like the Tree-Spirits. One group of Wolf-shifters will have many separate communities throughout the world, though in Japan, there are only packs of the blue, black, brown and snow wolves. (Snow wolves are isolated and work for the elusive Lupinea, considered the first goddess, also known as the second mortal deity)

 

Types – A name given to a specific type of magic/ability that is shared within a group of people for a particular reason – can be from birth, such as Medic, or from being exposed to certain magic after birth, such as Vampire.

Even though these are a part of people’s genetics and passed on hereditarily (In almost all cases), not everyone will get the innate abilities or powers. However, they can pass them on to a future generation. People can have multiple types.

 

 

Assassin: An Assassin has an innate ability to kill people with ease. They have stronger minds when it comes to witnessing violence and death, and many are trained from a young age.

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Elemental: An Elemental can harness the magic of multiple elements. They do not have the innate powers, but their magic is able to control different elements. Not all can control all of them, but it is possible for some to learn. Commonly, an Elemental will be able to harness Fire, Wind and Water magic in some capacity.

​

Medic: A Medic has an inherent healing ability. A person who is just a healer can become very talented using healing magic, but most Medics can learn to a much higher level. Many Medics can see a ‘picture’ in their mind of the inside of someone’s body after sending a small amount of magic through the other person and are able to use this to better apply their healing powers.

 

Sealer: Sealers have the ability to use runes to seal things. They can seal dimensional portals, weaker enchantments, people’s magic, etc. A good sealer can use runes and sealing spells to cause the magic of creatures (Non-sentient, created by people) to leave their forms and destroy the creature.

​

Sniper: Snipers have the innate ability to shoot; they have a sense of aim a sense of target from a young age. Be it guns, bows or crossbows, each Sniper is best at one. If they do not practise from a young age, it can be very difficult to learn when older as the innate abilities are not activated when strongest, though they will still be better than the average non-Sniper beginner.

 

Speedster: Speedsters are able to use magic to go faster than an average human. There are different limits on different people; some can go so fast it appears that they in fact teleport, while others turn into a slight blur as they run.

 

Vampire: Vampires cannot be born as Vampires. They must be turned during their life. It is, in a way, a disease, but it is included in the list of types as it inherently changes a person and their abilities. A Vampire usually gains agility, strength and stamina. They also have silver-coloured blood, which, when exposed to air, releases magic which attracts other people and put a Vampire in danger of being hurt. Medics are least attracted to it. They must drink blood to survive comfortably, but it is not only human blood that counts, and most receive donated blood.

 

Wand Artist: A Wand Artist uses a wand to direct magic. They are very rare and often overlap with Wordsmiths. Most use only non-verbal spells, casting by combinations of energy and combinations of movement, but those who are also Wordsmiths can cast spells verbally.

 

Wordsmith: A Wordsmith uses words and runes to create and cast spells. Most are verbal, which means they must speak the words of spells and runes that appear visually around them. Some are able to cast spells without speaking, and the runes solely appear in the air around them. Most use something to guide their spells, such as a staff, fan, etc.

 

Titles – A name given to a specific person based upon Nature’s allocation

 

Demon: A Demon is one of the most powerful of their nature-based magic type. Nature attempts to distance Demons throughout the world as they hold so much power. Most Demons will be paired with a Guardian whose magic either complements or completely contradicts their own, but geographic restrictions may make it, so they have to do a short ritual to pair with a Guardian. Demons may only pair with a single Guardian. There is a Royal of Demons who is the most powerful, generally and doesn’t pass down in a family because the Demon title is not passed on. Demons have their own magic, but in Demon form, all of their magic is White Magic.

