Advancement. The progressive transformation of body, spirit, and soul through the sacred arts. Each stage represents a fundamental threshold.
Overview
The sacred arts describe a progression of stages, each representing a deeper transformation of the practitioner’s
The stages through the Gold realm are common knowledge. Beyond Gold, the records become progressively more restricted: the Lord realm is understood by thousands, the Sage and Herald thresholds by dozens, and the truth about Monarchs by fewer still. [US Ch.1, SK Ch.11]
Foundation
The starting stage. A Foundation artist possesses a spirit but cannot access vital aura, cannot perceive the spiritual world, and leaves no Remnant upon death. By the standards of the world beyond Sacred Valley, Foundation is “powerless.” A child’s aptitude is assessed through a spirit test, which “shows you what you’re best at. Shows where you start, not where you end up.” [US Ch.1, Ch.20]
Copper
“Copper eyes see the world.” At Copper, the spirit opens to vital aura. Madra capacity doubles overnight, channels physically shift and widen, and the practitioner gains spiritual perception: the ability to see aura in the world as fractured color. Earth aura appears as softly yellow-glowing cubes, wind as hazy green, water as vivid blue-green ripples. Still classified as “powerless” by standards outside Sacred Valley. [US Ch.2, SS Ch.1, BF Ch.3]
Iron
“Breaking through to Iron changes you physically.” The Iron advancement reforges the body through a process that expels impurities as black blood, enhances strength, toughens skin, and sharpens senses. The method of training determines the specific properties of the
Jade
At Jade, the body is renewed and spiritual perception becomes a true extra sense. A Jade practitioner “could feel everything now”: a partner’s presence blazes nearby, pinpoints of energy dot the surroundings for dozens of yards, and the sense ignores physical barriers. Something behind a brick wall feels just as adjacent as something in the open. This stage is the highest recognized in Sacred Valley, though the records confirm it remains “powerless” by the standards of the broader world. [US Ch.2, BF Ch.10, SK Ch.1]
The Gold Realm
Gold marks the beginning of true power by the world’s standard. “Where you must start.” The traditional method of reaching Gold requires absorbing a compatible
Reaching Gold without a Remnant is possible but rare. The records document practitioners who achieved Gold “purely through accumulated power,” producing no Goldsign. [SK Ch.4]
Lowgold
The first Gold stage. The Remnant’s power supplements the practitioner’s own, providing access to new madra reserves and techniques. The Goldsign appears at this stage, taking forms based on the Remnant absorbed: scales, extra limbs, strange eyes, metallic hair, and many others. [SS Ch.1]
Highgold
Advancement to Highgold involves “learning to use more than the excess energy your Remnant provides.” The easiest method is to break down the absorbed Remnant for power, digesting its skills and madra. During the transition, madra rushes back from the body into the core and compresses to one-third its previous volume but far greater density: “if his madra before had been water, now it felt like syrup.” [BF Ch.7, GW Ch.12]
Truegold
At Truegold, the practitioner has “gained complete control over the Remnant in his core,” having digested it completely. Old Truegolds are often stronger in raw technique power than young ones, having practiced for centuries. Young Truegolds, however, are more respected for their advancement potential. Only a few Truegolds can be found in the entire Desolate Wilds. [SS Ch.14, GW Ch.8]
Advancement Statistics
The records confirm brutal attrition between stages. One in a hundred Lowgolds reaches Highgold. The same ratio holds from Highgold to Truegold. Between Truegold and Underlord, the odds narrow further: one in a thousand. [SS Ch.19]
The Lord Realm
The Lord realm separates the vast majority of sacred artists from the truly powerful. Advancing past Truegold was described as rising “from the earth to the heavens in one leap.” The transition requires not merely accumulated power but personal insight. Three stages must be cleared at Truegold to advance to Underlord: opening soulspace, weaving
Underlord
The first step is soulspace: a space within the soul where objects and soulfire can be stored, initially holding only one object. The second step is learning to weave soulfire from vital aura, a process that “would defeat a Lowgold instantly” if demonstrated. [SK Ch.4]
The third step is a personal revelation: understanding what originally started you on your Path. The advancement to Underlord fully remakes body and spirit, restoring even severe injuries. Lifeline damage that no healer could repair is mended as the practitioner is deconstructed and rebuilt. An Underlord’s soulfire-forged flesh “cannot be easily seared,” and their spiritual pressure weighs down the madra of all weaker artists. [UL Ch.1, SK Ch.1, SS Ch.18]
Advancement projections for a practitioner living peacefully: Highgold by 25, Truegold roughly ten years later, Underlord in the fifties. These are averages. The records contain many exceptions. [SK Ch.12]
Overlord
The Overlord revelation concerns the nature of the practitioner’s present self: “Consider yourself as you are now. What is the nature of the will that drives you? What principles guide your madra?” The revelation “does not sum up your entire self” but provides a new insight into how the practitioner relates to the world. Unlike the Underlord’s deconstruction and rebuilding, the Overlord advancement is a cleansing: soulfire passes through in a hot wind, searing and comforting, as channels strengthen and cores flare brighter. Advancement is not always verbal. [WS Ch.13, Ch.23, BL Ch.17]
Archlord
The Archlord revelation concerns the future: who you want to become. Where Underlord asked what began your journey and Overlord asked who you are, Archlord asks where you are going. Archlord soulfire is described as “a dense flame of reflective chrome, like quicksilver imitating fire,” at least two grades above what a Truegold could produce. [RP Ch.22, BL Ch.9]
Sage
A Sage is a sacred artist who has contacted an
Multiple Icons are possible. The records document practitioners who contacted a second Icon after their first, each broadening their authority over reality. The first step to becoming a Sage is to become a symbol of a concept. The last step is to contact the Icon itself. This threshold separates mortal sacred arts from something considerably more dangerous. [WS Ch.7]
Sage badges are made from wintersteel, a material that can only be worked by will. Ancient badge customs used symbols to represent the Icon the wearer aimed to embody. [WS Ch.27]
Herald
A Herald has manifested their own Remnant and drawn it back into their flesh. The process is a clash of wills between the practitioner and their spirit: failure means the practitioner’s existence is erased. Success remakes the body for the final time. [WS Ch.2]
After the merge, body and spirit are one. A Herald can choose which physical changes to keep, each reflecting their Remnant and Path. The distinction between sacred artist and sacred beast blurs at higher stages; at peak Archlord, the process is identical for both. [WS Ch.2, Ch.20]
An alternative method exists: fusing with a Blood Shadow instead of a Remnant. The Sage of Red Faith devised this approach. The records strongly advise achieving Sage status before attempting such a merge; without the anchoring of an Icon, the Shadow’s will creates an imperfect fusion. [WS Ch.18]
Monarch
A Monarch possesses both Herald and Sage power: a body merged with its Remnant and authority over an Icon. Either path may come first. A Herald who contacts an Icon ascends to Monarch. A Sage who merges with their Remnant does the same, though being a Sage makes the merge harder, as the Remnant carries authority beyond an ordinary Archlord spirit. [WS Ch.2, Ch.25]
Reality itself quakes at a Monarch’s birth. The records describe Monarchs as “practically myths.” Those who remain on Cradle rather than ascending have something “wrong” with them. Some hear their names spoken from across the world. Supplicants are equally likely to be ignored, granted audience, or unmade. Approaching a Monarch is “like begging help of a volcano.” [SK Ch.11]
The deeper truth about Monarchs is restricted by soul oaths. Their presence generates hunger aura, the corruption of the natural order, a manifestation of their existence pressing too heavily upon the world. This hunger aura corrupted Remnants, spirits, beasts, and humans, eventually giving birth to the Dreadgods. The Dreadgods cannot truly die while Monarchs remain on Cradle. All Monarchs know this. Anyone who might advance to Monarch must swear secrecy or “not make it.” [RP Ch.21]
Sacred Beast Advancement
Sacred beasts follow the same stages as human practitioners but differ in key respects. Where humans discover truths about themselves, sacred beasts choose to change form. Dragon transformation is normally slower than human advancement. Most gold dragons prefer human form. At peak Archlord, the process of advancing to Sage or Herald is identical for both sacred beasts and humans. [WS Ch.15, Ch.20]
Related Topics
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Sacred Arts -
The Spirit -
Soulfire -
Iron Bodies -
Goldsigns -
Icons and Authority