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Sacred Arts Cradle Locations Cradle Factions Cradle Theories |
- Editing note — in the books, Sage and Icon are capitalized. All advancement levels are capitalized, actually.
- see also Ranks and Advancement Process
- See also Monarch factions
- See List of Heralds
Sage
“Sages and Monarchs can command reality directly, but as you can imagine, there are limitations. We can only affect the world in certain ways related to our Icons, and we call the scope of that power our authority.” (Wintersteel ch 7)
Icon
(Icons are included also on the list of Magical Items)
An Icon is a powerful symbol. It is a signature of Authority, bestowed by the mystical Way.
A Lord manifests an Icon when the Way recognizes him/her as the living embodiment of a concept.
"To become a Sage, you have to contact a greater power, a symbol of a greater concept of reality. We call that symbol an Icon.” (Wintersteel, ch 7, Min Shuei the Winter Sage, speaking to Yerin)
An Icon is an embodiment of a concept greater than humanity and the mark of a Sage. Those who are able to manifest an Icon gain the ability to command reality itself and to brush against The Way. Below is a list of all currently known Icons with the corresponding Sage.
- See also Ranks
Eithan’s History Lesson
“In the past, the concept of a Sage was much more. . .fluid. . .than it is today. When manifesting an Icon, it is very important to understand the significance of your madra and to sense it deeply. Equally important is some kind of technique to regularly train your willpower. For years. An exercise that pushes your focus and concentration ever further, and that most people would give up or abandon for easier trails…. . . “Now, the specific Icon you manifest depends not only on the nature of your madra currently, but on a concept that has always been core to your identity. Even in childhood." (Wintersteel, ch 27, Eithan speaking to Lindon)
List of Known Icons
In alphabetical order. Add more finds to the list
- Archer or Bow — Larian of the Eight-Man Empire
- Blood — Sage of Red Faith (he seems to have forgotten his given name)
- Broom — Ozmanthus Arelius
- Death - Ozmanthus Arelius
- Dragon — Northstrider, who is now a Monarch, manifested the Dragon Icon at Sage level (Uncrowned, ch 20)
- Heart — Akura Charity Sage of Silver Heart
- Oracle - Cladia Arelius Sage of a Thousand Eyes
- Points (Lindon, joke, in bloopers)
- Shadow — Akura Malice when she was a Sage
- Storm - Sage of Calling Storms, Stormcallers Cult (no name given yet)
- Strength — Akura Fury That’s called the Strength Icon, or the Fist Icon, or the Symbol of Bodily Power (Wintersteel ch 25)
- Sword - Timaias Adama, Sage of the Endless Sword, also Min Shuei and the Sage of Fallen Blades (Wintersteel, ch 7)
- Void Icon - Wei Shi Lindon Arelius Sage of Twin Stars, Twin Stars Sect
- Winter - Min Shuei Sage of the Frozen Blade (she also has Sword Icon)
- A few Icons are manifested by Monarch Emriss Silentborn
Will Wight: “The oldest Monarch is Emriss Silentborn and she only has a couple of Icons. Her connection to them is just very thorough.” (Archive 1822)
There is also a Sage in the Wasteland, but little is known:
Miles behind Malice, the unaffiliated experts of the Wasteland received her transmitted message and removed their veils. Three Heralds, a Sage, and five ancient Archlords. (Reaper, ch 9)
Bow or Archer Icon
Bow Icon, Archer Icon:
“A woman with a bow taps into the power of all who have used bows, of what it means to wield a bow,” she continued. “You are not just an archer. You are a fragment of The Archer, the single template of all archery. The bow is one of the deepest symbols of all.” There was a trace of that concept in her mother’s archery. The Bow Icon, The Archer, whatever you wanted to call it. (Reaper, ch 17)
Void Icon
Lindon is the Void Sage. For details, see Void Icon
Oracle Icon
In Book #8, Cladia Arelius, Sage of a Thousand Eyes, is clearly called the Oracle Sage, by Eithan himself. (Wintersteel ch 7). However, in book 10, Eithan makes a telling statement:
If I’m close to Sage—especially the Oracle Icon, which I was once considered a prime candidate to manifest—then I could be picking up hints of another Sage or Monarch’s working. It could be a working you are too inexperienced to recognize, or something too far away from the realm of the Void Icon.” (Reaper ch 7)
