Titan's Throne

Chapter 3- The Mark Awakens

Chapter 3- The Mark Awakens!

Now let's rewind a bit, to a few hours ago, to when Bastian had just fainted. To others it would seem as if Bastian had lost consciousness, but to Bastian something else entirely occurred. What seemed like fainting was, in fact a far different and strange phenomenon.

Just when he was about to go outside his vision blurred and he found himself in a strange place, his entire surroundings were white, it was as if he was in a giant white room, with no end in sight.

After observing his surroundings Bastian noticed something in front of him, it was a large brown table. The table itself was nothing extraordinary...except for the picture of a large coiling dragon on its surface. The dragon was gold and its paws had two claws.

Even though it was a two dimensional drawing, Bastian felt something from the picture, a sense of déjà vu to be more exact. He could not remember where exactly he had seen this dragon.

That's when it hit him. This dragon looked eerily similar to the one that had destroyed the mountain, where the original owner of this body had been attacked!

Since Bastian now had the memories that belonged to the original owner of this body, he remembered that day. Or rather that moment stood out from all the rest, leaving a big impression on both Bastian and the boy.

The mountain dragon was something Bastian would never forget. An overwhelming sense of clarity made him realize; that dragon was alive and this dragon was a picture! These were two very different things, yet both exuded exactly the same presence! It was a feeling that was very difficult to explain.

All Bastian could feel was that this picture and the dragon at the mountain were related in some way. That's when it happened, a flood of information entered Bastian's mind once again. This time it was information on what was occurring, at this moment Bastian remembered the voice that had echoed in his mind just before his vision had blurred.

By bringing together what the voice said and the information in his mind Bastian understood what was going on. It's just that the sheer amount of information that was now in his head made him speechless.

This is what was revealed to him:

Ambevilius wanted to choose a successor, the method he chose to do it was this; from the millions of descendants he had all over the Sovereign Continent he chose one million. These candidates, or Mark Bearers, must be in the same generation and must have some sort of talent.

After the one million have been selected, the competition will begin. The winners will be the first people to slay or subdue a thousand Mark Bearers. These people then move on to the next round.

Every time you slay or subdue a Mark Bearer, you will gain a chance gift. This gift can be a technique, spell, rare item or even an increase in your talent. Most times it will even be nothing!

The more difficult the task, the higher grade the reward will be.

If a Mark Bearer chooses to become the servant of another Mark Bearer, then it is called a successful Subduction, one cannot force a Subduction, and this has to come from the Mark Bearer's heart.

Any attempt to subdue a fellow mark bearer through means such as black mail or torture is unlikely to succeed, because if even a hint of unwillingness remains in the victim, the Subduction is not complete. The success of a Subduction is graded on the willingness of the servant to become yours, the higher the success, the greater the reward.

Titan's Marks also have grades, depending on the host's talent, with One Claw being the lowest and Five Claws being the highest. Most Mark Bearers are One to Three Claw Mark Bearers, with four being rare and five being one in a thousand. The success rating of your Subduction also depends on the amount of Claws your opponent has. The more Claws they have the higher the level of your success.