Warlock

You see it when you close your eyes. That symbol. It calls your name.
The more you see it, the more you think about it. The more you think about it the more it calls to you.
Then one day you wake up with the ability to see, hear, and truly understand the wind, the dirt under your feet, the sparks of your fire or the water falling from your showerhead, then you realize your life will never be the same.
The spirit of the element has made a connection with your own spirit. You are no longer a mere human. You are a human elemental. You are a warlock.

Career

Qualifications

Unlike most arcane wielders in Rifts Earth, warlocks can be any race or species regardless of how long they and their forebears have been here.
Rift's Earth has a very close connection to a place called the The Spirit Realm. The barrier between it and Earth is very thin and almost non-existent in places. The call of the elemental spirits is strong and any being on this side who has a certain amount of affinity will be able to access the power of the elemental spirit. This connection isn't instant. it will first take the form of the image of a sigil. As the being thinks more and more about this sigil, it will reinforce arcane pathways in their consciousness. This is known as their life sign. As those pathways are exercised, the connection between the being and their associated elemental spirit become stronger until a full connection is made.
Once this power is accessed the elemental spirit itself begins to infuse the spirit of the being, merging the spirits and changing the very nature of the being into a meld of both.
Because of this, pure elementals will recognize warlocks instantly as siblings. (they will use the term brother or sister if they know it and might have to be taught the difference between the two terms)

Career Progression

A novice warlock will be able to recognize and communicate with all elementals. Only the most rudimentary means of communication are possible with elements other than the spirit-bonded element(s) of the warlock. A novice warlock will be able to summon a lesser elemental of his or her spirit bonded element. Unlike naturally-formed elementals, summoned elementals dislike their forced existence and will eventually wish to return to the flow of life. A warlock can keep it in existence indefinitely but it will eventually rebel. This summoning takes 10 minutes and is not a guaranteed success. When attempting to summon an elemental a novice uses his or her spirit die and suffers a -4 penalty. Any warlock can continue summoning an elemental and rolls again every 10 minutes they try. On a success, the size of the elemental increases a size for every raise.
A seasoned warlock is nearly fluent in their spirit-bonded element(s) but can still barely understand and be understood by other elementals. Elemental summoning is conducted at only a -2 penalty.
A veteran warlock is perfectly fluent in their spirit bonded elemental language(s) and is somewhat conversational in the other elements. Elemental summoning is performed without a modifier.
An heroic warlock can easily hold a conversation with any elemental and can summon an elemental of their life sign with a +2 advantage.

Perception

Purpose

Warlocks realize only one purpose: To be free. Not necessarily anti-social or even chaotic, warlocks will not accept any yoke placed upon them or any shackles holding them in one place. Often Warlocks will abandon even their own commitments when they feel the spirit of the elements calling them elsewhere.
Some warlocks turn this desire for freedom into destruction of any system of rules and even to establish their own totalitarian rule.
Some warlocks seek to heroically protect people to ensure no one's freedom is impinged.
But most warlocks will take to wandering, following their whims and the call of the elements. They care little for the norms of society, they are not necessarily above society so much as they are beyond society.

Social Status

Warlocks are typically viewed as eccentric and solitary vagabonds, nomads, or wanderers. But warlocks are surprisingly normal. They exhibit the entire range from introvert to extrovert, from pedantic stickler to carefree empath and everything in between. Many warlocks have a network of close friends and associates they have gathered in their travels. people who would share the shirts of their backs as the warlock would for them.
Regardless of their personality and status, warlocks are nevertheless guilty of communicating with the elements at times, often in public, with complete disregard for the people around them. This is a likely source of their eccentric reputation.

Demographics

There are very few warlocks on Rifts Earth. Perhaps 0.001% of the population are warlocks (that's about 1 in 100 thousand people)
The vast majority of human warlocks (at least in North America) come from what were once known as Native Americans. The cultural connection these peoples have with the spirit realm makes them far more susceptible to and accepting of bonding with elemental spirits. One in a hundred such people could be warlocks.

History

The name Warlock came from before the Great Cataclysm. Originally it meant "oathbreaker" or "deciever" but eventually was used for male witches.
All that changed with the coming of the Rifts. In fact, it changed with the very first rift, the Omen Rift. Nearby, in Oshkosh Wisconsin, was a middle aged man who played fantasy roleplaying games. This man manifested his spirit connection with the element of air. He likened it to the powers gained by "warlocks" from the game Dungeons and Dragons when they made a pact with a higher power patron. His newfound powers gave him fame and when asked who he was, he called himself "Warlock." As more rifts formed and more people started making their own spiritual connections with their own elements, they all became known as warlocks. Unfortunately, not all had the same heroic character as the original Warlock. In fact, as order began to give way to chaos and society began falling apart, most would take advantage of their power for selfiish pursuits.
It wasn't until the great cataclysm itself, however, that the elementals arrived. Warlocks realized they could communicate with them and work with them. Whenever an elemental would appear, the panicked call for a warlock would be the first one made. Warlock has thus been the name given to anyone possessing the ability to communicate with elementals and harness elemental arcane power.

It is theorized that elementals on Rifts Earth are formed by the interaction of arcane life energy with the matter of the physical spheres. The coalescing of this life energy forms around the concept of an entity, but where does that concept come from?
In actuality, the identity comes from the spirit realm. The spirit realm is the home realm of elemental spirits. When an elemental spirit wants to come to rifts earth, it makes the crossing as intent, unable to bring its body and core essence with it. For all but the most powerful elemental spirits, there must also be a corresponding being on this side who is perceiving the element, acknowledging it. This perception by an observer provides the spiritual bridge for the spirit, allowing it to establish a foothold in the physical realm. Then it can go about coalescing the arcane life energy that flows so freely here. When a warlock "summons" an elemental, however, the warlock does more than perceive that the element is present and wait for an elemental spirit to want to come across. The warlock actually calls an elemental spirit to send it's intent to this world. Most summonings are cordial as the elemental trusts the warlock's motives. It would have no reason not to. However, if a warlock has earned a bad reputation as one who allows summoned elementals to perish or who keeps them bound for too long, then the meeting may not be so cordial and coercion may be necessary. As long as the warlock's ritual is in place, the elemental can not return on its own.

---

Legality

Warlocks are viewed similarly as witches by the Coalition and 1st Apocalyptic cavalry and will be exterminated on sight and with prejudice.