(This particular page is still incomplete and prone to change)

Warlocks and Walkans
(the combat class predecessors)

The Warlock was the first and oldest human "type" conceived by the creators themselves. Created with the might and capability to  manipulate the world on behalf of the creators, the Warlocks initially took the spot of the mightiest individuals, the undisputed champions and the leaders of their circles. Predictably, as time moved on and the might of the Warlocks grew, they eventually turned against the creators and took the throne of humankind for themselves.

Since they relied on their own inner might as their only source of power, the Warlocks essencially drained their own life force in order to channel their abilities. The mightier and the more prolongued the channeling, the stronger the drain and the shorter the life-span. Therefore, even before they were overthrown, the creaters conceived and created a different type of humans to serve as the Warlock's caretakers, to tend to minor duties.

The Walkan human class was created as the polar opposite of the Warlock; with the sole purpose of fulfilling the needs of the Warlock, most notably the need of procreation.  As it initially stood, the Walkans were forced to adapt to everything around them: the world, the Warlocks, the creators, everything. This adaptability eventually lead to numerous schools of survival and eventually it was the school of warfare that prevailed, giving birth to the combat classes.

 - Combat classes - 

Mage

The Mage is the very first combat class to emerge among the Walkans, representing the individual who entirely focused on mastering the mental aspect. Drawing his power directly from the mental aspect rather than his own inner might and directly manipulating the very building blocks of reality, the elements themselves, the Mage managed to rival the Warlock and provided the first catalyst for combat class development.

In combat, the Mage relies on manipulating the elements in their raw form for his own advantage. For this purpose the Mage specifically developed the staff and the wand, crude weapons with powerful crystals embedded in their core to improve one's focus and channeling capabilities. Due to his extreme reliance on the mental aspect, the Mage developed an unfortunate handicap towards the physical aspect, making him very suceptable to physical harm. Rather than trying to resolve this handicap, the Mage eventually worked his way around it, specialising in maintaining steady distance from his enemies as much as possible.

Warrior

The Warrior is the first combat class to focus on the capabilities of the Walkan masses, relying on the physical rather than the mental aspect of the world; the exact counterpart of the Mage. This fighter was the first one to specialise in mellee combat and develop standardized combat abilities and weaponry, at first strictly for combat in vast numbers but later also for individual engagements.

Relying on simple but very reliable techniques, the Warrior quickly became the most widely spread combat class in existence, utilizing the most casual weapons, from the lightest shortswords up to the heaviest sledgehammers. Unlike the Mage, who relied on the elements to protect them, the Warrior developed his own protection, the very first armor, ranging from thick leather straps to heavy metal plates.

Although the first Warriors completely neglected the mental aspect, later generations slowly began inventing certain mental abilities which expanded their arsenal, providing him with the much needed versatility over time.

Archer

Initially conceived as the combat class under the command of the Warlocks, the Archer was designed to directly counter the mental evolution of both the Mage and the Warrior, relying on bow and arrows to inflict harm upon his enemies and interrupt their manipulative abilities. At first, the Archer stood inbetween the physical and the mental aspect. Equally relying on both of and being equally capable of countering both, but as his evolution progressed, the Archer focused more on the mental aspect, empowering his ranged arsenal and making him a considerable threat from a distance, but at the price of lowering his overall physical performance and opening himself to a number of physical weaknesses.

Unfortunately for the Warlock, the newly established combat class gradually used it's unique capabilities to break free and become a fully independant. This was the combat class that invented weapon-boosting; a technique which directly imblues the weapon with a fraction of one's own mental might, allowing him to unleash one's abilities upon his enemies from a safe distance rather than approaching.

Prelate

The Prelate was conceived as last-ditch effort by the Warlocks to turn the combat class evolution into their favor. The class was the conceived as a versatile Warrior-Warlock fighter developed for mellee combat and active support, a highly-specialized living-shield for the Warlocks. At first, the Prelate was designed specifically to spread powerful afflictions to cripple his opposition, but unsurprisingly, as he too broke free, his true abilities quickly surfaced. Some of his afflictions remained in use but most of them evolved into completely opposite forms of mental manipulation commonly referred to as boosters.

