Timelord.odt - Amenian Trollskap

Transformation

Transformation is the power granted by the Amenian Trollskap that allows the user to 'Transform' into a different forme, as its name makes abundantly clear. Each and every person with very rare exception has the capacity to have exactly one Transformation. And although not every Transformation actually involves a change in appearance, every Transformation at the very least grants some level of increased fighting ability or special abilities as long as it is active. Even if a Transformation does not allow its user to Transform into a powerful beast or monster, it can still grant temporary access to Superpowers until the Transformation deactivates (potentially including things such as laser vision or magical flight.) Transformation can be very powerful--some Transformations are strong enough to single-handedly grant the user to destroy entire cities. They can Transform the user into the size of a house or even a skyscraper and even grant the user the strength to match. However, it entirely depends on the luck of the draw--while some Transformations can truly be this potent, even in the hands of humans, some Transformations can also be as equally and oppositely impotent. Some Transformations can have virtually no effect or simply grant abilities that are so miniscule that they can easily be overlooked. What's important to note, however, is that Transformation only lasts temporarily and requires extensive practice in order to wield for longer periods of time. The more radical the Transformation the harder it is to maintain, with "Monstrous" Transformations (Type 3 and 4,) requiring significantly more practice that Transformations that don't radically change the user's appearance (Types 1 and 2.)

Most Transformations are notable for providing an "Absorption" effect--an effect that can be proven useful even if the Transformation itself does not provide any notable abilities. When user with Absorption Transforms, their clothes and any object they're wielding disappears, until they Untransform, and are replaced by clothing and/or objects previously stored within the Transformation; If a Person Transforms, puts on clothes and/or holds an object and then Untransforms, a Transformation will effectively store these objects. It can allow the user to change clothes on a whim, potentially making it useful even within day-to-day life. Type 2 Transformations are especially notable in this way for allowing the user to store weapons and armor within their Transformation, so when they do Transform, they will have the advantage of instantly being ready for combat without having to carry their equipment. Due to this Type of Transformation being relatively common, it should be noted that although it may appear so, the Transformation doesn't magically produce outfits out of thin air--All users of Type-2 Transformation are essentially naked the first time they Transform, but consciously store clothing or armor later on.

Transformation is split into four basic different types: Type 1, Type 2, Type 3, and Type 4, which therefore refers to what "kind" of Transformation a user can potentially possess. They simply refer to what kind of effects that particular Transformation has. In effect: A Type 4 Transformation is both Monstrous and Absorptive, a Type 3 Transformation is a Transformation that is Monstrous but not Absorptive, a Type 2 Transformation is one that is Absorptive but not Monstrous, and a Type 1 Transformation is neither Absorptive nor Monstrous. As one can see through the illustration, the four Types of Transformation are not evenly distributed throughout the populace. Absorptive Transformations are radically more common than non-Absorptive Transformations at an overall 78-22 odds, making Type 2 and 4 Transformations the most (and equally) dominant types of Transformations in Ameniah. Though Type 3 Transformations receive a modest level of presence, Type 1 Transformations are notable for being extremely rare at only 1-in-50 odds for an individual to have one. Type 1 Transformations grant no physical changes to the user and do nothing other than potentially grant the user special magical powers when active.

(Mechanics and Equipment)
Transformation's use is generally characterized as physically enveloping the user in a white light, after which their Transformed state appears (or lack thereof,) once the light abruptly vanishes. Therefore, one cannot technically see the user morph into a monster or beast if the Transformation is of one of those types. This light is often called the "Light of Transformation," and should be noted that the light's energy is implicitly responsible for making Transformation physically possible. The user effectively uses and employs this light in order to Transform, and the user will be unable to Transform should the light be somehow inhibited (Such as through the use of Amulets explicitly designed to prevent Transformation when worn.) A better user of Transformation is most often characterized by how long they can maintain their Transformation. However, behind the scenes, a better user achieves this by more efficiently handling their Transformation's light. This is shown, albeit implicitly, through the use of Reverse-Stabilizing Amulets--Amulets that prevent the user from Transforming, but allow them to directly employ their light of Transformation in combat (I.e by using the energy to enhance their speed, preform energy-based attacks, etc.) The better the Transformer, the more varied and effective the powers of the Reverse-Stabilizing Amulet will be. Control over the Light of Transformation allows partial Transformations to be physically possible (I.e only Transforming part of one's body rather than in its whole, or by briefly accessing a Type 4 Transformation's powers without actually changing shape.)

