Spoilers up to Book 2 Chapter 10:

-- Nicolas Winterhome --

Genus: Salamandrian

Phenotype: Newt-Folk (Axolotl Variant)

Requirements to open the Path of the Great Chain are as follows:

+ Devour or Attune to a Settlement Pillar (0/1)

+ Gain understanding of two synergistic or opposed Concepts (1/2)

+ Gain a total of five Ranks beyond X in your Cultivation Base (0/5)

+ Defeat an opponent of D-Class or higher. (0/1)

Three of the four must be completed before the Path is opened.

In addition, you walk the Path of the Red Wastes. The following trials must be completed before evolution is possible:

Slay an E-Class child of Pandemonium or receive a Hellfire Baptism (0/1)

Cultivate two techniques to Rank X using Demon Essence (0/2)

Essence 0 / 26,922

+ 19.27 per Minute

(3.212 Base)

100% Local Modifier

+ 100% Dominion

+ Devoured an E-Class enemy (200%)

+ Consumed a F-Class treasure (100%)

+ Rested in toxic environment (300%)

Demonic Essence &%##!~

Titles -

Witness of the New Dao

---

Ferocious Beast

(Rewards 14,000 First Wave Credits to your killer. Increase bounty by 500 with each Native you kill. Each dawn, gain credits equal to one tenth of your bounty.)

Cultivation Base (Unranked)

VII Physical Strength (0/4,500)

III Mental Acuity (212/8,000)*

II Spiritual Clarity (708/4,000)*

II Regeneration (17,680/20,000)

Primordial Mist Shard (E)

Creates a mist that contains the weight of the ages, stealing life and weakening those who survive. An almost truly unique Shard, with few if any defenses existing to its power.

III Increase Toxicity (153/8,000)

Add Aura Efficiency (0/5,000)

I Secondary Slot (0/100,000)

Poison Devouring (Complete)

Mist Armor (0/50,000)

Petrified Warriors (0/200,000)

Jewel of Ages (0/500,000)

Mire-Caller (F)

Calls to and creates binding masses of mud, sludge, or tar. A powerful Shard for binding and controlling that requires work and imagination to master.

II Base Enhancement (414/2,000)

Add Aura Efficiency (0/1,000)

I Secondary Slot (0/50,000)

Mire-Drowned Remnants (0/50,000)

Futile Struggle (0/50,000)

Mire-Dweller (0/10,000)

Clay Idols (0/50,000)

Totemic Petroglyphs (F)

Creates tools of bone, rock, and leather that contain the spirits of the fallen, calling them to your aid. A high-quality magical shard.

V Base Enhancement (Complete)

I Add Essence Efficiency (346/2,000)*

Additional Secondary Slot (0/50,000)

Summoning Limit (0/50,000)

Spirits of the Earth (Complete)

Shard-Crafting (0/100,000)

Techniques (17% Capacity)

Accumulated techniques recognized by the System. Each new technique acquired will raise the cost of all techniques.

Eight-Eyed Mantle (1,914/11,700)

Inner Sacrifice Cauldron Technique (0/5,850)

Concept of Sacrifice

We get only one chance to die. We must make it count.

1% of Essence converted to Spiritual Essence. (84/1,000)

Effects: Converts Essence to aura. Rate of conversion doubles when seriously wounded.

Concept of Aleph

Angels of death dance on a single spark of light.

Sparks mutation and growth.

(1% of Essence gained as Spiritual Essence.) (183/1,000 Spiritual Essence stored.)

-- Crafted Items --

Primitive Spore-Lob (F)

Glyph of Poison Cultivation

(100% Charged)

Fine Rune of Unbinding

(100% Charged)

Growing more poisonous over time, these crude but effective explosives contain samples of a flower that fills the air with toxic spores producing paralysis and pain. A simple rune governs their detonation.

"Scarseeker"

Glaive of the Devil’s Vengeance (E)

Glyph of the War-Hungry Soul

(100% Charged)

Rune of the Farblade

(100% Charged)

Fine Glyph of Acceleration

(100% Charged)

Aura Reserve

(20% Charge)

Created with a dead spirit and living materials, this blade resembles a shock-white scar as it sweeps through the air. Capable of projecting energy blades up to a hundred feet, its reach is unmatched, and t can unleash a whirlwind of blows in seconds. Once each dawn the spirit within can be summoned for a space of three breaths, unleashing a heretical strength

-- Treasures --

-- Shards --

Chainbreaker Shard. E-Class (Peak) // Primary. This shard contains purest Essence attuned to the concepts of strength and evolution. It allows the bearer to enhance their physical strengths beyond any normal limit. Due to peak quality, the resulting skill will be easy to advance. Well suited to forming a Titan Core or a Mortal Core.

