why mc's mother don't have differently coloured eyes if she has blood of dragon?
if differently coloured eyes is proof of being blood of dragon. do house dracaion use magic to keep their bloodline pure since they don't do incest like targaryen.
Every member of the royal line, must perform
1. The Purification Ritual: Before a royal heir or heiress assumes their rightful place, they undergo a purification ritual that involves bathing in sacred waters or being anointed with rare oils infused with magical properties. The ritual is believed to cleanse any impurities that could dilute the lineage's physical traits, ensuring that the future ruler keeps the bloodline pure.
2. Alchemical Elixirs: Skilled alchemists within the royal court develop special elixirs that are administered to members of the royal family to enhance their "blood". These elixirs are formulated using rare and mystical ingredients, combined with intricate alchemical processes, influencing the expression of their unique genetic traits like heterochromia.
That and also the selective marriage. The royal family carefully choosees marriage partners who possess the desired physical trait. By strategically selecting individuals with heterochromia as spouses or with just having members of their family with that trait, the chances of passing down the trait to future generations would increase.
Such was the case with Merindah, her great grandfather was a Dracarion, who was also the great grandfather of Bhaltair thus making them second-cousins, and as the non royal line of Dracarions don't perform any of these (keep in mind the enhancement only beingperformedby the royal line was installed three generations before), but could marry someone with the heterochromia trait, their blood weakened but in a way the gene is just inactive in them but their children with someone with the trait would result in a child with heterochromia and with enhanced blood to pass down to their children and even their grandchildren, so they can avoid inbreeding.
grew up believing he would never rule Haven, as his twin sister Phobe had been the preferred candidate as far back as he could remember. Damas wasn't terribly bothered by this as a child (he figured being King was probably kinda boring anyway) but being constantly compared to his sister and told he could never hope to measure up (even when he was genuinely trying his best) really wore him down– especially since the activities he enjoyed and the few things he really excelled at were all deemed ‘unprincely’. despite not being in line for the throne, he was under a lot of pressure to conform to the narrow expectations of what an Heir of Mar should be.
the King and Queen were constantly preoccupied with matters of state and had very little time to care for their two children– as was custom for Havenite royalty, Damas and Phobe were raised by various attendants and tutors; while all of their physical needs were met, their caretakers kept the relationship strictly professional, providing very little emotional warmth. Damas spent much of his childhood feeling starved for parental affection; the rare ‘family time’ they did have together was devoted almost exclusively to Phobe, while Damas never received more than chilly indifference and the occasional admonishment when he got in trouble or failed to make sufficient progress in lessons (this experience is largely why he's taken so much care as an older teen/adult to always be kind and attentive towards kids).
liked to explore and was quick to learn all of the best ways to sneak around the Palace unnoticed; he even found a few concealed passages leading into old sealed-off parts of the Catacombs, or out into the city streets. by about 10, he'd developed a tendency just sort of disappear (sometimes for hours at a time) as he got into all sorts of places he was definitely not supposed to be. his parents and sister never fully realised what he was doing, as he was always careful to not miss any lessons or other obligations; and since he'd previously been prone to very loud and obvious sorts of mischief, everyone just assumed that he wasn't getting in trouble unless it was right in their faces.
didn't have any close friends as a kid– when he was very young (around 5) he liked hanging out with two slightly-older boys from minor noble houses, but they gained a reputation for being Troublemakers and the King and Queen decided they were too much of a ‘bad influence’ on Damas; their families were quietly given positions in the colonies and they moved out of Haven, effectively ending those friendships before they could fully develop. after that incident, Phobe also got involved in keeping Damas isolated from his peers; she made sure to get all the other noble kids in their age group on ‘her side’ and took special care in preemptively cutting Damas off from any kids who might share his interests. for his part, Damas had no desire to socialise with nobles whom he felt were only polite to him out of social obligation or other ulterior motives (while he got lonely at times, he figured that was preferrable to being surrounded by false friends).
doodled up some preliminary design sketches for King Mar! :D
My concept is based on the Weepy Warrior from TPL because I really like the idea of Mar being someone Jak unknowingly encountered while growing up in the past– especially if he didn't come across as particularly impressive at the time (our duo likely met the Warrior during a really low point in his life; he seemed like a normally-tough guy struggling to come to terms with a recent crushing defeat). It just... makes him a lot more real and human to me, and gives him a lot more depth, both as an individual character and as part of the overall narrative.
We know that by the ‘current’ time, the people of Haven have come to see Mar as a great legendary ruler who did all this amazing shit, but I like to imagine he was actually just a fairly normal dude who stepped up in a time of need, and achieved all that he did not because he was a crazy-powerful genius hero, but because he was a good at cultivating the skills of the people around him, finding hidden talents and seeing the value in people who might otherwise have been overlooked or shunned. Which isn't meant to diminish the importance of his leadership for early Haven (because I do think his contributions were vital to the city's survival) just that he wasn't 100% alone in his efforts.
