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Full Name: Elan

Played by: Kuroki Mitsuko

Race: Lokoi

Appearance: Elan is the Incarnation of Spirit, but tends to take the form of a ferret, since it suits his quirky personality. He's very powerful, but extremely whimsical and can be very emotionally sensitive as well. As an Incarnation, he has the ability to shapeshift, and when he does take on another form, it's usually elven and somwhat mimics Kael's. He appears similar to Kael, with slightly longer white hair and bright blue eyes. Also, he spots a white lion's tail in that form, and white equine (horse) ears which perk up whenever he is happy.

Personality: Elan is very whimsical, as stated above, and loves to play. In some ways, at times, he seems to sport the personality of a child, and occassionally will talk about himself in the third person. He is always looking for attention, especially when he's in ferret form, and loves to cuddle. He bestows gifts on more or less everyone nice around him, just because, although when rejected he can become extremely sensitive, and tends to whimper and curl up fearfully and shaking in Kael's shirt.

History: Not much is known about Elan, other than this is the first time he has taken on physical form. Before this, he had resided in a pure-energy form.

Hand-written notes on the lecture given by Ahkra, the head-master of the school and Incarnation of Darkness, on the history of how the worlds came about, and the characteristics of magic. You read the following:

I, and all of the teachers here, are considered to be gods by most mortals. That's a bit of a misnomer. Gods, by definition are perfect, flawless beings with incomprehensible power. This being so, gods do not exist. However, there are the Incarnations, and bound to them, the Elements. Bound to them in turn are the Angels. You see, while we hold power that most cannot divine, we are neither perfect, nor flawless in any regard. And though we are immortal, we can be killed, although by means far exceeding what would be fatal to a mortal. For some of us, the conditions under which we can be destroyed are so severe that it may as well be considered impossibe.

To some, it's a frightening concept that we are not perfect. However, I think that the alternative is far more terrifying. If the forces that swayed the worlds lacked even a spark of emotion or compassion, the result would surely be a hell of ice. We have weaknesses, fears, dreams. We each have the potential to be good, or evil, although some have tendencies. Some of us are neither, like myself, although in habit I am virtuous.

I suppose I should back track a bit, though. In the beginning, there was the Lokoi. This was before Time began, before any world was born, or anyone. There was nothing. Neither order nor chaos, neither time nor space. No energy. There was only the Lokoi. The Lokoi was and is everything, and it is what everything is born from. It's sentient on a higher level than any of us can comprehend, and contained the raw ethers from which everything came, so pure that the ethers, that pure power, had no association whatsoever. It was neither dark nor light, neither good nor evil. It was still for a very long time, and nothing changed, but something happened to disturb it. When it was disturbed, it started to move, react - violently. Small pieces broke off, tiny fragments. In comparison, they were hundreds of times smaller, relatively, than a grain of salt would be compared to a sun. However, that size of a fragment holds power than few can even comprehend. Those fragments, like the Lokoi, were sentient, powerful. Neither good, nor evil, but something else entirely. Although it's hardly a perfect description, they are called Gray. The Children of the Lokoi. Neutral, some people call them, although they aren't quite that, either.

From one of them came the multiverse, from which an infinite number of worlds were born. From another, came Time. One of the fragments, slightly larger than the others, broke into three, and became three siblings.

I was one of them. The other two are my siblings, Omin, and Zylphia. On the outside, I look like just another immortal. Able to shift shape, physical in nature, flawed and emotional. But I created this body for myself. My true form is that of pure, intelligent energy. There is so much of it that I cannot, no matter how hard I try, stuff it into my body. Rather, the intelligent center is what's housed in this body. The soul which controls the rest of that energy, which is so vast that it is scattered throughout all the worlds. Darkness. I am every shadow, every darkened night, dream, and wanton thought.

Despite being Gray, and generally doing what I please, I am virtuous, though, by choice, if not by nature. However, my twin, Omin, is the exact opposite, and delights in torture, killing, and destruction. He has killed nearly all of my children. Some of them several times. They're all around now, but most of them have had to be reborn several times.

Time is also akin to me, in that she takes a physical form, but is much more than that. Her name is Lea. Despite being Children of the Lokoi, though, we are also what we call Incarnations. We are a force in nature, partially coalesced into a physical form. There are others, though, for the multiverse, which was also a fragment, continued to break down into smaller fragments. Some of the people born into the worlds were a fragment unto themselves, and of the same nature as us, if not quite as powerful. There are many incarnations. Time, Darkness, Corruption, Light, Fire, Water, Spirit, Air, Luck, etc. They are exactly the force in nature that their name implies. It's not that they are gods that control it, they actually are that power, in its entirety.