A regular Stabilizing amulet makes it easier to Transform though its ability to directly amplify the user's Light of Transformation, and when it does so, changes the color of the light from white to whatever color the Amulet's Gemstone (or more accurately prism) happens to be when the user Transforms. A similar effect happens with Reverse-Stabilizing Amulets, where the energy again takes on the Amulet's color.

It may also be possible that extremely powerful users of Transformation are capable of employing the light of Transformation for use even outside of just Transforming. Particularly, a user may be able to use their Transformation's light to directly enhance their combat sense, and reaction time beyond natural physical limits, both in and out of their Transformation.
(Personal Note: This power may be extremely relevant for Athame and may be the key that allows her and the extremely selective group of others the ability to have multiple Transformations or to shapeshift. It may be important to go over what powers can be gained through this advanced technique.)

Soul-Gene Perception

(The following refers to "Soul-Gene" as a power. To read about the Soul-Gene as a part of Timelord.odt's physics, see: Soul-Gene (Principal)

Soul-Gene Perception, commonly referred to as just Soul-Gene within the Story, is the second branch of the Amenian Trollskap. This power enables the user to effectively observe another person's Soul, and by doing so, learn valuable information about the people they look at without getting to know them. This power can potentially allow the user to preemptively know their opponent's power and abilities in battle. Much as the name describes, this power works through the use of actually seeing the target's Soul-Gene, the retroactive record of all aspects to an object's existence. Because the Soul-Gene itself functions almost like a report, detailing every aspect of the person it's associated with, Soul-Gene Perception is incredibly useful power as it can potentially allow its user to learn everything there is to know about the person. It can widely be considered the single most powerful power the Amenian Trollskap gives, despite its relatively passive nature, and is one of the reasons why Athame often considered by Deondavra to be so powerful.

Unlike Transformation, Soul-Gene is not an obligatory power--not everyone can use it nearly to the extent as Transformation. Though virtually anyone who possesses Transformation can potentially learn Soul-Gene, Soul-Gene is much harder to learn and requires significantly more extensive training. Furthermore, virtually no one besides Athame--who more accurately is simply the most skilled at using the power--fully masters how to use Soul-Gene perception. A person's prowess to gather information using the skill can incredibly varied--untalented users can only gather very basic information, whereas exceptional users can gather extensive knowledge of their target's personality and can even make very accurate predictions and judgements based on the info they have gathered.

Though Soul-Gene perception is primarily concerned with simply being able to read the Soul-Gene, the power grants a few, limited abilities beyond this scope. In addition to being able to read their Soul, the power allows them to simply see it in the first place. Soul-Gene perception does not allow this to be possible through visual prowess alone, but rather through supernatural senses. In other words, Soul-Gene perception allows the user to "see" and keep track of a Soul, and by extension their target, without needing to physically look at them. This means that a skilled Soul-Gene user can use this ability to keep track of a target through walls or should they otherwise not be in their direct line of sight. Their ability to "see" their targets in this way is limited only by distance, of which is dependent on the skill of the user. Soul-Gene is likely able to enable its user to see invisible or otherwise paranormal targets, provided it's still within the limitations to use the ability.

The second notable ability Soul-Gene Perception grants is simply the ability to rapidly and automatically process the information the user has gathered, enabling them to make rapid judgements that would otherwise potentially require a superhuman mind to accomplish. For example, if a target has the ability to fire off an energy beam through their powers, a particularly skilled individual of Soul-Gene perception can not only be aware of this ability without seeing them use it, but also determine very specific facts about that power. They can determine the exact shape of the blast, its width, or even its diameter in feet, inches, or whatever unit of measurement the user is familiar with. The user can also determine how directly powerful the attack is, such is in kilojoules or newtons. Soul-Gene perception can commonly analyze targets to the point where the user can spew out raw statistics or even superficial information about the target. With some degree of prior knowledge, but not extensive knowledge, the user can make judgements such as if an attack is strong enough to punch through steel. And they can do this whether or not the attack is an energy blast, or from a punch from an individual with superhuman strength--they only need to know the very basic information about the strength of Steel in order to make the comparison (I.e, just knowing how much force steel can take off of the back of their hand is enough). The user can in practice also compare an opponent's strength to their own this way too, provided they have an accurate sense of their own strength. A more skilled Soul-Gene Perceiver doesn't simply know how to gather more efficiently, but rather they know how to overload their brains with information much faster. They will possess significantly more judgement calls compared to others right out of the gate after the moment they gain access to the Person's Soul-Gene. A Soul-Gene Perceiver will also be able to rapidly take into account various physical traits the target has in battle, as a result, such as their movement speed and physical endurance, and overall act upon that knowledge as if their battle had been well-rehearsed beforehand. This ability as a whole is lost when Soul-Gene Perception deactivates.

