Blessed

While most humans have the three Breaths (the Body, Mind and Soul), a small percentage (approximately 5%) have a fourth and are known as the Blessed. Those with this mutation are able to influence the flow on Ayr in unique ways depending on where their extra Breath resides.

Body
Those with the fourth Breath in the Body are known as Shapers and are capable of drawing this extra Breath outside their body, stretching it out and making it solid and calling it Armor. These eerie exterior constructs allow the Shaper to perform great feats of strength, one man or woman equal to 20 normal individuals. While this ability would seem to predestine Shapers for warfare, a Breath can only be stretched so far, allowing substantial gaps in their armor and begging for a single rifle shot or sword thrust to bring them down. In addition to this, the Armor is extremely slow and cumbersome, making the Shaper an even greater target. As such, Shapers usually work as heavy laborers, performing duties large machinery would in our world.

Mind
The Blessed with an extra Breath in the Mind are known as either Listeners or Whisperers based upon how their powers reveal themselves.

Listeners are capable of hearing other’s thoughts in the form of telepathy. Though they can easily hear the surface thoughts of an unfocused individual, Listeners must concentrate hard to drill deeper into another’s mind, making their intention obvious.

Whisperers, on the other hand, are able to influence the thoughts of others in a weak form of mind control. While they can easily influence impulses in others, actual implanting ideas is quite difficult and reveals their presence.

Both Listeners and Whisperers are mostly mistrusted in the general populous, it being law for both of them to wear a pin on their clothing to denote their abilities and allowing those around them to keep close track of their thoughts. A Listener’s pin has two heads on, it symbolizing two ears, while the Whisperer’s only has one, symbolizing the mouth.

Soul
Those with the extra Breath in the Soul are known as either Renders or Weavers, both able to directly control the flow of Breath through a process of gestures named drawing.

Weavers use this ability by entwining the fragments of Breath together into new constructs similar to emets, known as Manifestations. Considered a minor reflection of Sol’s ability to create life, these created Manifestations have a corporeal form as well as rudimentary consciousness and obey their creating Weaver implicitly. Unfortunately, the Weaver’s ability pales in comparison to that of Sol, with the Manifestations dissolving away after about a day. Weavers consider their abilities proof that Sol wants them to explore his world through these Manifestations and seek out naturally occurring emets to communicate with and glean their secrets.

While Weavers enjoy the new combinations of Breath, Renders believe it is Sol’s will that fragments of his Breath always stay in a state of flow and consider these Manifestations abominations. It is therefore a Render’s duty to keep the flow of breath flowing on unhindered and they destroy emets whenever they encounter them with their Glass blades. Despite their ideals, most Renders understand the general populous has affection for benevolent emets and consequently try to keep their hunting to malevolent emets.

Using their ability to draw, Renders are capable of controlling the bodies and movements of others by controlling the Breath within them. They can also draw the Breath of another outside their body and sever it with their daggers, causing instantaneous death. In addition to this, some powerful Renders can also separate their own fourth Breath, containing it in a Glass eye they replace one of their own with. When they wish, they can send this extra Breath out into the world as an invisible observer traveling at incredible speeds. While their fourth Breath is absent, a Render is without his or her powers, other than being able to summon it back to learn everything it witnessed during its absence.

It is important to note that while Renders and Weavers have diametrically opposed ideology, they are born with the same potential, and only their training separates these two opposing forces that dominate the religious sphere of Soltera and the Auld Lands.