Shards of Siberys

The Shards of Siberys, or Shards for short, are thirteen pieces of the power of creation. They are each named after specific actions or ideals, which represent the Shard's primary purpose or motivation. A person who has taken up the power of a Shard is the Vessel of that Shard.
Each Shard is a piece of the power of creation with a specific motivation, such as to destroy or to preserve. Those fragments each began their existence with equal level of power; however, over time many have diminished, whether through conflict or by the act of Investing -- imbuing it with Investiture. To function properly, a Shard requires a Vessel -- a mind to control it, belonging to a sapient creature from the Physical Realm, such as a human. One doesn't need to be able to use Investiture in order to become a Vessel, but the ability does help. What becoming a Vessel requires above all is Connection to the Shard in question, whether forged artificially or driven by a natural inclination towards the Shard's intent. The act of becoming a Vessel is called Ascension, and causes the Vessel's body to vaporize, allowing their mind to expand. From then on, the Vessel and the Shard are intertwined; the Vessel gets to set some general course of how the Shard's power is defined and feeds off the Shard's power to remain alive, but the Shard's power is the driving force between the two. Over centuries, the Vessel's mind begins to change to fit the Shard's intent more perfectly. If the Vessel were to give up the Shard, the Shard's influence on their mind would fade over time. A Shard can be killed by Splintering it, breaking its power down further into smaller pieces, called splinters; the easiest way to achieve that is by killing the mind. The actual death of a Vessel, however, can take up to hundreds of years. If the Shard is taken up before the Vessel dies completely, splintering can be prevented; if not, the power will become wild and dangerous. When a Vessel dies, the person's original body rematerializes and falls to the ground as a corpse.

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane