Mystical Manipulation
January 20th 2009 05:05
The primary mode of magic in the world of Argul--the setting for my fantasy stories--can be called Elementalism.
Elementalists (general term; certain cultures and languages have their own terms for these people) can manipulate and control the basic elements: fire, air, earth, and water. They don't use incantations or any verbalizations; it's just pure willpower along with gestures and motions--almost martial, but not quite--to control the elements. Advanced Elementalists can manipulate elements at will, though usually this takes many years of honing a particular elemental group while other elemental disciplines might suffer.
Emotions factor into this magic: certain elements are associated with certain emotions, and when that emotion is particularly prevalent in a wielder's state of mind, that element is greatly boosted (and, depending on the wielder's training, wild and untamed) while the opposite/other elements lose force. Skilled Elementalists are masters of emotion, and can be even at will, and stoke preferred emotions at will. Fire is associated with anger and excitement; water is associated with serenity and melancholy; air is associated with fear and adrenaline; earth is associated with confidence and pride.
Some forms include the mixing of elements and emotions:
Lightning is a combination of fire and air, and is associated with fear/adrenaline mixed with anger. Lightning in this world is not like electricity: it acts just like lightning strikes in our world. Quick and explosive. It takes a lot of energy to perform a lightning strke (usually coming from the hands, but skilled users can shoot it from their eyes) and the techniques for a sustained lightning bolt have long been lost, and would require tremendous personal energy.
Lava is a combination of earth and fire, and is therefore associated with anger and confidence or pride. Lava is possibly the most difficult form to use, since it's so destructive and unruly, but once it's been mastered it can be a deadly effective weapon and tool. Unlike lightning, which a wielder can create from thin air--albeit after a process of energy gathering--an already existent source of lava must be available to use. One must be truly enraged and supremely confident to make lava one's self.
In rare instances, plant-life has been manipulated through the advanced study of earth, water, and air techniques. The techniques and mental processes for this are very complex and obscure, and most masters stumble upon it by accident, and never truly understand it, for plants are infinitely more complex than simple mud or water or air.
Also, altered or refined elements can be used only by a master Elementalist:
Glass and crystal, refined earth, can be utilized by an earth master who understands the natural processes which result in these things. Metal, being a creation of sentient beings and unnatural, cannot be manipulated through magic.
Ice is a peculiarity, since although it's based from water, it's governed by completely different emotions: bitterness and hate. As rage is hot like fire, bitterness is cold like ice, and only those who truly have a cold heart can use ice to its full effectiveness. Whereas water is the only element capable of actually healing hurts, reversing the destructive process, ice cannot heal, it can only freeze and trap or otherwise destroy things. Ice, suspended, frozen healing, like bitterness, only needs a simple change of heart to become an agent of healing. One of the villains of Visions of Destiny and, later, The Frozen Crown, is a true master of ice.
Elementalists have a metaphysical bond with the spirit of the earth, which is a portion of the larger spirit of the Creator. No one knows (yet) why or how Elementalists are chosen, but it is known that Elemental magic runs through family blood. The power draws from their life force, from their soul, so it is quite possible for an ambitious, over-reaching Elementalist to kill himself from the strain, or from elements gone wild due to the lack of control. They must know their limits, physically and mentally. With wisdom and patience come power and knowledge for the Elementalists.
Also, while air, lightning, and (for a master) water and ice do not need a direct source to be used, the other elements (fire, earth, lava, plants, etc.) must have an already existing source for the wielder to manipulate. For fire, all that is needed is a spark, or a cinder, and from there it can be transformed into a blazing inferno. Since water is everywhere in some form (liquid, gas, solid) a master can draw water to him anywhere at any time, and in rare instances can transform water straight from a gas to ice.
While the elements and their subvarieties can be created and/or manipulated through the wielder's own power, the wielder can draw from natural phenomena to make their magic much more potent. For example, a wielder can draw from a volcanic eruption to boost their lava, or a tornado/windstorm for their wind magic, a blizzard for ice. Lightning storms can make lightning magic tremendously powerful, at great risk for the wielder, for a wielder can intuitively tell when and where lightning will strike, and they can use their bodies as a lightning rod, and transfer the raw lightning through their bodies and manipulate it. But if anything goes wrong, the wielder will be reduced to ashes.
Elementalists need to be patient, wise, physically and mentally fit and well-balanced to succeed at their craft, though when they get older and more frail, if they've mastered their art well enough, they can do more with pure will alone than a beginner could do with all the acrobatic prowess in the world.
