by Langland, J.
In the beginning, and so in the end, are the Five Elements of Creation, and thus of Destruction. These Five Elements are Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. None of the Five should be confused with their more mundane manifestations upon the Planes of Men. The Five Elements are the ultimate archetypes from which all else is descended. We as mere mortals simply use the closest words in our vocabularies to describe these things which defy finite comprehension.
Thus when we speak of the Five Elements, we are truly speaking of a model, an interpretation of reality that allows us to comprehend things that are truly vast in proportion to ourselves. Therefore do not confuse Fire with that which cooks your food. While the fire which cooks your food is an Aspect of Fire, so is the lightning in the sky and the light of the sun as well as all forms of heat energy. All of these are Aspects of Fire. Fire is fast and direct and cuts directly to the point. Fire is the energy that drives creation, and the conflagration that destroys.
Likewise when we speak of Water, we mean all things liquidic in nature, moving and mutable. Acid and water are both Aspects of Water, as is knowledge and truth. For when we speak of knowledge and truth, both are relative terms that are not absolute. Water is also calm and engulfing, Water surrounds all in a shifting embrace. Water provides balance to creation and destruction, it regulates and calms the energy of Fire.
Earth is steadfast; it is the ground beneath our feet and the minerals in our bodies. Earth is that from which living creatures spring. Earth is hard and immobile, slow to change yet eternally loyal. Earth is iron and Earth is rock. It is the foundation upon which creation stands.
Air is ephemeral, it cannot be touched, it is both the life giving gas that allows us to live, and it is the suffocating smoke that chokes us. All forms of gases are Aspects of Air, as is the absence of gas, vacuum. Air is transient and fleeting. It may perceived one moment and not the next. Like clouds that are its Aspect, Air can appear to be many things. Air sweeps through with reckless abandon, like the wind it can be an element of destruction.
Spirit is the Element of Life. Spirit is the essence of life, it is that which provides sentience and that which directs the creation and oversees the destruction of the universe. Do not confuse the spirits of the Planes of men with Spirit, nor any bodiless such beings. While Spirit is akin to the energy of life, the life force, it is not Alive in itself. Only through interactions with other things may true life come. This may seem like a contradiction, Spirit is Life, but it is not Alive, and perhaps it is. Spirit in itself is a contradiction and perhaps the least understood Element. For Spirit brings life, and while the other elements may destroy the physical form of living creatures, only Spirit may truly destroy Spirit.
The Five Elements of Creation are in eternal conflict and eternal balance. As on the Planes of Men, Fire and Water are in opposition, as are Earth and Air. Spirit is in opposition to itself. However, this is not the only conflict, Water and Earth are also in opposition, although to a lesser extent as are Fire and Air. Fire and Earth however, tend to be in conjunction most of the time, as are Air and Water. Spirit is not directly in opposition to any but itself, and in fact it is the conjunction of Spirit, Fire, Earth, Air and Water that creates material life.
The Elements while in eternal opposition also come together in balance. It is the balance of the Elements that forms the Planes of Men. Only on the Planes of Men do you see all the Elements working together (and occasionally warring together). From the union comes life. From the union comes Man.
The eternal conflict between the Elements produces frictional energy. This energy is called Mana. Mana is what is left when two or more Elements collide. Paradoxically, Mana is also that which holds the Elements together. It is like a sticky resin, produced by damage, yet which provides healing and joining together. This Mana may be used to manipulate the elements, to summon or banish them, to combine them in union and to force them to destruction.
As Mana is produced by the conflict of the Elements in Opposition, so Animus is produced by the Elements in Union. As Spirit combines the other Elements in life and union, Animus, the Energy of Life is formed. Animus feeds upon the Mana generated by the interaction of the Elements, Spirit directs its growth and the other Elements provide its form.