Soul-Gene perception has the following weaknesses:

Self Reflection--The user is unable to read their own Soul-Gene. If the user is not well aware of their own capabilities, their ability to make use of the knowledge granted through Soul-Gene perception can be significantly diminished. If the user is too overconfident of their abilities, Soul-Gene can lead the user to make a fatal error in judgement if relied upon. Their inability to user their powers on themselves also means that a Soul-Gene user cannot use it to assess their own physical health or condition. Therefore, if a user has been harmed or weakened more than they can realize, it can again cause them to make a critical error in judgement if not careful.

Line of Sight--The user cannot use Soul-Gene perception at all unless the user and the target initially make eye contact. This means that an opponent can render the ability useless by obscuring their eyes or by just not looking into the user's eyes. However, once contact is made, the user no longer requires eye contact and can continue reading for information as long as the user looks in the general direction of the target. If the target is far away or is obstructed from view, it will diminish, but not necessarily prevent the user from reading provided that they are skilled enough. If the user looks away from the target, they may, not be capable of reading, but will still be able to immediately resume uninterrupted, and without needing a new light of sight, provided the power hasn't otherwise deactivated (as described below.)

Power Deactivation--The user will continue to be able to read a target Soul-Gene until the power is deactivated, which can happen for one of two reasons: Accidental or Intentional Deactivation, or when the target's Soul-Gene becomes too difficult to read. Soul-Gene Perception can potentially be deactivated through loss of concentration. Once Soul-Gene perception becomes deactivated for any reason, the user must look into the target's eyes again in order to reactivate it. Furthermore, one Soul-Gene perception has been deactivated, the user will instantly forget most of the information gathered through the technically unless they consciously, and with great effort, tried to retain it. By extension, the user will also lose any and all abilities to process that information to learn what they need, further making it difficult to use and potentially leave them with nothing useful. Therefore, Soul-Gene perception can also be countered even after it has been activated.

Single-Target--No matter who it is, the user can only ever read up to once Soul-Gene at a time. In battles against multiple opponents, the Soul-Gene user must constantly switch between reading different targets in order to keep up with a joint assault. Because the user cannot retain information between switches, the effectiveness of Soul-Gene becomes greatly diminished multi-way battles, as they simply cannot keep track of everything at once.

Inanimate Objects--Soul-Gene perception cannot be used to read the Soul-Genes of inanimate objects, despite the fact that they technically have them. This means that the user is incapable of evaluating the potential use of objects such as weapons in combat any better than a regular person. Hence, using a powerful weapon throws in an unknown into the mix that can sometimes render Soul-Gene perception unreliable since it can't detect their potential.

"What, but not Why"--Though Soul-Gene perception may be able to gather information, it also cannot tell you why someone is they way they are. Soul-Gene perception is incapable of evaluating a person's history--It can tell you the person has a weakened or broken leg, but it cannot tell you why the leg was broken. Similarly, the user of Soul-Gene perception is not a Mind-Reader; Soul-Gene perception may be able to tell you that a person is prone to anger, or help you understand that he/she is currently angry, but it cannot tell you why that person is angry in the first place.

Hybolians are immune to Soul-Gene Perception. However, this only applies if the user of Soul-Gene Perception is a Demiline; Hybolians can use Soul-Gene Perception to read the Soul-Genes of other Hybolians.

Because Soul-Gene Perception has such a wide-range of skill level, and a difficult learning curve, users of the skill can generally be broken down into 10 levels:

lvl 0: Recognizing/predicting an attack after the user has already seen it is the easiest thing to do with Soul-Gene
lvl 1:Measuring the strength of an attack as its being preformed is a little bit harder than that.
lvl 2:Tracking a target's Soul, and by extension the person, after the target has seen the person's Soul-Gene is next.
lvl 3: Predicting some of the target's attacks after seeing one of them is next.
lvl 4: Evaluating a target's passive physical attributes, both natural and magical (such as enhanced regenerative ability or inhuman endurance) is after that. Most humans level off at this stage; reaching level 5 is only possible after extensive training.
lvl 5:Predicting potential attacks the target can unleash without having to battle them is harder than the above.
lvl 6*:Evaluating more finer points about a target, such as their personality or mannerisms, is next; this stage is so hard that only about one per one-thousand Soul-Gene perceivers can reach this level, and is the highest level once can reach without receiving help from Athame directly.
lvl 7*:The user can predict the target's development--powers or abilities they could or will have.
lvl 8*: Even though Soul-Gene cannot evaluate the properties of inanimate objects, a user of this level will be able to look at the target's behavior and proficiency with a weapon and be able to make accurate judgements--such as how powerful the weapon is and what it is capable of-- as if the user could read it as if directly part of the target's Soul-Gene. Weapons the targets are very unfamiliar can still potentially render this unreliable, but since any real battle against a person of this level would require a well-trained opponent, this weakness will often disqualify itself.
lvl 9 (Athame):At this point, the user's ability to read the target's physical characteristics reaches the level where they can actively manipulate the target's personality. They are so well-versed in the target's mannerisms that they can predict the target's moves simply based on their behavior. As long as the user knows what is on the target's mind, they can predict every thought that goes through the target's head, even though Soul-Gene perception does not technically enable mind-reading. This is the only stage where the user is proficient enough learn the names of named attacks the target has in addition to those target's strengths and effects.