Hierophant Shard F-Class (Peak) // Secondary. This shard contains purest Essence attuned to the concepts of immortality and bestowal. It has been damaged by the death of its previous owner and cannot serve as a Primary Shard, but due to peak quality, the resulting skill will be easy to advance. Well suited to forming a Divinity Core, a Gracious Core, or an Ecclesiarch Core.

Humanity Shard. F-Class // Secondary. This shard contains purest Essence attuned to the concepts of transformation and humility. It has been damaged by the death of its previous owner and cannot serve as a Primary Shard. Well suited to forming a Myriad Core or a Mortal Core.

-- Artifacts --

Wintertusk Bracer of the Boar’s Resilience. F-Class (Peak) // Treasured Artifact. This bracer bears the proud and stoic might of the beast it was born from. You can call upon this blessing to briefly grow in size and gain immense resistance to physical damage. You can use this ability once from one dawn to the next. Because this item was originally part of a set, the effect is halved.

Plate of the Sun God’s Dictate. F-Class // Treasured Artifact. This inscribed bronze plate is one of six making up the Book of the Day’s Zenith, a powerful cultivation manual. It can be drawn from to summon a barrier of daylight that can stop deadly attacks and is especially strong against evil magics. The power of this barrier grows with each plate you collect. (5/6)

Mystic Bag. Astral // Treasured Artifact. Created by Logos as gifts for his soldiers, these bags can magically contain up to 500 pounds while weighing as little as a feather, and fit any object smaller than five feet across into the astral space within.

Sandrider Blade. F-Class // Spirit Tool. An external Shard shaped into a weapon, this blade was grown in sacred caves beneath the ziggurats of the Scales of Sand. Able to bend the wastes to its will, this sword grants the user the ability to shape sand by expending aura. After 100 kills of F-Class or higher, it can be upgraded to a higher form. (54/100).

Lantern of the Mourner. F-Class (Peak) // Treasured Artifact. Forged from Blacksun Iron and wisps of consciousness from ancient tombs, this lantern can steal strength from wounded enemies and draw Essence from the dead. Essence contained within can only be spent on Mental Acuity (0/1,000).

Scarf of the Divine Grasp. G-Class (Peak) // Treasured Artifact. Woven by monks who practiced martial arts but had forsworn ever laying a hand on an enemy or lifting a weapon, this innocent scarf has the power to strike fearsome blows or serve as a third hand. It abhors weapons and will not touch them, but otherwise has the dexterity of a true limb.

Trepanation Blade. G-Class // Treasured Artifact. This ancient tool was used to crack the skull and unleash the mind from the prison of bone. A holy ritual, it neutered as many minds as it freed. One who undertakes this surgery will gain a rank of Spiritual Clarity, but permanently reduce their maximum ranks by up to three.

Theoretical Quill. F-Class // Treasured Artifact. Sooner or later, any culture that has followed the path of runescribing will discover or invent this quill. It allows the bearer to draw hypothetical runes with absolute accuracy, learning the difficulty and effects of their creation before committing to the design. Since this costs no Essence it is ideal for practice.

Smoke-Void-Soul Meditation Mat. F-Class (Peak) // Treasured Artifact. This ancient meditation platform helps clear the mind of distractions and hone spiritual perceptions. Raises meditating cultivation rate by 10% or up to 5.0 Essence per minute.

Bangle of the Four Cardinal Bells. F-Class // Treasured Artifact. Made from precious metals taken from the four corners of a destroyed earth, this simple bangle allows the bearer to feel the ‘wind’ of enemy strikes and evade with ease.

Feather-Flight Arrow. G-Class // Treasured Artifact. Made from the feathers of sacred birds who traveled the entire world and became sages, these arrows bear the enchantment of the traveller. Where they land, the archer will appear, leaping alongside his shot.

Khopesh of the Desert Lion. E-Class // Treasured Artifact. This heavy weapon was once wielded by a fierce guardian of the ancient lands, half-god themselves. The bastard son of a divine emperor, they were gifted this weapon as a sign of protection, and it holds the power to repel curses and evil magics.

Resonant Greatsword. E-Class // Treasured Artifact. Forged from the stones of a sacred mountain, the resonant sword has no blade, but absorbs the natural power of the world to form one. A versatile weapon capable of slaying many foes.

Seven-League Boots. E-Class // Treasured Artifact. One of the eighty-one sacred objects of the Fabricant’s Guild, the instructions on this artifact’s creation have been the subject of shadowy wars fought between mercantile powers. These simple boots carry the power to whisk the wearer away instantly, transporting them up to seven leagues in a single step

Robe of Bound Dragons and Flying Mountains. E-Class (Peak) // Treasured Artifact. This robe is spun from the silk of dragonworms, the lowest of the true draconic bloodlines. The delicate weaving and enchantments layered into the design allow it to draw forth the power of this lineage, storing a portion of the wearer’s Essence as dragonfire. In addition, a secondary weave has been added to allow the bearer true flight. The price of such an artifact would beggar smaller cities.