Hi, I'm the author of this story, I generally go by Flyingtelop as my online handle and this is a writing exercise for me. I am also making a world map using Inkarnate along with writing this story. I simply want to do something fulfilling and so I write. I'm not doing this for money, although getting paid to write out stories would be pretty cool, I have a job and it's pretty taxing on me so this will be a bit slow on uploads. However, my current writing style is very long chapters. So less volume but more dense is how I write now.
This is the noble rankings in the story from strongest to weakest,
(Upper Nobility)
Emperor/Empress
King/Queen
Duke/Duchess
Count/Countess Also could be Earl/Countess
(Lower Nobility/Gentry)
Viscount/Viscountess
Baron/Baroness
Lord/Lady
Knight
Esquire
These are not absolutes. A king doesn't always have a firm grip on his kingdom and may have less power (Both militarily and politically) than say a duke or count. In certain places there may be a Baron who has a military and political presence of a duke or count but hasn't gone through the proper procedures. A title is a status symbol but only looking at their title will leave you blind to their actual power.
This story is fantasy, in particular it is Western Sword Fantasy (Western Murim). So there's mages, magical creatures, aura, Etc. A good example would be The Heavenly Demon Can't Live A Normal Life. It's got mages, Aura users (Though they use stars not ranks), fantasy creatures and all that.
Mage ranks are based in a system between 1-10. They are divided into sections
Initiate: Rank 1
Novice: Ranks 2-3
Apprentice: Rank 4
Wizard/Witch/Mage: Rank 5
High wizard/High witch/High mage: Ranks 6-7
Archwizard/Archwitch/Archmage: Rank 8
Grand Wizard/Grand Witch/Grand Mage: Rank 9
Magi: Rank 10.
A magic user is only considered to be one at rank 5. Before that they are a magic user in training, anything exceeding Rank 5 shows an excellence in magic. When it comes to how many people are in each segment its as follows:
Initiate: ???
Novice: ???
Apprentice Wizard/Apprentice Witch/Apprentice Mage: ???
Wizard/Witch/Mage: ???
High wizard/High witch/High mage: 300
Archwizard/Archwitch/Archmage: 100
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Grand Wizard/Grand Witch/Grand Mage: 7
Magi: 1
When it comes to the ranks before mage it is impossible to identify how many fall under that category. Whether through a freak accident or just natural talent many magic users awaken to magic accidently. It isn't normally violent as the mage in question is just not strong enough to harm people. At most when the awakening happens is minor burns or passing out. It is common among magic practitioners to wander the world in search of a disciple, magic is indiscriminate when it comes to who it favors.
Arch Mages are a kingdom's hidden card, they are very powerful, very dangerous, and mortal enough to feel desire. They are at the top of what the everyday day mage aspires to be. All mages know it is nearly impossible to become a Grand mage. To become a Grand Mage you need to have godly talent, godly luck, and to get rid of your mortal desires.
Grand Mages very rarely interfere with mortal affairs, mages at this level are equivalent to a demigod. Should they desire they could cause serious harm. Grand Mages are like nature, only a similar phenomenon could stop them like an Ancient Dragon or another Grand Mage.
Magi are gods. They go from using magic from the surroundings to naturally producing it within their body. It is impossible to become a Magi without Divine intervention. A rank 1 spell from a Magi is the equivalent to a High Mage's strongest spell. The only known Magi is the creator of magic, Veneficium.
Next up are warriors. Now, all warriors fall under the same umbrella, there is no difference between a rank 1 sword user and a rank 1 spear user. The advantage of each weapon puts them on the same level. Though there is a sort of rock-paper-scissors thing with weapons. Spear>Swords, a fight very rarely starts close and a rank 1 sword user is more likely to die to a rank 1 spear user as the sword user is trying to get into range. But a rank 1 dagger user is agile enough to negate the reach advantage. Now when you add variables like a shield then the playing field is equaled. However a shield can't protect everything and it relies on the user wielding and using a sword with one arm. This leads to the user having a higher likelihood of being disarmed. When it comes to the rank names it depends on your weapon,
Sword=Swordsman
Fist=Brawler
Dagger=Daggerman
Blunt=Brute
Those are some examples.
Martial ranks are as follows:
Apprentice Swordsman: Ranks 1-4
Swordsman: Ranks 5-6
Expert Swordsman: Ranks 7-8
Master Swordsman: Rank 9
Pinnacle: Rank 10
It is impossible to track how many martial users are around however we can put groups of people and find where they go,
Ranks 1-3 are town guards, militia, peasants.
Rank 4 are typically professional warriors like personal guards or experienced mercenaries
Ranks 5-6 are knights
Ranks 7-8 are typically tournament champions, generals, leaders of warrior families.
Rank 9 are a country's greatest warrior, their usage and understanding of the sword allows them to stand on semi equal footing with Archmages.
Rank 10 is an old hermit who, through understanding, can split seas and mountains with little effort. There are no pinnacles because it is just not plausible. To be a Pinnacle you must be perfect, but to be perfect is to be a god, but to be a Pinnacle you must be mortal. It's a paradox.
Now those were warriors without aura. Aura is a type of awakening where a warrior's understanding of himself, not his techniques or his knowledge, allows for a mystical energy to exude from their body. It is based on wisdom not intelligence. It is not mana and turns the Aura user into a kind of battery where they produce and store their aura inside themselves. Each Aura user has a unique Aura depending on who they are; personality determines an Aura's capability. Aura users have different ranks going from 1-5. Now here's something interesting. A Rank 1 warrior could be a Rank 5 Aura user, it just depends. Warrior ranks are dependent on physical prowess and technique of the body while Aura users are dependent on their Aura, they can be mixed together and its quite common for a Knight to awaken Aura.
Aura ranks are as follows:
Awakened: Rank 1
Aura Conductor: Rank 2
Great Aura Conductor: Rank 3
Aura Master: Rank 4
Great One: Rank 5.
Aura users are typically treated better than warriors. For comparison, An Aura Conductor fights a swordsman, the Aura Conductor will overpower the swordsman 9/10 times. Master Swordsman can square up to Aura Masters. Now, a warrior can be both a swordsman and an Aura user. So because of this, a fight between high ranking warriors is generally dependent on who has aura. If two swordsmen fight but one is an Awakened that one will most likely win 9.9/10 times.
This is all the extra information I have. If you are interested in my story I would be very happy if you saved this and waited for my first actual chapter. I made a second story before this but I hadn't written in a long time before I wrote it (It fucking sucks BAD). But I have been practicing a bit so I think this will be significantly better. I don't know what else to put so, cranberry apple beak.