Essentia Animus

64-Elementary Construct

With all the stress that had risen as a result of matters involving the flame, the three girls had found it very difficult to relax and collect their thoughts. With having a clear mind while augmented being challenging at the best of times, Riyxia believed that this opportunity was vital for attaining any further success.

Riyxia picked up a rock and tossed it skipping across the river. At the bottom of the river valley, seated beside the river itself.. this was actually a place she had never bothered visiting before. Technically, getting down here was exceptionally dangerous, as it was almost impossible to climb out and there was always a risk of beasts around here. Her own augmentation made neither of those problems mean anything at all. Even so, there wasn't anywhere she had felt weaker, and that was exactly why she had come here. She might have felt this same way while wading through the ocean towards the fire mountain, but her flame was already weak at that time, so she hadn't noticed. Their coastal camp was the closest comparison.. no, even there, the fire mountain itself radiated enough through the sand that it was too difficult to notice without actually getting into the water. She remembered her early augmentations, fighting underwater beasts in the cold, and the feelings that had left behind. It was when she was still new to the whole ordeal, so she hadn't understood anything at all.

Sure, a little water actually didn't do anything to her at all, that's why it was difficult to figure out. She even drank water frequently, just like any other person, there was always water in her system. However, her body contained that water, keeping it where it was needed. Her body kept her safe from the water, but it knew the water was a threat. None of this water was an actual danger, she could even dive right into the river and her flame would be no worse. However, that was only because her body shielded her from the river. Walking the side of the river as a spectre, the feeling was still similar. She couldn't even get wet, though it seemed her spectre had a tendency of not wanting to sink in the water.. possibly due to water being thicker than air. Dipping a spectral foot into the water was somehow very uncomfortable, even though the water did absolutely nothing to her.

Watching Sryine come to terms with the greatest of her fears.. this made sense. They were of the flame, it was a part of them, that was what they had been forced to realize, but being of the flame they also had to understand.. the flame feared Celesi waters. The natural order of things in Celese was that elements of the world stood in an order among each other. It was even in the book Riyxia herself had carefully picked out for Sryine, for her birthday.. to help with adjusting to Sryine's newly awakened gift. Light and Dark, Sky and Stone, Fire and Ice, Water and Wood. According to said book, putting all the elements in harmony was said to generate life, but most of them outright hated another, and some consumed the others, such was why life was such a fragile thing. This was itself the part that had stood out the most to her in deciding to pick this book for Sryine, but also why she simply couldn't forget such lessons for herself right now either.

People, being of life, had a delicate balance of all of the elements, which automatically raised a concern in how being of the flame sustained that balance. However, she was not a creature made from fire, she simply contained it within her. Her body meanwhile had adjusted to such a flame, resisting it to keep it in a state of balance. This made sense, people classically demand more elemental water over any other element, but it's not like they are a creature of pure water, they can still even drown. Earlier that day, she had even learned that she isn't quite as impervious to fire as expected, regular fire actually still burned her. Using a regular plain fire to produce a simple breakfast while in a sleepy state and feeling rushed in hunger.. it really wasn't a memory she wanted to look back upon. Anyway.. the only flame she was actually adjusted to was herself, her fire, or mostly the astral flame. It was only a different sort of fire, but it was still a fire, just as there were many kinds of liquids, trees, stones... She had come here prepared, carrying a tiny vial of her own blood, along with an offered sample of blood from Ayzherie in another vial. She set a drop of the second into the river, which quickly spread into the water and disappeared. Then she took a drop from the first vial and did the same. A small burst erupted, followed by a series of smoke, a very obvious different reaction. It was exactly as she had predicted, water and fire did not get along. Research had always believed that blood was a construct of the body that was mostly water elemental, that the body had a strong water affinity as a result.. even if it sustained a balance. That's how her body was now of affinity fire, her blood may still flow like a liquid, but it wasn't water anymore. It's form matched only to sustain its balance, but the affinity had changed. Astral fire was still fire, it still struggled with water. Celese also had the same balance required to sustain life, its flame was rivaled by its waters. Without a flame that could rival the flame of Celese, its waters held an advantage. Technically, that implied that even a Celesi flame could not compete with Celesi water. Liyuzhe had tapped into the Celesi flame, it was the most she could do. It was a frightening concept, but if they fought with Celesi water, they would have a strong advantage.