Apart from the Incarnations, though, there are also the Elements. The Elements assist Incarnations. They protect them, guide them, stay by their side. An Element is bound, by soul, to an Incarnation. An Element is the person, out of all the multiverse, who is most compatible with the power which is the Incarnation. For instance, my Element is Arc, the most Dark-compatible person in existence, if you will, the most powerful Dark mage. More than that, because of an Element's compatibility, he or she can actually house his respective Incarnation if they shift to energy form. Kael was actually born with Elan inside of him, all along channeling Elan's power as if it were his own, their souls bound together. It can be that way for any of us. There is more than that, too. There are those that help Elements, as well, and are also granted immortality. They're called Angels, commonly. As many types as there are Incarnations and Elements. Grim Angels, which are mine, Fire Angels, Water Angels, Spirit Angels, and on and on.

I, and any of the Incarnations, can take any form. Literally. I could be a chair if I wanted to, although I don't see why I would. Elan prefers the form of a ferret, Luce a cat, and I... prefer the form of an incubus. However, we are not limited to those forms in any way. If you incinerated me, pulled every single atom apart in my body, degraded the very essence and components that build his body into nothing, I would not die. This body is a shell to me. One which I cares for quite a bit, but which if needed, can be replaced. If you destroyed this body, it is relatively easy for me to almost instantaneously rebuild a new one for myself.

Now then, just as there are the Elements, my brother, Omin, has formed a mirror group, named the Lamente, who are nearly as powerful, if not as powerful, as the Virtuous Elements gathered here. They are a force to be feared, although also, in my opinion, a force to be pitied. For no matter how obediently they serve him, he tortures them in ways I dare not fathom or recall, daily, in order to 'ensure their loyalty'. Far from it, if they ever get the chance, most flee from him. There are three ex-members of that group residing in this keep now, even. Chloe, Ephaelia, and Erebos, each of them Gray. They are generally good people, however as with any Gray person, you still have to be careful.

You have all come here to study magic, the science and manipulation of matter and energy, to be precise. Energy takes may forms, has it's own tendencies and alignments, and magic can only be worked well if you work with these in mind. Within each of you, and within every person is a vast sea of energy. Your soul, as plentiful and energetic as a radiant star. Your energy, which resides in you and allows you to think and live, has certain properties, due to the continual fragmentation and inheritance of Lokoi shards. Many of these properties parallel to a force in nature. Fire, water, darkness, light, air or weather, luck, earth, chaos, spirit, and so many, many more, although those are the main categories. Some people have more than one alignment, such as darkness and fire, light and luck, chaos and weather, although the possibilities are endless. If you wish to at all competent in wielding magic, you must work with your natural alignment, not against it, or you will pay with your very health.

Many people know about magic, but not about exactly how it works. There are three ways to work magic: directly, sympathetically, or a combination of these two. Also, most people don't stick to just one method, but switch between them. If you are naturally inclined, you may use magic directly from the energy already residing within you, using your very soul. This isn't nearly as detrimental as you would think. Your soul produces its own energy, and you would have to preform powerful magic to overcome that balance and seriously injure yourself. You must take caution, but most magic will not endanger you in that regard. If you must use an extreme amount of power, you will probably use sympathetic magic. Using the magic already residing in you, the natural alignment of your soul and it's radiant glow, sometimes called an aura, you can align it to energies surrounding you, and use those. There is energy everywhere. In every stone, every blade of grass, every breath of air, flash of light, drop of water. Everywhere. Sympathetic magic is the manipulation of energy around you using a resonance between your natural energy and the surrounding energy.

Obviously this is a very popular approach, and although most people use a combination of direct and sympathetic magic, sympathetic magic seems to predominate. However, there is one thing you must keep in mind. Given that you already have a natural alignment, and that it is to important, conflicts with it can be harmful. You see, when I say that energy resides in every stone, the type varies. If you are a Light mage, and you pick up a nice chunk of hematite, a darkstone, not only will you be virtually unable to preform even the simplest magic, but you will feel terrible, and prolonged exposure will make you severely ill. However, if you were to pick up a sunstone, your magic would be greatly amplified, and you would feel terrific. That applies even to us. I avoid yellow gold, white opals, and sunstones, some of the most powerful ores for light energy. Some stones are neutral, some are mutually beneficial for the most part, such as silver, or white gold.

Darkness: Black Opal, Hematite, Amethyst, Moonstone, Sapphire, Onyx, Obsidian

Light: White Opal, Yellow Gold, Citrine, White Diamond, Sunstone

Fire: Amber, Ruby, Fire Opal, Yellow Gold, Rose Gold, Red Jasper

Spirit: Kyanite, Paladium, Platinum

Earth: Jade, Emerald, Iron

Air/Weather: Smoky Quartz, Phantom Quartz

Water: Pearl, Abalone, Water Opal, Blue Topaz, Aquamarine, Lapis Lazuli

Chaos: Pietersite, Picture Jasper

Space/Time: Sodalite

Rune: Runic Basalt

Luck: Clear Quartz with Wood Sorrel Inclusion, Any Naturally Holed Stone

Virtue: Flourite, Jet

Corruption: Corrupted Magnetite (Iron)