Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: [Mista][L] Eric: Fighting the Wind I
Message-ID: <92323.170804ASG102@psuvm.psu.edu>
From: The Dreamer <ASG102@psuvm.psu.edu>
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 17:08:04 EST


ADMIN: For the sake of easy reading, I will use "Fire, Earth, Air, and Water"
       to refer to the elementals and their lower case words to refer to the
       actual elements.

Chaos riegned outside the Dragons Inn...and everywhere else in Generica for
that matter.  For many people, this meant danger, fear, and confusion.  For
one man in a gray cloak, it meant power.

The inn was being attacked by a group of elementals.  Eric was here to help.
Eric appeared to be a fit, blonde human in his mid-twenties...far too young
to be a master at anything.  "Looks can be decieving" was the first lesson
of Shadow Magic, and for a good reason.

As the smaller Earths approached, a gray cloud of mist enveloped him.
When it disbursed, Eric was not to be seen.  The small Earths paused, then
continued toward the front of the inn.

Eric had shifted into the etherial plane and was invisible to most beings
in the area.  From there, he hoped to find a means to put an end to the
control of the Earth who seemed to be running the show.

The focus of Eric's attention was on the vortex of spinning air that was
rapidly approaching the front of the inn.  Air was Eric's specialty, so this
was his logical target.  With a minor twist of probability, Eric's gray cloak
began to move as the wind he had just summoned passed through it.  The sound
that it made was similar to the howling of wind through the branches of a
leafless tree in the midst of winter.  Still making this sound, Eric allowed
the Air to see and hear him.

To the Air elemental, the sound was a threat.  A strong enough threat to make
it pause in its path toward the inn.

A bright pulse of power travelled from the Earth to the Air, a reminder of
control and a reinforcement of will.  The Air resumed its approach, but
slower than before.  In its native tongue, it spoke back to Eric.  It sounded
calm and rational, a gentle but steady wind.

"Speaking language, Air.  Strange.  Not Air, speaking Air.  Question."

Eric was taken back a bit.  He had not expected a conversation, but he would
speak for now.  "Learned Air.  Studied Air.  Was Air.  Following Earth.
Strange. Question." Now the wind passing through his cloak held no threat.

"Comprehended.  Obeyed summons.  Disliked Earth.  Control stronger.  Take
here.  Command attack.  Obeyed."  A lonely breeze across an empty beach.

'Forced here and controlled by its opposing element.  Could I use this to
our advantage?' Eric thought to himself.  Defeating an enemy was one thing,
but turning it was quite another.  "Disliking Earth.  Freedom. Question."

"Hated Earth.  Motionless.  Slow.  Containment.  Trap in solid."
It answered.

Again it paused in its path toward the front of the inn.  It was only a few
yards from Eric now but air was his specialty and he knew elementals well,
having spent much time on their plane.  He was not afraid.  "Freedom.
Helped Air.  Helping Eric."

"Agreed.  Action.  Question."  Hope was clearly heard in the "vioce" of the
elemental.  It remained stationary despite the pulses of power eminating from
the Earth.

"Resisting Control.  Faught Earth.  Peacing all not Earth.  Fighting Earth."

"Compliance."  The constantly circling air that was the elemental increased
its speed with renewed energy.  It was able to resist the power of the Earth
enough to keep stationary.

Knowing that it would only be able to resist for a short period of time,
Eric set to work...

ADMIN: To be continued...

     Love and Peace and Continuation,
             -The Dreamer-