The Prelate relies on the very essence of the elements to empower both himself and his allies on the battlefield in numerous ways. Initially, the newly-independent Prelate served a fully supportive roll, relying on his allies to do much of the work, but as his evolution went further, he eventually became a self-sufficient combat class and introduced a number of unique combat abilities that changed the world forever.

The Prelate is the first combat class to develop a two-way-split evolution path. Those more dedicated to direct combat would choose the way of the ''active Prelate'', relying on the Prelate unique weapon, the Gauntlet, to unleash their unique abilities upon their enemies, while those more dedicated to support would choose the way of the ''passive Prelate'', borrowing the Mage's staff to focus their channeling abilities to empower their allies.

- Combat professions -

Knight

The first combat profession to emerge, the Knight is the obvious expansion of the Warrior and the pinnacle of Warrior evolution. Retaining and expanding upon his heritage makes him one of the toughest fighters in existence. He relies on his physical endurance and power with the use of the mental aspect in supportive purposes.

Although he was initially conceived strictly as a physical combat class, the Knight also achieved a very strong connection with the mental aspect as well, making him the first fighter with aspect balancing. He relies on standard close combat weaponry. A defensive Knight utilizes the shield in combination with a regular sword or an axe, while more agressive ones rely on larger weapons and brute force for crude physical domination.

Splinter

Sacrificing some of his brute strength in favor of speed and precision, the Splinter is more often considered a step back towards the ancient Walkan than a step beyond the ways of the Warrior. This fighter is living proof that size isn't everything, resorting to precision and speed to outmaneveur much larger opposition.

The main difference between the Splinter and the Knight lies in the fact that the Splinter has almost completely severed his connection with the mental aspect and returned to the fundamental ways of the Warrior. Other than a handful of Warrior-inherited mental abilities, the Splinter relies strictly on his adaptable physical performance with only a couple of minor mental abilities to help him out. Because of his offensive focus, the Splinter resorts to using two regular swords or axes on the battlefield, the very first examples of dual-wielding. Since his focus is on offense, the Splinter has a serious defensive handicap which he makes up for with maneveurability.

Animus

Created as the naturalist counterpart of the Walkan during the ancient times, the Animus is a unique fighter focused on isolated survival above anything else. Although most of the Animus lived in their own enclaves, eventually the profession turned into a path of solitude.

The Animus nurtures his instincts and reflexes while applying a number of unique weapons and abilities, but most of the time an Animus specialises in the use of the lightest weapons in existence: daggers and throwing weapons, in combination with Claws, unique gloves with sharp Splinter extensions. It is the only combat profession capable of having an animal companion, due to his long-term heritage and strong connection to the "animal aspect".

Ranger

The obvious progression from the Archer, the Ranger is the advanced long-range fighter and exceptionally effective against other fighters heavily reliant on crude combat or the extreme use of advanced abilities. At first, the Ranger was extremely specialised for ranged combat, which in turn brought on a major handicap for close combat. Fortunately this has been slowly corrected over time, guving both the Archer and the Ranger a somewhat balanced stature.

The Ranger has only a few abilities to engage in close combat, so he will tend to avoid it as much as possible. It's the only combat profession with the ability to temporarily silence his opponents by directly afflicting their flow of energy. That ability is the "SilentArrow", or commonly reffered to as the "Silencer".

Paragon

Created and developed by the HolyGuard, the Paragon is the true expansion upon the ways of the supportive Prelate and the seventh combat profession to hit the scene. His supportive abilities can often be considered the main thrive of any army and his performance can turn the tide at any given moment. At first created scrictly as a supportive combat class, the Paragon has gone through an excrutiating evolution to become independant and is now commonly reffered to as the true embodiment of light. It's a combat profession that's very easy to learn, but brutaly difficult to master.