Next Monday I'll look at a second, more ancient mode of magic that has been long lost on Argul. Have a good night (or day)
Elementalists (general term; certain cultures and languages have their own terms for these people) can manipulate and control the basic elements: fire, air, earth, and water. They don't use incantations or any verbalizations; it's just pure willpower along with gestures and motions--almost martial, but not quite--to control the elements. Advanced Elementalists can manipulate elements at will, though usually this takes many years of honing a particular elemental group while other elemental disciplines might suffer.
Emotions factor into this magic: certain elements are associated with certain emotions, and when that emotion is particularly prevalent in a wielder's state of mind, that element is greatly boosted (and, depending on the wielder's training, wild and untamed) while the opposite/other elements lose force. Skilled Elementalists are masters of emotion, and can be even at will, and stoke preferred emotions at will. Fire is associated with anger and excitement; water is associated with serenity and melancholy; air is associated with fear and adrenaline; earth is associated with confidence and pride.
Some forms include the mixing of elements and emotions:
Lightning is a combination of fire and air, and is associated with fear/adrenaline mixed with anger. Lightning in this world is not like electricity: it acts just like lightning strikes in our world. Quick and explosive. It takes a lot of energy to perform a lightning strke (usually coming from the hands, but skilled users can shoot it from their eyes) and the techniques for a sustained lightning bolt have long been lost, and would require tremendous personal energy.
Lava is a combination of earth and fire, and is therefore associated with anger and confidence or pride. Lava is possibly the most difficult form to use, since it's so destructive and unruly, but once it's been mastered it can be a deadly effective weapon and tool. Unlike lightning, which a wielder can create from thin air--albeit after a process of energy gathering--an already existent source of lava must be available to use. One must be truly enraged and supremely confident to make lava one's self.
In rare instances, plant-life has been manipulated through the advanced study of earth, water, and air techniques. The techniques and mental processes for this are very complex and obscure, and most masters stumble upon it by accident, and never truly understand it, for plants are infinitely more complex than simple mud or water or air.
Also, altered or refined elements can be used only by a master Elementalist:
Glass and crystal, refined earth, can be utilized by an earth master who understands the natural processes which result in these things. Metal, being a creation of sentient beings and unnatural, cannot be manipulated through magic.
Ice is a peculiarity, since although it's based from water, it's governed by completely different emotions: bitterness and hate. As rage is hot like fire, bitterness is cold like ice, and only those who truly have a cold heart can use ice to its full effectiveness. Whereas water is the only element capable of actually healing hurts, reversing the destructive process, ice cannot heal, it can only freeze and trap or otherwise destroy things. Ice, suspended, frozen healing, like bitterness, only needs a simple change of heart to become an agent of healing. One of the villains of Visions of Destiny and, later, The Frozen Crown, is a true master of ice.
Elementalists have a metaphysical bond with the spirit of the earth, which is a portion of the larger spirit of the Creator. No one knows (yet) why or how Elementalists are chosen, but it is known that Elemental magic runs through family blood. The power draws from their life force, from their soul, so it is quite possible for an ambitious, over-reaching Elementalist to kill himself from the strain, or from elements gone wild due to the lack of control. They must know their limits, physically and mentally. With wisdom and patience come power and knowledge for the Elementalists.
Also, while air, lightning, and (for a master) water and ice do not need a direct source to be used, the other elements (fire, earth, lava, plants, etc.) must have an already existing source for the wielder to manipulate. For fire, all that is needed is a spark, or a cinder, and from there it can be transformed into a blazing inferno. Since water is everywhere in some form (liquid, gas, solid) a master can draw water to him anywhere at any time, and in rare instances can transform water straight from a gas to ice.
While the elements and their subvarieties can be created and/or manipulated through the wielder's own power, the wielder can draw from natural phenomena to make their magic much more potent. For example, a wielder can draw from a volcanic eruption to boost their lava, or a tornado/windstorm for their wind magic, a blizzard for ice. Lightning storms can make lightning magic tremendously powerful, at great risk for the wielder, for a wielder can intuitively tell when and where lightning will strike, and they can use their bodies as a lightning rod, and transfer the raw lightning through their bodies and manipulate it. But if anything goes wrong, the wielder will be reduced to ashes.
Elementalists need to be patient, wise, physically and mentally fit and well-balanced to succeed at their craft, though when they get older and more frail, if they've mastered their art well enough, they can do more with pure will alone than a beginner could do with all the acrobatic prowess in the world.
Next Monday I'll look at a second, more ancient mode of magic that has been long lost on Argul. Have a good night (or day)
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