*Though preforming what could be considered lvl 6, 7, or 8 Soul-Gene perception is harder than the preforming the levels below it, because Soul-Gene perception becomes so difficult at this point, it's possible for a particular individual to only be capable of preforming some of the levels underneath it (I.e, a character could preform a level 8 perception but be incapable of preforming a lvl 6; A lvl 6 may not be capable of doing lvl 5. This is because while they're both Soul-Gene perception, it's being used to preform different feats, and Soul-Gene perception becomes difficult enough at this point that the user may not become well-rounded. 5 and below are generally still able to do everything underneath it. Level 9 doesn't have this distinction because only Athame can preform level 9.

Substitute Soul-Talismans (which may or may not take the form of an amulet or necklace,) special objects created by Athame for herself and her Hybolian followers, are designed to mislead Soul-Gene users by introducing fake "Soul-Genes" for them to read. This, in addition to not having readable Soul-Genes themselves, are used to allow her and her followers to hide amongst regular people.

Duality

Duality is the third branch of the Amenian Trollskap. When distributing it among the population, Athame broke it into seven elements: Pyro-Duality, Aquo-Duality, Necro-Duality, Terra-Duality, Electro-Duality, Aero-Duality, and Ferro-Duality. Each form of Duality, as their names imply, grants supernatural powers over their respective element. Duality works under the following structure: 1), it allows the user to create something that follows the Duality's respective element from nothing, 2), it allows them to manipulate or tamper with that respective element, and 3), it can allow the user to spontaneously make that element vanish without a trace.

Each form of Duality can do these three things to their respective element in some form or another, however, the specific way how each form of Duality accomplishes them vary, or have alternate applications. For example, while Pyro Duality is capable of extinguishing fire with its 3rd power, the ability to make its element vanish, the same aspect of making fire vanish can also be applied to undo the damage caused to an object due to being burned by fire.

While all seven elements are unified into one, the user is said to posses the divine power to create anything, manipulate anything, and destroy anything they please. The Seven forms of Duality in solidarity cover everything that exists within the world, like how a rainbow covers every possible color that exists within the world. However, like Duality, the "seven" colors of a rainbow are just certain parts of an overall spectrum; Green doesn't just turn into blue, it transitions into blue as you slowly progress through the spectrum of the rainbow. There are thousands of colors that exist between what is generally accepted as "green" and what is generally accepted as "blue," and some of those colors blur the difference between green and blue (turquoise). Likewise, some of the practical abilities granted by the Seven forms of Duality are capable of blurring the difference between themselves. Furthermore, like how the number of colors held within what is generally accepted title of "green" or "blue" is surprisingly diverse, the number of abilities a form of Duality grants a user can also be surprisingly diverse. For example, while Ferro-Duality does one allow one to create, manipulate, or disperse iron, some Ferro-Dualics can use Ferro-Duality to gain equal influence over other metals such as aluminum or copper, on top of just the iron that was implied. This is due to the fact that the the Dualic-elements aren't inherently narrow--they each allegedly cover 1/7th of all things that effectively exist.

Pyro-Duality (Combustion): "The ability to create, manipulate, and disintegrate Fire."

