Originally elementals were known to crop up spontaneously in dangerous regions. However, Grandmaster Eberon organized a grand event among the earthkin people. He assembled a vast majority of the earthkin for an experiment. The purpose was to escape mortality. Elementals are often considered a natural phenomenon instead of living beings. His plan was to contain an elemental and forcefully transfer his soul inside to possess it.
Many would caution against such plans, but the grandmaster was reaching the end of his life. It’s a tradition for earthkin who are near their natural end to give their lives in risky experiments; Eberon was no different. Preparations to record every moment of his grand experiment were set up. Runes to vocalize his soul’s thoughts, scribes to record the shape and reaction of the elemental, and even an elemental matching Eberon’s affinity.
The massive gathering of earthkin served as an enormous battery with which to power the ritual. The other grandmasters watched in attendance, ready to make emergency alterations. At first it was quiet, but then the screams began, an unearthly screech that made the ears of all who beheld it bleed. The scribes recorded every word spoken. Initially Eberon’s screams included details of his change. When his body died, he announced the removal of his physical stats and racial traits. Then he announced his affinity becoming greater, but his screams started becoming incoherent. Losing his original voice, but his last announcement was that it broke.
It’s unknown what ‘it’ references, but it wasn’t much later when the runes stopped hearing him. In his place a new elemental emerged from his body, blooming outward like some kind of monster escaping his chest. It was easily three times the size of the elemental they had captured. The containment field was shattered by the new elemental, and the crowd was assaulted by a rain of stone. Countless dead and the greatest earthkin city abandoned. The event was henceforth known as Eberon’s folly, and one of the few restrictions on Grandmaster experiments was written into law. Henceforth no trial will involve the entirety of the earthkin.
Below Eberon’s folly, another story was listed. Master Golworth, reviewing the story of Eberon, wanted to investigate the meaning of a greater affinity. The plan was to use runes to forcibly alter his affinity. Without the mana of countless supporters, Golworth spent 3 decades trying different methods to alter his affinity. His original support had dwindled to a small number of apprentices, but he had succeeded. His trait Mana Affinity (copper) had evolved into Greater Mana Affinity (copper). The runic matrix was shared, and he was eventually elevated to Grandmaster.
However, while working on a project with another grandmaster, Golworth expended all his mana. His body began slowly turning into copper. Over the course of three months, Golworth and the council came to the conclusion that weakening the spiritual barrier had made accessing his affinity much easier, but without mana to impose restraint, the affinity energy would leak into his body. It was deemed terminal, but what the grandmasters hadn’t anticipated was the conversion from person into elemental.
The elemental Golworth rampaged, causing extensive damage and the loss of many lives, but eventually he was slain by the unified efforts of the council. The damage was more manageable; however, it still took nearly a century to recover. In response to this damage, the knowledge of making greater affinities was sealed for those acknowledged as masters. All entry for people with greater affinities was banned from major clans and earthkin cities. The many masters who had used Golworth’s runes to acquire greater affinity were sent to remote regions where a sudden transformation wouldn’t risk their communities.
Since then, multiple accounts of known greater affinity masters losing control and spontaneously evolving into an elemental have been recorded. The size and power of each elemental is known to correlate to the level attained before collapse. Since then the origin of elemental formation has been attributed to the overexertion of monsters that have powerful natural affinities.
In some earthkin communities the greater affinity rune is used to acquire rare materials. They would send teams in search of useful affinities and would capture monsters, criminals, and, for particularly valuable materials, civilians. The subject would be guided to raise levels to a certain standard and then forced to transform. The council has called against the indiscriminate use of civilians for this purpose as a wasteful use of valuable affinities, but no action or law has been decreed against it.
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I set down the book. I found my answer, but it certainly wasn’t great news. Using my affinity will be much easier going forward, but I need to be sure to never overdo any project again. Hitting zero mana wouldn’t just be a spontaneous nap going forward. Though I can’t help but wonder what a void elemental would be like. Most of the more common affinities already provided a diverse set of abilities and natures. For instance, light elementals tend to float at high altitudes, following the sun moving from east to west and occasionally disintegrating people who get too close. Then there was the mind affinity that infects the minds of communities, turning them into puppets that act like people but aren’t.