Normally Animus, the Life Force, or Life Energy, is housed with vessels of the Elements. This is because, as with most unions, Animus is fragile. However, under some circumstances, Animus may be housed with vessels of pure energy, or Mana. Mana can be used to protect and shield Animus, even as physical matter normally protects it. The primal manifestation of Animus are the gods. The gods are the archetypes of life, the patterns of Elemental design that shape creation. The process of Creation began with the gods and as the gods were created, some say by themselves, the creation of the Planes of Existence were dictated and driven by the gods. The gods oversaw creation, as they were the first of its children.
The gods first created servants: these were the angels and later came the demons who were Angels that rebelled against the gods. Gods, angels and demons are all beings of nearly pure Animus and Mana, able to don and shed Elemental (and material) forms at will. The shear levels of Animus and Mana in the gods, angels and demons are what give them their ability to link with matter. They achieve with sheer force that which lesser beings must do through finesse
The gods and their servants created the planes and populated them with beings. Early on these beings were crudely linked to matter, large amounts of Mana were required to sustain them. These beings were the Fey races, or the Sidhe. At this time the Fey races included not only sentient beings, but Fey animals and Fey plant life as well.
Later as creation evolved, and the gods became more experienced and wise in the ways of creation, the union of Animus and Matter was perfected. A finer intermingling requiring little mana for maintenance was achieved. The beings were known as the Mundane Races and the Mundane World was born. This is the world of humankind and the natural world of today.
Chapter 51
"This is going to be rather cramped." Gastropé said surveying their quarters. The room consisted of three bunks, one atop the other, three feet of access space in front of the bunks and some short drawers built into the forward bulkhead. The bottom most bunk was nearly on the floor and had very little light. The middle and top bunks lay across windows looking out from the stern castle to the port. Gastropé awkwardly placed his belongings on the top bunk. There was barely enough room for the three of them to stand side by side in front of the bunks.
"I think, I'll go out and get some air. Watch the city as we leave." Gastropé said looking pointedly over Rupert and past Edwyrd to the door.
"Good idea, I'll join you soon." Edwyrd said, looking a little sweaty as he opened the door to the room while Rupert crawled onto the bottom bunk to get away from the door. Gastropé squeezed out and Edwyrd closed the door behind him. "This is not going to be fun." Edwyrd said, twisting his head to look at Rupert who was scrunched up on the bottom bunk.
"It is going to be a little tight," Rupert acknowledged with a grin.
"A little tight? In my normal form I'm bigger than this whole room!
"Plus! How am I ever going to keep this form for the entire trip? It's not like I can lock the door and change. There isn't room for me in here." Edwyrd was looking very sweaty. While it was quite warm and stuffy in the room, it was not that hot to Rupert's mind. Edwyrd sat down on the middle bunk, hunched over due to the upper bunk. Rupert crawled out and joined him on the bunk. He didn't have to do more than bend his head.
"Maintaining this form isn't exactly easy on the best of conditions."
"I know," Rupert said, "but don't worry, you'll get used to it."
"For five days though?" Edwyrd said. The two sat quietly on the bunk for a few minutes, each lost in his own thoughts. "So. I told them I was an animage. What's an animage?" He looked over at Rupert.
"Um." Rupert hedged. "I'm not completely sure."
"Not sure? What do you mean
not sure?"
"Well, I am a kid you know. I can't know everything." Rupert said with mild exasperation. "All I know is what I've picked up from rumors. They're not exactly common you know."
"Unlike wizards or demons." Edwyrd commented.
"Well," Rupert admitted, "O.K. I guess to be fair, in the general population, wizards aren't exactly the most common profession, unlike smiths or cooks. Demons of course are very rare."
"We just seem to hang out with the wrong crowd." Edwyrd smiled at the boy.
"Yeah, looks that way." Rupert smiled. "So for all I know animages may be as common as wizards, but I don't really think so. For one thing, they're not particularly popular."
"Why?" Edwyrd asked with some trepidation. He felt a moment of dread that he'd gotten himself stuck in another position where everyone would hate him.
"Well, I don't mean they're hated or anything, just not really trusted. It's partially for some stuff way back in history, and partially because of the rumors and legends about them being able to do things to people's minds."
