This chapter serves as a compendium of knowledge about the world of this novel. It exists to grant readers a clearer understanding of its lore, systems, and unseen laws. While it may be skipped, doing so is not advised, as it contains crucial insights, even if a few mild spoilers lie within.
◆ The Three Crimson Moon
They first appeared in the sky long ago, longer than anyone remembers, and that was when it all began.
The Three Crimson Moons, also called the Crimson Mandate, mark young people across kingdoms, duchies, and cities. Those affected are typically between the ages of sixteen and nineteen.
The Mark is both a curse and a protection.
Those chosen are obligated to defend the world from the horrors born of human despair. They are known as Spirit Warriors.
◆ Spirits (WOE)
The origin of Spirits has long been disputed. Some claim they were born from the Three Crimson Moons. Others whisper of a primordial curse. A few believe they were shaped deliberately, crafted by a supreme, unknown entity.
The truth remains buried.
What is known is this: All Spirits are the embodiment of negative human emotion. They are collectively called Woe. Individually, a single Spirit may be referred to as a Woe. These entities manifest in countless forms: monstrous, humanoid, or otherwise, each shaped by the darkness within the human mind.
◆ Negative Emotions
★ Fear
Panic, Terror, Paranoia, Dread, Anxiety, Horror, Apprehension
★ Agony
Suffering, Sorrow, Despair, Misery, Anguish, Torment, Hopelessness
★ Rage
Anger, Envy, Hatred, Jealousy, Wrath, Spite, Malice
★ Nightmare
Delirium, Hallucination, Illusion, Madness, Dread, Phobia, Delusion
◆ Manifestation (Blooming)
Manifestation is the process by which a Markbearer first witnesses their power. It is the moment the Mark placed by the Three Crimson Moons awakens and reveals itself.
This awakening is often sudden and uncontrollable, triggered by intense emotional stress such as fear, grief, rage, humiliation, or despair. During Manifestation, the bearer may lose control of their power entirely. For many, this moment is terrifying.
It only confirms that the bearer has been chosen by the Crimson Mandate and is no longer ordinary.
◆ Woeplane
The Woeplane is a dimension formed from the collective consciousness of mankind, a world born from thought and emotion itself.
In the earliest age of humanity, the Woeplane was not hostile. It existed in a dull, formless state, calm and unfocused, reflecting a world where mankind was few and emotions were simple.
As populations grew, so did desire.
Desire bred jealousy.
Jealousy turned to hatred.
Hatred gave rise to anger.
Anger nurtured fear.
With every generation, these emotions deepened, layered upon one another, feeding the Woeplane endlessly. What was once stagnant grew vast. What was once silent grew aware. Darkness took form, not by divine design, but by human nature.
The Woeplane did not become monstrous overnight. It was starved no longer. It darkened because mankind fed it. From this saturation of despair, pain, rage, and terror, Woes began to form, each shaped by the fears and suffering buried within human minds.
Opposite this growth of darkness, something else occurred. Just as negative emotions accumulated, so too did hope, love, courage, faith, sacrifice, and the desperate will to survive.
From these opposing emotions, the Three Crimson Moons came into existence. They were not the cause of the Woeplane's corruption. They were the answer to it.
An offering of power. A promise of resistance. A fragile hope that mankind could fight what it had unknowingly created.
From the depths of the now-darkened Woeplane rose a ruler, an ancient unseen presence drawn together by resonance rather than birth:
Vhar'Zeloth, the Parallax Sovereign
The Woeplane feeds on negative emotion, and as despair deepens in the world of men, the Sovereign grows stronger in silence.
For this reason, kingdoms enforce optimism, festivals, public order, and controlled happiness. A despairing population strengthens the Woeplane and, by extension, its Sovereign.
Each entry into the Woeplane contains a central conflict. Resolving it allows the Spirit Warrior to return to the real world, evolved.
◆ The Acolytes
Acolytes are those who have passed their first sanctioned trial after Manifestation and established a stable connection to the Woeplane. They are granted access to the Gates of Lament, through which they hunt and destroy Woes and their Seeds before the Veil is torn.
◆GATE OF LAMENT
This is the magical entrance to the Woeplane, normally found in academies in every kingdom.
◆ The Veil
The Veil separates the real world from the Woeplane. If a Woe Seed is not destroyed, it grows and adapts until it tears a Gate through the Veil, allowing Woes to invade reality.
There are three known Veils:
Mind Veil;
When five minds are corrupted or overrun by dark negative emotions, they are lured together. When the five assemble, a pent is formed and a Veil is established.
Soul Veil;
The same as the Mind Veil, but only three souls are needed. However, it is far harder to corrupt a soul.
Physical Veil;
A Physical Veil is torn when a group of Acolytes or ranked Spirit Warriors assigned a particular mission in the Woeplane fails.
◆ Spirit Warriors (Spirit Tamed)
A Spirit Warrior possesses the ability to absorb negative emotions and use them to their benefit, and must be strong-willed to do so. A Spirit Warrior is marked with either Fear, Agony, Rage, or Nightmare. No Spirit Warrior is marked with two Woes or two negative emotions. Therefore, any Tamed Spirit Warrior focuses on the Woe he is marked with and defends others against it.
