Phanon[]
Phanon is a supernatural substance that exists throughout all parts of Crestseal. It serves as the fundamental sole power source for all the factions that exist within the world of Crestseal. Phanon exists within the Kernel of all beings, and all beings produce it from within.
Utilizing Phanon[]
Although all beings have Phanon produced within their Kernels, utilizing it properly is a process that requires going through what is called Citadel of Screams, an enormous, tower-like structure. The Citadel has many Floors related to it, exact number is unknown but far higher than hundreds of thousands, likely too great of Floors to define in totality.
Individuals who are to enter the Citadel for the first time to learn Phanon are called Apprentices. The Apprentice entering the Citadel first arrives in what is called Chamber. Chambers are safe areas that are present on each Floor. Floors themselves are much larger, extending to at least a kilometer, and have a rectangular shape. Floors are also very dangerous, filled with various living beings who are called "Visks" due to the sound they make, the Visks will attack any foreign individual that enters the Floors, and just being inside one of a Floor has various effects. Apprentices need to journey from their location on the floor to another location, where a door exists, which will open either the individual survives on the Floor for an unspecified amount of time, or kills the necessary number of Visks. Being able to resist the innate effects of each Floor is a necessity as otherwise process is impossible. Once Floor 1 is cleared, the Door will open to the Chamber of the next Floor, where an individual can rest for some time, and then continue with Floor 2. This process seems to go on forever, with no clear ending in sight. However, after surviving a certain number of Floors, which can change depending on various factors such as the powers of Apprentices, the number of Apprentices, and their overall speed in passing Floors, there is a possibility of reaching the Floor Finale. This Floor is different than all previous Floors with a clear number. It is the final, last Floor, with no more Floor after it. There are countless Floors with numbers, ever-increasing, making Floor Finale impossible to reach by normal means, it is only accessible those its door appeared to, what determines this is unknown, but assumed that it only appears to those who can already withstand its effects.
On each Floor, the innate effects of the Floor are far more potent than the Floors before them, and the power of the Visks is also much greater. An Apprentice who was unaffected by the effects of Floor 1 can get crippled or killed by the effects of Floor 2. Once an Apprentice passes Floor 1, they are considered Phanon users, more precisely Partial Phanon users. Once they reach Floor Finale and pass it, they are considered Full Phanon users. A Phanon user passing a Floor gets a scale of that Floor, for example, an Apprentice who has currently passed Floor 15 will called a Scale 15 Phanon user.
Citadel of Screams in-depth[]
Effects
In-depth Info: Citadel is believed to possess sentience, and merely being present within the Floors can trigger a range of inherent effects. Citadel seems to be a separate scape, with a different, separate time than that of Middlescape, as time spent in Citadel does not match time spent in Middlescape. Each Floors also has a time of its own distinct from one another, making all Floors within Citadel their Tumults.
Taming
It is possible to take newborn Visks outside of the Citadel and raise them themselves, who can later serve them in combat. Only the newborn Visks who are taken care of their older variants can be tamed, other Visks taken out will grow hostile. Visks grow quite fast and generally reach their adult versions in 2-3 years depending on the variant. As Tamed Visk reaches adulthood, they manifest the powers that they would have manifested within the Citadels, which have the same potency as whichever Floors they were taken from. Tamed Visks also generally grow more powerful than their wild counterparts, this is mostly due to the better environment they were raised properly. Visks are quite intelligent, and will generally follow the orders of their guardian
Usages[]
These are basic usages of Phanon possessed by all users.
- Energy Manipulation: Users can produce and control Phanon in various ways, which is generally considered to be a kind of energy produced within one's Kernel.
- Limited Statistics Amplification: Phanon is commonly used to reinforce physical strength by users.
- Limited Reactive Power Level: The physical bodies of users can quickly adjust to the reinforcement of physical strength achieved through Phanon, naturally reaching and maintaining it.
Resistances[]
Phanon users resist the effects of Floor Finale of the Citadel of Screams as well as the Visks within it. These are as follows.
- Resistance Negation - Even on Floor 1 Both the Citadel and Visks within it can ignore the mitigation of their targets, effectively ignoring their pre-existing warding for themselves. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- Power Nullification - Even on Floor 1 Citadel can neutralize Methods utilized by all beings that enter its Floors.
