The Torch that Ignites the Stars – Appendices
By Andrew Rowe
APPENDIX I – RECAP ON KALDWYN’S CULTURE AND MAGIC
From A Lost Letter Attributed to Keras Selyrian
I underestimated the complexities of teleporting over to another continent for a seemingly sim-
ple mission. I!ve never been great with politics or religion, but they!re omnipresent here.
The defining factor is Selys — a single central goddess figure worshipped by all the major na-
tions. She created six towers on various parts of the continent. Each tower, called a "Soaring Spire”,
has tests for people who go inside. If someone succeeds at those tests, they can earn magic powers
in the form of a mark called an attunement. It!s basically like what we!d call a dominion bond back
at home, but more complicated than any dominion bond I!ve seen.
Anyway, since each tower gives access to different attunements, you can imagine that there are
some politics surrounding access to them. At one point, one of the powerhouse nations — Edria —
conquered another in order to get access to their spire.
Aside from granting magical powers, the spires also have tests to reach the top. Supposedly, get-
ting all the way up top means you get to choose a boon from the goddess. It!s been done, apparently,
but not in recent history. That!s probably what I!m going to need to do eventually, since finding my
friends has proven challenging.
Unfortunately, none of the nations here are particularly accepting of outsiders, and I!ve already
run into quite a bit of trouble when talking about the outside world. Oops.
Kaldwyn has four major nations, which are referred to as the "Four Powers”, and a couple minor
ones like Sytennia and Erawen.
It!s a bit of an oversimplification, but I tend to think of the powers as covering the four cardinal
directions of the continent.
Edria is the entire south, and they!re a military powerhouse. Everyone seems to be bracing for
Edria to try to conquer the rest of the continent, but it!s been about sixty or so years since the last
time an actual war has occurred. It!s split into Edria proper (the original nation) and East Edria (a
territory they won from Dalenos that used to be called Kelridge). There!s some tension between the
two halves.
Dalenos is the north, governed directly by one of the visages — those are basically the local
equivalent of gods, but they!re really more like aspects of a single deity, depending on who you ask.
It!s also famous for being a nation of artists and creative-types of all varieties, especially musicians.
Valia is the eastern nation, and they!re best defined by magic. Every nation on Kaldwyn has
magic, but Valia has Enchanters — a type of magic-user capable of creating magic items with envi-
able speed. Enchanters have allowed for large-scale magical infrastructure on a scale I!ve never seen
anywhere else: wealthy nobles have magic showers, magic toilets, magic…well, virtually everything.
It!s pretty impressive.
Notably, Valia!s populace appears to be largely descended from immigrants (exiles?) from my
home continent of Mythralis. I suspect the name Valia itself comes from the same derivation as our
nations of Velthryn and Valeria — the worldmaker Velryn. (Valeria used to be called Velrya, but the
name shifted over time. Linguistic drift and all that.) I!ve seen some notable family names that are
connected to home: things like House Theas and House Hartigan, for example. They!ve even got a
place with the name Hastings on it, so maybe some of Lydia!s family moved to Valia? Hard to say.
Caelford is the western-most nation. While Valia focuses on magical innovation, Caelford is
more about general engineering. They have advanced firearms, self-moving carts called "automo-
biles”, and all sorts of other gadgets. They!re also on the forefront of researching artificial attune-
ments, although I get the sense that Valia is involved in those, too.
Given that I!ve managed to alienate virtually every other nation, I suppose I!ll have to go to
Caelford eventually. The Tiger Spire is supposed to be a little more structured than the other local
spires, so maybe it!ll be easier to make it to the top this time.
I!m not holding my breath.
APPENDIX II – RECAP ON ATTUNEMENTS
From A Lost Letter Attributed to Keras Selyrian
Okay, so, attunements. They!re probably the single most important thing about this continent, so
I should probably go into a bit more detail about them.
Attunements are marks that grant sorcerous powers that are obtained in the Soaring Spires dur-
ing successful Judgments. They can also sometimes be obtained directly from a visage, but this is
relatively rare.
Each Attunement involves a physical mark that appears on the body of the attuned.
Attunements grow stronger as the user's mana increases, changing in appearance and gaining
new abilities. For example, most attunements begin to generate a shroud — a form of barrier of
mana — around the attuned when the attunement reaches Carnelian level.
