Fae Mark

A Rare Honor

Written by ninne124

A Fae Mark is a mark bestowed on a human by a Fae. The mark gives the human the ability to use magic, therefore making them a Spell-caster. A Fae Mark cannot be removed once given and a human cannot receive a second Fae Mark when they already have one.
The only way to have two fae marks as a human is to genetically inherit one from each parent. However, if a person is born with one mark, they cannot receive one from a fae.

All had thought it but petty gossip when they heard the rumour spread through the town; there was no way she had a mark, she was not worthy.
But they had all been wrong. It was right there on her arm.
The Mark was glowing as her hand stretched out and her mouth widened in a big grin. Fire shot from her fingertips and the embers fell like snow as the town burned. Everything burned.

The Mark gives the person access to the use of spells. When it comes to difficulty, it all comes down to what mark the person has. A mark does not limit a human to one type of magic like it is seen in the Fae. However, it will be significantly harder to perform any spells that do not correlate with the type of mark the spell-caster has.

Type

Magical

Children

• Air Mark
• Dark Mark
• Earth Mark
• Fire Mark
• Light Mark
• Spirit Mark
• Water Mark

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired & Congenital

Rarity

Extremely Rare

Affected Species

• Human

Fae Mark Types

There are 7 different Fae Marks, one for each of the seven Primal Elements: Primal Light, Primal Dark, Primal Fire, Primal Water, Primal Air, Primal Earth and Primal Spirit. The recipient of the mark is most likely to master the primal element that their mark correlates to, but some have managed to become decent at other elements through vigorous training. This has only been seen a handful of times and is incredibly difficult to achieve.

There is a distinct mark for each type of Primal Element. This makes it easy to identify what mark someone has. The mark is placed wherever the Fae pressed their index finger on the receiver during the ritual to mark them.

Learning Magic from other Schools

Each Fae Mark grants access to easy use of the corresponding type of magic. With each Mark, it is also possible to learn some magic from the other schools through hard training.
It is the easiest to learn magic from the schools adjacent to one's own on the chart. The hardest school to learn is the one on the opposite side of the chart.


Example: Someone with a light mark could get decent at wind or fire with 5 years of vigorous studying. It would take them over 20 years to learn dark magic to the same level.

by Ninne124

Fae Mark Types Details

The Seven Marks

The seven different Fae Marks are very distinct, both in looks and in the powers they grant. All seven marks are unique, but the types of magic they unlock for a person can be utilized for many of the same types of spells. The key difference is when a magic type is strong and when it's weak.
Some types of magic are easier to use for certain spell groups. Light Magic and Spirit Magic are both easily used for healing spells, whereas it is virtually impossible to heal with Fire Magic.

The table shows the marks and the corresponding type of
Fae, Primal Elements and Magic type for each mark.

Mark Type	Magic Type	Fae Type	Primal Element
Light Mark	Light Magic	Light Fae	Primal Light
Dark Mark	Dark Magic	Dark Fae	Primal Dark
Earth Mark	Earth Magic	Earth Fae	Primal Earth
Air Mark	Air Magic	Air Fae	Primal Air
Fire Mark	Fire Magic	Fire Fae	Primal Fire
Water Mark	Water Magic	Water Fae	Primal Water
Spirit Mark	Spirit Magic	Spirit Fae	Primal Spirit

Stereotypes

Each Fae Mark has stereotypes, cliches and rumours surrounding it. It is said that people with specific marks behave in a certain way. This is based on the idea that the same stereotypes which are often applied to the different variants of Fae. However, most of these stereotypes are nothing but rumours and bigoted opinions, though that doesn't stop people from believing them.
All of the common stereotypes tie into the 7 primal elements.

Fire Marked

Fire Marked people are fierce and passionate and have a big temper. They're said to be as volatile as a big flame. Most say that you should be wary around such a person and never get to close, lest you be hurt.

Water Marked

Water marked people are said to be unpredictable. Their emotions are tied to the water. Some behave like the oceans and the monsoons, others are peaceful and quiet like small streams or rivers.

Earth Marked

Earth marked people are rumoured to be level-headed, loyal and un-changing. Their opinions are set in stone and they take everything on the word.

Air Marked

Air Marked people are said to be airheads. They go where the winds carry them and are very spontaneous. However, this also means that they can't be trusted. Not because they mean to harm anyone, but because they inevitably will due to their actions and because they don't think ahead.

Light Marked

Light Marked people are said to be like small suns. Good entities with pure intentions. They're the type of marked people who are most accepted.

Dark Marked

Dark Marked people, however, are seen as evil people. Most will do anything to avoid them, as they're said to crave power and money. They will do anything to get what they desire.

Spirit Marked

Spirit Marked people are feared in the same way as Dark Marked people, but also respected more. They're seen as mysterious individuals who are highly unpredictable, just like the spirit fae.

Gettting a Fae Mark

Fae Marks can be acquired in two ways: bestowment from a Fae or through genetical inheritance from a parent who has a Fae Mark of any kind. There is no other way for humans to gain a Fae Mark. Most beings cannot get a Fae mark. Fae are born with one dependent on their lineage and cannot gain another.

