Venator Scientiae

A Venator Scientiae (ビネィトスカィエヌチァィ, Bineito Sukaienuchiai; Latin for "Hunter of Knowledge"; referred to in plural as Venatores Scientiarum) is a mysterious spiritual being born from a completed Anima Casus soul. As beings with the sole purpose of owning the largest library of knowledge possible, they are unmistakably derived from the power of Velia Agostinha Vivax's Vetula aspect.

Overview
Normally, a Venator Scientiae results from an Anima Casus regaining sufficient memories of its living existence and becoming a completed soul once more. A Bibliotheca is formed by exchanging these familiar memories, and the Anima Casus gains a new spiritual body dependent on the body it possessed in its physical life. Even so, a Venator Scientiae can possess vastly different physical features and even an opposite sex to its former body. Because a fallen Nefas may produce more than one Anima Casus, it is possible for multiple Venatores Scientiarum to belong to the same soul while diverging entirely in physical appearance to one another. As with Nefas, any sentient being, including animals, can become a Venator Scientiae. Contrasting the Nefas, they are exclusively spiritual beings.

Venatores Scientiarum created by natural means usually have no recollection of their former existence. Although their personalities are mostly dependent on the Anima Casus they evolved from, Venatores Scientiarum often share a common goal—pursuing knowledge to the best of their abilities and storing it all in their Bibliotheca. They are highly solitary beings by nature, seeing even major events as little more than opportunities to acquire more knowledge; they are, as such, a mostly unaligned race very unlikely to be spotted under normal circumstances. There have indeed been cases of Venatores Scientiarum suppressing their desire of knowledge and fighting for a certain cause, such as Glacies Fidus, but such occurrences are very rare and often far from one another.

Only few Venatores Scientiarum are fully aware of why they pursue knowledge so obsessively. In truth, it is derived from an instinctive yearning to reacquire what they had lost upon birth—their mortal memories; but it is this desire that will ultimately lead to a Venator Scientiae's fall from grace. A Bibliotheca is considered completed when it has recorded a vast majority of knowledge pertaining to its wielder's former life; upon said completion, the Bibliotheca merges all pertinent knowledge into its wielder's soul before crumbling away shortly thereafter, turning the wielder into a regular physical being without any sort of supernatural power and thus completing the Nefas cycle of reincarnation. If a Venator Scientiae fails to store any new knowledge into their Bibliotheca over a certain period of time, they will lose all memories and knowledge acquired in their life before regressing into a regular physical being, a well-known fact that greatly contributes to all Venatores Scientiarum's desperate pursuit of new knowledge.

Becoming a Venator Scientiae
There is no known method of which two parents of any race can produce a Venator Scientiae offspring—the only way they can be naturally created is by completing an Anima Casus soul. It is possible to forcibly complete an Anima Casus soul by merging it with a more simplistic Anima Casus soul via Mater sorcery, but this produces unpredictable results. It is, on the other hand, possible for any being, spiritual or not, to become a Venator Scientiae by touching a manifested Bibliotheca belonging to one. Exactly what occurs following this is dependent on several factors which also decide whether or not the newborn Venator Scientiae will retain their memories:

