A concept that has baffled scholars such as myself for generations. However, Merlin posed the theory that when the Tree of Life was broken, some of the residual energy that once resided within it spread through the waters and into the oceans and air. Supposedly, every sentient species has been touched with a bit of that energy, allowing them what has become known as a ‘Divine Shard’. However, these 'Talent Holders' are tremendously rare.

— Head of the Halls of Merlin, Avenfel Battenwood

Gifted

Also known as Talent Holders, the Gifted are individuals that have been affected by the aftershocks of a true Awakened’s power. Such as when Nature itself perished, and the great World Tree fell. The residual magic of the Great Rupture, combined with the clash of divine energy in the world and binding of the god's power to seal them away from the Material Plane, down to Nature’s blood spilling into the world and sea. These effects all led to a surge of incredibly weak, diluted divine power spreading through the world.

As years ticked by, these divine shards exited their hosts and were passed on to the next generation, each time combining these threads of energy together. Until, eventually, they began to manifest as what has been known as “Divine Shards”. Holders of these Divine Shards were able to ignore aspects of reality, shaping their powers, skills and allowing them to break the normal rules of the world through this divine fragment.

Regardless of the terminology used, the Gifted hold unusual, strange, and potent abilities often called talents, or gifts. They manifest only from birth, and short of a divine being purposely intervening in the realm of mortals, cannot be taken, or given to others. Every time these Divine Shards reach maturity to manifest as a power, they recede for many generations to reform and charge, causing their manifestation to appear entirely random in the world.

Every power is based on the individual's personality. A slave manifesting this trait may form a talent that only triggers when they have been bound, granting them the ability to shatter or escape from any form of binding regardless of material or magic. A coward may gain the ability to slip through space, teleporting without magic but only while attempting to escape from danger. Each ability is unique, following its own rules while ignoring the normal rules of the world.