The Pools of Evergrace
The Pools of Evergrace are an underground cathedral covering several deep lakes that every Evergrace citizen visits at least once. The pools have the ability to absorb the memories and skills of those whose bodies are laid to rest in their waters. They can then impart some of these skills and memories to living creatures bathed in the pools, though using them too frequently can deplete or damage the reservoir.
It's important to understand that not all pools are created equal. When a citizen in good standing dies, their accomplishments are assessed via a committee and the most worthy are placed in "higher" pools. In the same vein, access to the pools is unequal. Monetary donations, family lineage, social influence and other forms of power can be used to influence the bureaucracy in charge of assigning a child's baptism location. The chance to have their children inherit genius intelligence, artistic greatness or even scientific secrets is a powerful motivator for parents, and the competition to access higher tier pools mirrors the modern obsession with placing one's children in the most elite colleges and universities.
While most pool placement is determined by these social and economic factors (ostensibly it depends on a holistic "assessment" of each child's intelligence and qualities, but many of the tests are quite subjective) there also exists several types of lottery systems to access higher tiered pools. These lotteries are highly controversial, and were only recently put into place in response to growing populist pressure that the tier system reinforces an unequal social order in Evergrace.
People from higher tier pools aren't always gifted with superior abilities (though on average, they tend to be), but the notion of inherited talent is so powerful in Evergrace society that one's pool tier often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, with the actions and accomplishments of high-tier individuals judged more favorably and regarded more highly. If a high tier military officer's battle plan succeeds, people assume their genius carried the day; if it fails, many will assume that some lower tier officer was responsible for screwing things up. Fields like art where a certain amount of subjectivity defines what's "good" see strong influence from tier rankings, particularly from people who wish to appear cultured or maintain the social status quo but lack the actual taste to tell good art from bad.
In fact, since there's no way to objectively verify that a person has certain memories or skills, it's not uncommon among the high-tier to claim to have some memories of famous individuals, an ambiguity that some blowhards use to manufacture tall tales of their being partly gifted with the memories or skills of some deceased celebrity or historical figure. This can also sometimes cause something of an identity crisis among higher-tier citizens. After all, if your artistic skill might merely be the result of being immersed in the right pool by influential parents, who's to say that "your" art is really yours at all? This is a sore subject among high-tier individuals, and a good way to deeply insult such a person is to dismiss their accomplishments as "trickle down," i.e. the product of implanted and not natural talent.
Conversely, individuals with low tier numbers face an uphill struggle. Though just as capable of being born with their own innate talent and abilities as any other person, the fact that their "extra" memories and skills were selected from (on average) lower "quality" stock means that some people prejudge them or even treat them with prejudice. Those who pay attention to tier in this way tend to be the wealthier, higher tier citizens and are also more likely to favor stricter immigration policies and be more xenophobic to those from outside the city.
Perhaps surprisingly, lower tier individuals can also be quite xenophobic. Though some see their second-class citizen status as a kind of kinship with outsiders as near the bottom of the social ladder, there are many who take great pride in having a group of people on whom they can look down. After all, even low tier individuals can take pride in being "real" citizens.
One thing is for certain, the pools are the most precious resource that Evergrace possesses, and they shape every aspect of a person's life from their baptism to where their body is laid to its eternal rest.
Alternative Names
The Deeps
Type
Cathedral / Great temple
Parent Location
Owning Organization
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