[WORLD PRIMER]
For new readers of Sovereign of the Deep.
▪️The World of Solmaris
Welcome to Solmaris—a technologically advanced yet spiritually fractured world where glass towers rise over crumbling districts and ancient powers still echo through the blood of a chosen few.
The story begins in one of Solmaris' most developed nations: Virelia. Yet even here, inequality runs deep-its 14 districts divided by wealth, power, and silence.
District 1: Reserved for nobles, elites, and the powerful-clean, ordered, and near utopian.
District 14: A decaying slum forgotten by governance-plagued by violence, broken infrastructure, and rampant desperation.
▪️Currency: Vey
Across Virelia, and a small part of Solmaris, currency is measured in Vey.
▪️The Viran
Some individuals are born with an invisible tether to one of the five core elements:
Water • Air • Earth • Fire • Darkness
These people are called Viran.
Once a Viran begins to cultivate their connection, their powers crystallize into a derivative—a unique expression of their affinity. Two Virans may share the same derivative. However, a single Viran cannot possess two derivatives.
▪️Derivatives
A derivative is how a Viran's power manifests.
Think of it as an elemental fingerprint.
It's shaped by the Viran's core element, personality, emotional disposition, and spiritual resonance.
▪️ The Affliction
Every Viran is cursed.
Each core element inflicts a unique affliction upon the bearer-not as punishment, but as a side effect of resonance.
The affliction is both physical and emotional.
▪️Stages of Power
Viran do not awaken as gods. Their path is long. Painful. Often fatal. In this world, the stages of power are known by title, and ascending through them is rare revered, and feared.
Power Stages:
.Initiate
.Shaper
.Forger
.Veinborn
.Kyrios
.Hagios
.God (or something worse)
There are certain requirements Virans need to meet in order to advance to the next stage of power.
Ranks:Every stage beyond Initiate is ranked:
D → C → B → A → S → SS
Two Shapers may be worlds apart in strength based on rank alone.
Technique Tiers:
.Low Tier
.Mid Tier
.High Tier
Each stage represents a deeper resonance with Vira, and a greater toll taken by one's affliction.
The power system leans toward cultivation. Techniques are developed by the Viran themselves and are powered by their reserves of Vira.
▪️Main Character Spotlight: Ren
Age 17 (Current age.)
Country of Origin: Virelia
Ren doesn't talk much. Doesn't cry either.
He's quiet. Composed. A little too composed for someone who's lost everything.
But that's just how it is when you're born with the kind of affliction that clings to water-bound Virans—an invisible weight that drains not just your body, but your emotions too. Some days, it feels like he's watching the world from underwater. Distant. Muted.
Still, Ren's never used it as an excuse.
He doesn't have time for self-pity. Not when he's the only one left to protect the person who matters most—his little sister. Not when he's barely survived a disaster that wiped out an entire city.
He didn't even know he was a Viran until the sky bled and the world cracked open.
Didn't know what he was… what he could become.
But once he learned the truth, he didn't run from it. He faced it head-on.
Ren works harder than anyone—pushing through the pain, through the thirst, through the quiet ache of being different. He trains. Studies. Fights. Falls. And then does it all again.
Because he's not just trying to survive anymore.
He's trying to become someone strong enough to protect his domain—whatever that means, whatever it takes.
He may not say much. But Ren's the kind of person who keeps moving forward, even when it hurts.
Especially when it hurts.
• Key Terms
Vira - Elemental energy
Viran - A wielder of Vira
Derivative - A specialized elemental ability
Affliction - Mental and physical side-effect of resonance with an element.
Vessel - Inner construct that stores Vira.
Dominion Technique- A projected field of a derivative tied to a Viran's will.
• A Note on Tone
This is a dark novel.
You may not feel the weight immediately— some early chapters ease you in, breathing light into the lives of the characters. But soon, the weight settles.
The story explores grief, trauma, violence, and existential horror.
There will be gore. There will be moments that make you pause. This is not a story of heroes in shining armor—it is a tale of broken people dragging themselves through blood, memory, and the cold shape of power.
Viewer discretion is advised.
This novel is a revised and expanded version of my earlier work, crafted to bring you a richer story and more immersive experience.