 

Guardian: A Guardian is one of the most powerful of their nature-based magic type. Nature attempts to distance Guardians throughout the world as they hold so much power. Most Guardians will be paired with a Demon whose magic either complements of completely contradicts their own, but geographic restrictions may make it so they have to complete a short ritual to pair with a Demon. Guardians may pair with multiple Demons because they are supposed to protect the Demons. There is a Royal of Guardians as well, who is the most powerful, generally and doesn’t pass down in a family because the Guardian title is not passed on. Guardians have their own magic, but in Guardian form, all of their magic is Black Magic. If a Guardian wants, they can direct their magic to a person whom they want to pass it on to, and if Nature senses charitable and benevolent intentions, Nature will pass it on. However this only happens when a Guardian is about to die.

 

Royal: A Royal is a member of the royal family; when more distantly related to the main branch than first cousin, they lose Royal status and powers. It all began with Emperor Junpei Kaneko, known as the Emperor of Nature, who was trained by the Princess of Poison, Bella (Also known as Belladonna) Boucher. The magical energy that floated through the air began to give people titles. Royal was given to entire families whose magic had strong links to nature, making them all Royals of Nature. They gained higher levels of power.

Nature’s rules meant that the Royal Highness of any palace was the one with the real political and magical power. The Royal Majesty would solely rule the Palace and its people, though if they had no heirs, they would also have the title of Royal Highness and have the same power and political sway. For the Imperial Palace, the Imperial Majesty would rule both the palace and have political and magical power. The reason that First Emperor Junpei deciphered from Nature was so that the younger generations would be the ones with the political sway and to avoid dictatorships arising. Out of siblings, the more powerful of them will gain the title, generally the eldest, but not always. And unless the parents die, a child may only receive their title when they’re seventeen. They will, however, be chosen and have the extra magical powers from a young age. A parent can give up their title to a younger child, but most do not, as it puts the child in danger of others. However, when a new heir takes up the role of Imperial Majesty, then there is a power shift which means any child over twelve will receive their title.

 

 

Magic Types – People may have several forms

White Magic: The strongest form of light magic

Sun/Star Magic: Powerful light magic

Day Magic: The weakest form of light magic

Neutral/Grey Magic: A mixture of both light and dark

Night Magic: The weakest form of dark magic

Shadow/Nebulae Magic: Powerful dark magic

Black Magic: The strongest form of dark magic

Water Magic: Form of Nature specific magic

Solar Magic: Magic derived from the outer universe

 

 

Spells –

 

Absorption: The act of bringing something within yourself or your magic.

Cleansing/Sanitation: The use of magic in order to thoroughly clean something.

Compulsion: Using magic to force another to perform an act.

Duplicating: Using magic to force a compound to duplicate itself, use sparingly; it takes the atoms from somewhere.

Flying: Use of magic to fly often comes with aerokinesis or electrokinesis; however is difficult to do beyond a simple float.

Memory clouding: A spell which places a blur over events a person has experienced. Those practised in this spell can even block certain words, names, memories, or faces specifically.

Preservation: When magic is used to preserve something.

Protection: Spells of protection can be effective. This includes shields, blockades and other spells used defensively.

Sealing: The spell of sealing is a vast term; it covers several types of sealing, such as sealing places, buildings, people, monsters and magic. Seals don’t only lock things up but can unlock them as well.

Solar Enhancements: This is a spell used by accomplished solar magicians who take attributes assigned to planets, stars, galaxies, etc, in order to enhance the magic of the recipient of the enhancement.

Taboo: A dreadful spell that prevents the one under it from telling their loved ones about what truly happened in the past. They are only broken when the information under taboo is revealed in a clear way. Their loved ones remain unaware of the past despite their family’s desperate want to tell them everything that had been forcefully clouded from their child mind.

Telekinesis: Use of magic to float an object. Comes frequently with aerokinesis and electrokinesis.

Teleportation: A spell which transports the user a vast distance within seconds. It often comes with electrokinesis. It uses magic to physically lift and throw a person/people safely to their destination. To go through a wall means that their magic affects the very atoms that make it up in order to protect the persons involved.

Time Trap: A spell which traps a person in a certain time; they relive the same day over and over until the trap is broken.

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