- Time Stop - Even on Floor 1 Citadel controls the time within the Floors, and time is always stopped in the Floors. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, and Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- Mind Manipulation, Fear Manipulation, and Empathic Manipulation - Even on Floor 1 Citadel can infiltrate minds, inducing intense fear and negative emotions, and can disrupt cognitive processes, resulting in mental discord and the gradual erosion of the mind and consciousness. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, and Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- Soul Manipulation - Even on Floor 1 Citadel can rip away or destroy souls. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, and Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- Conceptual Manipulation (Type 1) and Information Manipulation (Type 2) - Even on Floor 1 Citadel can erode one's Kernel. A Kernel is an expansive, personalized, and independent phenomenon and a being's fundamental unphysical aspect, representing the core idea of its being as well as the fundamental information that makes it up and maintains its very nature. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, and Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- Law Manipulation - The Citadel is the rulemaker in its own domain, that being the Floors, as well as all that exists within it. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, and Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- Reality Warping, Causality Manipulation, and Perception Manipulation - Even on Floor 1 Citadel can rule within itself to alter, define, and redefine the course of events within the Floors, affecting both those within its confine, this will lead to a distorted sense of time, causing those who enter the Floors to feel eternity, while also subjecting these individuals to witnessing their own violent deaths, which subsequently manifest as reality. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, and Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- Spatial Manipulation - Even on Floor 1 Citadel will rapidly crush, bend, pierce, and slash the space the apprentice inhabits. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, and Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- Duplication - Even on Floor 1 Citadel will replicate its targets and manifest an identical version of itself as one of the Visks. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, and Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- Transmutation and Deconstruction - Even on Floor 1 Citadel possesses the capacity to deteriorate one's physical form, reshaping it or causing it to dissolve into dust. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, and Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- Corrosion Inducement - Even on Floor 1 Citadel's Floors are extremely corrosive, dusting away and tearing apart any intruder in mere moments. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, and Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- Disease Manipulation and Pain Manipulation - Even on Floor 1 Citadel is capable of inflicting a myriad of severe ailments, leading to excruciating pain and prolonged suffering. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, and Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- Death Manipulation and Existence Erasure - Even on Floor 1 Citadel can cause the sudden death of its targets, encompassing the death of their consciousness, this can extend to the complete erasure of its targets as a whole. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, and Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- BFR (Even on Floor 1 Citadel can send its targets to other Realms detached from its Floors and Middlescape. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, and Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
Visks: Floors contain various Visks, they resemble a mixture of animals, and some are made up of unphysical phenomena such as thoughts, emotions, or Contours. They're almost always hostile to Apprentices, but sometimes neutral. These Visks came in various "ages", some look old, some look young and juvenile, while some, rare ones seem to be newborns, being cared for by older variants of the same type of Visk. The newborn ones can be taken outside by Apprentices and be tamed to serve as their companions. They can occasionally be seen as fighting one another.
- Extreme Heat - Even on Floor 1 Visks can raise their body temperature to exceed the heat in the core of a neutron star. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- Radiation Manipulation - Even on Floor 1 Visks can be radiate hundreds of grays of radiation in each second. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- Power Mimicry and Attack Reflection - Even on Floor 1 The Visks all can reflect the attacks back at whoever attacked them, replicating the attack and amplifying it and utilizing it themselves. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- Teleportation - Even on Floor 1 The Visks all can teleport their targets as well as their attack. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale. )
- Probability Manipulation - Even on Floor 1 the Visks will alter the likelihood of events within the Floors to make sure their own attacks always succeed while attacks of their targets always fail. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale. in Floor Finale)
- Statistics Reduction and Sleep Manipulation (Even on Floor 1 the Visks can attack Apprentice's stamina, causing them to drain from energy and faint. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale. )
- Social Influencing - Even on Floor 1 Certain kinds of Visks, known as Charmers, are very charming and charismatic, they can talk their targets into joining them, and even the most hateful and determined ones can fall for them. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
- Acid Manipulation, Biological Manipulation, and Absorption - Even on Floor 1 The bodies of Visks are made up of highly corrosive acid that dissolves and deconstructs anything that touches it, allowing the Visks to absorb others. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale. by the Visks in Floor Finale
- Possession - Even on Floor 1 The Visks can invade one's physique by entering it, and can control it from within. Partial Phanon users are unaffected in whatever Floor their Scale indicates, Full Phanon users are unaffected in Floor Finale.
Method[]
Method is a word used to refer to the abilities/skills powered by Phanon. With Phanon being the main energy system of Crestseal, Methods account for the overwhelming majority of abilities/skills/characteristics in the verse. Methods are divided into two broad categories, Learned Methods and Inborn Methods. Learned Methods can be trained on and acquired, while Inborn Methods are innate to a person, a faction, or a family, that outsiders will have difficulty learning or acquiring. Aside from this difference, they are the same in their function.
Methods can both be the name of a broad Method with many specialized utilizations, as well as specific stand-alone Methods. For example, the Firemance is the Method of formation and utilization of Fire, while the Broiling Immolation Fire is a Method that is part of Firemance.
