The following you are about to read are layered breakdown of the evolution system, along with some added lores, used in this Webnovel for easy comprehension along the line:
[Layer One: Foundation]
The evolution system is called Unveiling. Someone who undergoes Unveiling is known as an Unveiled. Unveilers commonly refer to Unveiling as "falling upwards"(sorry if I already used this phrase in my previous novel).
There are 21 Veils in total, further divided into three tiers:
Tier I : Personal Awareness (Veils 1–7): subtle changes occur; they have sharper senses; small glimpses of hidden truth happen.
Tier II : Environmental Resonance (Veils 8–14): resonance affects surroundings; small anomalies like objects responding strangely around them, and the coincidences seem too perfect to be chance.
Tier III : Archetypal Merge (Veils 15–21): reality itself bends around them or when willed; the rare few 'touch the edges' of godlike comprehension.
[Layer Two: Evolution Archetypes]
Each human who fall upwards aligns naturally with one or more Archetypes. The common seven are:
• The Architect
• The Lantern
• The Navigator
• The Ember
• The Anchor
• The Whisper, and
• The Veilwarden.
Though their manifestations vary. Some are subtle, while some are blindingly obvious.
There are also Lost Archetypes which are countless in numbers(you will understand more of this in the later chapters of this book). The Lost Archetypes are shrouded in mystery, sometimes resurrected by rituals and mystics.
Archetype Resonance:
Archetype resonance determines how one experiences Veil progression.
On very rare occasions, hybrids form when multiple resonances combine. This is obviously powerful, unpredictable or dangerous.
[Layer Three: Cost & Consequence of Unveiling or "falling upwards"]
No ascension comes without a huge debt. With each Veil traversed, a huge price or attrition is claimed. Attrition/costs could be biological, cognitive, or emotional costs. This is entirely expected in the ladder of Unveiling.
Also, Unveiling from one Veil to another takes certain principles and actions to be carried out.
Remedies do exist, but they are deliberately confidential. Rare drafts, rituals, or hidden methods are used as remedies to this Attrition, but none of them can erase the cost completely.
[Layer Four: Secret Societies and Public Religious Groups]
Continuists:
Some people are referred to as continuists, who push the daring to ascend, accelerate resonance, and reclaim the Lost Archetypes. Their general motive seem evil. Some cults awaken 'echoes' from 'past cycles'(you will understand in the later chapters of this book), also known as forgotten patterns of being. Their intentions are unknown and often malicious
Continuists Secret Societies include:
• The Highmen
• The Crimson Ordo
• The Hollow Concord, and
• The Echo Circle
Their General Attitude: ambition, aggression, manipulation of society, politics, and industry to fuel Unveiling.
Interveners:
Another set of people called the Interveners restrain them, guarding stability and punishing uncontrolled ascension.
Interveners Secret Societies include:
• Veilwardens
• Gilded Codex
• Silent Barriers, and
• Midnight Reliquary
Interveners General Attitude: defensive, secretive, regulators, suppressors of runaway resonance.
Public Religious Groups:
Church of the Twin Moons: Majorly found in Iron Crown Territory. Their worship is lunar based.
Ember Rite: Majorly based in the Ember Provinces. Their worship mode is fire & industrial energy worship.
Academic Commonwealth Orders: They worship knowledge as sacred. This process is believed to heighten their perception of knowledge.
Coastal & Maritime Faiths: They worship the sea & storm gods.
Public religion served as latent resonance catalysts. No common human was aware of any supernatural power.
[Layer Five: Concept of Unveiling]
To Unveil means to fall upwards, i.e. to rise in being while surrendering fragments(Attrition) of yourself. "falling upwards"is a common metaphor for evolution and ascent through Veils.
Thanks for your dedication to reading this! Enjoy the story!