The Path

## Perks

Discounts and Preferential treatment as various businesses across the empire.

Access to EmpireNet for as long as you're on the path.

##### Empire Contribution Point Market

A safe place to buy and sell items for Empire Contribution points and mana stones. To prevent higher tiers from monopolizing the market, there is a cost penalty for buying things under your tier. The price doubles for every tier it is below you. On the path, everyone gets access to the Empire Market at tier 10. Crafters get access at Tier 5 and Seekers also get it early.

## Limitations

Cannot accept any items or help from outside parties. All compensation for services rendered need to be proportional. You may join a guild, but you cannot receive anything from them and must pay public price for all guild owned rifts.

If you receive disproportionate services on the path, you are traditionally asked to step off at tier 22.

Sponsors can give a sponsee a skill shard only if their talent requires it to function. The skills can only be tier 14 and under, and cannot be cracked. Melinda and Sam both had skills in the playpen.

Griff that he is legally not allowed to give item recommendations during pather classes. whether that is to limit information or to stop teachers from sponsoring companies, is unclear.

A higher tier saving you from imminent death during s rift immediately removes you from the path.

## The Curve

To remain on the path, you must tier up within a certain number of years. This requirement is called The Curve. and you must stay 'under the curve' to stay on the path.

## Detrimental Talents and the Path

When a child is listed as having a detrimental talent, the planetary AI flags them to be watched. If they seem to have drive, a tier 15+ that made it to tier 5 on the path is dispatched to scout them.

## Management Teams

After tier 10 three levels of help are given to Pathers. Seekers get these benefits early.

level one, an easy place to sell items to the empire,

level two a manager that checks in occasionally to make sure you're not slipping.

level three a management team: a full time manager with at least a few hundred years of experience, a trainer to push your limits, someone to train your secondary abilities, and a liason to handle interaction between you and the team, PR, scheduling rifts, and hide your identities.

Managers are not allowed to give their pathers items or skills. However, pathers pay much less for trainers than normal because the trainers are given tax breaks for working with them.  The tax breaks are half off taxes for a year of the trainer's choosing for every lesson they teach.

## The Seven

The Seven oversee the Path of Ascension, though final say goes through the emperor. The seats are all confidential and use the identities of the original seat holders. They each wear colored masks. Their identities are only revealed when the retire and ascend. Positions are held for life.

The seats

* Blue - Governor Idle
* Yellow - Madam Terror - publicly announced that they intends to ascend in a few decades.
* Purple - Mr. Fracture
* Red - Mr. Flexible
* Silver - The Arbiter - Only acts to settle disputes or as a tie breaker
* Orange - Governor Busy
* Green - Madam Moment.

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 69
2. ↑ Chapter 68
3. ↑ Chapter 74
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chapter 4
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chapter 110
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chapter 18
7. ↑ Chapter 9
8. ↑ Chapter 10
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Chapter 68
10. ↑ Chapter 83
11. ↑ Chapter 94
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Chapter 71