-I will not answer any question that requires me to reveal the future plot-

This is not a chapter related to the story, most of the things I put here will be explained in the story later on to make it fair for those who chooses not to read this.

It had been brought to my attention by sir 'Toobadbro' and his reply in Chapter 8 pt.2: Godric's Hollows that the readers are confused. The question he/she posed was:

'Why is he(Chase) basic in hand-to-hand(Close Combat)?'

It is to my belief that keeping the readers confused (unless it is necessary for them to enjoy the story) is a bad thing. As such, I choose to post this thread here explaining the mechanisms of the Glyph and what they do as well as some other info about Armus.

1) The Glyphstone of Life (now changed to 'Glyph of Life' for the sake of naming consistency)

It forms a permanent link with those who channels mana into it and keeps a record of that person within it.

Those who perish shall have their names erased from its record due to the severed link. Sometimes people form links so others such as their family could check whether they are still alive or not.

It is capable of displaying a person's memories with his or her consent, making it very useful for gathering information and also interrogations. This requires the person to directly touch it or by touching one of the extension glyphs connected to it (kinda like a bunch of USB ports)

2) The Glyph of Evaluation

There are two types:

Portable:

It forms a temporary link with those who channels mana into it and displays the title, skills and abilities of the owner to them and also anyone else they wish to show it to.

Regular:

Same, except that the information shown is public and available to anyone in the vicinity who wants to read it and you cannot hide any of your skills, abilities or title.

The evaluation of the skill proficiency goes in this order from lowest to highest for both Close-Combat and Magic:

Basic-->Intermediate-->Advanced-->Master-->Grandmaster-->Legendary

a)Close combat:

The Glyph evaluates the person's proficiency by:

The person's techniques with the particular weapon (number of techniques as well as the level of their execution)

The person's familiarity with said weapon (those who have reached Master are said to be one with their weapons)

It does not base it on the person's strength, speed, stamina, dexterity or anything else that is not listed above. Thus, a person with incredible strength and speed and a Basic level in Swordsmanship for example, has the possibility of defeating an opponent with inferior strength and speed with an Advanced level in Swordsmanship.

However, it is unlikely that a person who had reached Master (for example) to be weak in the attributes which are not measured due to the amount of training they had gone through.

b)Magic:

The Glyph evaluates the person's proficiency by:

The number of spells of a particular element available to the user (whether it be pure element or compounded)

The user's ability to flexibly use the spell (Gillian's explanation in Chapter 6 pt.1: The Violet Eyes)

The invocation speed of the user

Aaron who knows how to use 'Fireball' does not qualify for even a basic level due to his terribly long invocation speed and abysmal mana control

Note: If a compound magic is created from Fire and Earth (for example), it is counted as both elements.

It does not measure the person's mana capacity or show the person's affinity to elements. The person has to figure these out by themselves. Chase's rapid growth in Magic mastery had been contributed by his ability:

Paramount Mana Manipulation which gives:

1) Instant invocation speed

2) Extreme control over mana, allowing him to control his spells and do whatever he wants by simply imagining it

3) Instant memorization of observed spells (up to Advanced level spells only)

The ability turns his eyes from violet to silver and is inherent in the Blackstone family although Aaron did not inherit it. Chase is limited by this, he cannot openly use this ability. This ability gives him a lot of advantage but does not make him invincible (being able to invoke spells instantly does not mean he has enough combat sense or the reaction speed to utilise it fully)

Speaking about abilities...

c)Ability

Traits of the person which is either acquired or inherited. They are of some significance and do not fall under the evaluation of Close-Combat or Magic.

A little info about Armus

Armus has three continents on it. Each continent has only one kingdom ruling it. The kingdoms are in peace and harmony due to a treaty signed over 500 years ago from the current timeline (500 years before year 330 Inanis Calendar).

Eastern Continent (Armitage - The Swords of Justice) Western Continent (The Great Holy Empire of Bosco) Northern Continent (Hwalren - The Infallible Gates)

Three Wonders of Armus:

Millennium Forest (Eastern Continent)

Earthscraper (Western Continent)

Cursed Lands (Northern Continent)

Calendar: The Inanis Calendar is given its name due to the discovery of the edge of the world by a prominent female explorer, Inanis.

The Flat Earth Hypothesis stands true for the world of Armus. To those who don't know what that is, here's a brief explanation:

The Flat Earth Hypothesis states that the earth is a flat plane (not a globe), the sun orbits the earth, and there exists an edge of the world where there is nothing beyond it.

Skills and Abilities of Characters

In accordance to Addicted's request, I've decided to just put up a bunch of tables here representing the skills and abilities of various characters.

Iris Grim/Blackstone:

NAMEIris GrimTITLEThe ProdigySkill ProficiencyClose-CombatMagic

Sword : Master

Halberd : Advanced

Mace : Advanced

Wind : Advanced

Water : Intermediate

Abilities

Keen Battle Sense

Quick Reflexes

Ogre Strength

Bloodlust

Iron Will

Ferocity

Alice Cloud (Year 329):

NAMEAlice CloudTITLENoneSkill ProficiencyClose-CombatMagic

Sword : Basic

Fire : Advanced

Light : Advanced

Earth : Intermediate

Water : Intermediate

Wind : Intermediate

Abilities

Outrageous Endurance

Gillian Cloud:

NAMEGillian CloudTITLEEx-Veteran SpellswordSkill ProficiencyClose-CombatMagic

Sword : Intermediate

Axe : Intermediate

Spear : Intermediate

Fire : Advanced

Earth :Advanced

Light : Intermediate

Water : Intermediate

Wind : Intermediate

Curse : Basic

Abilities

Advanced Magic Diagram

Quick Mind

Cool Judgment

That's it for now, I think... if you have any questions or confusions that needs to be sorted out please do post below.

P.S.: I have added a button that links to this thread, the button will be present starting from Chapter 8 pt.2 and onward.

I will not answer any question that requires me to reveal the future plot