Shards

**Shards** are emblems worn by gods and earthlings as forms of identification and symbols of social status.

## Appearance

While shards greatly vary in appearance between races, a common characteristic shared between the shards are that Commoner and Warrior shards possess spherical or oval-shaped crystals, Courtier shards possess diamond-shaped crystals, and Monarch shards possess elongated hexagonal crystals.

Inscribed on each shard is a secret code (密纹, *Mìwén*) that verifies its validity. Shards with revoked codes are considered invalid, and continuing to wear an invalid shard implies that it is a stolen shard.

## Usage

There exists four ranks of shards for Earthlings to signify the shard bearer's social status, from lowest to highest the ranks are: **Commoner** (平民, *Píngmín*), **Warrior** (妖侠, *Yāoxiá*), **Courtier** (臣, *Chén*), and **Monarch** (王, *Wáng*). Courtier shards are also referred to as **General** (将, *Jiàng*) shards when bestowed to an officer in the military.
On Earth, aside from symbolizing an individual's social status and identity, shards are also practical for combat as they enhance their user's prowess in pulsecraft by supplying them with "form pulse" from Heaven. The higher a shard's rank, the more form pulse it is able to supply, allowing people of higher social class to use more powerful pulsecraft than those of lesser class and rank.

Gods also carry shards as ways of identifying the system they belong in and increasing their power by charging them with will pulse from Earth. It is unknown if shards created for gods have ranks. By possessing a god's shard, one can travel to Heaven through a Torque Path, although only gods with pure lineages can safely survive the journey. Earthlings that attempt to travel to Heaven this way are guaranteed to die while moving through the Torque Path, and god-earthling hybrids have a fifty percent chance of surviving.

As shards are primarily passed down hereditarily. Orphans, defectors, bastards, and people with mixed heritages are born without shards and have no means of obtaining one legally. As a result, they are heavily discriminated against by a large majority of people on Earth. They are collectively referred to as "nobodies" (白身, *Báishēn*) and most of them resort to criminal activity to make livings.

## History

Shards were originally accessories created by the gods using fragments of Torque Paths. It was eventually discovered by Jing and Yang that shards placed on Earth can transmit will pulse formed from decaying form pulse to Heaven through their corresponding shards, and vice versa. The recycling of will and form pulse would prove greatly beneficial to Heaven, causing the gods to consider promoting the usage of shards on Earth.

Shards would eventually be distributed to all dominant races on Earth save for hibes, who the gods found disgusting and unworthy of possessing shards. The shards used by the ten earthling races are known as the "Ten Great Shards" (十大纹耀, *Shí dà wényào*), and are officially recognized by all kingdoms on Earth. Social hierarchies subsequently formed around the shards when earthlings realized that higher-ranked shards bestowed greater power onto its wearer.

## Gallery

### Alavean Shards

Alavean Commoner ShardAlavean Warrior ShardAlavean Courtier ShardAlavean Monarch Shard
### Animen Shards

Animen Commoner ShardAnimen Warrior ShardAnimen Courtier ShardAnimen Monarch Shard
### Dracon Shards

Dracon Commoner ShardDracon Warrior ShardDracon Courtier ShardDracon Monarch Shard
### Gleam Shards

Gleam Commoner ShardGleam Warrior ShardGleam Courtier ShardGleam Monarch Shard
### Glomher Shards

Glomher Commoner ShardGlomher Warrior ShardGlomher Courtier ShardGlomher Monarch Shard
### Jesekar Shards

Jesekar Commoner ShardJesekar Warrior ShardJesekar Courtier ShardJesekar Monarch Shard
### Mistling Shards

Mistling Commoner ShardMistling Warrior ShardMistling Courtier ShardMistling Monarch Shard
### Moato Shards

Moato Commoner ShardMoato Warrior ShardMoato Courtier ShardMoato Monarch Shard
### Saku Shards

Saku Commoner ShardSaku Warrior ShardSaku Courtier ShardSaku Monarch Shard
### Siren Shards

Siren Commoner ShardSiren Warrior ShardSiren Courtier ShardSiren Monarch Shard