The Grammary: Magical Classes
Note: Any animal can be one of these classes, not just humans.
SIMPLE (four-five total Wells) - "Simples" (or Basics, also known pejoratively as Mundanes, Unaugmented, Giftless, Ordinaries, Borings, the Unfavoured, etc.) are essentially non-Blessed beings, having nothing but the original four Simple Wells of magic (and possibly a fifth, if they inherited and extra one from a Fey parent; that’s not enough to make them Fey), the bare minimum of power. Simples cannot pass Wells on to their offspring. The child of two Simples is always Simple.
FEY- (six total Wells): Born of a Simple and a Gifted being, or potentially of a Simple and a Fey or of two Fey, they have six Wells — the four Simple plus two more. They're only slightly more powerful than Simple. A Fey person passes on only one of their two non-Simple Wells to their children; if their mate is Simple, their child is Simple, even with the extra Well from the Fey parent. Fey can pass on Threads they’ve inherited, even though they can’t use them.
GIFTED (seven to eight total Wells) - A Gifted is someone with at least one Gifted and one Fey parent, or two Gifted, or one Firstborn or Demigod and one parent of Gifted class or lower.
If they are born with the Threads of two or more species, they are also Shifters, aka waerfolk. They can become any sort of amalgam of their threads as they wish. However, they must maintain their mass -- if they are smaller than the Form they wish to change into, they must eat extraordinary amounts as they shift, or else be a dwarf version. If they change form something large to something small, they shed mass as they change, usually as fur. They may temporarily gain the ability to change into a new form with the help of Pieces of Elementals.
When a Gifted being becomes pregnant, they cannot transform while carrying a child; the child will be born in the same Form, and will not be able to transform until their Seal is broken (and only if they are Gifted or higher).
A Gifted being passes on only two of their non-Simple Wells.
FIRSTBORN / DEMIGOD /SECONDBORN, etc. (nine to 24 total Wells) - A Firstborn is someone who has been Blessed by an Elemental to such a degree that they now have at least nine total Wells. A demigod -- someone born of only one god -- is of the same level of magic as a Firstborn.
A Secondborn is the child of two Firstborns; the child of two Secondborns is a Thirdborn, and on down the line (it's rare, though, for it to go farther than Fourth). If a Firstborn mates with a Secondborm, the child is called a Firstborn -- the child is always called for the parent closest to an Elemental. If a First/Second/Third/etc..-born mates with a demigod, the child is a demigod. When talking of a group comprised of Firstborns, Secondborns, Thirdborns. etc., they are collectively referred to as Firstborns.
Firstborns and demigods who do not have any Threads outside of that of their birth species are considered to be faer until they take on a new Thread (which they might never do). Unlike Gifted, Firstborns / demigods can absorb organic material around them, like dead leaves or grass, when changing from a small creature to a large one. When Firstborn / demigods have multiple Threads, they can become any sort of amalgam of those threads as they wish. They also can transform into an identical twin of anyone they consume a Thread of, and permanently retain this ability.
When a Firstborn / demigod becomes pregnant, they can transform while carrying a child; their child will be born in the same Form as the mother’s Active Form at time of birth, and will not be able to transform until their Seal is broken.
Regardless of how many Wells they have, a Firstborn / demigod passes on only four of their non-Simple Wells on to their offspring.
GOD (25 or more total Wells) - A god may have been born to two other gods, or else been blessed by multiple Elementals, or by one or more Celestials. Gods who are created by Celestials automatically are Avatars, but gods made by Elementals or who are born of other gods may also become Avatars. Gods who do not have any Threads outside of that of their birth species are considered to be faer until they take on a new Thread (which they might never do).
Gods can absorb organic material around them, like dead leaves or grass, when changing from a small creature to a large one. Gods can shape themselves into any Form they wish, altering their own Threads; if they consume a Thread to take a new Form, it’s only as a matter of convenience.
When a God becomes pregnant, they can transform while carrying a child; their child can be in whatever Form the mother chooses until the child’s Seal breaks.
Gods can only pass 12 wells on to their offspring.