Each attunement comes with an iconic function. These are generally called "unique" abilities, but
in truth, they can sometimes be accomplished through other attunements or combinations of at-
tunements. For example, the "unique" function of the Elementalist attunement is access to lightning
magic...but a Summoner can still get access to lightning magic if they make a contract with a mon-
ster that can use lightning. Thus, the term "unique" is something of a misnomer, and it's more accu-
rate to say that they're simply the function that the attunement is best known for.
Every attunement gives access to two or more types of magic when it is first obtained, and gen-
erally gives access to a third at a higher level.
It's commonly theorized that attunements are much more advanced forms of enchanting runes
that incorporate several functions into a single rune, or perhaps collections of several runes that vi-
sually appear to be one rune.
Artificial attunements have been made in Caelford, meaning that they can be reproduced with
some degree of success, but the procedures for how they're made are not commonly known.
!Diviner Attunement
Diviner Level
Rune
Quartz
Carnelian
Sunstone
Guardian Attunement
Guardian Level
Rune
Quartz
Carnelian
Sunstone
Elementalist Attunement
Elementalist Level
Rune
Quartz
Carnelian
Sunstone
Enchanter Attunement
Enchanter Level
Rune
Quartz
Carnelian
Sunstone
Mender Attunement
Mender Level
Rune
Quartz
Carnelian
Sunstone
Shadow Attunement
Rune
Shaper Attunement
Shaper Level
Rune
Quartz
Carnelian
Sunstone
Summoner Attunement
Summoner Level
Rune
Quartz
Carnelian
Sunstone
APPENDIX III – RECAP ON ENCHANTING
From an Unknown Foreigner!s Notes
Enchantments are how people with an Enchanter attunement imbue items with magical power.
The procedure for enchanting an object involves making runes: physical marks that are powered
by mana, which is the local term for sorcerous essence.
In order to make a rune, you must carve it into the proper shape and then put in the right
amount of mana of the right type. There are a few main categories of runes that are used in the en-
chanting process.
Function Runes determine what the item can do. For example, a fireball wand would have a
fire function rune.
Example: Standard Life Rune.
Activation Runes determine how the item is activated. For example, if the wand is activated by
using some of your own mana, it would have a mana activation rune.
Example: Motion Activation Rune.
Recharge Runes are used to cause an item to automatically fill up with mana over time by
drawing mana either from the environment or another source. These are not strictly necessary, but
they are used in most so-called "permanent" items so that they do not have to be manually
recharged.
Example: Life Mana Recharge.
Capacity Runes are used to govern how much mana the item can store. Without them, any
item with a Recharge Rune will just keep filling up with mana over time until the object has more
mana than it can hold and explodes. That would be considered bad item design.
Example: Life Mana Capacity.
Complex items may involve many different runes.
For example, an item for creating a barrier may require mental mana runes for detecting incom-
ing attacks, then runes to create a barrier when an incoming attack is detected.
Similarly, an item designed to heal the user when they're hurt may require mental mana runes to
detect when the wearer is injured. An even more complex healing item might have functions for
searching for which wounds are the most severe and prioritizing which order they're healed in, or
ignoring certain types of injuries that the item might not be able to heal properly.
Since Enchanters do not have access to every type of mana, they often use items called mana
crystals or rely on help from others.
Mana crystals are exactly what they sound like — crystallized magical energy. An Enchanter can
draw the mana out of these crystals and use them to power runes. Most mana crystals are found
from the remains of monsters inside of the spires, but it's possible for people with sufficient mana
shaping skill to make their own crystals from the types of mana they can use. Veteran Enchanters
often learn how to make mana crystals so they can make more complex items.
In order to cooperate with someone else to make a rune, an Enchanter must first make a shell
that is used to hold the other person's mana inside the rune. This container prevents the mana from
simply dispersing into the air while the enchanting process is performed.
Making a shell is a mana shaping exercise that is similar to making a mana crystal, and thus not
all Enchanters are proficient at it, especially early in their careers. Mana shells also have a capacity,
meaning that a low-level Enchanter can't make a shell that can hold enough mana for something like
an Emerald level enchantment.
