Ardentia

**Ardentia** are a species in *Magical Girl Policy*. They are native to the Ardent Empire, though the homeworld's destruction during the Ardentia Civil War caused the species to move to other worlds the Empire was connected to. The Ardentia term can also be used to refer to the Empire's citizens and as an adjective for things connected to its culture.

## Description

Ardentia are largely identical to humans in terms of appearance. The only noted difference is that Ardentia have a wider variety of hair colors than humans typically have, with humans only known to display such colors in the Kessia City area due to the perception filter of the Standridge Hill Stone Circle.

## Common abilities

Ardentia apparently have a greater natural affinity for empathokinesis than humans, with the Ardent Empire growing much differently than Earth would due to developing empathokinetic foci in place of machinery. Due to the complexities of the system, however, typically only privileged Ardentia were educated in it.

Ardentia brains appear to be naturally compatible with empathokinetic perception and can perceive emotional energies as they are, as opposed to a human brain translating the energies into things that can be understood by a human's five senses. With this ability, Ardentia culture developed social rules of when it is appropriate to channel certain emotions, with overt and covert emanations respectively referred to as "overtoning" and "undertoning".

## Notable Ardentia

* **Empress:** The final ruling monarch of the Ardent Empire and mother of the Princess. A corrupt woman with tyrannical aspirations and said to have been the strongest empathokinetic in the Empire. During the Ardentia Civil War, she planned to conquer Earth and make it the new seat of her dying empire, but the gateway to Earth was disabled before she could warp there, and she is assumed to have died to the Other Power overtaking her world.
* **Knight:** Head of the Ardentia Imperial Guard. He was a major ally to the Princess's team due to having the trust of both the Princess and Empress, though he was unaware of the team's larger goals. He is assumed to have died in the battle for the gateway to Earth.
* **Liff:** A Shrine Steward of the Church of the High Spirits's Tranquil Order. He was involved in the conspiracy to assassinate the Vice-Archon and pressure the Church into voting the infamous Liff as his successor.
* **Mender:** A prodigy in healing and defensive empathokinesis who was part of the Princess's plan to save Earth from the Ardentia Civil War and future threats. She died in the battle for the gateway to Earth, where she was killed by the Empress. Due to the High Spirits granting the Princess's team reincarnation, the Mender is succeeded by Kara Balmer.
* **Princess:** The daughter of the Empress and one of the strongest empathokinetics in the Ardent Empire, known for strongly opposing her mother. Considering the corrupt Empire a lost cause and the Ardentia Civil War making it a threat to other worlds, the Princess enacted a secret plan to sabotage the gateway to Earth and protect the developing planet from future threats. She died in the battle for the gateway to Earth, where she was killed by the Empress. She is succeeded by Angela Warrant.
* **Scholar:** A genius researcher of empathokinetics. She created five extraordinary foci that would later be known as Spirit Sticks, said to be capable of combating the Other Power. As part of the Princess's plan to protect Earth, the Scholar left the Spirit Sticks within the gateway to Earth and made it so that only one with the proper Investiture could retrieve them. She died in the battle for the gateway to Earth, where she was killed by the Empress. She is succeeded by Vivian Feliz.
* **Shrine Maiden:** A Shrine Maiden of the Tranquil Order and childhood friend of the Princess, known to be very pious and popular within the Church of the High Spirits despite its increasing corruption. As part of the Princess's plan to protect Earth, the Shrine Maiden requested a favor of the High Spirits by allowing the Princess's team to reincarnate as humans when the team's powers would be needed. She died in the battle for the gateway to Earth, where she was killed by the Empress. She is succeeded by Robert Dreese.
* **Soldier:** The Princess's personal bodyguard since childhood who was part of the Princess's plan to protect Earth. She died in the battle for the gateway to Earth, where she was killed by the Empress. She is succeeded by Mallory Drake.