Strain

are individuals who gained power without receiving it from a King.

History
Strains' powers develop via the Dresden Slate's power, which still affects the Kanto region. Previously, when the Slate was properly sealed, Strains were a rare phenomenon, however, with its power unleashed, more and more civilians have begun to develop supernatural abilities.

Testing
As children, all Strains and humans take a test in kindergarten that evaluates their "Induction Variation Drift", which presumably determines their thinking processes, comparing those of other Strains and humans. The test contains questions from illustrations, choosing objects that are out of place in images, and other activities which test basic intelligence and special ability capacity.

The Gold Clan appears to hold the test, and send Clansmen off to observe potential Strains for a set period of time before determining the sort of help, treatment, or detainment needed for the public's protection.

Classification
All Strains have a specific "Rank" which grades how dangerous they might be, the weakest and most numerous type of Strains being the "Common Class" while the rarest and most powerful Strains are placed within the "Beta Class", although Beta Class Strains were thought to be a one in a million occurrence, recent studies have shown their numbers have increase considerably.

In the past, whenever a Beta Class appeared, Scepter 4 would either dispatch all swordsmen to the area or in some cases even have the Blue King himself step in to handle the situation.

Recently though, current protocol regarding Beta Strains involves dispatching the "Special Operations Squad", alongside one or more squads for reinforcement.

The highest known rank that a Strain can be labeled is the "Extra Alpha Class" (or "Ex-A" for short), which are comparable to Kings in terms of power.

Furthermore, Strains may be assigned a "Level" depending on how much of a threat said Strain is to society; known levels are "Risk 3", for high-risk Strains who live peacefully, thus Scepter 4 only keeps tabs on them, but rarely have to involve themselves deeply with the Strain's life. However, for "Risk 4" Strains, Scepter 4 must arrest them on sight.

Registration
Scepter 4 is in charge of the registration of Strains, which to the general public is known as the "Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau: Family Registry Department - Annex 4", which registers "special foreigners". Within this registry are Strains' personal data, including current living spaces as well as information regarding those whom they're living with.

Abilities
The special abilities of Strains vary from person to person, and can range anywhere from incredibly powerful to unbelievably tame.

Obviously, the more dangerous a Strain's ability is, the more likely it is for them to be classified as "High-Risk"; a good example of this can be seen with Anna Kushina and Neko.

It is required for all Strains to be registered in Scepter 4's database with detainment being necessary for Strains who do not comply.