DEFECTS
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Defects are abnormalities that occur in the world. The people in this world refer to "defects" as supernatural phenomena that they have been taught are impossible, such as the spawning of "
demons" and the powers of "
knights". The "
Architects" call these happenings defects because they know what they really are: imperfections and ghosts in the machine. The reason that these things happen in this world is because
"Genesis" is a conscious being just like anyone else, and through any design, mistakes happen and flaws appear. Due to these errors, defects have occurred and have caused certain occurrences to take place in the world. Because defects are basically impossible to fix, the Architects usually do nothing about them. Since they don't have any power over things not directly created by Genesis, the Architects can't control or destroy anything or anyone produced by defects.
DEFECTED BIRTHS
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Due to defects, certain people in the world are born with special powers and abilities. Defected births were at one point extremely rare, but for some reason they have become more common. Defected people were regarded as outcasts at one point, but due to the rising number of defected births and the usefulness of
knights, they are treated very well -- in fact, people consider them to be heroes. Every now and then there are cases of discrimination, however. A defected person's powers and abilities don't activate until they hit puberty and experience "
knighthood". If a child is defected at birth, their barcode will be slightly distorted -- sometimes instead of black there will be shades of blue or yellow, or the lines of the barcode will be slanted or squiggly.
KNIGHTS
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Knights are defected individuals who have experienced
knighthood and have activated their powers. Their powers come from the
aura, which they are born with. Their composure and natural disposition is different from regular humans. They mostly rely on rationality and logic. Some show very little to no emotion. Their inhuman physical skills and attributes make them formidable fighters. They have inhumanly heightened senses and reflexes. Knights make up 10% of the world population. Because of their ability to use aura, knights are the only people in the world that can harm
demons. Since they are the only ones capable of destroying demons, many knights work as mercenaries and get paid for getting rid of threat-imposing demons. Because of their combat prowess, some work for the
Guard, which tends to pay much better than working as a mercenary.
DEMONS
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Demons are monsters that spawn due to defects. There is a wide variety of different demons that roam the world. All types of demons are extremely aggressive and pose serious threats to human life. They are only affected by aura; therefore, knights are the only ones capable of destroying them. Demons are ranked according to their strength and power. They are ranked as follows, from weakest to strongest: Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, and Level 5. Level 5 demons are not only extremely powerful and large in size, but they are also incredibly crafty and intelligent. They are burly, tall, and possess strong bodies. Some stand at over fifteen feet tall. One level 5 demon is capable of defeating a dozen knights all at once. Level 1 demons are weak and small in stature -- they often run away when facing stronger knights.
Spawn-points: Areas where demons spawn. They literally appear out of nowhere in these areas. Demons cannot reproduce so they just continually spawn at different locations all across the world. Some spawn-points spawn demons rapidly, while others spawn demons very slowly. Some spawn-points only spawn the same kind of demons, while others spawn a wide variety. There is said to be a spawn-point in
Hell's Desert that only spawns one kind of demon: the deadly
Behemoth, a level 5 thirty-feet tall demon that is nigh invincible. Because of this, that spawn-point is called the "Behemoth Spawn". It spawns this demon once every year.
AURA
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Aura is a visible, tangible manipulative energy that knights possess. It is typically visualized by most as a white or silver color. The existence of aura is one of the major defects in Genesis's design.
Offensive aura: Knights can use aura in the form of blasts and energy waves. It can also be used to create weapons, such as a sword or a bow with arrows. These weapons are created entirely out of aura energy. It can be used to strengthen punches and kicks and it can be used to propel the user into the air for flight. It can also be used as a "speed-boost". Skilled knights are able to use aura offensively in many different ways and techniques.
Defensive aura: Knights can use aura to heal both external and internal injuries. It can also be used to strengthen parts of the body and create shields out of aura energy. Aura can be used to revive dead knights, but this requires an incredible amount of skill and experience -- only the best of knights are capable of reviving other knights. Knights often have to "overclock" in order to revive a dead knight because reviving requires an insane amount of aura. Using aura defensively is very basic for knights.
Aura channeling: In order to effectively use aura, knights must properly channel it throughout their body. There is no danger in incorrectly channeling aura; however, doing this will result in an extremely weak output of aura energy that will deal almost no damage to the target. Properly channeling aura results in solid energy outputs. As knights get more in-tune with their aura, they become capable of quickly and effectively channeling their aura.