"Do things to people's minds?"
"Yeah, you know, read minds and such, implant commands and thoughts."
"Telepathy and mind control?" Edwyrd tried to clarify the details.
"Uh-huh. Course wizards can do the same stuff and no one really cares because they gotta do it with spells. If they use a spell, then they gotta be saying something or waving their hands, so you know they're up to something. Animages, on the other hand, don't have to do anything. Actually, if I were to believe the legends, animages can do a lot of things similar to wizards, maybe only not so flashy or complex. But, they just do it with their minds. They don't need spells as frameworks for magic, they somehow manipulate it directly with their minds.
"Kind of like a demon," Rupert added, suddenly, as if the thought had just come to him.
"So they're like psionicists, of some sort?" Edwyrd asked.
"They're what?" Rupert looked at him. "I don't know that word."
"Uhm, psychics? individuals with extrasensory projection, telepathy, teleportation, that sort of thing."
"Psychic? Well, maybe, but psychics are usually Seers or such. Although come to think about it, there does seem to be some sort of overlap. A lot of animages supposedly also have or had second sight. Some of them can also heal, like Healers. Maybe there is a connection." Rupert stared down at his feet, thinking.
"I don't know," Rupert finally spoke up, "Jenn would be the one to ask. She probably studied this stuff."
"Well, since I've already told her I was an animage, I don't think it would look too good to ask her." Edwyrd said wryly.
"Yeah. I guess." Rupert chuckled kind of softly. He appeared distracted, as if his mind were elsewhere. He bit his lip and looked over at Edwyrd.
"Tom," he said suddenly very serious, yet almost hesitant.
Tom waited for the boy to go on, but he just looked down at his foot and continued to bite his lip. "Yes?" Tom asked, prompting the boy to go on. He didn't know what the boy wanted, but it seemed important to him.
"Tom, why did..." Rupert stopped suddenly and looked the other way. "Never mind." He shook his head. "It really isn't important." He stood up suddenly. "Let's go up on deck and get some fresh air." He opened the door and looked at Edwyrd.
Edwyrd wasn't really sure what had come over the boy. Obviously he'd been about to ask something and changed his mind at the last moment. He wasn't sure if he shouldn't pursue it. It had seemed pretty important to the kid. He didn't know, maybe Rupert just wasn't ready to talk about whatever it was. Whatever the case, it did cause Edwyrd/Tom a bit of concern.
As they emerged on deck, the ship was just clearing the last of some buildings on the edge of the city, preparing to exit the river gate of the city. Actually, the docks hadn't been anything like Edwyrd had expected. Instead of a being in a harbor, the docks were in a small river that ran through the town. The river exited the town through some large river gates and then the river almost immediately fed into the sea.
Immediately to the south of the gate they were exiting was some sort of island. It was a few hundred feet from the city wall, and had what looked like a ruined fortress sitting on it. Another, smaller, island lay off to the northeast a short bit. This second island had a round tower occupying most of it. Ahead lay the sea, no land in sight on the other side.
As they came on deck, sailors were scurrying around, up and down the deck. Climbing and descending ropes to the sails. Edwyrd had never actually been on a sailing ship before, nor any ship for that matter. His only water experience was with small motor boats.
Rupert pointed forward to where Gastropé was standing near the rail on top of the forecastle. He had apparently found someone to talk to. Edwyrd and Rupert carefully made their way to join Gastrope', Edwyrd eyeing the stair-ladder with a little perspective uncertainty. He'd gotten so used to his demon form and size that the tiny ladder looked a bit tricky. It proved, however, to be no problem for Edwyrd's little body.
As he came up the ladder, Edwyrd got his first glance at Gastropé's companion. The individual was of medium height, wearing a loose brown robe with baggy brown pants and a vest, with some sort of sweater-shirt underneath. A wide black belt, with a dagger, surrounded his waist inside the robe. The man's skin was tanned dark by the sun. His hair, done in a crew cut, appeared pure white, and he had something a bit more than a five o'clock shadow. He appeared to be in his early sixties.
