Final Fantasy World Building: Orders of the Church of Eight Spirits

As I have mentioned before, I have been toying with the idea of redeeming Final Fantasy Spirits Within with a sequel taking place a thousand years later. To that end I have been doing some world building and I came up with th concept of the Church of Eight Spirits.  In order to end the Phantom War, the waves of eight spirits were used to stop the phantoms. Humans were one of the few species to survive so when life came back, and so they were among the few to remain unchanged after the rebirth, at least mostly. Eventually, some people developed psychokinetic abilities that most people simply called magic. Males can control electricity and heat energy, both raising it as fire and reducing it as ice, and these powers are known as Black Magic. Females can enhance healing and generate protective force fields, and these powers are known as White Magic. Some of the females who can use White Magic can specialize their force fields to take the form of Eidolons which, regardless of the user, always take the same eight forms, Carbuncle, Ifrit, Shiva, Ramuh, Leviathan, Titan, Sylph and Bahamut. From this, the Church of Eight Spirits was born, believing that the Eidolons are the same eight spirits which saved the world during the Phantom War. The Church of Eight Spirits is divided into orders to organize the magic users.

Orders of Mages

Summoners - The highest order, ascended from White Mages, they summon the Eidolons largely for ceremony to remind people the power of the spirits, though occasionally for combat if necessary. The first is always Carbuncle, Bahamut is the last they learn and the rest develop in between according to the summoner. They lead the church and through the church lead the people.

White Mages - All Summoners start as White Mages, but not all become Summoners. They serve the church by helping people, protecting the weak and healing the sick, and through their good deeds strengthen the community and thus faith in the church.

Black Mages - The primary known group of males capable of Black Magic, they traditionally used their abilities to help others by operating technology and fighting wild beasts that would threaten humanity. However, over time they realized that they cannot ascend to Summoners and will always be second rate, or at least feel that way. Then came the prophecy of the Blue Mage, an ascended Black Mage with power equal to or even greater than the Summoners. This belief splintered the Black Mages and the primary branch left the Church to build their own culture around nine hundred years after the Phantom War.

Red Mages - A splinter group from the Black Mages, they tend to have limited magic abilities, sometimes limited to just one spell, and supplement their magic by learning to fight with swords. After the Black Mages separated from the Church, the Red Mages remained loyal to the church, some mistrust the Red Mages, but the mercy of the White Mages who witnessed their valiant efforts to defend the Church has assured them a place within the Church, even if it is at the bottom.

Blue Mages - Ascended Black Mages with unknown power, they may not even exist at all, but if they do, they are the most powerul and dangerous people in the world.

Dark Knights - Red Mages who sided with the Black Mages and joined them in exile to support their new order.

Orders of Warriors

Dragoons - The highest order of Knights, they prove themselves through a sacred trial though they have no magic of their own, they have proven themslves worthy of fighting by the side of the mages and protect the people from monsters as well as protecting the Church from heretics. They are known for wielding spears or lances and wearing distinctive draconian armor.

Onion Knights - The standard knights that protect the general populace and train those who intend to become Dragoons. Theere are some career Onion Knights who watch over the initiates, but it is largely composed of anyone who demonstrates will and prowess.

 Monks - A reclusive group within the Church of Eight Spirits that don't have any magic but have dedicated themselves to protecting the crystal quarters of the meteor that triggered the Phantom War. They seem certain that the crystals have some power of their own, but nobody knows what it is if this is true.

Guilds

Hunters - There are those who have no magic, choose not to join the knights, and yet are still brave enough to fight the wild beasts that threaten humanity. These freelancers tend to join the Guild of Hunters to get support from allies, even if it is just a fresh weapon.

Bards - Entertainers who learn about music and seem to add little if anything to the world, and yet in there songs are the secrets of the past most have forgotten but should have remembered.

Thieves - As everyone else fights for their lives, these rogues collect what gets left behind, whether this is good or bad depends on who's asking.

Tamers - The most ruthless of all, these are the people who learn to tame the most dangerous wild monsters and use them to hunt other monsters. The danger of what they do makes them the one Guild that had to go into exile with the Black Mages and the Dark Knights.