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was not actually a strong channeler; the powerful channeling ‘gift’ his Heirs are known for originated with his Queen (and grew over time as other strong channelers married into the family– though in those early generations this was not deliberate, just a result of his fam working closely with a lot of channelers and thus having a much-higher-than-normal chance of forming close personal relationships with them). in the early Haven period, channeling was seen as a very valuable skill, but it didn't become an all-important trait among the ruling class until several generations later, by which point the histories had more or less ‘retconned’ Mar into a far more powerful channeler than he was in life.
personality-wise, Mar was thoughtful and honourable; he always had a strong desire to help those in need and would gladly sacrifice personal comforts for the benefit of others. he could be a bit of a Large Ham and had a tendency towards the overdramatic, but his words and actions always came from the heart.
in his day, Mar was known to be of very large stature (based on Jak's height relative to the NPCs in each time period, we can see that the ‘average human’ was much shorter in the past; in the ‘current’ era Mar's height would be considered fairly average). due to a handful of statues and reliefs that have survived from the early days of Haven, modern Havenites have a fairly good idea of what Mar looked like (even down to his green hair, which would eventually become a well-known trait of the royal line); aside from that, very little documentation has survived from the early days.
the armour Jak acquires in the third game didn't belong to Mar himself (their difference in size/build is too great for anything worn by Mar to realistically fit Jak) but it did still originate within the family and dates back to the earliest days of the metalhead invasion; it was originally made for one of his children or possibly his wife, and was passed down for a few generations before its current owner fell in battle beyond the walls and the armour was lost to the wasteland.
while most Havenites believe that Mar is interred beneath his city (somewhere within the Tomb that bears his name) the exact location of his remains is unknown (even to his Heirs and their highest-ranking Priests, who were traditionally tasked with the Tomb's maintenance); the common belief is that he lies within a secret sealed chamber in the Tomb, though it's also possible that he fell in battle against the metalheads and no remains were ever recovered. the Tomb was still in use up to Damas's parents' day, as the burial place for all Heirs of Mar and (on rare occasions) those who were deemed to have served the city exceptionally well. i could go on and on about tomb stuff but i'll stop here for now
all of Mar's inner circle possessed special items that functioned as Keys, allowing them access to many hidden and restricted areas within the city and the Precurian catacombs below; these special overrides work on most Mar-era locks as well as allowing the bearer to operate certain elements of older Precursor ruins (most importantly the eco-vents). the Heirs of Mar would continue to use this same technology for centuries, incorporating the key-codes into their Seal of Mar amulets.
the name ‘Mar’ was historically a title given to strong warriors; it was not his given name at birth. during his life he used both the title and his given name, though the latter was mostly kept among those closest to him (particularly later on, as Haven grew); no record remains of what Mar's birth-name was. also, in modern Haven it's generally considered taboo to name your child Mar, though parents will sometimes pick vaguely similar-sounding names (like Mir or Mog) instead.
was NOT the same person as Jak; Haven's ruling lines (including Damas, and therefore Jak as well) are Mar's direct blood descendents. Jak did not directly contribute to the Mar legacy in any way.
Do you have a headcannon as to why Jak has such a talent for eco-channeling? I personally have the headcannon that somewhere in his Mar family ancestors was the line of light eco sages, and since light eco is a combination of the other four ecos as seen in TPL, it made it easy for him to channel them.
yep! pretty similar to what you describe, though I doubt there were ever really light eco sages (in the TPL era light eco was treated as purely hypothetical, and I think the sage tradition largely died out after the metalheads came through the rift, no more than a couple months after Jak defeated the Acherons with synthetic light eco). the ability to channel light and dark eco and/or more than a single colour was very rare and not well documented, especially going into the early Haven period.
At some point in the earliest generations of Haven's ruling line (back when the city was first being constructed) one or more individuals with the ‘open affinity’ genetic mutation (ie, the trait that allows for light/multiple eco channeling) married into the ‘Mar’ bloodline, and as the royal line grew they began to seek out other strong channelers as desirable picks for marriages. Over time, the ability to channel light eco + one or more of the ‘primary’ ecos became synonymous with Havenite royalty (I like to think that the original King Mar was a non-channeler, or at least had very weak channeling ability; the ‘royal gift’ didn't actually come from him but rather from other early ancestors of the royal line).