Aura control: Controlling aura is instrumental in learning how to effectively use aura in combat situations. Properly controlling aura is what allows a knight to use his aura to its fullest extent. Once a knight has transmitted his aura outside of his body through proper aura channeling, he must control and manipulate it. This requires focus. As knights get more in-tune with their aura, they no longer need to spend much time focusing on the aura and are able to speedily and efficiently manipulate aura.
Overclocking: "Overclocking" is the act of a knight unleashing all of his aura. Overclocking for more than ten minutes is extremely dangerous and can cause the knight to pass out or even die. Inexperienced knights usually are incapable of controlling and channeling their aura in this state.
Burning out: After overclocking, a knight becomes extremely exhausted and is unable to use his aura for a period of time. Generally, it takes a knight around five to ten days to regain the ability to use his aura.
Building up aura: New knights start off with a small amount of aura. In order to build up aura flow, knights must spend time training with their aura. As they become more in-tune with their aura through training, their aura flow will automatically increase. First Class Guardians are said to have ridiculously large aura flows.
Aura flow: The amount of aura that a knight possesses.
KNIGHTHOOD
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During the onset of puberty, a defected person will experience what is called knighthood. This only occurs when a defected person is asleep -- it happens in a dream. In that dream, the defected person will be faced with a question. A voice will ask the individual the question "Are you prepared to become a knight?". The person must respond with either a "yes" or a "no". If the person responds with a "no" he or she will fall into a coma, in which they will not wake up until they say "yes" to the question. Basically, the individual has no choice but to become a knight. There are some cases where defected individuals, not wanting to be forced into a life of fighting and killing, decide to remain in their coma for long periods of time. Once the person says "yes" to the question, he will wake up as a knight. Their composure and natural disposition will be different and they will begin to think and see things differently. Their physical skills and attributes will be improved instantly, such as their endurance, strength, agility, speed, etc. Their senses will immediately be heightened to abnormally high levels -- their reflexes and senses will become inhuman. This entire experience is a flaw in the design of the world.
THE ARCHITECTS
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The Architects are known as the "gods" of the world. They are the leaders of the world and they work under Genesis, who is the ultimate ruler "god" of the world. Genesis granted them immortality and certain abilities and powers once they became a part of the world. One of the powers that they relish is their mind-controlling ability. They can control the minds of whomever they please. Another one of their powers that they use is their "deletion" ability, which allows them to make anyone they wish cease to exist. No one knows that they have these specific powers, however. It is known that they possess other powers, but not these two specific powers. The Architects are hundreds of years-old, but because of their powers they can regenerate their bodies so that they appear to never age. They are incapable of fixing defects so they just leave them be. The Architects dislike knights because they are the only ones that they can't control or "delete", since they are produced by defects. But, because knights are capable of destroying demons, the Architects don't display their hatred towards them. If the Architects could get rid of all knights as well as demons, they would. The Architects cannot delete demons, either, since they are defects. They keep this a secret, however. No one knows that they have no control or power over defects.
GENESIS
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Genesis is the ruler of the new world. He has established a one-world government in the world, led by the Architects and himself. Genesis claims that when people die they will live for eternity in a place called Paradise, as long as they obey him. If you don't obey him, he claims that you will go to a place called Darkness. He describes Darkness as a place of eternal solitude in complete, utter darkness. He also claims to be the ultimate creator of everything. The Architects are considered to be his fellow "gods", with him being the supreme god. Genesis possesses powers just like the Architects, among many more, supreme abilities.
THE GUARD
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The Guard is the military established by the Architects to maintain order in the world and protect civilians from danger, whether it be human threats or demon threats. Members of the Guard are called Guardians. There has never been a war in this world's history, nor have there been any significant human threats, so Guardians generally work on getting rid of demon threats and taking care of crime in cities. Guardians are made up of aura-infused humans and knights. Guardians are usually always stationed in Citadels. No regular humans are allowed to enlist. You must be an aura-user to enlist. The Guard was created and began in the 200th year of the world when crime began to surface. Since defects did not begin appearing until the year 800, the Guard was originally entirely made up of humans and it's only objective was to handle crime.
GUARDIANS
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Guardians are member of the Guard. They consist of aura-infused humans and knights. Usually, knights enlist in the Guard because it pays better than being a mercenary. Some of the higher-ups in the Guard are knights, but most of them are aura-infused humans. Knights that enlist in the Guard are generally regarded as superiors because of their prowess. Knights make up 30% of the Guard and aura-infused humans make up 70%. Members of the Guard are divided into 20-man groups called "Platoons".
