In Everway, characters are described in terms of the four hermetic elements: Fire, Air, Earth, and Water. Different scores in these areas represent different abilities. However, these elements have different meanings and associations from the traditional Gloranthan/God Learner ones. In addition, the Praxians don't have the same God Learner influenced heritage of the Orlanthi, so there is no reason for the Praxians to pay any real attention to the "standard" Gloranthan five elements.
Instead, I decided to start from the basics of their world view and asked what the Praxians thought important. These things are represented by their gods. This gave the following basic descriptions:
God Element General Meaning - --- ------- --------------- Waha Authority Authority, Intellect, Coldness Eiritha Beast Resilience, Nurturing, Stubborness Storm Bull Storm Activity, Energy, UncontrollabilityDaka Fal Spirit Magic, Intuition, Whimsicality
The elements are normally portrayed in a circle (representing the cycle of Rebirth and Death), divided into four parts:
Authority
Spirit Storm
Beast
Beast is at the bottom, as all things rest on the herds. Spirit is on the left, betraying a draconic influence from the EWF. Storm is on the right, as it is the right hand that performs actions. Authority is on top, as a man rides atop a beast.
Each of these elements governs a particular type of ability and is associated with a particular personality type:
Element Actions Personality
- ------- ------- -----------
Authority Perception, Deduction, Analytical, Calm, Taciturn,
Willpower, Martial Arts Intellectual, Distant,
Perceptive, Dispassionate
Beast Resistance, Endurance, Honest, Dependable, Trustworthy,
Physical robustness Stubborn, Frank, Reliable,
Comforting, Tough
Storm Physical activity, Active, Violent, Energetic,
Gumption, Passions Impatient, Erratic, Impetuous,
(Over-)confident
Spirit Intuition, Magical Sensitive, Intuitive, Emotional,
perception, Empathy Diplomatic, Whimsical,
Sentimental, Maudlin, Idealistic
While these qualities for the elements are close to the standard Everway hermetic version, there are a couple of things to note.
The first of these is to do with combat, which betrays a Kralori influence on the Praxian mindset. Waha imposes his will, his intellect, on the world. Killing, whether of beasts or men, should be an unemotional activity, merely part of the cycle of Life and Rebirth. Mental discipline is required to demonstrate the skills of the butcher. This attitude has lead to the development of formalised weapon techniques, almost becoming martial arts. This is most obviously recognised in the Morokanth, who have greatly developed their unarmed combat techniques in this way. This also acts as another reason why Storm Bullies are despied: they give in to their passions during combat, and cannot achieve the inner calm that is required by the Wahahim.
Charisma, communication, and diplomacy rely on the Spirit. High Authority makes Khans capable but taciturn leaders. Khans would make good generals if they organised themselves in anything bigger than a clan.
Combinations of the elements also have meanings for a character, showing how different parts of the psyche act together.
The association of elements can also be taken further, and each of the Great Tribes can be associated with an element:
Element Tribe - ------- ----- Authority High Llama Beast Bison Storm Impala Spirit Morokanth
The tribe associated with each element emphasises that element more than the others. For instance, the Impala tribe (particularly the bachelors) embody the Storm qualities of violent, uncontrolled activity. The Sable tribe does not emphasise an element, as clans try to maintain a balance between each of the elements.
This has some implications as to how the differences between the tribes come about.
Morokanth are labelled by the God Learners as darkness related, as they focus on the spiritual aspects of the world. Through this, they fell foul of the God Learners' equivalence between spirits and darkness. However, they are astute enough to exploit this supposed correspondence, and tend to have an increased facility with Darkness spirits and magic in God Learner influenced areas.
The High Llamas take pride in their intellect and perceptivness, which is why they are also haughty. In combat, they rely on superior tactics to make up for their lack on numbers.
The Bison tribe, not Sable, is matriarchal. Sables rule with committee, with Eiritha queens generally dominating the discussions, as herd welfare is normally paramount. It also explains why Bison riders are so tenacious in combat.
The Impala tribe will have a greater proportion of Storm Bullies than listed, particularly among the bachelor males.
The Sable tribe emphasises balance and harmony between elements, and hence were more susceptible to Lunar advances than other Praxians (of course, the chance of being on the winning side at Moonbroth also helped).
The correspondence can also be extended to the Three Feathered Rivals (though less convincingly):
Sun Hawk Authority
Thunderbird Storm
Raven Spirit
Condor Beast (though not so much since Eiritha was buried:
being buried makes life difficult for a bird).
and perhaps also parts of the body:
Authority Head, eyes
Spirit Left arm (side)
Storm Right arm (side)
Beast Body (liver?), genitals
So, what do people think?
Neil.
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr Neil Smith email: neil.smith_at_rmcs.cranfield.ac.uk CISMG, Cranfield University, phone: +44 1793 785900 RMCS, Shrivenham, Swindon, SN6 8LA, UK fax: +44 1793 782753 ------------------------------
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