Tag: Order of the Tamers of the Five Elements

#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.   

#Lore24 – Entry #221 – Helica Month #9 – Taming the Five Elements

Excerpt from the Journals of Azita Gaji, Explorer of Helica, Seeker of Knowledge, Blessed of Saghirah

During the long days in which we traversed the sea from the mainland toward Ukejama, I would have several conversations with the Tamer known as Zubayr.  His kind are known as masters of black magic, the destructive and debilitating side of magic, opposing the restorative and enhancing side that is white magic.  I knew something of his order before, of course, the Order of the Tamers of the Five Elements, but now that we had joined together in a common goal, I was able to glean more information about them and magic in general, however difficult it was.  Zubayr isn’t especially talkative, preferring to remain in his cabin for the most part, pondering the mysteries of the cosmos as it were.

Though the common practice of using black magic involves the casting of “spells” that are well known amongst its practitioners, such as hurling balls of fire or creating fissures in the earth to crush enemies, the art is actually much more involved and considerably more difficult because of the mental focus.  They are called “Tamers” for a reason:  they are literally willing the raw magical essence and the very elemental makeup of the world to bend to their will, and it is the words of power that are spoken with these spells that help to maintain that focus.  It is conceivable that other “spells” could be performed, or certain effects combined, but this is exceedingly difficult for even masters of the order, and thus why the common spells have become thus. 

It is similar for those who practice white magic, in that intense focus is required and their focus involves “prayer” instead of the arcane spell words, though instead of taming elements, they are calling forth the power of the One True God.  Though I could not get him to tell me more, Zubayr hinted that there may be other sources for such powers.  I wonder if perhaps he means the Amaranths?  Were they not worshipped as divine beings in the times before the Transgressor and Phyresis? 

It is possible to use elemental magic to some extent without using power words, usually during the early training of a Tamer, when they are just learning to sense the elements and to manipulate them.  However, to be effective tools against the demons and the spawn of the Transgressor, the additional focus from using the words, and through channeling that power through a stave, turn these effects into truly devastating weapons. 

I would also learn from Zubayr that I possessed some potential for learning to tame the elements.  It was on the second leg of our journey, on the way to the volcanic island of Vallalava, after we had to assist in repelling some of the Transgressor’s spawn from the ship that he first sensed it within me.  It is barely enough to be classified as a potential student, he said, but it is there, and curiously, he didn’t recognize it when we first met.  He told me that it is not unheard of for such a thing to happen, either someone’s potential awakens later in life, or perhaps being around demons and the spawn of the Wicked One as much as I have, has changed me in some way. 

Or perhaps it is a side effect of the blessing bestowed upon me by Saghirah?  If it is true that the Amaranths can grant the same powers of white magic as that of the One True God, then perhaps she has awakened this growing potential within me?  I will have to ponder this more as we travel.  I feel that I must submit myself to Zubayr’s instruction and don his collar as his apprentice now that he has made the offer.  We will need all the help we can get on this crusade, and I can only imagine such knowledge will benefit me in the future.