Methods can be combined to form new Methods. For example, Magmance is the Method of formation and utilization of Magma/Lava, it is acquired by combining both Firemance and Earthmance. As such, a Magmancer must also be a Earthmancer and Firemancer even if they only use Magmance Methods. Similar to this, Methods that are part of other Methods can be combined to form an even more specialized type of Method.
Expansive[]
Expansive is the most powerful ordinary utilization of each Method for any user. This can change based on the user, and they can develop the Expansive Methods of their own. Since it is subjective and based on the user, not all Expansive Methods have the same power, it mainly indicates the power and capability of the user in terms of their command and control over the Method which they can use an Expansive of.
Field Formation[]
Field Formation is generally considered to be the peak, the most optimized, and powerful way any Method can be utilized, even surpassing Expansive in terms of effectiveness in most cases. This works by the user casting a Field that utilizes the Method of the user's choice as its basis and affects an area based on it. Casting a Field increases the damage of the caster's attacks by 30%. The Fields are also accompanied by what is called the infallible effect. This is a kind of effect that cannot fail, and will always affect the target within the range of the Field no matter what. The infallible effect is always the Method that was used as the basis for the field, with it being far easier to develop a Field if the imbued Method is Caster's Inborn Method. Additionally, Fields are cast instantaneously, while this has no offensive effect as the manifestation of a Field itself is not an attack, this allows the Caster to instantaneously change their location upon casting their Field to avoid an incoming attack. Upon manifestation, there is a slight delay until the infallible effect is activated and attacks the target.
Effects[]
- Damage Boost: The damage of all of Caster's Methods will be increased by 30% while within the range of the Field.
- Probability Manipulation: A Field's imbued attack is infallible and cannot fail, will always land on the target within the range of the Field.
There are two types of Fields.
Type 1 - Repulsed Fields[]
Repulsed Fields are the first of the two kinds of Fields. They are overwhelmingly more common, and much easier to cast. They work by affecting a small area, usually around 60 meters around the caster, and manifesting a wholly spatially separate realm within it with boundaries with the rest of reality that cuts it out of it. As it is located in a separate spatial location, the interior structure of Field can be vast, depending on how much the caster worked on its appearance beforehand. The interior of Repulsed Fields is usually built earlier and worked on, and can hundreds to thousands of kilometers. The geography and structures of Repulsed Fields usually reflect the Method that was their basis. The interior boundary of Repulsed Fields is an extremely powerful, spatial boundary. Not only they are very hard to break, but breaking through them does not guarantee the target can escape to a safe place as it is not known what lies beyond the boundary of a fully-manifested Repulsed Field, as no character ever broke its boundaries from the inside. However, Repulsed Fields' outside boundary still exists where it was first cast, and is significantly easier to break, as their purpose is to trap someone inside, no need to have a strong outside boundary. The target is effectively trapped in here and will be attacked by whatever infallible attack accompanies the Field, as well as the caster whose damage of attacks is increased by 30% for being in their own Field.
Effects[]
- Spatial Manipulation: Repulsed Fields manifest in a separate spatial location distinct from where they were cast.
- Pocket Reality Manipulation: Repulsed Fields are essentially pocket realities manifested by the Caster and this gives them a huge home advantage while within it.
Type 2 - United Fields[]
United Fields are the second of the two kinds of Fields. They are incredibly rare, and extremely difficult to, cast, maintain, and control. They work by directly affecting the reality around the caster, rather than forming a separate spatial location. The caster only manifests a small structure that represents the center of the Field and affects all things in its radius. Although lack of boundaries means United Fields leave the target an escape route, they have far more innate range; while Repulsed Fields affect around 60 meters of reality, United Fields can affect up to kilometers. The way they work is theoretically simpler and involves fewer factors, but maintaining a Field that directly affects reality without a safe separate location under the caster's command makes it far more difficult. It is considered similar to a musician making music from silence, and hard to even think about by many characters of the setting. In addition, United Fields will always triumph against Repulsed Fields in a clash, even if the United Field user is much weaker and cast later. The reason for this is the fact that the outer part of the boundaries of Repulsed Fields is innately weak to other fields, since two Repulsed Fields never affect each other's outer boundary, it is not a factor during a Clash between Repulsed Fields, but United Field can reach and attack the outer boundaries of Repulsed Fields, destroying them. Additionally, United Field will always affect the outer boundary of a Repulsed Field even if the user casts it from the interior of the Repulsed Field that had already trapped them.
Effects[]
- Reality Warping: United Fields are cast upon the reality itself, overriding the natural state of the area by manifesting.