Sundered OnesPowerful but broken creatures, enslaved to keep mankind alive in a flooded world. More are divided according to power, intelligence, and appearance. The higher the Tier, the more powerful and intelligent they are, and harder to Claim. There are only five numbered tiers; below number five, the Sundered Ones are too weak to quantify. The tier-system seems over-simplified, but it’s an efficient way to keep people from claiming the wrong Sundered Ones and possibly losing their lives due to ReversalA “reversal” is the term applied to an unusual but always fatal failure to claim a Sundered One. More.
Schoolchildren are (or were) taught this via song:
Fifth-tier’s strong and lifts big blocks, not too bright but strong as ox.
Fourth-tier’s fine with clever fingers, painting, sculptures, make good singers.
Third-tier’s quiet, good for play, safe for children every day.
Second-tier’s wild, feral, free, eats everyone, but works for me.
Claim the rest with little work, but they die soon, so best not shirk.
- First-tier are the rarest and most powerful. It’s distinctly possible that they’ve gone extinct, which is probably why they’re not mentioned in the children’s song.
- Second-tier are dangerous; highly violent and volatile, they are often not worth attempting to claim, and their intelligence and will-power make them likely to pull a reversal. They tend to be a fairly flawless humanoid hybrid – such as BakuraA Sundered One who resembles a lizard-man and has a major hate-on for Harry Iskinder. More, a lizard-man – instead of an oddly jumbled hodgepodge of animal parts
- Third-tier aren’t really dangerous at all. They’re difficult to claim initially, requiring both training and willpower, but they rarely ever turn on their owners. In fact, this tier seems to grow affectionate toward their masters and the families of their masters. Third-tier are safe to put in positions of aid and succor, for children and the elderly. They usually have a gentler appearance, visibly softer, and often smile.
- Fourth-tier are the most creative of Sundered Ones. They have some artistic sense; if told to decorate, they’re capable of doing so, though simply. They aren’t particularly compassionate like third-tier, and not angry like second-tier. Their primary distinction is a particular skill with details. Most often, they have numerous appendances (I hesitate to say “fingers”), suited for intricate work. There’s also significantly less “flow” to their design. Unlike second and third-tier, they’re distinctly mismatched (scaled limbs and furry tummies, too many eyes, or mouths in the wrong places, that sort of thing).
- Fifth-tier are not terribly powerful, and tend to be less intelligent. They also are often more distinctly animal-like in appearance (such as Quimby’s strange resemblance to a seastar). They’re identifiable by sight almost at once.
- Lower tiers than fifth are the most common, and rarely numbered because there isn’t much point. Like GorishGorish is a Sundered One, and one of the primary characters of The Sundered. More, they don’t have a lot of power, and usually don’t live long once claimed.