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Difference between revisions of "Heightening"
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Beligaronia (talk | contribs) (add summary and cat. This needs a hatchet. Copied, mostly verbatim, from the Ars Arcanum in the back of warbreaker.) |
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The Heightenings, while commonly discussed as discrete entities, are in fact merely markers of a continuous progression. Each Breath gathered increases an Awakener's power, giving greater color discrimination or more robust health for example and the heightenings merely mark the point at which these assorted abilities reach their full potential. So, for example, an awakener with 100 breaths has a much better musical ear than an ordinary person while still not having reached the perfect pitch that characterizes the second heightening.
== First Heightening ==
The First Heightening (Aura Recognition) grants a person the ability to see the Breath auras of other instinctively. This allows them to judge roughly how many Breaths the person contains and the general health of that Breath.
Requires - Approx. 50 Breaths
== Second Heightening ==
The Second Heightening (Perfect Pitch) grants perfect pitch to those who receive it.
Requires - Approx. 200 Breaths
== Third Heightening ==
While each gained Breath leads a person to greater appreciation of colors, it isn't until one reaches the Third Heightening (Perfect Color Recognition) that one can instantly and instinctively determine exact shades of colors and their hue harmonics.
Requires - Approx. 600 Breaths
== Fourth Heightening ==
At the Fourth Heightening (Perfect Life Sense), an Awakener's life sense achieves its maximum strength.
Requires - Approx. 1,000 Breaths
== Fifth Heightening ==
At the Fifth Heightening (Agelessness), an Awakener's resistance to aging and disease reaches its maximum strength. These persons are immune to most toxins, including the effects of alcohol, and most physical ailments. (Such as headaches, diseases, and organ failure.) The person no longer ages, and becomes functionally immortal.
Requires - Approx. 2,000 Breaths
Note: [[Returned]] achieve the Fifth Heightening by virtue of their Breath. They do not actually receive two thousand Breaths when they Return, but instead receive a [[BioChroma#single, powerful Breath, which brings with it the powers of the first five Heightenings.
== Sixth Heightening ==
All persons of the Sixth Heightening (Instinctive Awakening) and above immediately understand and can use basic Awakening Commands without training or practice. More difficult commands are easier for them to master and to discover.
Requires - Approx. 3,500 Breaths
== Seventh Heightening ==
Those few persons who have reached the Seventh Heightening (Invested Breath Recognition) gain the ability to recognize the auras of objects, and can tell when something has been Invested with Breath via Awakening.
Requires - Approx. 5,000 Breaths
== Eighth Heightening ==
Any persons of the Eighth Heightening (Command Breaking) or more gain the ability to override Commands in other Invested objects, including [[Lifeless]]. This requires concentration and leaves the Awakener exhausted.
Requires - Approx. 10,000 Breaths
== Ninth Heightening ==
Persons of the Ninth Heightening (Greater Awakening) are reportedly able to Awaken stone and steel, though doing so requires large Investitures of Breath and specialized Commands. This ability has not been studied or confirmed.
Persons of the Ninth Heightening (Audible Command) also gain the ability to Awaken objects that they are not physically touching, but that are within the sound of their voice.
Requires - Approx. 20,000 Breaths
== Tenth Heightening ==
At the Tenth Heightening (Color Distortion), a Awakener gains the natural and intrinsic ability to bend light around white objects, creating colors from them as if from a prism.
Awakeners of the Tenth Heightening (Perfect Invocation) can draw more color from the objects they use to fuel their art. This leaves objects drained to white, rather than grey.
There are rumors of other powers granted by the Tenth Heightening which are not understood or have not been made known by those who have achieved it.
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