Well-trained Enchanters can also move mana from one rune to another rune. Completely re-
moving all of the mana from a rune to power another is called "disenchanting”, since the existing
enchantment typically ceases to function. This can be a dangerous process for low-level Enchanters
because moving mana generally involves passing it through your body to prevent it from dispersing
in the air. If you pass mana from another attuned through your body, this can cause mana poisoning.
As such, only Enchanters who have sufficient shaping ability to move mana outside of their
bodies or purify the mana inside their bodies generally are capable of safely moving mana between
two different objects. (There are some exceptions where this is safer, such as being able to safely
move mana between two items you created yourself, or moving mana that has already been purified
by someone else.)
APPENDIX IV – ATTUNEMENTS OF CAELFORD
From Corin!s Notes
I didn!t actually spend all that much time studying the local attunements. Most of my efforts
were spent on the artificial ones — which, I suppose, count as local — but I didn!t get much expo-
sure to the ones that come out of the Tiger Spire.
That said, I did get a basic list and some descriptions of each.
•
Analyst: Analysts are experts at discerning detailed information about how something
works, such as the mechanics behind spells, items, and traps.
o
Mana Types: Mental (Primary), Umbral (Secondary), Transference (Tertiary)
•
Architect: The Architect attunement is capable of imbuing items with temporary magical
properties. These tend to be stronger than permanent enchantments, but only last a matter
of days.
o
Mana Types: Perception (Primary), Umbral (Secondary), Enhancement (Tertiary)
•
Biomancer: Biomancers are one of few attunements capable of safely influencing the inner
workings of another person’s mana. They specialize in altering the target’s mana flow, poten-
tially improving both mana capacity and increasing mana regeneration.
o
Mana Types: Life (Primary), Mental (Secondary), Light (Tertiary)
•
Controller: Controllers are specialists in mental compulsion, capable of forcing others to do
their bidding.
o
Mana Types: Perception (Primary), Enhancement (Secondary), Umbral (Tertiary)
•
Forgemaster: Forgemasters have superior control over metal, allowing them to move quick-
ly even in full armor by subtly altering the armor!s structure while they move. They also can
strengthen or alter the properties of metallic objects.
o
Mana Types: Earth (Primary), Fire (Secondary), Enhancement (Tertiary)
•
Illuminator: The Illuminator serves as a beacon of light and peace to all those around
them, shielding allies against negative effects like fear and paralysis.
o
Mana Types: Light (Primary), Water (Secondary), Air (Tertiary)
•
Sentinel: The Sentinel attunement emphasizes mental fortitude, providing superior resis-
tance against mental spells.
o
Mana Types: Earth (Primary), Mental (Secondary), Enhancement (Tertiary)
•
Transmuter: The Transmuter focuses on transforming materials into other types of materi-
als, making it immensely potent at construction, as well as destruction.
o
Mana Types: Earth (Primary), Water (Secondary), Air (Tertiary)#
APPENDIX V – CHARACTERS AND TERMS
From Corin!s notes
House Cadence:
•
Magnus Cadence — Head of House Cadence, father of Tristan and Corin Cadence.
Presumably also the father of Sera Cadence.
•
Laura Lyran — Head of House Lyran, mother of Tristan and Corin Cadence. Emerald-
level attuned with the Swordmaster and Elementalist attunements. Member of Valia!s
Council of Lords.
•
Tristan Cadence — Elder son of Magnus Cadence and Laura Lyran. Disappeared into
the Serpent Tower during his Judgment. Presumed deceased.
•
Corin Cadence — Younger son of Magnus Cadence and Laura Lyran. Presumptive heir
to both houses after Tristan!s disappearance. Earned an Enchanter attunement in the
spire. Was given a mysterious new attunement by Katashi, the Visage of Valor.
•
Sera Cadence — Previously known as Sera Shard, Sera Cadence was legitimized by
Magnus Cadence after passing her Attunement exam. She is presumed to be a bastard
child of Magnus Cadence. After being legitimized, she is now a potential heir to the
house. She!s my age and has a Summoner attunement.
University Staff:
•
Chancellor Wallace — She was in charge of all university activities. Deceased after the
battle with Mizuchi at the winter ball.
•
Lieutenant Commander Jack Bennet — Vice Chancellor, former military commander.