CITADELS
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Citadels are cities that are set up for the use of the Guard to train, teach, and cultivate Guardians. They function just like regular cities -- the only difference is that almost everyone there is a Guardian and the city is military-oriented. Many Guardians claim that life in Citadels is fun and exciting. Things are always lively in those cities, it seems.
AURA-INFUSING
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In the year 1378, the government began working on technology that would allow aura energy to be transferred into the bodies of regular humans. The goal of this project was to provide humans with the means to be valuable assets in the Guard. Aura was an absolute necessity if an individual wished to work in the Guard. At the time, regular humans did work in the Guard, but they were no match compared to the knights that worked in the Guard. These humans were not capable of dealing with demon threats; therefore, regular human Guardians were used mainly to take care of crime, while knight Guardians took care of more serious threats: demons. The Architects did not like the idea of having knights in high positions in the Guard so they sought out a way to level the playing field between regular humans and knights. They wanted humans to dominate in the Guard, not knights. That was how this project came about.
In the year 1400, this goal was accomplished. Technology was created that would allow regular humans to be infused with aura. Immediately, regular humans lined up by the thousands to be infused with aura so that they could have the opportunity to be on the same level as knights in the Guard. However, one could only be infused with aura if he or she was enlisting in the Guard.
AURA-INFUSED HUMANS
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Thanks to recent technology advancements, it is possible for regular humans to be infused with aura. It is a completely painless process that only lasts a few minutes. However, the Architects only allow humans to be infused with aura if they decide to enlist in the Guard. Aura-infused humans have the ability to manipulate aura, but they do not possess the inhuman physical skills and attributes that knights do.
RANKING SYSTEM
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In order to keep track of the most skilled Guardians in the Guard, the Architects designed a ranking system. This ranking system also makes it easy to identify skilled Guardians. Rankings can be found online. All Guardians are required to wear a golden badge on their torso that identifies their rank.
From most skilled to least skilled:
First Class, Second Class, Third Class, Fourth Class, Fifth Class.
First Class Guardians are extremely powerful, incredibly skilled Guardians that have mastered their art -- they have mastered their aura. These are usually always knights. Very rarely will you see an aura-infused human in this rank.
Second Class Guardians are exceptionally talented Guardians that have superb skill and possess power that is nearly unparalleled. In this rank you have a good mixture of knights and aura-infused humans.
Third Class Guardians are Guardians that have displayed a great, solid foundation of their skill and have progressed greatly in their manipulation of aura. They are decent, relatively skilled Guardians. Usually only aura-infused humans are in this rank. There are a few knights in this rank.
Fourth Class Guardians are shaky Guardians that have shown small progress in their skill and manipulation of aura. Only aura-infused humans are in this rank.
Fifth Class Guardians have displayed absolutely poor skill and manipulation of aura. They are regarded as rubbish and treated badly by their superiors. Only aura-infused humans are in this rank.
THE BLACK KNIGHTS
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A group of around 150 knights that oppose Genesis and the Architects. The group started around year 1400 when the government finished the aura-infusing project. After aura-infusing technology was successfully created, a few knights who worked in the Guard, curious about how the government managed to retrieve aura energy in the first place, began a secret investigation. Their discoveries were awfully shocking: the government was deriving the aura energy from defected children, without their consent. Because the Architects had power to control the minds of the world population, they could easily get defected children to go through with this. The process was painful and many children died shortly after the procedure. Enraged, the knights began spreading the word about their discovery to other fellow knights. Slowly, they began to grow in numbers. Their objective is to stop aura-infusing. Of course, doing this means opposing the government, and opposing the government means opposing Genesis and the Architects. During missions, Black Knights do not use their real names and they wear masks to conceal their identities. Their missions consist of destroying aura-infusing clinics and factories/companies that produce aura-infusing technology. They've tried revealing the truth behind aura-infusing to the world many times, but all of their attempts have failed due to government intervention. They often clash with Guardians during their missions. They do not harm innocent civilians. The government has labeled this group as a group of criminals. The Architects dubbed them the "Black Knights". Some work covertly as Guardians. The members of the Black Knights are divided into separate fifteen-man squadrons called "Chapters". Most of the Black Knights would be ranked as Third Class Guardians if they were Guardians. Very few Black Knights would be ranked as Second Class and only a handful would be ranked as First Class.