◆ Manifestation Categories
♥︎ Early Manifesters / Legacies
Legacies are those whose Spell Mark blooms early. They are often very powerful and tend to rise through the ranks quickly. They are mainly from noble homes, though they are rare. For them, the Spirit Spell Mark appears at an early stage (10 and below), and they Bloom at 16, exactly sixteen years at the exact time they left their mother's womb.
♥︎Normal Bloomers / Progenies
Progenies bloom at the normal time and make up the majority. For them, the Mark appears between the ages of 12 and 15, and once they reach 17, they Bloom.
♥︎ Late Bloomers / Relapsed
These are very rare and scarce. The Mark appears at 17, and they Bloom at 18, when their age mates have already bloomed.
★ Spirit Warrior Ranks ★
* Bloom
* Acolyte
* Revenant
* Master
* Specter
* Saint
◆ Woe Shard
A magical item tied to the essence of a Woe. Woe Shards are absorbed from the soul essence of a Woe and can be channeled, converted, and manipulated depending on the system of the Spirit Warrior that absorbs it.
◆ Noxen
A dark, negative energy spread by a Woe and evolved by a warrior when he kills a Woe. It fuels the Memory and acts as its magical quality.
◆ Echo
Magical essences evolved by a warrior when a Woe is slain. Echoes are absorbed from the Soul Cores of Woes and determine one's evolution to higher ranks.
◆ Soul Core
A mystical core of one's soul or spirit. It is capable of accumulating and storing vast amounts of Echoes and other soul essences.
◆ Soul Core Title
A measure of power based on the quality of one's Soul Core and the purity of their rank. Unlike humans, who have only one Soul, Woes possess more than one depending on their rank.
There are seven Soul Titles:
* Marked / Sealed
* Awakened
* Ascended
* Transcended
* Sovereign
* Celestial
* Divine
Just as Spirit Warriors have Soul Titles, Woes have Woe Titles. Their Soul Cores are seven, based on the Spirit Spell:
* Shrouded
* Manifested
* Fallen
* Corrupted
* Forsaken
* Unholy
* Profaned
◆ Group Anomaly
A measure and classification of power based on the quality of a Woe's Soul Core. Remember, Woes have many Soul Cores depending on their anomalies. They are of seven anomalies, ranging from one to seven Soul Cores respectively:
* Beast
* Monster
* Demon
* Devil
* Tyrant
* Calamity
* Titan
For clearer understanding, a Woe with three Soul Cores and a Manifested Soul Title is called a Manifested Demon, while one with seven Soul Cores of a Forsaken Title is called a Forsaken Titan. Similarly, a Spirit Warrior who reaches the rank of Master with an Ascended Soul Title is called an Ascended Master, while one with a Sovereign Soul Title is called a Sovereign Master. The higher the rank, the fewer the warriors.
◆ Attributes
Passive abilities corresponding to one's actions, achievements, and unique traits.
★ Summary ★
When a Bloomer accomplishes a given task, they evolve into an Acolyte, with their Soul Title unlocked and Soul Core evolved. They become able to absorb negative energies and commune with them.
An Acolyte, after the specific time given by the academy, gains an anchor to the realm and can access it with a group of assigned Acolytes. They enter the Woeplane and face Woes and missions. If successful, they advance to the next rank, Revenants, and their soul gains a third Aspect ability.
Revenants possess a more balanced potency for absorbing negative energies. They are always alert in case a group fails to destroy a Woe Seed. In such cases, they rush to kill the Woe and heal the Veil.
Revenants evolve into Masters, and Masters into Specters. As ranks increase, the number of warriors decreases.
★ Spirit Untamed ★
There was, however, an unknown hollow in the Crimson Mandate, resulting in the manifestation of a rare mark whose bearers were called the Untamed. The Untamed are extremely rare, numbering about a dozen across the entire world.
Their presence distorts the Veil. Woes are drawn to them instinctively, mistaking them for kin or prey. Spirit Warriors fear fighting alongside them, as an Untamed losing control can be more catastrophic than a failed mission.
Their Soul Cores are unstable, constantly tearing and reforming under the strain of conflicting emotions. Prolonged use causes hallucinations, memory loss, emotional detachment, and eventually complete ego collapse. Many Untamed lose all memory of their humanity, even forgetting their own names.
Many Untamed are marked, but only a few survive the Acolyte stage. Those strong and fortunate enough to survive do their best to remain hidden, for reasons that will be revealed later in the story.
♠︎ Little Insight
Unlike the Spirit Tamed, who are divided into classifications and can absorb only one negative energy, the Untamed can absorb all four negative energies: Fear, Agony, Rage, and Nightmare. In the end, this ability consumes them.
The Untamed are viewed as Woes themselves, as many believe they are already corrupted by negative energies. Everything in their system mirrors that of the Tamed, except for their rank hierarchy. Though they also have six ranks, they differ:
* Bloom
* Rebirth
* Defiler
* Master
* Harbinger
* Eidolon
Remember, unlike the Tamed, the Untamed can absorb all four energies, but doing so gradually consumes their souls.