Professors:
•
Professor Edlyn — Assisted with new student orientation. Teaches Enchanting class.
•
Professor Ceridan — In charge of Tiger Class. Teaches Elementalists.
•
Professor Lyras Orden — In charge of Serpent Division and member of the Whispers,
an organization that secretly serves the visages. Orden was involved with a conspiracy to
kidnap the visage Tenjin, and she betrayed me during a spire expedition in the middle of
the first year.
•
Professor Vellum — Teaches classes on permanent enchantments. Served as my mentor
for most enchanting-related studies during the first year. She severely hurt herself rescu-
ing me and other students from Mizuchi during the winter ball.
•
Professor Conway — Teaches Attunements class. Died fighting Mizuchi at the winter
ball.
•
Lord Jonathan Teft — In charge of Hydra Class. Teaches dueling.
•
Doctor Tordrin — In charge of Phoenix Class.
•
Professor Meltlake — General Magic Theory class. Legendary Elementalist and
Patrick!s personal mentor. A former member of House Hartigan, she is Derek Hartigan!s
aunt. "Meltlake” is a title that replaced her last name after a famous duel where she sup-
posedly set a lake on fire. Has a persistent leg injury and walks with a cane.
•
Professor Vanway — Teacher for an unknown class. Not one of my professors.
•
Sir Tanath — A member of the Soaring Wings, and a Summoner. One of Marissa!s
teachers.
•
Professor Vestan — Corin!s Introductory Runes teacher.
Students:
•
Patrick Wayland — One of my childhood friends, now my first retainer. An Elemental-
ist and magical weapon enthusiast.
•
Jin Dalen — A mysterious foreign student from East Edria with a Sunstone-level Mes-
mer attunement. His family is sworn to House Dalen, the former ruling house of East
Edria from the days before it was under Edrian rule. He was badly injured after fighting
against me in the Serpent Spire, but escaped using my return bell. We ran into each other
again after that, but things have been strained.
•
Marissa Callahan — One of my classmates. Usually called "Mara” by her friends, but
I!m still getting used to the nickname. She!s a Guardian and something of a prodigy for
our year. In the second half of the school year, she began training with Keras Selyrian to
learn his combat techniques.
•
Roland Royce — One of Sera!s friends and a former friend of Tristan!s. Diviner. I think
Sera may be trying to get him as a retainer.
•
Cecily Lambert — The younger sister of Yunika Lambert. One of my closest childhood
companions. Things between us are a little awkward, since Tristan was engaged to Yunika
before he disappeared, and there was an implication that Cecily and I might eventually get
married, too. And then there was the training with father…anyway, things are strained,
but we!re talking again.
•
Curtis Maddock — Dorm chief for my dorm. I, uh, probably should have talked to him
more. He has two attunements on the same arm.
•
Lisa Stone — Former classmate from my childhood.
•
Jordan Jaldin — A second-year student that supervises one of the teams for the final
exams.
•
Katherine Winters — A second-year student that supervised my team for the final ex-
ams. Goes by Kathy.
Other People:
•
Lars Mantrake — Shopkeeper for the Climber!s Court, a magic item shop. As a former
climber, he has many stories of the spires, almost half of which are probably true. He
told me a bit about Selys-Lyann, my sword, and I think he may have seen it in the past.
•
Keras Selyrian — Mysterious foreign swordsman that I first encountered during my
Judgment. Currently serving as my bodyguard in order to get into the good graces of
Katashi, the Visage of Valor. He!s taught me a bit of his fighting style, but he uses weird
foreign magic, so I haven!t been able to learn all of it. He rescued me from Saffron, a
child of the Tyrant in Gold, during the second half of the school year.
•
Echion — He!s a kid with an experimental artificial attunement that I rescued during my
Judgment. His strange attunement seems to be based on god beasts, rather than conven-
tional attunements. I plan to study that style of thing eventually.
•
Vera Corrington — Tower explorer that I first encountered during my Judgment. I
broke her out of a cell, then she stabbed me in the back. Eventually, I found her and es-
corted her back to the tower, where she turned herself in to Katashi to help prevent col-
lateral damage from some of her actions related to ambushing Tenjin, one of the visages.
