Prime Mages are legendary, almost god-like magic users who are Aligned with all seven Aspects of the soul, granting them access to all fourteen lightprime and darkprime powers simultaneously. Unlike standard mages, Prime Mages do not need to perform any physical Investment (such as dancing or carving) to activate lightprime magic; their power is instantly available through sheer Will. For a hundred thousand years, Prime Mages were considered a mere myth of the Great Awakening, with Usunaar being the last recorded Prime Mage in ancient history.
The series reveals that true Prime Mages are forged when a Talented soul dies, is sent to the ethereal realm of Ambarhal, and manages to escape back into reality. Over the course of the story, many characters achieve this terrifying ascension, including Cariel, Arra, Lorelei, Elanil, Rylan, and Phoenix. Trey and Quynn are unique anomalies; because their original soul split in two, they each operate as a "half Prime Mage," possessing the immense, Investment-free power but only accessing half of the available Aspects.