[Supplementary]
A glossary of terminology found in QUEENKILLER, KINGMAKER
Book One: A Grace of Crowns
Book Two: The Courtesy of Kings
This appendix is not required in order to fully read and appreciate the novel, and is only intended for added refe...
Theurgy is, essentially, the ability to absorb, manipulate, or/and transform energy into forms that vary depending on each type of theurgy. This ability begins to manifest generally during or around the start of puberty. Few individuals (late-bloomers) manifest at a later age, and even fewer still — known as early-bloomers — show signs of theurgy before puberty.
Each theurgist has a centre of power — his/her core — where all theurgic ability gathers. This could be in one's palm, one's abdomen, or any other part of the human body. In this core must energy then be focused and channelled correctly in order to produce the wanted outcome. Failure to do so may result in many consequences, including uncontrolled outward or even inward bursts of theurgy.
II. MEASURING THEURGY
The first signs of theurgy usually comes in small, short, weak, and uncontrolled bursts; although some rare occassions have been known to cause great damage and casualty. These first bursts are in no means an accurate prediction of the level of theurgy. The process of measuring theurgy is known as the blooding, or the testing. An individual of no theurgic ability is similarly known as an unblooded.
As theurgy is a growing and everchanging force, individuals showing first signs of it must be blooded once every six months. The only exception is for early-bloomers, who must be blooded once every four months.
After three consecutive tests that result in no significant increase/decrease of theurgic level, it is considered to have settled and no further testing is necessary. However, a theurgist may choose to undergo a blooding at any time as he/she sees fit. It is unlikely, though, that a theurgic rank would change after it settles at a stable level.
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| Pictured: A raw bloodrune \
The blooding procedure itself requires — as its name suggest — blood from the tested individual. Fresh, unadulterated blood from the living theurgist is gathered in a specifically measured reflective bowl. A rune, known as a bloodrune, is to be immersed in its centre and left until it absorbs all the blood. Throughout this procedure, the rune will begin to take colour. The final shade and combination of colours it reflects once all the blood has been consumed determines the level of theurgy the individual possesses.
III. LEVELS OF THEURGY
Theurgy lies within a spectrum, represented in its physical form through a gradient of shades. A theurgist of first-rank results in a bloodrune so black, its original colour can no longer be determined. An unblooded, having no theurgy at all, results in a colourless bloodrune; unchanged from its original ashen white state.
It is said that were the deities to be tested, their bloodrune would crystallise and take on a coloured transparency. Such a deific ranking of theurgy, however, has never been seen amongst mankind.
