#Lore24 – Entry #224 – Helica Month #12 – To Become a Tamer
Excerpt from the Journals of Azita Gaji, Explorer of Helica, Seeker of Knowledge, Blessed of Saghirah
The rest of the days we spent upon Ukejama were mostly uneventful, thankfully, though the seas about the island remained more dangerous than a handful of weeks ago thanks to the influence of the Transgressor. There was not a fishing boat that went out alone and without armaments.
As we awaited our summoner’s chance to prove himself, I formally took Zubayr’s collar and became an apprentice Tamer and began learning the art of bending the elements to my will. There was no particular ceremony involved, as he simply placed the enchanted leather about my neck, and began my training with the fine art of sensing the raw magical power that I would learn to wield. This started by depriving me of my sight and other senses as he manipulated those elements around me. As I was no stranger to long hours of intense focus, I developed this skill within a day.
Each element has a particular feel to it, as one would expect. I suppose I would describe them thusly, though the full description would take much longer to describe: Fire is chaotic and discernably hot, air ephemeral and with a kind of rushing sensation, earth is weighty and course and unyielding, and water is cool with an underlying weightiness that gives you a sensation of being swept away.
If I struggled at all with this exercise, it was in sensing the fifth element, which I had not previously experienced. Zubayr told me he was using it, and had me probe with my awakening sixth sense to see if I could sense it. At first I did not, but then I became aware of the curious presence of this element, this Void that underlay all other elements. It is a sensation of negativity, I suppose would be one way to describe it, of darkness and nothingness. This is the most difficult of the elements to master, as it can be used to debilitate enemies, draining their very essence to sap their strength, drain their mana reserves, or to physically crush with the great power of the forces beyond. Though I could sense this element’s presence, it would yet be some time before he would teach me of it further; for now, being able to realize it was there would be enough. Once I had learned enough, I would need to claim a stave of my own to help focus my spells, or, preferably, a runic blade as would better augment my existing martial training, combining sword and sorcery.
By the time we would leave Ukejama, I would be able to rapidly sense the invoking of the elements, had begun manipulating them myself with beginner exercises, and Esekia had tamed the Amaranth Makani without incident. I could only wonder if Makani grew tired of so much sudden attention. We would depart upon the next stage of the Crusade aboard a vessel filled with other summoners who had passed their first trials, bound for the volcanic island of Vallalava, home of the Amaranth Cinza, though our voyage would not be without its dangers, for the world of Helica possesses dangers other than that of the Transgressor, and for all of our will to work together to stop the Wicked One, the conflicts of personality and ego inherent in the souls of mortals would prove quite troublesome upon this journey.