The Unum Ceres

## **Summary**

While every soldier’s duty is quite clear, the same cannot be said for channelers. Certainly there are a few abilities that every potential channeler can learn: telepathy, protective aura summoning, and astral vision. While these abilities are all important, it is each channeler’s “special ability” that makes them unique and powerful. Some channelers are born with a proclivity for combat - perhaps their ability allows them to emit bursts of energy, or perhaps they can rupture corrupted minds from a safe distance. Others may develop more protective abilities, such as creating energy shields or mass invisibility.

### History

During the great crusade, massive numbers of people joined Keo in his quest to purge slag from the Earth. Huge armies led by Keo liberated city after city, and humanity began to rebuild from the ground up. Technology was developed to combat slag, and Keo founded several “Channeler Academies”: schools intended to train potential psychics to weaponize their abilities. The purpose of these academies was (and is) to discover each psychic’s special ability and to train them to reach their potential. After graduation, each apprentice channeler is assigned to a master and trained in real combat situations. It is dangerous but necessary, as the shortage of channelers demands rapid replenishment. Powerful psychics began to emerge from these schools, and the collective coalition of Keonic channelers was given the title "Unum Ceres", or Channeler's Ring.

Around the same time the schools were established, an official military force was developed: the “Unum Vires,” or Fists of Keo. The Unum Ceres and Vires were deeply intertwined; much of the military machinery required channeler abilities to operate, and the soldiers had to be psychically guarded from powerful and infectious slagic “fields” which could corrupt from a distance. Many of the channelers were vulnerable, however, and needed to be carefully protected by soldiers on the battlefield.

### Apostles: Former Channelers

During the 24th century, Keo created 3 Revelabis: mystical devices large enough to envelop a human. When a channeler of sufficient strength and capability entered a revelabis, they were transformed into an animus, a bionic being akin to Keo himself. Seven animus were created to serve as Keo’s Apostles; their duty is to cleanse the earth of slag and protect humanity, but also to enact and proclaim the will of Keo. These Apostles wield extreme astral power and abilities, and are believed to be essentially immortal.

### Commonly Recognized Channeler Abilities

#### Offensive Abilities:

* Psychic blasts
* Telekinesis
* Corruptive rupture
* Astral weapons

#### Defensive Abilities:

* Protective aura
* Astral shielding
* Mental cleansing
* Telekinesis

#### Miscellaneous Abilities

* Telepathy
* Memory scan
* Cerebral scan
* Astral vision
* Astral projection

### Additional Information

While channelers are not exclusively women, it has been determined that nearly women comprise nearly 95% of all channelers. It is unknown exactly why this is. Furthermore, male channelers almost always have unusual offensive abilities. Female channelers typically have a 40/60 split between offensive and defensive abilities, respectively.