Whatever a void elemental is, I’ve already resolved to never let that happen. I thank Master Yoren for his help as I work my way home. The rain doesn’t touch me as I let my Void Projection keep the rain off. Using my affinity is still safe and so easy now it’s more of a subconscious thought instead of intentional action.
My best idea for now to stop elementalization is some kind of deadman's switch but for mana. If I run out of mana, I have a runic device to move my body into the void. I’ve never fully moved my whole body into the void, only my mind, but if my body isn’t in the material world, then there should be no anchor for the void elemental to manifest in the real world from. Then again, I’m not sure what the limitations of a void elemental are. Either way, it might be best to never find out.
I fell into my void space and shaped all the rainwater I’ve collected into a giant middle finger. Just to let the EYE know how I feel about it when it visits me next. Opening the door into the house, I see the whole family gathered around a set of big Jenga blocks. Reesia’s got total focus as she tries to shimmy a block free from the tower. Nixie and Callia are off to the side, but Nixie has the kind of smile that suggests she’s up to something. Mom is sitting on the nearby couch with Rylin playing with toys on her lap.
The others wave, welcoming me in, but I finally catch on to Nixie’s plan. She has a thread running through the structure, secretly shifting a block just above Reesia’s target. I rush up, grabbing the string to stop Nixie’s manipulation, and Reesia finally notices. Nixie lets go of the string and awkwardly laughs.
“Eheheh, um, how about we just keep going and forget this?” However, judgment has already been passed as Mom throws the child discipline stick like a football into Nixie without disturbing Rylin. The satisfying thunk seems to quell Reesia’s anger, and she moves back to removing her block. I sit down to watch the game unfold with Callia.
Lexia’s hunt
Lexia was in a great mood. She had finally met someone interesting. The twins were both promising, but nobody had mentioned the other girls who had been with her. She could tell both had also unlocked their systems early. If her father knew about so many champion children in a small town like this, he would likely be very pleased. Even more so if she could pull them as her subordinates.
With that in mind, she needed a new plan. She had been too eager to test the boy and now was left with a bad impression. Still, a show of force would also set the tone for her position as the boss of their relations in the future. The old man would share the story of just how reasonable and helpful she was later anyway. Now on to being helpful: Lexia arrived at the bandit camp and watched as they huddled in fear at the entrance while waiting for a boss who would never return.
When the lot of them saw her walking up, their first instinct was fear. They quickly recovered, but Lexia already had a guess at the reaction. The female twin had likely let loose among them. In the dark they thought it was her return, but now that they saw clearly, the boldness that defined bandits was surging back. Already the men were beginning to circle her, promising a ‘good time.’
When they made a move, Lexia decided they didn’t have enough sense to live. She tore them limb from limb with ease. Their weapons were cleaved in two, and their armor was as useful as being naked. With the decision to kill, she barely had any difficulty cleaning out the survivors scattered through the cave. However, as she left, her keen nose noticed the scent of piss trailing over a wall and into the forest. It was older than her arrival, but it seems one of them was left.
She tracked them through the forest, arriving at the road just behind them. She circled towards the direction he would most likely take. The road back to the city. Right as she braced to leap out and rip his skull off, the man turned and ran. Was she starting to get sloppy? This is the second time tonight someone saw through her! The man ran all the way to a fort and barricaded himself in a tower.
Impatient but also invested to see what he would do, she waited. She generously gave him several hours, but he just trembled like death was at his door. When the old man showed up escorting the civilians from the camp, she moved to a vantage to watch how they would react to the last bandit. She watched and waited, but at some point she fell asleep from the boredom. Waking up, she found the bandit had run, and the scents of the civilians had mixed with him, hiding his escape! She immediately checked the path heading towards the city. If he wanted to escape her, he would have to go this way eventually!
