When Swords Turn Black

[If you have not read up to chapter 10, minor spoilers ahead. But note the information presented is according to what the characters were taught. This means there will be things they don't know and things they know that are contrary to what is true. Lastly, you do not need to know nor memorize this information to enjoy the story though for some of you it might help.]

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Sigils are powerful letters tied to fundamental concepts that shape the world. Each sigil is linked to a sigil stone, an artifact held by an individual, family, or organization. Below is a list of all known sigils, their meanings, and the current holders of their sigil stones:

1. Alpha (α) – Creation (Specific)

Sigil Stone Holder: Slayer School of the Vanguard

2. Beta (β) – Citrinitas [Illumination] (Generic)

Sigil Stone Holder: The Alchemists (Currently ruled but Thalassa Hydris)

3. Gamma (γ) – Release (Generic)

Sigil Stone Holder: The Zephyros Lineage

4. Delta (δ) – Ethereal (Specific)

Sigil Stone Holder: Slayer School of the Warden

5. Epsilon (ε) – Nigredo [Decomposition] (Generic)

Sigil Stone Holder: The Alchemists (Currently ruled but Thalassa Hydris)

6. Zeta (ζ) – Zero [No Effect] (Generic)

Sigil Stone Holder: Leonhard Euler, the Strongest Slayer

7. Eta (η) – Control (Specific)

Sigil Stone Holder: The Khronos Family

8. Theta (Θ) – Sulfur [Combusting] (Specific)

Sigil Stone Holder: The Ferran Clan

9. Iota (ι) – Wind [Diffusion] (Specific)

Sigil Stone Holder: The Zephyros Lineage

10. Kappa (κ) – Water [Phase Changing] (Specific)

Sigil Stone Holder: The Alchemists (Currently ruled but Thalassa Hydris)

11. Lambda (λ) – Mercury [Dissolving] (Specific)

Sigil Stone Holder: The House of Argyris

12. Mu (μ) – Earth [Crystallization] (Specific)

Sigil Stone Holder: The Terran Guild

13. Nu (ν) – Fusion (Generic)

Sigil Stone Holder: Unknown

14. Xi (ξ) – Intensifying (Generic)

Sigil Stone Holder: Slayer School of the Reaver

15. Omicron (ο) – Time (Generic)

Sigil Stone Holder: The Khronos Family

16. Pi (π) – Limiting (Generic)

Sigil Stone Holder: The Zephyros Lineage

17. Rho (ρ) – Growing (Generic)

Sigil Stone Holder: Slayer School of the Vanguard

18. Sigma (σ) – Summoning (Generic)

Sigil Stone Holder: Slayer School of the Reaver

19. Tau (τ) – Infinite [Endless Effect] (Specific)

Sigil Stone Holder: Leonhard Euler, the Strongest Slayer

20. Upsilon (υ) – Albedo [Purification] (Generic)

Sigil Stone Holder: The Alchemists (Currently ruled but Thalassa Hydris)

21. Phi (Φ) – Tangibility (Generic)

Sigil Stone Holder: Slayer School of the Warden

22. Chi (χ) – Absorption (Generic)

Sigil Stone Holder: Unknown

23. Psi (ψ) – Rubedo [Inversion] (Generic)

Sigil Stone Holder: The Alchemists (Currently ruled but Thalassa Hydris)

24. Omega (Ω) – Destruction (Generic)

Sigil Stone Holder: Unknown

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Sigil Categories

1. Transfiguration Sigils (All Generic):

Beta (β) – Citrinitas [Illumination], Epsilon (ε) – Nigredo [Decomposition], Upsilon (υ) – Albedo [Purification], Psi (ψ) – Rubedo [Inversion]

2. Elemental Sigils (All Specific):

Iota (ι) – Wind [Diffusion], Kappa (κ) – Water [Phase Changing], Lambda (λ) – Mercury [Dissolving], Mu (μ) – Earth [Crystallization]

3. Slayer School Sigils:

Alpha (α) – Creation (Specific), Delta (δ) – Ethereal (Specific), Xi (ξ) – Intensifying (Generic), Rho (ρ) – Growing (Generic), Sigma (σ) – Summoning (Generic), Phi (Φ) – Tangibility (Generic)