In any case, should a Nefas touch a Venator Scientiae's Bibliotheca, they will simply die and become an Anima Casus, meaning there is no method of which a Nefas-Venator Scientiae hybrid can be created. This is likely a result of both races belonging to different aspects of Agotinha's power.
 * If the Bibliotheca of a living Venator Scientiae who has not acquired all knowledge of their former life is touched by a physical being, both the Venator Scientiae and the physical being will die; the physical being is resurrected as a Venator Scientiae with a Bibliotheca containing all knowledge held by that of the plundered Venator Scientiae. In this case, for the newly-born Venator Scientiae to complete their Bibliotheca, they must acquire all knowledge pertinent to the life of its former owner rather than their own.
 * If the Bibliotheca of a living Venator Scientiae who has not acquired all knowledge of their former life is touched by a spiritual being, only the plundered Venator Scientiae will die while the spiritual being becomes a Venator Scientiae in their place, with a Bibliotheca containing all knowledge held by that of the plundered Venator Scientiae. In this case, for the newly-born Venator Scientiae to complete their Bibliotheca, they must acquire all knowledge pertinent to the life of its former owner rather than their own.
 * If the Bibliotheca of a living Venator Scientiae is touched by a spiritual or physical being just before the Venator Scientiae loses their power as a result of having completed it, the Venator Scientiae will survive and become a regular physical being while the one who had touched their Bibliotheca either immediately becomes a Venator Scientiae or dies and is then resurrected as a Venator Scientiae, depending on whether they were a spiritual or physical being respectively. In this case, the new owner of the Bibliotheca loses all memory and knowledge pertinent to their former life and must record it into the Bibliotheca before it is considered completed once more. Most Venatores Scientiarum elect to do this as a means of immortalizing their recorded knowledge and allowing their Bibliotheca to develop further.
 * If a Bibliotheca belonging to a dead Venator Scientiae is touched by either a spiritual or physical being, they will either immediately become a Venator Scientiae or die and then be resurrected as one, depending on whether they were a spiritual or physical being respectively. Depending on whether the Bibliotheca was completed or not, the new owner will either lose their memories and knowledge pertinent to their former life and need to regain it to complete the Bibliotheca, or retain their memories and require knowledge pertinent to the Bibliotheca's former wielder to complete it.
 * Finally, if a Venator Scientiae presents a page of their manifested Bibliotheca to either a spiritual or physical being, the Venator Scientiae will survive while the being they had entrusted the page to will either immediately become a Venator Scientiae or die and then be resurrected as one, depending on whether they were a spiritual or physical being respectively. In this case, both parties effectively share the same Bibliotheca and agree to work together to expand it, completing it by recording knowledge pertinent to the former life of the initial wielder. The death of either one involved has no effect on the Bibliotheca, meaning their knowledge becomes entirely linked. For whatever becomes of the Bibliotheca in the end, both parties share the same fate. Generally, a Venator Scientiae will only agree to share their Bibliotheca with those who have earned their utmost trust. It is unknown if there is a limit to how many individuals may be linked to the same Bibliotheca.

Physical Traits
Upon birth, a Venator Scientiae's physical appearance is vaguely decided by that possessed in their former life; aside from this, Venatores Scientiarum have few distinguishing traits other than a peculiar physical defect present on some part of their body. These defects can range from minor, such as a discolored eye, to far more distinguishing, such as a mutated arm. It is by drawing power from their physical defect that a Venator Scientiae summons the power of their Bibliotheca

Innate Abilities
Immortality: A Venetor Scientiae can remain ageless indefinitely so long as they do not lose their supernatural abilities; they can still die through unnatural causes.

Superior Intelligence: As derivations of Agostinha's Vetula aspect and wielders of the Bibliotheca, Venatores Scientiarum possess intellect well exceeding that of other races on average.

Soul Element: As with Nefas, Venatores Scientiarum possess the ability to mutate a part of their soul into a certain element to use as a weapon against their opponents. Elements conjured through this method cannot be turned against the user in any way. Unlike a Nefas, a Venator Scientiae may only possess a maximum of two soul elements and can still be harmed by spiritual attacks comprised of the same element. Because Venatores Scientiarum lack Pactum Anima and possess a spiritual body, the act of manipulating their soul element in this manner is very harmful and potentially fatal if overused. While Venator Scientiae elemental sorcery can potentially surpass that of any other race in terms of power, Venatores Scientiarum cannot generate nearly as much of their related element compared to a Nefas as they do not possess Pactum Anima. Ultimately, Venatores Scientiarum rarely use their soul element due to its impracticalities.

Fides (フィヂス, Latin for "Faith"): A passive ability related to a Venator Scientiae's ownership of a Bibliothica, Fides protects the Venator Scientiae's memory and knowledge stored into their Bibliotheca, allowing it to transcend even time itself. The Bibliothica can be seen as a sacred land isolated from reality and inaccessible to anything other than its owner unless they themselves allow others to pass through it. No power other than Vox Calamitosus is capable of tampering with an unmanifested Bibliotheca unless the owner allows it, meaning that a Venator Scientiae's memory cannot be altered in any way even through the use of temporal magic, much like the memory of Agostinha Herself. Even if time were to be reversed to a point before a Venator Scientiae's creation, they would simply reacquire their recollection of future events upon becoming a Venator Scientiae again and reclaiming their Bibliothica. Because only true knowledge can be recorded into a Bibliotheca, Venatores Scientiarum effectively cannot be deceived through disinformation.

