Tulkon

The Tulkon is a manifestation of spiritual energy concentrated as a single person who serves the role for their whole lifetime before reincarnating. The Tulkon acts as a spiritual, political, and cultural force of balance, and has filled many roles since its inception. The Tulkon has a host of abilities that set them apart from normal people.

The first Tulkon was Tulkon Bytu, a Human who was given his abilities by Arrkea in 0 BT. Bytu travelled the world keeping the peace until his death in 18 AT, and he reincarnated as Tulkon Darrokh, an Orc. The reincarnation cycle goes through Human, Orc, Elf, and Dwarf before repeating.

Over the millennia, the Tulkon has held important positions of power and served as a global leader. Not everyone is friendly to the Tulkon, and their methods of keeping the peace and involvement in world affairs have attracted criticism from many sources. Regardless, the Tulkons are also revered all over the globe, particularly by followers of the religion Tulkonism.

Etymology
The term Tulkon has origins in the Penaz and Old Iloisa languages. When Bytu returned to Ilois after being bestowed the power of the Tulkon, he was given the nickname Kan, roughly meaning "leader," "hero," or "guide" in Old Iloisa, depending on context. During his travels across the rest of the world, he was known as the Kan. When Bytu was reincarnated as the Orc Darrokh, the Penaz-speaking Orcs of Penazaduz called him T'hal, meaning "The Reborn One." The term Thalkan (literally "reborn leader") arose after the spread of Tulkonism, which used the creole language of Penoisa in its ceremonies and traditions. By the mid-12th century AT it evolved into the modern Tulkon.

Abilities
The Tulkon is known for incredible magic, combative, and intellectual abilities. Tulkons are able to use all schools of magic, have incredible prowess in battle, and are able to speak virtually any known language, including the high tongue, the ancient language of the Angels and the Demons. Throughout history, the Tulkons have used these abilities to change the world. Tulkons have typically been identified and trained by the Tulkonist Council, an organization founded by Tulkon Nyrota in 140 AT.

The most notable attribute of the Tulkon is reincarnation. The ability of the Tulkon to reincarnate was not understood until the young Darrokh was confirmed as Bytu's reincarnation several years after the latter's death. Various explanations are offered by various religions for the mechanism of reincarnation, but none have been able to be confirmed. Tulkons are able to recall memories and skills from past lives, and to a certain degree communicate with former incarnations of themselves through meditation; the latter ability, however, is usually described as am internal monologue and viewing of past Tulkons' earthly memories rather than a face-to-face interaction with a past self, hence why the Tulkon can't confirm any afterlife or reincarnation mechanism. Tulkons are also able to channel great bursts of magical energy from their past lives, although the process can be extremely physically draining and has led to the death of a Tulkon on more than one occasion; the largest display of this power was by Tulkon Yaaamemon in 1192 AT at the end of the 40-Year War, and resulted in the near-extinction of the Demons and the temporary end of the Reincarnation Cycle.

Role in the World
Bytu, a Human from the Iloisa Empire, was the first Tulkon. Bytu travelled the world and used his abilities to bridge the gaps between the world's various disparate peoples, and helped create a sense of global unity. Subsequent Tulkons also further helped bridge this connection. Tulkons have followed trends throughout history, with some taking inspiration from their predecessors in terms of their approach to global issues. The Tulkons' abilities and numerous skills have led to many becoming heads of state, spiritual leaders, military officers, and more. Many Tulkons have also dealt with insurmountable odds in the face of a threat, and prevailed through great sacrifice or displays of incredible power.

Tulkons are venerated by the followers of the Tulkonist Religions (Tulkonism, Pantulkonism, and Prophetism) and have various degrees of influence within the world's other religions, such as Savatism and Däeism. Only a few Tulkons have actually been Tulkonists themselves, and despite their place within the religion, none of them have served an official role within its leadership (with the exception of Tulkon I'Ladas, who became the leader of the Tulkonist Army, the military branch of the Tulkonist Council).

According to religious tradition, the role of the Tulkon is to maintain global balance and push the world in the direction it needs to go in. Tulkon's have always been a force for good, and do what they believe is right. The extreme influence of the Tulkon around the world has been both criticized and admired, and the actions of a Tulkon, no matter the intention, can have far-reaching consequences into the future.

List of Tulkons

 * Bytu (0 AT-18 AT)
 * Darrokh (18 AT-89 AT)
 * Nyrota (89 AT-177 AT)
 * Kedur (177 AT-201 AT)
 * Ageus (201 AT-302 AT)
 * Topa (302 AT-377 AT)
 * Kytoya (377 AT-433 AT)
 * Rum (433 AT-448 AT)
 * Ytinise (448 AT-550 AT)
 * Rogeduze (550 AT-621 AT)
 * Aohene (621 AT-639 AT)
 * Bodor (639 AT-767 AT)
 * Epi'hu (767 AT-809 AT)
 * Aghe (809 AT-894 AT)
 * Eoonanone (894 AT-1014 AT)
 * Hanmalo (1014 AT-1047 AT)
 * Atuhy (1047 AT-1076 AT)
 * Roduzaz (1076 AT-1152 AT)
 * Yaaamemon (1152 AT-1192 AT)

Era Without a Tulkon (1192 AT-1506 AT)


 * Epodora (1506 AT-1569 AT)
 * Sakyge (1569 AT-1623 AT)
 * Zoktopo (1623 AT-1707 AT)
 * O'Raenore (1707 AT-1815 AT)
 * Gal Adodume (1815 AT-1919 AT)
 * Oranolu (1919 AT-1998 AT)
 * Zoruha (1998 AT-2093 AT)
 * Ilhohore (2093 AT-2393 AT)
 * Osnerime (2393 AT-2473 AT)
 * Giha (2473 AT-2560 AT)
 * Rakte (2560 AT-2672 AT)
 * E'Acoradi (2672 AT-2876 AT)
 * Von Hamobora (2876 AT-2991 AT)
 * Ico (2991 AT-3034 AT)
 * Goroch (3034 AT-3074 AT)
 * I'Ladas (3074 AT-)

Trivia

 * The concept of the Tulkon borrows heavily from the show Avatar: The Last Airbender. It's a shameless ripoff lmao i love that show
 * The term Tulkon comes from the Tibetan tulku (སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་), a reincarnation of a teacher of a specific school in Tibetan Buddhism. The most notable tulku lineage is the Dalai Lama.