4. Family Guarded Sigils [Holder]:

Gamma (γ) – Release (Generic) [The Zephyros Lineage], Eta (η) – Control (Specific) [The Khronos Family], Pi (π) – Limiting (Generic) [The Zephyros Lineage], Omicron (ο) – Time (Generic) [The Khronos Family]

5. Lost Sigils {How it was lost}:

Zeta (ζ) – Zero [No Effect] (Generic) {Lost to the Strongest}, Nu (ν) – Fusion (Generic) {Lost to Time}, Tau (τ) – Infinite [Endless Effect] {Lost to the Strongest}, Chi (χ) – Absorption (Generic) {Lost to Time}, Omega (Ω) – Destruction (Generic) {Was never found}

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Fire and Heat Manipulators

These monsters harness fire and heat, with their power and intelligence increasing alongside flame manipulation abilities.

White-Class: Salamanders

Small, ember-covered lizard-like creatures that emit faint heat and breathe sparks causing burns. Agile and difficult to catch.

Light Grey-Class: Hellhounds

Black, spectral dogs with flaming eyes and faint blazes along their bodies. Use smoke to obscure vision and create fire rings for entrapment.

True Grey-Class: Ifrits

Smoke-bound humanoids capable of summoning fire around themselves and projecting intense heat. Vulnerable to water.

Dark Grey-Class: Dragonborns

Draconic humanoids with scales and horns. Limited fire-breathing abilities and can unleash area-wide flame blasts. Tactical intelligence makes them formidable.

Black-Class: Phoenixkin

Fiery humanoids with bird-like wings. Capable of creating firestorms and regenerating through self-combustion. Exceptionally intelligent and adaptive.

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Vision and Perception Monsters

These monsters are renowned for their foresight, multiple eyes, and heightened perception abilities.

White-Class: Argus Beetles

Beetle-like monsters with a single large eye for a head. Detect movement in all directions and evade basic attacks.

Light Grey-Class: Cerberus Pups

Three-headed dog-like creatures with enhanced sensory awareness and predictive abilities for nearby threats.

True Grey-Class: Beholders

Floating heads with a central cyclops-like eye and ten smaller eye stalks. Foresee attacks seconds in advance, making them hard to ambush.

Dark Grey-Class: Hecatoncheires

Tall humanoids with dozens of eyes that predict movements up to a minute ahead. Highly challenging in close combat.

Black-Class: Cyclopean Sages

Mystical beings with eyes covering their bodies. Perceive multiple future possibilities and manipulate events to achieve their goals. Nearly impossible to surprise.

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Shape-Altering Monsters

Inspired by legends, these monsters excel in disguise and deception, adapting their forms to evade or outwit attackers.

White-Class: Mimics

Amorphous creatures replicating objects for blending or ambush.

Light Grey-Class: Doppelgängers

Ghostly figures that replicate humans perfectly, including their controls but not sigils. Transformation takes time and results in a loss of gained knowledge and control.

True Grey-Class: Rakshasas

Humanoids that shapeshift body parts into animal forms. Can create larger-than-life animal limbs or combine animal traits for combat advantages (e.g., tentacles covered with razor-sharp teeth).

Dark Grey-Class: Jinn

Intelligent humanoids capable of all the abilities of lower classes with near-instantaneous shapeshifting speed.

Black-Class: Leshy

Near-perfect humanoids from Slavic mythology. Flawlessly replicate human forms, including controls, but lose gained controls and sigils upon transformation. Shapeshifting is instantaneous and does not affect retained knowledge.

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Extra information:

There are about 30 black slayers, 120 dark grey slayers, 550 grey slayers (half of them are in their third), 2800 light grey slayers (all which either in their third or second year) and 40000 white slayers (which includes second years and first years who make it to their second term).

[Thanks for checking out the world of sigils and monsters! Hopefully, this has sparked some ideas for your own Slayers—heroes with unique powers and personalities to take on these challenges. Feel free to imagine how they'd use sigils, face off against terrifying monsters, and carve out their place in this world. Don't hold back—go wild with your creativity and have fun building your own stories.]