Titles
A master stonemason works the stone with a chiseling tool, carving ravines into its surface. He takes a hammer, and knocks out a chunk of the rock onto the concrete floor.
Two hundred years later, an artist leans into her instincts and allows her hands to work on their own. Without her conscious direction, a piece of the rock she was working with is knocked out of the rock, replicating the event from the past.
She's taken the first step to claiming her Title.
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In Runic, there exists a collective unconsciousness of humanity. Every instinct built up over the course of a life is shunted into this unconsciousness. Currently, it contains every bit of instinct built up over humanity's history.
It is possible to draw on these unconscious instincts. To even have a chance, one must become so comfortable with an action that it becomes second nature to them. Then, a deep meditation is necessary to touch the unconsciousness. That connection, once made, is weak: it can snap at the slightest uncertainty, and once snapped, requires another meditation session to reconnect. Making that connection is called "Becoming Titled", and it grants you a Title.
The connection to the collective unconsciousness can be weakened by extreme physical injury, abandoning the field the Title is related to, or not utilizing the Instincts given by the collective unconsciousness. If it's too weak, it'll snap.
Once snapped, the previously Titled individual loses all Instincts, which can be extremely disorienting. Once they reconnect, they need to rebuild their connection to its previous state. This means that keeping a Title is very important to those who are Titled.
This makes Titles rare, but not so rare that they're mythical; it simply requires skill and patience. It usually takes someone older, though there are some younger people with Titles.
When someone achieves a Title, nothing visibly happens. The individual may stutter on connecting to the collective unconsciousness, but the changes are all internal. The Titled individual can accept the Title given to them, and once they have, the connection between the collective unconscious and the Titled person is made. If they don't accept the Title before they exit the meditative state, they can access it again at any time.
The Titled individual will know instinctively what their Title is. Example: Governor, Captain, Saleswoman, etc.
Titles can and will naturally transition into other Titles. Typically, this is done by transitioning from a less specific to a more specific Title, though there are instances where a person can transition to an unrelated Title. This can occur if they're in a stressful situation and take up a mantle like Rescuer, or something similar.
Title transitions keep your existing Instincts, giving you breadth of new ones and depth to your old ones that apply to your new Title
Over time, as long as the individual performs or stays connected to the actions that caused them to earn the Title in the first place, the connection will strengthen. This allows them to get more information from their Instincts, and draw on more than the immediately relevant ones for their current action.
There are no instincts for relying on Instincts heavily. The worst it can give you is a slight headache as you delve into the collective unconsciousness. However, when a person first becomes Titled, the adjustment of having Instincts can be difficult.
Once connected, one must strengthen their connection by drawing on the Instincts available in the collective unconsciousness. These Instincts can contradict rarely, and it's up to the Titled individual to choose which Instinct to believe. However, that's very rare.
These can roughly be divided into passive and active Instincts.
Active Instincts
Active instincts are logical instincts that can be cognitively engaged with. It is akin to having arrived at a conclusion you're not quite sure how you got to.
They can be queried. As an example, take a look at the following passage:
A man frowns over his battle plans. He's had this sneaking suspicion since his lieutenant passed him these; something about it is off.
He looks across the map. The army's path leads straight through the valley, which could lead to further issues as it's a choke-point...
A sudden clicking feeling in his mind tells the General he's right. There's a chance for a battle here; a weakness his subordinate should have seen miles before this even got to his desk. Why-
A knife slipping into his back told him the why.
As shown in the example, the General has an Instinct; call it Battle Weariness, or whatever. Point being, it tells him when something might go sideways. Once he isolated the idea that it was the valley that was the problem, his Instinct told him it was correct.
If he had been allowed to continue on, he probably would've been able to isolate his lieutenant's betrayal, if not the why.
Essentially, Active Instincts are Instincts that can be queried. They act akin to your own thoughts; a logical deduction, but you're not quite sure where it's coming from.
Passive Instincts
Passive Instincts are Instincts based in emotion. A Passive Instinct is one that gives you a bad feeling about a dark alley, one that worms its way into your brain and tells you "this is not the right way."
They cannot be engaged with. Passive instincts will come unbidden, and cannot be dismissed. As an example, take a look at the following passage:
The Stonecarver examines the design. It's a few circles, arranged concentrically, with four axis lines from the center moving to the edges.
It's not that it's bad, per se. His apprentice did a fine job with the stonework. She'll go far with that kind of skill. But something is niggling at him.
It's just... not good? The design doesn't mean anything.
He turns to his apprentice, the poor sod, and hardens his heart.
As you can hopefully see from that example, a Passive Instinct caused the Stonecarver to find the design his apprentice gave him unpleasant. That is the nature of a Passive Instinct: it is one that guides you through emotion away or to a certain conclusion. A good colloquial is a gut feeling.
Culture
Titles are uncommon, and the method to getting one is unknown. The only things people know is that you must be skilled, you must be patient, you must have extraordinary focus, and then it's just a matter of luck.
Research on how Titles work, however, is a lot more common. So far, they've figured out most of how Instincts work.
Titles are something most people aspire to. Some people don't care. It's usually a sign of prestige in a field to be Titled, a showcase of skill and effort. There are some people who believe it's a sign from above to be Titled.
Some who get their Titles early face malice from people without Titles in the same field.
A large barrier to getting a Title is the patience. You really need to go with the floor and let your instincts take over to touch the collective unconsciousness, and most aren't capable of it. This leads to frustration and discontent among people who have tried for years or decades and have never gotten a hint of it.
In Sankhurst, the only setting in Runic, Titles are viewed highly. Those who have them are highly valued by the city, and given good accommodations and special consideration, along with a larger stipend from Commerce.
Titled individuals are often expected to pitch in more than people without Titles, and teach those who are in the same field. If they don't do this, they lose the benefits given to Titled people in Sankhurst.
Titles have always been pretty important, though records of important Titled individuals were lost after the Essence crisis (see Essence Worldbuilding). The only notable Titles in Sankhurst, at the moment, are Sae's teacher, the current Governor, and others.