Bibliotheca
The primary and most lethal weapon possessed by any Venatores Scientiarum, a Bibliotheca serves as both a Venator Scientiae's library of knowledge and a medium with which to utilize their most devastating abilities. A Venator Scientiae's soul is eternally bound to their Bibliotheca and thus cannot survive without it. In a Venator Scientiae's subconsciousness, a Bibliotheca is depicted as a world of its own unique to them, with any recorded knowledge most often written in documents scattered around said world. A Venator Scientiae may elect to teleport others into this world and share knowledge stored into the Bibliotheca with them. A manifested Bibliotheca usually takes the form of a peculiar book.

Bibliotheca abilities are organized into “chapters” (capita). The number of chapters that can be used is dependent on the amount of knowledge recorded in the Bibliotheca. If the Bibliotheca is not physically manifested, it is required for the wielder to call out the chapter they are using before it takes effect, meaning it can easily be interrupted without a sufficient opening. If the Bibliotheca has been manifested, it is possible to use its chapters without calling out their names as long as the wielder is holding it; but this can be dangerous as it renders the Bibliotheca vulnerable and touchable. A physical defect located somewhere on the Venator Scientiae's body serves as a catalyst to summon the power of their Bibliotheca. If this defect is sealed or severed from the Venator Scientiae's body by any means, they can no longer summon their Bibliotheca until they have healed. All Bibliotheca chapters that directly target the opponent have a maximum range of approximately twenty metres.
 * Bibliotheca Caput Unus: Facio (ビブリャテカカプテユネスフェシオ, Latin for "Library Chapter One: Construct"): The most basic Bibliotheca technique, that can, unlike proceeding chapters, be utilized without calling out its name, Caput Unus encompasses the ability to record knowledge into and physically manifest the Bibliotheca. To record foreign knowledge into the Bibliotheca, the related Venator Scientiae must first witness an event pertaining to a new bit of knowledge; they will only have a small window of opportunity to use this chapter successfully. Recording techniques allows a Venator Scientiae to instantly acquire all knowledge of how the technique is performed and when it was created. It is not necessary to use this chapter to record knowledge that the Venator Scientiae is simply told of as the Bibliotheca possesses all of its wielder's knowledge by default. Caput Unus can also be used to record locations and unique movements, an essential ability for later chapters. A successful recording is often indicated by a brief glow surrounding the Venator Scientiae's bodily mutation.
 * Bibliotheca Caput Duo: Aboleo (ビブリャテカカプテヅォァボリォ, Latin for "Library Chapter Two: Terminate"): A supplementary technique that draws upon a selected bit of knowledge from within the Bibliotheca and removes it from the recollection of a selected target. In the case of targeting a more simplistic bit of knowledge, Caput Duo has a much higher probability of producing permanent effects; for example, if one were to use Caput Duo to remove knowledge of the location of a grocery store from a particular target, it will almost certainly last until the target is either again informed of the grocery store or locates it by chance. In the case of targeting skills, which are the result of culminated knowledge, the effect is often ephemeral but can still be used to provide an opening. In short, Caput Duo can only encompass a certain amount of knowledge at a time, which is dependent on the size of the user's Bibliotheca. Caput Duo is especially dangerous when used with a manifested Bibliothica as it allows the user to more rapidly remove bits of a target's knowledge. While there is no known method of defending against this technique, it cannot be used against other Venatores Scientiarum and cannot target more than one individual at a time.
 * Bibliotheca Caput Tres: Revocatio (ビブリャテカカプテツリスレボカチォ, Latin for "Library Chapter Three: Recall"): A supplementary technique that draws upon a selected bit of knowledge from within the Bibliotheca and stores it into the recollection of a selected target. Unlike its counterpart, Caput Tres is primarily used to aid a target; skillful usage can even provide the target with enough knowledge to perform new techniques. Caput Tres is often also used to distract opponents during battle by inserting confounding knowledge within their memory to provide an opening. Caput Tres is often preferable in sharing knowledge with any individual to transporting them into the Bibliotheca world as the process is faster and does not risk sharing unintended knowledge.
 * Bibliotheca Caput Quattour: Gressus (ビブリャテカ カプテクァトルグレセス, Latin for "Library Chapter Four: Tread"): Instantaneously teleports the user to a selected location recorded in their Bibliotheca. The user may perform Caput Quattour as many times as they please without any ill-effects but cannot use it to teleport other individuals.
 * Bibliotheca Caput Quinque: Ferio (ビブリャテカ カプテクィンクェフェレォ, Latin for "Library Chapter Five: Strike"):
 * Bibliotheca Caput Sex: Incito (ビブリャテカ カプテセクスィンサイト, Latin for "Library Chapter Six: Quicken"):