Although Pyro-Duality may at first be envisioned as giving the user the ability to shoot things such as fireballs or fire blasts,
Pyro-Duality is non-kinetic in nature. This means that while the user is still capable of creating fire at will, they are given
no means of transmitting or launching it as a projectile--Pyro-Duality by itself cannot be used to ignite things outside of direct physical contact, so unless the user has some way to bypass this, Pyro-Duality cannot be used offensively outside of a flaming fist.
While this may make it seem as though Pyro-Duality is nearly useless at face value, it simply means that it isn't actually an offensively
oriented form of Duality. Skilled Pyro-Dualics can use their abilities to diffuse explosions--they can come into contact with a bomb during or even after it has gone off, and so long as they were in the blast radius during the time of the explosion, completely negate its effects without even a trace of anything happening. The more powerful the Pyro-Dualic, the larger the explosion they can diffuse without anyone around them getting hurt. And some of the most advanced users can diffuse explosions the size of city blocks without assistance--as a result of this during warfare, enemies of Pyro-Dualics very rarely rely on large explosives to counter them, since it only requires one skilled Pyro-Dualic to make it all for naught.
Other Pyro-Dualics can use their powers to create exotic types of fires not normally possible to create with a flint or a match; Fire's true nature is a chemical reaction, specifically the reaction of the Carbon in an object and the Oxygen in the atmosphere to form Carbon Dioxide; Some Pyro-Dualics are able to create a "Reverse" Fire, which is an Ice-cold flame that converts CO2 back into Carbon and Oxygen--this grants them the ability to reverse the burning process upon an object. Most of the Pyro-Dualics' exotic flames are simply them using their powers to force a reaction with some form of matter with another--Some Pyro-Dualics can force even things that are generally considered inflammable to ignite by creating a special type of fire capable of doing it. Even more still, a master Pyro Dualic is not only capable of forcing or reversing the process of burning, but can also carefully control what he or she burns; Some Pyro-Dualics are so skilled they can even use their powers to un-fry and egg, for example, or turn water into gasoline.
In the case of Leos, the King Spirit of Pyro-Duality and the most powerful Pyro-Dualic in the world, Pyro-Dualiy can be used to effectively heal a target, even if the injuries were not caused by burns, by effectively "burning" away all existing damage to a person's cells. Leos is also capable of making the clouds ignite with his Pyro-Duality.

Aquo-Duality(Liquids): "The ability to create, manipulate, and disintegrate Water."

Much like most other forms of Duality, Aquo-Duality is non-kinetic in nature, meaning the user cannot use it to control water remotely or use it to directly attack people. Much as the ability to create and disintegrate water implies, however, Aquo-Dualics are commonly capable of hydrating or dehydrating targets, such as themselves. The former of these lends them usefulness in survival situations as they can keep themselves, their group, or their town hydrated in the absence of running water. When Aquo-Dualics disintegrate water, they can dissolve the entire body of water at once should they be sufficiently skilled--which can include, albeit with significant difficulty, all the water within a person's body.
While most Aquo-Dualics are capable of creating, manipulating, and disintegrating only water, Aquo-Duality, much like how Ferro-Duality is not truly limited to iron, is also not limited to influencing exclusively water. Anything that stably exists within a liquid state is potentially accessible to create through Aquo-Duality. For example, while Pyro-Dualics are potentially able to unburn water and carbon back into Gasoline, skilled Aquo-Dualics are capable of creating Gasoline directly. It's the ability to create potentially dangerous chemicals where the true power of Aquo-Duality lies; Acids and Poisons are all potentially available to a powerful Aquo-Dualic's fingertips. Their ability to "manipulate" water is the ability to spontaneously convert one liquid into another; For example, an Aquo-Dualic that is not capable of dispersing all the water in an enemy's body may instead convert some of that water into Hydrochloric Acid, which will then begin to eat at and dissolves all the cells that once contained the water. These abilities generally make Aquo-Duality one of the most lethal of the Seven forms of Duality.
Because Aquo-Dualics are capable of influencing entire bodies of water, provided they are in contact with just a part of it, advanced Aquo-Duality can involve the tampering of the water droplets directly in the atmosphere, provided there is sufficient humidity or the user is skilled enough to make-do; Aquo-Dualics can potentially increase the humidity around them by adding water. Although the difficulty level increases steeply the further out it is, this allows the Aquo-Dualic to gain influence over the humid air around them and control its liquid content; Aquo-Dualics can potentially use this to turn the water in the air into acid, without hurting themselves if it is controlled well enough, and use this as a means of offense or defense. This technique doesn't have to just use Acid; careful use can turn select parts of the air flammable--or completely inflammable, or more absorbent towards of heat and energy.
In the case of Urse, the King Spirit of Aquo-Duality and the most powerful Aquo-Dualic in the world, Aquo-Duality at its fullest potential can be used to completely control the weather, distorting it however he pleases. Having very little limit in range, Urse can turn entire lands into droughts or hellscapes by tampering with the fluids in the atmosphere.

Terra-Duality(Minerals): "The ability to create, manipulate, and disintegrate the Earth."

A very materialistic form of Duality, Terra-Duality's ability to create means the ability to create rocks from one's hands or body whenever one pleases;