Supportive Paragons inherited their weapon, the staff, from the Mages, while others, more standalone focused, have utilized a casual single-handed weapon in combination with a relic for focus enhancement. Sometimes, but very rarely, a Paragon can also be seen replacing the relic for a shield for aditional combat performance.

Remnant

The Remnant is a fighter truly worthy of his title, being the ultimate symbol of resilience and considered as one of the most capable standalone fighters in existence. His greatest asset is the use of knockback abilities, allowing him to constantly interrupt his opponents combat patterns. Because of his developement, the Remnant is often compared to the Splinter, because he seems more related to ancient combat classes than the modern ones.

The Remnant is the very first combat profession which developed unique abilities to cripple his opponents, as well as absorbing any and all incoming attacks for his own benefit. In accordance with his durable combat style, the Remnant has developed a unique weapon, the Gauntlet, basically a large fist weapon. Also, the Remnant is the only combat profession able to use the shield both as an offensive and defensive weapon through unique abilities.

Elementor

With dedicated training and loyalty towards the mental aspect, the Mage can evolve beyond the mental state of human comprehension and become the all-powerful Elementor, rising above human limitations. He pledges his alegience to the very things which gave birth to reality: the elements themselves and utimately to Mother Nature.

Since the extreme mental deditacion comes with an obvious physical handicap, the Elementor compensates for it by summoning unique companions. Two companions are available and each of them has a separate developement, the Atronach and the Elemental, but only one can be summoned at a time. The Elementor ussually utilizes the staff to focus and improve his mental powers. Otherwise, he can often be seen on the battlefield wielding a wand in combination with a relic, sometimes even with a shield. Although he suffers from a serious physical handicap, he is still an exceptional fighter in most situations, especially in large formations.

Manser

The eighth and last combat profession to hit the scene, the Manser is basicly the inferior replica of the Guardian, made possible only after the death of the Unicorn, when some of the Guardian disciples fled the Atharon Empire in fear of the Azure (Overlord).

Although completely inferior in comparison with the Guardian, the Manser represents an essential combat adition with an abundance of unique abilities, both physical and mental, which have to be witnessed and sometimes even experienced in order to be fully understood. Able to use pure mental energy for his own benefit in any way imaginable, this unortodox combat profession is more of a trickster than a solid fighter, but also a great threat if not taken seriously. Despite the fact that he relies way more on the mental aspect than the physical, the Manser can be seen wielding almost any weapon imaginable. Surprisingly, he can be sometimes seen weilding a shield on the battlefield comboed up with swords or even Gauntlets.

The Guardian

Initially devised as the very first hybrid combat profession, an Elementor-Knight-Paragon hybrid and a testimony of the Unicorn's teachings, the Guardian surpassed all expectations even during his lifetime. Completely understanding both the physical and the mental aspects to the fullest has made this hybrid the most powerful combat profession in existence. Utilizing both aspects to the fullest provides immesurable advantages and purges any weaknesses, therefore a fully-fledged Guardian is a godlike sight to behold, the ultimate friend and foe on the battlefield. In combat, the only true challange to a Guardian is fighting another Guardian, anything less is simply a futile exercise.

Needless to say, the Guardian represents the absolute pinnacle of combat evolution, requiring a lifetime of relentless dedication and exceptional talent to accomplish. It is the greatest advantage the Atharon Empire has, its most cherished treasure and most guarded secret. Due to his performance, the Guardian cannot be specified as a combat profession or a combat hybrid anymore. Other than having unique supreme abilities, his main strength lies in his limitless potentia and the ability to master several combat professions at the same time and to keep on going, ultimately mastering them all if given enough time.

In order to distinguish one another, Guardians prefer to point out their combat focus by naming themselves Knight Guardian, Paragon Guardian etc. The title of Elite Guardian represents a Guardian who completely mastered all the combat professions and, sofar, the only individuals who achieved this are the Emperor and the Empress.