•
Aloras Corrington — Automotive engineer. Vera!s brother.
•
Derek Hartigan — Heir to House Hartigan, an ancient noble house. Has an Emerald-
level Soulblade attunement. We spent the second half of the school year living at his
place.
•
Tavare — Derek!s Summoned blade elemental. Refers to themselves as "Radiance”,
which is kind of weird.
•
Delsys — Derek!s Summoned flame/wind elemental.
•
Elora Theas — Heir to House Theas, an ancient noble house. She!s an Emerald-level
Summoner, Derek!s former (current?) paramour, and has a contract with the God
Phoenix. She!s also heavily involved with the same conspiracy that my brother is, but I
don!t know what her real goals are.
•
Sheridan Theas — Elora Theas!$sibling, and a follower of Wydd. Wields the restricted
"Necromancer” attunement, but specializes in healing. Derek usually refers to them by
the nickname "Deni”. May or may not be flirting with me. Aaaaaah.
•
Vanniv — A summoned karvensi. Both Elora and Sera have contracts with Vanniv.
Somehow fashionable, even when shirtless.
•
Researcher — A knowledge elemental that resides in the restricted section of the Div-
inatory.
•
Yunika Lambert — Cecily Lambert!s older sister, and Tristan!s former fiancée. Still not
sure on her angle on all the politics going on.
•
Meredith Hawkins — A historical figure who supposedly escaped one of the spires af-
ter several years of being trapped inside. Commonly believed to be a con artist.
•
Johannes Edington — An academic who attempted to enter a Judgment and stay inside
as long as possible in order to preserve memories of what the rooms looked like.
Emerged a few months later and published a paper on his findings.
•
Anabelle Farren — The owner of Farren Labs, the center for artificial attunement re-
search.
•
Nakht — A worker for Anabelle Farren at Farren Labs with a strange, shifting aura.
•
Kahi Zephyr — A guide for Farren Labs.
•
Ashon — A researcher for Farren Labs with a bit too much interest in my Arbiter at-
tunement.
•
Archduke Verena — The leader of an Edrian noble house many years in the past. He is
seen, along with other members of his family, in a constructed scenario inside the Tiger
Spire.
•
Dalen Mitsurugi — An ancestor of Jin Dalen in a constructed scenario inside the Tiger
Spire. He was a wielder of Soulbrand, the Sacred Sword of Fire. Note that he uses the
Dalenos naming style, meaning "Dalen” is his surname, not his personal name. I wonder
if Jin prefers that and simply used our naming style while visiting Valia?
•
Jerome Schmidt — An Edrian noble and son of Kaspar Schmidt, who fought my great
grandfather in the Six Years War. I studied his fighting style in my childhood.
•
Emma Verena — One of Archduke Verena!s daughters in a part of the fourth-floor test
in the Tiger Spire.
•
Emery Verena — One of Archduke Verena!s daughters in a part of the fourth-floor test
in the Tiger Spire.
•
Anthony — A manservant for House Verena in a part of the fourth-floor test in the
Tiger Spire.
•
Lady Nora Haven — A member of House Haven in a part of the fourth-floor test in
the Tiger Spire.
•
Caelyssa Ves — Goes by "Lys”. A retainer of House Haven in a part of the fourth-floor
test in the Tiger Spire.
•
Constant Beaufort — A member of House Beaufort in a part of the fourth-floor test in
the Tiger Spire.
•
Len — Short for "Lydia Emulation”. A spiritual copy of Lydia Hastings, a commanding
officer of the knightly order that Keras belonged to in his homeland.
•
Spirit Gateway Crystal — A sentient crystal in the Unclaimed Lands that created chal-
lenges for Keras when he entered a shrine.
•
Transcendence Gateway Crystal — A sentient crystal in the Unclaimed Lands that of-
fers challenges for those that enter the crystal!s home.
•
Roy — An entrant who once faced the Transcendence Gateway crystal!s challenges.
•
Elina Maryn — An entrant who once faced the Transcendence Gateway crystal!s chal-
lenges.
•
Kester Boyd — An entrant who once faced the Transcendence Gateway crystal!s chal-
lenges. Apparently worked with Lars Mantrake.
Visages:
•
Katashi — Visage of Valor, patron Visage of Dalenos, where he is a central figure in
their government.
