Diffraction

Appendix: A Treatise

A Treatise on Gifts of the Divine and the Arcane

Scholar's note: This rendition combines several partial copies of the original manuscript and removes conjecture inserted over centuries by various schools of thought in the Arcanists' Hall. Of the fourth section, no full copy has ever been found.

To the imperial Wondrous One,

Holder of the keys of civilization and progress,

Lord over all the eye surveys and realms as yet unseen,

Rightful occupant of the Amythyral throne,

His Majesty Kalishtes the Third,

Emperor of Cerune

My Lord, in order to assist your wise governance of, and in recognition of your Inherent authority over the resources bestowed upon your vast kingdom,

And given the nature and urgency of your recent inquiry into replacing or augmenting Soulforged ranks,

Finally, desiring to establish a common vocabulary for the divine manifestations and Refocusing of elemental energy,

As your chief examiner and technological minister, I took upon myself the task of cataloging the Gifts of power granted by the Divine and the blessed metals from which we derive these. With that foundation established, I proceeded into a study of the ways of Arcanists, and how they might help answer your original demand. From there I delved into the nature of the Fractured that plague our lands, delineating their nature and source of power. Finally, I developed a proposal by which we can create, unassisted, an extensive array of such resources, thus fulfilling the need which first drove you to this area of interest.

1. GRACEMARKS

Upon embarking on this journey into a scholarly understanding of the gifts of the Divine, I feared I would be overwhelmed by an onslaught of irrational beliefs, unfounded superstitions, and inflexible religious dogma. Out of my desire to provide your Majesty the most accurate account of all these matters, I steeled myself with iron resolve, objective reasoning, and unbiased perspective. I was not prepared for the entrenched views and unwavering opinions I would encounter.

And yet I found myself pleasantly surprised at the similarities and shared characteristics of Gracemarks as one examines the traditions and rituals of each Order.

The first point of confusion is in the nature of the mark itself. When the Aspect of the Divine bestows a mark, it is a spontaneous manifestation of radiant Illuminum on the back of the right hand in the shape of that Aspect's symbol. This is always called a Gracemark.

However, when an aspirant undergoes extensive training and a Testing ritual, the Order may grant those who succeed an emblem of etched Illuminum, embedded in the skin. These are specifically called Gracebrands.

The difficulty is that people use the latter term interchangeably with "Gracemark" when speaking of the divine gifts in general terms.

There are seven pairs of Aspects that bestow Gracemarks upon their devotees, each with associated divine powers. These powers manifest in four ways that have striking similarities regardless of which Aspect's mark one bears.

The power of a Gracemark appears when the marked individual invokes the presence of the Divine, through prayer, meditation, song, or ritual. In my survey of the Empire's Gracemarked citizens, this invocation took different forms for each individual and is the combined product of unique experiences and years of training. But the four empowerments can be divided into the following categories: