The Spark of Potential

The Spark of Potential, sometimes referred to as Paragon Affinity, is a phenomenon of the soul common in almost all non-native inhabitants of this reality along with a small portion of native ones. It typically grants the potential for great power, skill or general competency while strengthening the host soul. Those with a Spark of Potential are referred to as Sparked, a Spark-bearer or a Planeswalker though a great many other localized terms exist.

What is The Spark?

The Spark of Potential is, put most simply, a symbiotic (and sometimes parasitic) attachment to the soul of an exceptional being that grows along with its bearer, adapting and helping them in turn to adapt to challenges in life. Sparks possess no will or conscious thought of their own, acting on two factors alone, the holder's needs and wants. In most cases the holder will have clear goals or desires the Spark can work with, pushing them to achieve or, at the very least, take great strides towards them. Its effects are subtle to begin with, usually acting as something of a multiplier for the value of life experience but quickly developing to provide abilities beyond those of regular beings. The Spark will adapt to any such combination of want and need the bearer might have. A Sparked artist will likely become capable of truly unreal works, a swordsman's skill as a duelist will sharpen to nothing short of supernatural and a magi's power will grow far more swiftly than should be possible. Ultimately though, The Spark of Potential can only be fed and grown by true life experience, necessitating that its bearer venture forth and experience the world.

Possessing a Spark

First and foremost, a Spark cannot simply be obtained. In all 'standard' cases, the individual is born with the Spark which then cannot be removed from their soul by any means. All attempts to create a Spark and then attach it to an existing soul have ended poorly, with the best case scenario being a weakening of the subject's soul after a successful rejection of the foreign Spark or the irreparable destruction of the soul as it and the Spark then break down into raw quintessence.

When it comes to what beings can possess the Spark there seem to be remarkably few limitations save for sentience. Anything from a human to a mighty dragon could possess the Spark, though it has been noted to be far more common among the humanoid and native outsider races. In all cases the effects are the same.

Those with a Spark will likely not become aware of its presence within them until they undergo a sort of awakening, triggered in most cases by a particularly stressful or challenging event. Those with dormant Sparks may still be identified by their abnormally swift grasp on subjects and skills in which they display keen interest. In various different societies there exist a plethora of magical, technological or alchemical means to test suspected Planeswalkers at a young age, though such methods tend to be rather costly and time consuming. Once awakened, the Spark will begin to manifest more overtly, leading the host to develop new skills and techniques at regular intervals as well as granting impressive durability of mind, body and soul. Alongside this comes the development of 'mythic power', unerringly proving the rule that 'all Sparked beings are mythic, but not all mythic beings are Sparked'. Typically this growth will continue for as long as the bearer pushes them-self to achieve greater heights, only slowing when they grow content. This curious observation led to the later discovery that, at least in all recorded cases, The Spark of Potential works towards its host's well being to an almost unnerving end.

Spark-holders have a curious relationship with death. On the surface having the Spark does not enhance the host's life expectancy where age is concerned, rather that it greatly eases nearly all known methods used to extend one's life and even obtain immortality. Premature death, whether in combat, by disease or some other form of misadventure cannot seem to claim a Planeswalker forever without their consent and, even more interestingly, removes any known time limitation on potential resurrection. Should a Spark-holder die, they are always within means of being revived even centuries or millennia later should they desire, causing a great deal of speculation of whether Pharasma truly judges the souls of fallen Planeswalkers or if they simply pass directly to the afterlife of their choice.

Types of Spark

Sparks have so far been categorized into five categories, the most numerous by far being the standard variation, though standard is itself a rather poor word for the myriad forms the Spark can take.

'Standard' Sparks

The most normal form, present in most bearers of the Spark. Awakened it will enhance its host in their journey through life without demanding anything in return, ever strengthening their soul and warding them from the finality of death. These Sparks have the potential to blossom into Radiant Sparks should their host reach unparalleled heights or fester into Spurned Sparks if rejected.

Spurned Sparks

Not all that awaken power desire it and many that do not understand it come to fear it. Known also as 'Frenzied', 'Aberrant' or 'Rejected' Sparks, these occur when a bearer of the Spark rejects the power growing within them. Unable to reconcile with the host's desire to be rid of it, the Spark goes into a sort of 'frenzy', greatly weakening the host's soul over time. This typically manifests in a greater sensitivity to mental trauma, weakened physical constitution and, most notably, a high vulnerability to possession or other means of subsuming the soul.

Mending a Spurned Spark is remarkably simple, even if the damage to the soul might already be done. Truly accepting its power and working with it will very quickly restore it to a less destructive, standard state and allow for the same rapid growth most Spark-holders enjoy.

Dull Sparks

When a Sparked being's needs and wants do not align from an early age, often as a result of their circumstances, their Spark can lose much of its potency. Dull Sparks are most common in slaves, those trained from birth for a particular task or, rarely, in created beings that possess souls. These Sparks are noticeably weaker in that they seem to remain dormant even after awakening, bestowing few boons. Dull Sparks also appear not to spare their bearers from the finality of death.

For the bonded it can be possible to restore these sparks after freeing them though the process can be rather protracted. Perhaps depressingly the other method is simply for the bearer to grow significantly within their bonds, bringing some semblance of their own flair to their repressed circumstances. In either case their Dull Sparks will never quite radiate like those of most standard ones.

Pale Sparks

The odd one out among them. Pale Sparks are always artificial in some manner of speaking or another, wrought by mortal hands via magic, technology or alchemy at great material cost. These Sparks exist exclusively without souls and all known attempts to bond or introduce a Pale Spark to a pre-existing, Unsparked soul result in damage or destruction of both. Those that can see souls have found that they can also see Pale Sparks, leading to yet more speculation, and report that they bear the appearance of a morphic, transparent silvered wisp of smoke.

Pale Sparks are often used to grant potential to the soulless, allowing for intelligent undead, awakened objects or constructs to see the sort of rapid personal growth that the Sparked and ensouled enjoy. There are, however, some limitations. Much like a Dull Spark, these do not render death temporary. Pale Sparks also have something of a hard capacity for what they can push a bearer to achieve, stopping short of ever becoming radiant.

Radiant Sparks

When a Sparked being reaches an untold height to their proficiency their Spark undergoes a transformation, becoming a Radiant Spark and allowing the holder to push higher and into the realm of true, demi-godlike power. The transformation is often triggered through overcoming a monumental challenge or through consistent practice at the highest level. Whether there exists a limit on what a Radiant Spark can achieve is unknown, as is the possibility of a link to real divine power.

History

As far as can be told, the Spark of Potential has existed within people since the dawn of life itself. It was originally conflated with what would become known as 'mythic power', though it became obvious through preliminary investigations to be something more uniquely tied to the soul instead, leading to the premature conclusion that some people simply have stronger souls than others. True as this may be, it was only a decade ago that the study of Planeswalkers carried out by the then mortal Avalia Naramoore revealed the Spark to be what it truly is, finally being detailed as 'The Spark of Potential' in her book of the same name. Since this revelation a great deal of progress has been made towards a proper understanding of how Sparks work and develop. On a more mundane level it has become far easier to identify the difference between Sparked individuals and those that are simply exceptional in the conventional means, something that has had mixed effects in different nations across Cronus.

The Spark Across Chronus

Recent observation has shown that bearers of The Spark of Potential appear in a distinguishable pattern, appearing most frequently on the continent of Etera either in the form of beings from other realities or native births. The further you travel from Etera, the less common Sparked beings are along with a sharp drop in non-native beings from beyond Chronus. As such the general importance of Sparked beings tends to increase, societies not wanting to squander this valuable 'resource'.

Etera

The common misconception is that most Eterans are Sparked while in reality they are still the minority. Typically these 'adventurers', as they commonly are called, roam free and do pretty much that which they please, policed only by their own morals and the threat of retaliation from one another. With no regulation or control, the general populace go between being thankful to their protectors and fearful of their power. Other nations see Etera as something of a time-bomb or a threat to their stability, keen to avoid the attention of Eteran 'adventurers' for as long as they can manage. Past experience shows that it takes barely a handful of them to affect wide reaching and long lasting change elsewhere through their legendary actions while their own home-continent remains a chaotic and mess of activity.

Siacros

Since the birth of the Siacron Kingdoms a great many Sparked individuals have traveled to and made their home on the continent, having migrated from Etera. Prior to this it had been relatively uncommon for bearers of the Spark to arise, though they typically ended up in important positions of leadership or direction. Thus far the chaos common to Etera has not swept Siacros with the exception of The Fallout Wastes, the result of Fallen Erebus' destruction in a maelstrom of magic power during the war on Rushari Vastri.

The Setlaar

Perhaps the most overt in their exploitation of the exceptional, The Setlaar States seek out bearers of the Spark for their Operator Program to create an elite force of protectors that some in other nations see as state owned 'adventurers' or 'heroes'. In the past it was not such an exact science to locate such people, often conflating them with those of 'mythic power' who would subsequently contribute to the previously high mortality of the Operator Program. The Naramoore Theory of Metaphysical Exceptionalism, put forth in her study, greatly refined the process of seeking out and testing potential candidates with the knock-on effect being that those of mythic exceptionalism are more often identified and left to integrate into society on their own terms.