So I'd say Jak is such a strong channeler mostly because the heirs of Mar selectively bred that trait into their bloodline over the course of several centuries, though there was an element of luck as well; coming from a strong channeling line is no guarantee that someone will develop the ability. Neither of Jak's birth parents were strong channelers (his mum can't channel at all, and while Damas is technically able to use eco his abilities are very weak); it's not uncommon for channeling ability to skip generations, but the sheer strength of Jak's abilities definitely wasn't something they anticipated.
((I've got a lot more headcanon about how eco channeling works in this post if anyone is interested in further reading!))
I’ve had a few asks about how eco channeling works, so here’s my take on it!
TERMINOLOGY
Channelers are humans who can actively manipulate eco without the aid of technology or machines. This is an ability one is born with (it cannot be learned) though it does require training and practise to be able to use safely and effectively (it’s generally not intuitive). Additionally, not all channelers have equal potential; some people will naturally be stronger than others regardless of the amount of training they receive.
Latent channelers are people who technically have channeling potential but are unaware, or are uninterested in training it, while active channelers are those who have cultivated their ability. People who instinctively recognise their ability are sometimes referred to as innate channelers, though this is very uncommon; most people don’t know they can channel unless they’re properly tested (or in some cases accidental exposure to eco of the correct type may be sufficient).
Sage was a title traditionally given to very strong channelers who have made a career of studying and mastering their type of eco, though in modern times it’s considered something of an outdated term; there’s a lot of mysticism and spirituality around the idea of sages, while most modern eco-scholars are focused on academics and scientific applications.
Affinity refers to the type(s) of eco a channeler is able to use. Attempting to channel outside one’s natural affinity is very dangerous and has adverse effects on channelers who attempt it. Just as non-channelers cannot learn to manipulate eco naturally and must rely on tech, it isn’t possible to 'learn’ a different affinity– channeling ability is inherited/genetic, so you’re stuck with what you got (how this works will be described in more detail later).
Note: all humans can use eco passively, even if they’re not a channeler of the correct affinity; however, this is entirely different from active channeling. The effects of passive eco-use are a lot like taking a drug or stimulant; the user cannot control or manipulate the eco and it’s far more likely to cause negative side effects than active channeling. This topic will be covered in another post.
PHYSIOLOGY AND GENETICS
Channelers actually have slight anatomical differences that enable them to safely use eco and store it within their bodies for extended periods of time (though the latter still requires training and practise to acclimate the individual’s body to long-term exposure). This essentially functions like a second circulatory system for conducting eco. If this system doesn’t develop properly, the channeler will never be able to reach their full potential in terms of channeling skill, even if they have the correct genetic makeup for a strong channeler.
(for instance: Damas technically possesses the channeling genetics typical to his family, but he’s a crap channeler because he did not develop the physiology necessary to be good at it)
Because it’s a genetic trait, strong channeling ability and specific affinities often run in family lines, but affinities cannot overlap (ie: a child whose parents are a blue channeler and a green channeler may have either a blue OR a green affinity, or they may turn out to be a non-channeler, but they won’t present both affinities). Also, channeling has been known to skip generations (channelers may have non-channeling kids and non-channelers will sometimes have a channeling child); some people are technically 'carriers’ for the channeler genes but have little or no manifested ability themselves.
Channeling genetics are very complicated; it is NOT a simple dominant/recessive trait and even well-documented family trees can produce surprising results. Channeling strength is determined by developmental and environmental factors in addition to genes, so it’s impossible to predict a child’s ability with 100% accuracy even when the most state-of-the-art genetic analysis is used.
CHANNELING POPULATION
Non-channelers vastly outnumber channelers in any typical human population, though Haven’s culture has resulted in the ability being abnormally concentrated in old noble families– roughly 50% of Haven’s nobility and nearly all royalty (ie, Heirs of Mar) are channelers. For commoners, the reverse is true, with channelers being even rarer relative to a 'typical’ non-Havenite population.
Over time, channeling came to be seen as a highly desirable gift in Havenite high society, to the point that a potential Heir’s channeling ability was a major factor for determining the royal right of ascension– it was expected that Kings and Queens would be powerful channelers, and other determining factors (such as birth order, gender, etc) were often considered less important. In the early centuries, it was common for strong channelers to be adopted by or marry into the nascent noble class, leading to the unequal distribution seen in modern Haven.
Kras and other Havenite colonies have a below-average percentage of channelers, as they were settled almost exclusively by commoners; nobles were usually given local governance of these outer territories, but they remained centrally-based and rarely interbred with the settlers.
This class-based segregation has not been observed outside Haven; most wastelander settlements lack the resources to train channeling ability and potential channelers may go their whole lives unaware of their ability. The Precursor monks (and by extension Spargus) are an anomaly among wastelander settlements; the monks believe in the preservation and sharing of knowledge and are one of the few communities to continue passing on channeling traditions after the metalhead invasion. Damas encourages his people to develop all of their skills, and the monks have agreed to teach Spargans how to channel.
