The King's Board

An unusual bit of Aura manipulation combined with Crystal figures, the King's Board is a creation of the Fae that was introduced to Avalon during the time of the First King. The pieces within the King's Board are created to help channel and harness a person's innate talents, though in recent times this is used to help determine what a child's skills are going to be as they grow up. When the Pieces of a Board are used by another, known as entering a Board, it also serves to bring those people together under a common cause and leader.

When someone enters another's Board as one of their Pieces, they receive an arcane Sigil on the forearm of their primary hand that glows with the color of their King's Aura. This Sigil is also on the forearm of the King of the Board. The Crystal Piece used to join the Board is fused within the Sigil, and can only be reclaimed by the King upon the individual's death. Boards where the King is the one to die are often buried with that King's body, or in place of the body should it not be recoverable for one reason or another.

Pieces Within the Board

King

There can only ever be a singular King per board, with no exceptions.

The King Piece itself provides no real abilities of its own, leading to the King of the Board working towards their ability and strengths the hard way. Training alongside their Pieces is a common method to go about this.

Queen

There can only ever be a singular Queen per board, with no exceptions.

The Queen Piece has a "promotion" ability in combat, allowing them to switch between the Ranks of all Pieces except the King, at the cost of the Rank Effects being weaker. As a result, the Queen is typically either the strongest combatant of the team, or the strategist.

Bishop

Bishop Pieces are seen as the support specialists, and typically are the magically strongest of the Board. Additionally, the Piece itself grants the individual a boost to their preexisting magical abilities. They also act as the Right and Left Hands of the King Piece, though in instances where a King needs to give a Bishop both pieces to join the Board, they take whichever position the Queen has not filled, which is often the Left hand.

There are only ever two Bishop Pieces within a single Board, even if one individual takes both Pieces in order to join the Board.

Knight

Knight Pieces are seen as the combat specialists, with the Piece itself granting the individual enhanced speed. Most Knights end up with knowledge of multiple weapons in order to remain unpredictable. They act as the direct Bodyguards of the King and Queen.

There are only ever two Knight Pieces within a single Board, even if one individual takes both Pieces in order to join the Board.

Rook

Rook Pieces are seen as the defenders, with the Piece itself granting the individual a boost to physical strength. Should the Knight Pieces be needed elsewhere, the Rooks take up the role of the Bodyguards; otherwise, they are the general defenders of the Board as a whole.

There are only ever two Rook Pieces within a single Board, even if one individual takes both Pieces in order to join the Board.

Pawn

Pawn Pieces are often overlooked, but are in truth the strongest Pieces due to their unique version of the "promotion" ability, which only activates upon being within what the Pawn deems "enemy territory." Unlike the Queens, Pawns can only self-promote once a battle, however once they do, the Rank Effect is the same as every other Piece. Additionally, Pawns can self-promote to a Queen, which then allows them to continue switching between Rank Effects at will.

There are also the highest number of Pawn Pieces in the Board, equaling the total number of all other Pieces combined. Similar as with the other Pieces, one person can take more Pieces in order to join the Board without changing the total number within the Board itself.

Unique Cases

There are always outliers to everything, even the King's Board and the alignments within it. Listed below are the currently known outliers within the system used in Avalon.

Mutation Pieces

A rarity among those Active Kings and their Boards all throughout history, Mutation Pieces are used for those who would typically require multiple Pieces in order to join a Board. Should a Mutation Piece exist in the Board, the individual with that Piece only counts as a single Piece, though they must declare if they are in possession of a Mutation Piece or not when entering a Mock Battle or the Contest for the Throne alongside their King. There can only be two Mutation Pieces per Board, with no exceptions.

Surprisingly enough, Pawns have the highest chances of being made as a Mutation-type Piece, however there have been recorded instances where other Pieces have been made as Mutation-types.

The Unaligned

A condition where an individual is not aligned to any Piece, and therefore is unable to enter a King's Board. While not uncommon, those who have this condition are often disenfranchised and looked down on, sometimes with pity but others with disgust or contempt.

Being Unaligned in higher society often leads to that individual being kept from the public eye at all cost if caught early enough. If not, the individual is often disowned and left to fend for themselves.

Identifying Piece Alignment

The test to identify someone's Piece alignment is simple, requiring only a small Crystal shard and minimal Aura manipulation. It is often performed around the age of 12, so the child has had some time to settle into being a person, but it can be performed as late as 16 should the parents decide to not have their child tested, or so there is a stronger certainty in their sense of self.

All the test consists of is the one being tested holding the Crystal shard while speaking the following phrase: "Aura of Ancients, show me the true shape of my soul."

In a successful test, a phantom Piece will form above the Crystal shard, showing what the individual's Alignment is. There are no physical identifiers, and most keep their Alignment to themselves and those they are close to. The sole exception is when dealing with someone who has tested as Unaligned: while most can live their lives without issue, some occupations require the release of ones Alignment in order to be hired, which leads to those who are not of any Alignment to have a higher unemployment rate around the nation.

The King's Board in Everyday Life

Most of those who are Aligned to a Piece are not actually part of a Board. This is due to the rarity of King's Boards among the common people of Avalon, caused by how costly it is to create a Board set in the first place. As such, many either ignore their alignment and go on with their lives, or choose to pursue occupations which are associated with their alignment.

Among the Nobility, however, alignments are used to form political alliances as often as engagements and marriages are. Parents will work to set up their children in useful matches among the various Boards in order to gain political power of their own, and often shortly after said children have had their Alignment identified. Additionally, those families who have King Pieces often settle disputes with mock "battles" between Boards, while those who do not have King Pieces among their number do the same through bets on who would win the battle.

Mock Battles are also used as a form of entertainment, regardless of social status. Not all King Pieces in the nobility are able to inherit, and the few Active Kings that are not of the nobility often find themselves in need of some form of avenue to not only make money, but work alongside their Pieces in a situation that utilizes the setup of the Board. As such, Mock Battles occur regularly in major cities, providing such an outlet for all King Pieces to make a name for themselves and their Boards.