THE ELEMENTAL COURTS
You cannot rely on the Elemental Courts, it is said. They are uncertain, unreliable, hard to predict. Even Earth keeps too much hidden, and the others? Who can ever say where Water will run, Fire will burn or Wind will blow? Humankind itself has never known how to deal with the elements. You cannot trade or bargain with them, for they are beyond that. They gift where they will and take as they please and none can so much as guess when the next turn may come. No, you cannot rely on the Elemental Courts, yet you cannot ignore them either for their influence is way too great. So instead, we all just hope that they feel kindly today.
EARTH
Pact: Crafted treasures
Geas: Sleep in your home grounds
Colour: Warm brown, jewel-toned accents on an earthy backdrop. Well-woven cloth, clothing closely draped and well cut.Â
Emblem: Gold nugget
The Court of Earth are crafters and shapers. It would not do to describe them with fancy words, for they do not appreciate that kind of nonsense frippery. No, say what they are clear and true. They are the makers of all things that last, keepers of precious of things, and shapers of hearth and home. But don’t think them plain either. Is the bright gold of a ring on a finger plain? Or the warp and weft of cloth fine spun? The Court of Earth are anything but plain. Look closer and you’ll see the wealth that lies within.
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WIND
Pact: Travel
Geas: Rootlessness
Colour: Pale blues and greys, swirling face paint, draping fabric, metallic accents.
Emblem: Whirlwind
The Court of Wind fly free. Don’t try and pin one down, because there is another horizon they have not crossed. Oh, they are fine fun on a windy day when they offer to show you the world, but after they’ve blown around the houses and pulled off the chimney top to see what is inside, and maybe taken the bird’s nest they found while they were down there, then they will be off again.
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WATER
Pact: Shapeshifting
Geas: You can't cross the same river twice
Colour: All shades of blue, flowing, rippling cloth. Velvets, satin, silk.Â
Emblem: River
The Court of Water change as often as the tides. Oh lord, they are beautiful (and they know it) but they change their minds and change their hearts and change their faces and forms to something new. They seduce, and they charm, but then the river turns and the Court of Water move on again. Never cross the same river twice, they say, and never hold on to anything for too long. Oh, they’ll take what is offered, and love it for the moment, dragging it deep down into their hearts for a single exhilarating moment. But the currents twist and turn and it’ll end up cast back on the shore.
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FIRE
Pact: Fire
Geas: Keep the fires lit
Colour: Flame-yellow, warm orange, flashes of sulphur green. Avoid dark colors. Rippling silhouette.Â
Emblem: Flame
The Court of Fire burn. They burn with rage, with love, with joy, with creativity, with hate, and with hope. Do not expect them to calm down; to let a fire smoulder is to die. No, they will burn. Some burn quiet but constant - the lover who never leaves, the fighter who never gives up, the crafter with a masterwork that takes a life time – and some move like wildfire, burning off old passions as they devour the new. Gods, but they are bright and beautiful to be near in their incandescent passion. It’s almost worth it to touch that flame, even if it leaves a scar.
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