In the world beyond Eldermere, some people are born with the ability to interact with the unseen — the spirits that dwell in every corner of land, water, and sky. Most people cannot see or touch them.
For those who can, their strength is measured in grades, which determine the kinds of spirits they can summon, how they can use them, and how their bodies are enhanced.
Third Grade — The Helpers
Third-grade summoners can only summon lesser spirits — small, limited in awareness and power. Their abilities are primarily useful in daily life: moving objects, carrying water or firewood, tending fires, or performing minor healing. They cannot fight monsters effectively, but their work supports the village's day-to-day life. Third-grade summoners do not develop markings; their power is purely spiritual.
Second Grade — The Protectors
Second-grade summoners can call high-grade spirits.
These spirits can augment the summoner's body, giving enhanced strength, speed, and resilience.
They can also bind spirits to weapons, making them more lethal in combat.
Second-grade summoners are valuable for healing, protection, and small-scale defense.
During intense use of their spirits, subtle markings may appear on their skin, though they are not permanent.
First Grade — The Guardians
First-grade summoners are rare.
They can summon high-grade spirits and fuse them into their weapons or directly into their bodies.
Distinct markings appear and glow when their spirits are active, enhancing physical abilities such as speed, strength, endurance, and reflexes.
First-grade summoners can also manipulate spirits to maintain barriers or protective zones around the village.
They are both warriors and protectors, respected and feared because of their combination of martial skill and spiritual power.
Special Grade — The Fused
Special-grade summoners represent the pinnacle of mastery.
In Brenner's village, only three exist.
They can fully fuse with supreme spirits, merging body and soul.
Markings cover parts of their body, glowing brightly during fusion and maximizing physical and spiritual potential.
Their attacks carry immense force, and their speed and endurance surpass all others.
Beyond raw power, special-grade summoners can create domains — controlled areas where their spirit energy dominates the environment, enhancing their abilities and manipulating everything within it.
They can reshape the battlefield, control regions, and protect or dominate large areas.
Their power is legendary, but the risks are extreme — improper fusion can destroy the body or mind.
Barriers and Village Protection
Some summoners specialize in infusing spirits into objects or zones to create barriers that repel monsters or intruders.
In Brenner's village, these barriers are maintained by a first-grade shaman who keeps the forest's dangerous creatures away.
The combination of guardian spirits and markings enhances the staying power of these barriers, ensuring the village remains safe from threats both natural and unnatural.
In short, the grades measure not only the spirits a summoner can call, but also how much they can integrate those spirits into themselves or their weapons, and how much their body can be enhanced.
Third-grade summoners assist in daily life, second-grade can fight and heal with more power, first-grade summoners are guardians with infused strength and barriers, and special-grade summoners can fully merge with supreme spirits, create domains, and reshape battles and territories, marked visibly by glowing sigils that signal their immense power.