Elemental affinity, Alkeis

Photo by form PxHere

There is no glory without honour, no honour without responsibility, no responsibility without commitment, no commitment if you are not clear about who or why you are fighting. Your sword is more than an extension of your arm, it is an extension of your code of conduct, of what defines you and therefore of who you are. Your code is that which will give you the strength to go on when you feel you must give up, it is that which will lift you up when your legs can no longer do it, it is that which will tell you that victory was deserved because everything you believed in was right. This is why creating and following the code of honour is so important and sacred to some of us.

-Inger Detan, Ekki warrior

Perhaps one of the rarest of the first six races are the children of the goddess Lamakrista who is said to have impregnated Luonto, who is a planet taht could be found in the Temper universe. These magical beings are elemental creatures which are divided into four primary elements, the Ekki who are Alkeis of fire, the Mer whose element is water, the Mysky who belong to the air element and finally the Kiv who are earth elementals. The type of element that prevails in a city dictates the influence that the hatching crystals from which they are born will have, but after the abolition of the monarchical system and the kingdoms became mixed communities, the influence of this new social order began to influence the hatching zones in the same way, so that hybrid elementals began to be born, such as mud (water and earth), sand (earth and air), snow (water and wind) or crystal (earth and fire).

The personality of an Alkei is determined by the element that governs them, although in the case of hybrids one of these personalities will be preponderant over the other. Ekki are temperamental but fair. They abide by a strict code of honour personal to each Ekki. They feel that the greatest offence is if someone or something causes them to transgress this code, in which case they will relentlessly hunt down the one who has pushed them to such a point. They prioritise order and strong, structured hierarchies. They seek efficiency in all their actions and prefer tasks that have to do with the military aspect. Their crafters are specialists in the creation of military equipment. The Kiv are the most patient of all. It is difficult to make a Kiv angry, but if it should happen, there would be no one left to question why they prefer peace to strife. They love to spend time in contact with nature and those wild creatures that run free in the meadows or forests of Luonto. They have a fondness for breeding and although only the females of this element are the ones who care for and watch over the welfare of the hatching crystals from which the Alkeis are born. Their craftsmanship specialises in the construction of buildings of all kinds. The Mer are the most balanced of the Alkis. They can adapt to any situation more easily than the rest of their brethren. They have a preference for research and learning, although they also carry out police-type investigations when a mystery or misunderstanding needs to be cleared up. Their craftsmanship is based on aesthetics and the construction of works of art. For this reason, it is said that their buildings are among the most beautiful of the four main elements. In last place are the freest and most careless of the 4 types, the Mysky. They believe in freedom above all else and this leads them to be in many cases irresponsible as they are easily entertained. They seek any instance which they feel restricts or deprives them of their freedom but without falling into anarchy. They prefer social tasks and those that allow them to travel, get to know and explore, so it is common to see them carrying out exploration tasks or those related to social interactions such as ambassadors, merchants or spies. Also, being the most cheerful of the four, some of them tend to travel around Luonto taking their poetry, dances or music from one city to another like a bard. Similar to the Mer, their craftsmanship is based on art and they specialise in the construction of musical instruments.

Unlike other races, they still maintain a feudal system with the difference that the figure of the king was replaced by a council of Alkeis whose distribution will depend on which element rules or dominates the fief.

Their technology is precarious, although this is partly due to the fact that it is supported by an art unique to them known as elemental forging, with which they shape intangible elements as if they were solids, even changing their properties, such as making them more malleable. This makes their thinking flexible in the face of problems as they can adapt to unfamiliar situations faster and better as long as you have raw materials at their disposal. The latter is both their strength and their greatest weakness, for because of this, many Alkeis are reluctant to explore or discover, preferring to be in the safety of their homes with an almost infinite supply of raw materials at their disposal.

Another quality of the Alkeis is their strong belief in myths and prophecies. Because their culture and history is so rich in these elements, they are susceptible to confusing some facts with popular folklore.