•
Melkyr — Visage of Resilience, patron Visage of Edria.
•
Ferras — Visage of Creation, patron Visage of Caelford.
•
Tenjin — Visage of Inspiration, patron Visage of Valia. Currently missing.
•
Kerivas — Visage of Law, second patron Visage of Edria.
•
Wydd — Visage of Forbidden Knowledge. Location unknown. Often depicted as a
trickster or shapeshifter.
God Beasts:
•
Genbu, the God Tortoise — God Beast of Dalenos.
•
Seiryu, the God Serpent — God Beast of Valia.
•
Orochi, the God Hydra — God Beast of Edria.
•
Byakko, the God Tiger — God Beast of Caelford.
•
Suzaku, the God Phoenix — God Beast of East Edria.
•
Arachne, the God Spider — God Beast of (????)
God Beast Children:
•
Mizuchi — Deadly serpent, called "Hero!s End”. Child of Seiryu. Believed to be virtual-
ly invulnerable.
Other Powers:
•
The Tyrant in Gold — A divine being that is antithetical to Selys, and believed to be
comparable to her in power. The scriptures teach that he is in control of the entire world
outside of Kaldwyn.
•
Saffron — A child of the Tyrant in Gold. Tremendously powerful, most likely on a simi-
lar level to Mizuchi.
Major Nations:
•
Valia — Nation on the eastern coast of the continent of Kaldwyn. Home to the Serpent
Tower and the Lorian Heights Academy.
•
Edria — Imperialistic southern nation. Conquered Kelridge during the Six Years War
and nearly conquered Valia as well.
•
Caelford — Technologically advanced nation on the western coast of the continent. Al-
lied with Valia.
•
Dalenos — Theocracy; covers most of the northern side of the continent.
•
Kelridge — A territory that was a part of Dalenos prior to the Six Years War. Conquered
by Edria and now known as East Edria.
Days of the Week:
•
Tashday
•
Kyrsday
•
Fersday
•
Tensday
•
Vasday
•
Wyddsday
APPENDIX VI – CORIN!S TO-DO LIST
A Definitely Incomplete List by Corin Cadence
To do list:
•
Research: Arbiter
o
Also other restricted attunements
%
Chronomancer? Is this a thing?
•
Do not break time
•
Research: Foreign attunements
•
Research: Ascended attunements
•
Research: Artificial attunements
o
God beast attunements are terrifying
%
Do I want one? Several?
•
Research: Crystal marks
•
Research: Servants of the Tyrant in Gold
o
Also the tyrant himself
o
Also relationship between him and Selys?
•
Research: Sapphire-level attunements
o
Higher than Sapphire?
o
Amethyst?
o
Mauve?
%
Mauve not a gemstone and possibly not even a real color
•
Research: Other sources of mana
o
How does this magic work on Artinia? Tyrenia?
%
How can I get these as quickly and easily as possible?
•
Enhancement elixirs
o
Do these work cumulatively with my attunement? Probably?
•
Better mana food
•
How did Katashi upgrade Mara’s attunement? Can I do this?
•
Mana batteries
o
Eventually need all mana types
o
Use mana batteries to make bigger batteries?
•
Why didn’t all the monsters in the spire drop crystals?
•
Mental spell to improve haste
o
Do not break brain
•
Improve mana threads
•
Determine odds Keras will eventually decide to kill me
•
Practice moving different mana types
o
Should this really be on a checklist?
•
How do I recharge the Jaden Box?
•
I should probably replace the Jaden Box. =(
•
Investigate Selys-Lyann’s runes
o
Is it really cursed?
o
How cursed?
o
Like, really super cursed?
o
Can I exploit this curse?
•
Bond with Selys-Lyann?
o
Do not break soul
•
Unique attunement functions
o
Definitely not actually unique
o
How can I fake them?
•
How to make contracts with monsters without a Summoner attunement
•
Can I modify my attunement?
•
Can I make my own attunements?
o
Do not break socio-political system of continent
o
Or maybe do?
o
Actually yeah definitely do that
•
Can those unclaimed lands crystals contact Selys directly?
•
Who is the Blackstone Bandit?
•
Why is Jin
o
I’m just going to leave that last one open