As he saw the man, Edwyrd's first thought was, Obi-wan-Kanobi! The guy did look startlingly like the old Jedi master from Star Wars. The resemblance wasn't perfect, but it was close enough to make Edwyrd smile. Use the Force, Tom! he thought to himself. As the two of them approached, Gastropé turned to see them coming. The man tilted his head to nod at the two as they approached.
"Talk about your coincidences, Edwyrd!" Gastropé exclaimed as Edwyrd stopped beside him.
"What?" Edwyrd asked.
"Well, first you running into your cousin Rupert and all, but now here this. Maelen here," he gestured to Obi-wan-Kanobi, "is an animage, just like you."
Edwyrd's smile faded slightly as the man nodded to him politely. He was even able to feel a sick feeling in his midsection over the otherwise distracting annoyance of keeping himself from exploding. Edwyrd nodded politely back.
"I mean, can you imagine that? I'd never even met one animage before today, and here I meet two in one day. Remarkable." Gastropé seemed immensely pleased. Edwyrd certainly wasn't.
"So, Edwyrd," Maelen said in a deep, strong voice, not completely out of keeping with the Obi-wan-Kenobi image, "Gastropé here tells me that you're one of my colleagues."
"Um, yes." Edwyrd tried to think of a way to lie gracefully. "Unfortunately, not one of the better, but I try."
"Yes," Maelen said appraisingly. "But isn't that what is really important? Trying?" He smiled slightly. As he did so he squinted his eyes slightly as if to get a better look at Edwyrd, then his eyes popped wider and he tilted his head and looked at Edwyrd even more intently. It was as if he was trying to get a better look at him. Maelen shook his head as if to clear it, then smiled again, rather less certainly this time. He stuck out his hand. "Nonetheless it is a real pleasure to meet you."
Edwyrd shook the proffered hand. "What exactly is your specialization?" Maelen asked conversationally as he shook Edwyrd's hand.
"Um, I like to take a more liberal view of things. Study a bit of this, a bit of that." Edwyrd hedged as best he could. The man didn't seem to notice too much. He seemed to be concentrating on the handshake. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Edwyrd, but was probably only a moment, Maelen released Edwyrd's hand. Maelen closed his eyes for a second and tilted his head as if looking at something on the ground through his eyelids. His eyes opened again, and this time he smiled more genuinely.
"Yes, very nice to meet you. I'm always interested in meeting new people in the profession. Liberal studies, hmm?" Maelen shifted his gaze to Rupert. Again he til
ted his head, this time he arched an eyebrow and looked back and forth a couple times between Rupert and Edwyrd. "As you know, not many of our profession have the patience anymore for a liberal education. Everyone wants to specialize immediately. I myself am more liberal in my background than most. Even so, I mainly stick to healing and a bit of Clairomastery now and then."
Maelen pursed his lips, tilted his head and looked from Rupert to Edwyrd again. "So, Gastropé didn't say much about our young friend here. Is he your student?" Maelen inquired.
"My student?" Edwyrd repeated, surprised. That was not at all the question he'd been expecting. "Uh, no, he's my cousin."
"Cousin," Maelen commented softly to himself. "Well that could explain the similarity then, I suppose." He said this very softly, to himself, although Edwyrd heard him anyway. Maelen shook his head, as if to change gears. "We must get together some time during the voyage, do some shop talk you know." Maelen said much louder, also more friendly then he'd first seemed. His eyes almost glinted. Glinted with something, Edwyrd wasn't sure what. Amusement, curiosity? guile? Edwyrd didn't know which it was, but it didn't seem bad, just different.
That was all he needed, Edwyrd decided. Another person wanting to quiz him in depth on being an animage. How did he get into this? Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive, was the thought that came to Edwyrd's mind. He'd have to start being more careful, he was really getting in over his head. Not that he'd exactly been floating like a duck since he first arrived in Astlan, but things weren't getting any better on that score.