ECO AFFINITIES
Most channelers have a simple affinity to one of the primaries and can only use a single type of eco; the ability to safely channel secondary ecos (or use multiple eco types) is very rare. Affinities fall into three basic types:
Basic/Primary.
- Manifests as an affinity to any ONE of the four primaries (green, blue, red, yellow). A channeler with a basic affinity can only use a single primary type; this is determined by genetics and they cannot learn to channel other eco types outside their affinity.
- Examples include Samos, the red/yellow/blue sages in TPL, Keira (a green channeler like her mother and adoptive father), a few others who are latent channelers (including Torn and Vin), etc.
- This is by far the most common affinity type. The distribution among the four primaries is roughly the same, though green eco is often the only one tested for and proper training for the other three is rare.
Secondary-Affinity Mutation.
- A developmental mutation of the basic affinity where the channeler is able to use light and/or dark eco (usually just one or the other; almost never both*) instead of their primary affinity. These channelers still technically have a genetic primary affinity in addition to the secondary-affinity mutation, but the presence of the mutation almost always results in a complete loss of ability to channel primary eco; even if the channeler never touches secondary ecos they will be a weak or ineffective primary channeler.
- Examples include Seem (who uses light eco) and the Acheron siblings (dark).
- This mutation is often the result of a foetus with the channeling gene being exposed to a lot of eco that doesn’t match its basic affinity. Children of parents with this mutation are at higher risk of developing it as well, though they will revert back to a basic affinity provided the parents are very careful about eliminating contact with eco during early development, as it’s purely physical/developmental and doesn’t alter the channeler’s genetics. Often manifests alongside other mutations (albinism or vitiligo are common side effects).
Open Affinity.
- This is the rarest affinity, a mutation that allows the channeler to use all four primaries and both secondaries (though to use them effectively they must train with each type individually, so most specialise in a couple types). The open affinity tends to be dominant over basic affinities and other mutations (if one parent has open affinity their children usually will too, regardless of the other parent’s affinity) but it frequently causes poor fertility and reproductive complications that have prevented it from being more widespread.
- Mar’s line is known for this affinity, including Damas and young Jak (post-DWP Jak has mutated further and can’t easily use primary ecos anymore, so he’s no longer a true open affinity). There aren’t many documented cases of open affinity occurring outside Mar’s line, though it’s not unheard of; scholars believe that all open-affinity channelers could be traced back to a single common ancestor in the pre-Mar era.
* side note about light/dark affinity: these eco types are similar and the affinities go together, but individuals usually find one easier than the other based on personality and natural disposition; learning to use both effectively is very difficult as they represent opposite energies (order vs chaos, stasis and preservation vs destruction and creation, etc).
Also, while channelers with the Secondary or Open Affinity mutations can learn to channel light/dark safely, the secondary eco types are a lot harsher than the primaries and require a lot more training. Channelers who aren’t careful and conscious of their limits will suffer severe negative effects.
REPRODUCTION
It’s thought that active channelers are more likely to produce channeling children than parents with untrained channeling talent, but this is largely unconfirmed and considered to be mere superstition. However, it’s widely accepted in medical circles that eco exposure is dangerous to foetuses and young infants, even if the child is a channeler. Parents are discouraged from using eco-containing products around a young child; even green eco can be very unsafe unless applied by a channeler trained in healing and pediatric care.
As touched on above, the presence of channeling ability can cause reproductive complications, particularly in cases where mother and child have different affinities, or cases where one is a very strong channeler and the other is significantly weaker or a non-channeler. Chances of problems occurring increase drastically when non-basic affinities are involved (the basic primary affinities are much more stable). The Heirs of Mar were rarely able to have multiple children without a lot of help, due to this effect worsening over time (compounded by the limited gene pool among Havenite nobility).
I've seen works where you've kept Jak's mother alive, and I was wondering if Jak might have any siblings or is he the last of the Mar line?
Nope, no sibs; Jak is the last descendent of Mar.
On a related note, neither Jak nor Damas ever cared about continuing the Mar bloodline (Damas didn't plan to have kids, while Jak probably can't). It's something that other people might expect of them, but they're both happy to make their lives in Spargus (where no one cares about lineage or having heirs) and they both have good reason to worry about their messed up genetics causing problems.
Also, I've always felt that Jak's mother isn't physically able to have more kids even if she was inclined to, while Damas is demi and happy in his current relationships. I guess Jak could potentially gain a sibling through adoption, but an adopted sib wouldn't technically be a descendent of Mar.
