THE CHOICE
Your entire life you have wanted to avoid this day but then, on your
16th birthday, you find it thrust upon you! It is the day of your choosing! The
day you must make a choice which will define the rest of your life. You look at
the other Wizard initiates around you and you wonder what they will choose. You
wonder which amongst them will be your life-long friends and which will be sworn
enemies.
The door to the Wizard's Council opens and several men and women file
into the initiates room. Being Wizards, their ages are indeterminate! In a
single glance, they can look old and young at the same time! For the first time
in your life you feel afraid! What if you make the wrong choice? The wrong
choice can doom an initiate to a life of frustration and inability to master his
or her chosen art. A wrong choice could lead to an early death!
The Council seated themselves along the dais. For several moments no one
spoke. The Wizards sat studying the initiates for any hint of genius or any
trace of failure. The initiates themselves were too afraid to move and in some
cases breathe! Then, the head of the council folded his hands in front of him
and broke the silence.
"Initiates," he said softly but each one of you heard him as
if he were standing right beside you. "Today is the day you choose your
magical element and you have been brought here to the Wizard’s Tower to make
that choice.” There was a stir among the initiates as they realized the choice
was upon them. They could no longer put it off.
The head of the Wizard’s council waved his hands and four glowing symbols magically appeared hovering over the dais.
The wizard indicated the first symbol, four brown parallel lines.
It was the symbol for the element of Earth.
“Earth,” the wizard continued, “is
the great nurturer. She is the
basis of natural cycles, and thus has power over all of nature - animals,
plants, insects, even the land itself. It is a tough and steadfast Element,
offering protection from physical threat to those in its embrace. The power of
Earth is as vast as mountains, and a mage must be hardy and tough to channel
such power without permanent harm. The symbol is the furrowed Earth and its
color is brown.” Several initiates whispered amongst themselves and the
wizards on the dais, who wore brown, smiled.
The wizard touched the next floating symbol. “Water,” he said,
“reflects the nature of reality in its shining surface, offering a unique
perspective to those who gaze upon it, revealing things that may not be apparent
to one's own limited perspective. Peering deeper, however, one discovers a
second aspect of Water: that of change. Water is a great agent of change,
transforming all things that feel its fluid touch. Water is a subtle Element,
full of uncharted currents and mysterious eddies; only those with steadfast
purpose and acuity of perception can peer into its depths. The symbol is a
simple wave and its color is green.”
“The next element is Air and it’s color is
blue. Air is a wild and
mercurial element, flowing like quicksilver in a dance that many perceive, but
few understand. The power of Air is that of motion, from the tiniest
manipulation to the greatest translocation. Air embodies all manner of weather,
from the gentle breeze to the raging storm. In addition, Air
is the medium of
voice and speech, and the wind may carry a mage's words far from his lips to
where they are most needed. Air is lively and unpredictable, as quick to change
as the weather.” The head of the Wizard’s Council smiled and many initiates
noted that he wore the blue of an Air Mage.
Then with a glance at his fellow wizards, he continued. “Lastly, there
is Fire and herein, more so than with the other elements, lies the paradox.
Fire
can be a sustainer of life but Fire can be the great destroyer. It can bring
ruin and cataclysm with it wherever it goes, and comes the closest out of any
natural element to being a power of Death. It is the gleam on the edge of a
blade, the rage that propels the berserker's limbs, the inferno that reduces a
mighty fortress to ashes and rubble. Yet for all this, Fire is not an
intrinsically evil Element, for what it leaves in its wake is purified, made
stronger for that which could not consume it. Fire
is like an unruly beast, a
beast that will respect and obey only those mightier than itself and there are
few that can master this element without sacrifice!” The head of the council
looked at the lone figure on the dais wearing the red of a Fire mage. In
contrast to her red robe, the sorceress had hair as black as the night and a
face so fair that many initiates thought to choose Fire just to become her
apprentice.
The head of the Wizard’s Council looked out at the initiates and
smiled. “You have come to this choice after a short life of reflection and
each of you needs but to look into your heart to make the correct choice. You
will know if the steadiness of the Earth resides there. You should know, in your heart, if there
is the change of Water, the motion of Air
or whether the heat of the Fire burns within you. But remember, this
choice will have ramifications that
will stay with you throughout your life.”
He motioned to the four symbols glowing brightly in front of him.
“These are but the mundane manifestations of the four elements which dominate
the composition of our realm. They are elements, which can be arranged in three
patterns of two pairs: in harmony, in opposition, and neutral. Harmonious
elements complement each other. Elemental Water and elemental
Earth are in
harmony, as we see all around us Water resting upon the
Earth. Elemental Air and
elemental Fire are also in harmony, Air
feeding the
Fire which requires it for
existence.
“Opposite elements tend to cancel. Elemental Water
extinguishes
elemental Fire, elemental Air
dilutes elemental
Earth. The other two pairs of
elements are neutral, neither fully canceling nor complementing each other.”
The head of the Wizard’s Council stood and the rest of the wizards followed suit. “I will ask you now to come forward and touch the symbol of your choice. That will bind you to that element. Then, using that element, your first task is to create an object and post it here. The members of the Council will retire now and await your choice!”
| Earth Druid…….. The strength of the Earth is yours to wield Walls and Metals, Soil, Stones and Rocks, To no one does the Earth Druid yield, Through vast Mountains the wizard walks…… |
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| Bob | Carol |
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Dana |
Sarah |
Initiate! You have chosen WATER! Now that the choice has been made, there is no turning back! Your object has been posted and found to be superb! You are awarded the “Elemental Magic” award. It is on the original post!
| Water Wizard…… Your soul and spirit transforms like the fog, Completing the auras of change through time and motion, The currents will flow and unbind the bog To complete your tasks will require devotion. |
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Stepping up to the row of elements, the child of the moon firmly places her left hand against the shimmering orb showing elemental Water. She makes a conjuring motion with her other hand and slowly a shape starts to emerge just beyond her fingertips. It grows in size and edges start to become visible. Quickly she reaches out and catches the conjuration before it fully forms and falls to the floor. Opening her fingers, she turns and displays the denizen of the watery world to the Council, a tiny emerald tinted crab.... |
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| Moonshaye |
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Kelley |
Marion |
Storm |
Initiate! You have chosen AIR! Now that the
choice has been made, there is no turning back! Your object has been posted and
found to be superb! You are awarded the “Elemental Magic” award. It is on
the original post!
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Air
Mage…… To
be blown apart and scattered by the Wind, To
be full of Motion, flowing wild and free, To
glide and fly where no one else has been, But
remaining centered in yourself is the key……. |
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| Birgit |
Candace |
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| Jeri | Mary Lou |
Initiate! You have chosen FIRE! Now that
the choice has been made, there is no turning back! Your object has been posted
and found to be superb! You are awarded the “Elemental Magic” award. It is
on the original post!
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Fire
Mage…… The
magic of Flames is the strength of Fire, Changing
Cold to Heat and Darkness to Light, Cast
from deep emotion, the inferno reaches higher, Bringing the paradox to defend or to fight………. |
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Boop |