Bestowment from a Fae

The only way to get a Fae mark, if a person is not born with one, is to be given one from a Fae. Some Fae give them out as a token of appreciation, other's give them as their end of a deal. Making a deal to get a mark is by far the most common way it is done. The deal often extends to children born with the mark, though not many know because the fae are sneaky with the wording of their deals.

Once the two parts have agreed that one will give the other a mark, a ritual has to be held. The ritual can only be held in the domain of the corresponding Fae realm. Often, the High Fae is required to bless the Mark-giving before it can take place. Each type of Fae has their own ritual, which will bind the human and fae for a short while as the marking is taking place. What happens is, that the fae have a bodily mechanism which goes in and magically alter genes on the human so that they get the same gene as the fae, which is the reason for the mark.

Genetic Inheritance

Fae Marks can be inherited by blood because the marking changes the genetical make-up of the individual who receives.

Double Marks

Humans can only have two marks if they're born with both.
One cannot receive two marks through their lifetime, nor can a person born with a mark get an extra one from a fae.
The only ones who can get two marks are Half-Fae, who are born with one and can get an additional one because of their human half.

Getting marked changes one of the two versions of the gene the person has and it is therefore inheritable. It is a dominant trait which means that if someone has one dominant mark allele and one recessive allele, the person would get a Fae Mark, each fae mark has its own gene, so one cannot get a different fae mark than the one seen in one of their parents. If the child is not able to use magic, they will not have inherited the gene at all. It is not possible to be a carrier of the gene and not have a mark.

Genetic Inheritance Details

Note!

This part contains information about genetics which is modelled on real-world concepts. This might be advanced for some. This can be skipped without losing any vital information.

Possible Alleles

There are 8 different versions of the alleles that code for Marks or lack there-of.
The non-mutated allele is the one that codes for no Mark. Other than that, there are 7 different mutated alleles which each correlate to the specific Fae Marks.
The 7 mutated possibilities appear as a result of active altering of genes done by Fae and cannot be obtained naturally through mutation seen over many generations.
There are 2 ways to be marked:

• Single-Marked: the marked person only has one allele which codes for a mark. The second one is the allele which codes for no mark.
• Double Marked: the marked person has two alleles which code for a mark. It can either be for the same mark or two different ones. Double-Marked people are rarely born alive.

Mark Type	Allele	Gene Expression
No Fae Mark	m	Recessive
Light Mark	ML	Dominant
Dark Mark	MD	Dominant
Fire Mark	MF	Dominant
Water Mark	MW	Dominant
Air Mark	MA	Dominant
Earth Mark	ME	Dominant
Spirit Mark	MS	Dominant

The table shows the 8 different possible alleles which can
be found in the genome at the spot which will determine
whether a person has a mark or not.

Dominance and Recessiveness

The 7 mutations which code for Marks are all dominant, whereas the allele which codes for no Mark is recessive. The condition is autosomal dominant, which means there is the same chance that a female or a male receives the gene from their parent.

Marked and Unmarked (Any Mark)

The table below shows the outcome of a single-marked person and an unmarked person having children.
The outcome is the same no matter what mark the marked part possesses.

Outcome: 50% chance of single-marked, 50% chance of unmarked.

by Ninne124

Marked and Marked (Identical Marks)

The table below shows the outcome of two single-marked people with the same mark. This can result in a double-marked homozygote.
Outcome: 50% chance of single-marked, 25% chance of double-marked homozygote, 25% chance of unmarked.

by Ninne124

Marked and Marked (Unidentical Marks)

In this example, the parents are both single-marked but they have different Marks. One has a Light Mark, the other has a Fire Mark. This can result in a double-marked heterozygote.
Outcome: 25% chance of single-marked (Fire), 25% chance of single-marked (Light), 25% chance of double-marked heterozygote, 25% chance of unmarked.

by Ninne124

Other combinations

Other possible combinations would be:

• Unmarked and Unmarked
• Double Marked homozygote and Unmarked
• Double Marked homozygote and Single Marked (Identical Marks)
• Double Marked homozygote and Single Marked (Unidentical Marks)
• Double Marked heterozygote and Unmarked
• Double Marked heterozygote and Single Marked (3 mark types)
• Double Marked heterozygote and Single Marked (2 mark types)
• Double Marked heterozygote and Single Marked (Unidentical Marks)

Only the combination of 2 Unmarked would be viable, as 100% of Double Marked individuals are infertile.
2 Unmarked individuals would have a 100% chance of birthing an Unmarked child.

The rest of the combinations would never be possible because Double Marked people cannot reproduce. Not even the ones with two of the same mark.

Double Marks and Incomplete Dominance

If both alleles code for different marks, there will exist what is called incomplete dominance, a mix of the two which blends them together but makes each of them weaker. Individuals with incomplete dominance are unlikely to survive as primal elements aren't meant to coexist within the same organism. Only about 3% of double-marked heterozygotes are born alive. 5% of double marked homozygotes are born alive.
In the odd case that one such person does survive, they will be able to use two types of magic rather easily, but their abilities in each field will be considerably weaker than a person with one mark. A child with two marks rarely lives long if they even make it out of the womb. A person with incomplete dominance will be born sterile.