What is this world?
Magic has always been around. It has never been good or bad. It’s what the people who could control various forms of magic do that made all the difference.
Earth my body.
Air my breath.
Fire my will.
Water my blood.
Light my path.
Long ago when people were still in the process of discovering all the new things one could do with magic… A time when magic was still new? Similar to the time when there was no proper language to communicate and people were still figuring out what the letters needed to be. Magic too was in a similar state of disarray of sorts? But it was more like a good kind of chaos. After all, It is the chaos that makes it all beautiful. All the new forms of magic had different affinities for different people. It was truly a time when new forms of magic emerged and so-called mages became the strongest of all beings.
With the evolution of magic came the evolution of species. Affinity to magic often resulted in newer species being formed. Species that were in tune with a certain element. This happened because mages often tend to derive their power from nature and animals were and are regarded as the species highly in tune with magic and strong mages often had an animal familiar, a pet of sorts they shared their power with, a backup magic reserve.
Over the years and centuries of evolution, mages found it was much better to just combine… become one with the familiar instead of carrying around a whole living being. And after a lot of experimentation… the cat, crow, fox, owl, eagle… etc hybrids came into being. But instead of just being strong mages most of them ended up being strong warriors… the affinity to magic and the animal nature gave them a boost above humans.
Evolution meant even more growth and change. Mythical animals were hunted down. The famed fox warrior- the kitsune , was forced to join the fox folk to survive. The kitsune powers being passed down to the chosen few… So far you have been introduced to Ojirou Aran, one of the blessed fox-folk… who had received the power of the old kitsune. Kita Shinsuke on the other hand is one of the fox-folk but with more affinity to being human than a fox, but he does have the fox-like sly brains.
At the end of all the exploring and growth, the experimentation with magic. It was established that five elements stood above them all, more like the parent elements: equivalent to the… in our terms, the 12 Olympians, the four seasons...etc. These five elements were such that all other forms of magic were procured from these five. It was indeed a period when having magic was the most important category of them all, it still is but let’s hope the protagonists of this story of ours changes things.
The five elements were: Air, Water, Earth, Fire and Light.
AIR
Air refreshes and revives. A little bit of fresh air can remind you of who you are and who you want to be. It is said that a human can barely survive five minutes without air. Its power can be as soft as a breeze or as strong as the strongest of the gales… blowing away everything in its path, leaving disaster in its trail.
These mages are known to be intellectual and skilled communicators, and as the air, they are ever-changing and constantly moving. They adore freedom and being unrestricted. They aren’t overly fond of emotional conversations and may often come off as cold or shallow. However, they tend to be impractical and objective.
Mages whose powers come under the category of Air magic often get along with Fire mages.
Air-related mages are also commonly referred to as Aria mages.
To make it easier for you mundane people to understand I shall explain it in easier terms (honestly, neither do I understand half the things that I have written).
Even there are a lot of mages who technically come under the category of Air, they do not control the element of air per se. It’s more like those sub-categories I had mentioned earlier, like the ability to manipulate the weather, telekinesis (a truly terrifying ability to control inanimate objects with your mind but equally difficult to master). But even with these, the biggest blessing, a power that had developed under the watchful eyes of the very first Master of Air was that of Life or in simple mundane terms the power to heal. Exhausting and only a few had the gift to do so but a true blessing.
The term ‘Breath life into you’ came from the very first Master of Life who was one of the very first students under the Air Master.
The one who conquered the power over air, he also held a little power over all of the sub-categories was known as the first Air Master. His powers were to be passed down through generations but he knew receiving such power directly could damage both the mind and soul and the last thing he wanted was any of his descendants to be tempted by power. So he was the first to make the wise decision to transfer over half his power onto the ‘Fan of Air’. A piece of weaponry hidden from the local eyes and secret to a lot… it has been so long that the Fan has been regarded as a myth.
The Fan of Air was given over to the crow warriors for safekeeping, yes the very same crow warriors who later formed the Kingdom of Crows… Karasuno. Karasuno retreated deep beyond the mountains after a rather bad disagreement with the Cat Kingdom: Nekoma. It was a treaty that had fallen long before the current king of karasuno was even born but the citizens of the kingdom felt the burden after the loss of trade from the cats. It is still not clear what caused the disagreement but talk has it the former general of Karsuno didn’t get along with the king of Nekoma causing a rather untreatable rift in the relationship between the nations.
WATER
A truly beautiful element. To flow as smoothly as water irrespective of the path it flows through, irrespective of the path you choose, you’d never be stopped. Water is an irreplaceable part of life. Water is powerful enough to drown you, soft enough to cleanse you and deep enough to save you.
Mages who come under the category of this blue power are most often calm like the Carraebian seas or furious as the torrential rains on a bad day. They are usually intuitive, caring and very affectionate and protective of their loved ones. However, they can turn manipulative and cunning if they have been deeply hurt.
They are compatible with each other and even though their powers may not be compatible, they get along exceptionally well with Earth-element relative users AKA Gaia mages
So for the love of God, do not make an enemy of a Water-related mage. Or in short a Ma’an mage
But like everything, even this element has its dark side, it is not surprising but everyone mutually agrees that water’s sub-categories are the scariest. The power over ice, the power of shadow and the power to cause pain (so much pain that you’d wish you were dead), this one ended up being the most contradictory to Life.
The legend of the Grim Reaper came to form the very first Master of Pain. he could cause so much pain that you would wish you were dead but even then he would not kill you. He was indeed one of the most dangerous antagonists in the world. There are only a few who haven’t heard of him. He is considered the bad guy in most bedtime stories.
She is water. Powerful enough to drown you, soft enough to restore you and deep enough to save you. The very first Water Master was one of the most kindred spirits to have ever existed. She belonged to the species who were gifted with magic abundantly. She was an elf. Tall, lean and pale but her heart was softer than most but yet she could turn into the most ruthless killer once provoked. After all, she did defeat a whole army of invaders alongside the Master of Fire… two very incompatible elements if you ask me.
The blade of Water was the weapon known to have been forged by the Earth Master for the Water Master, as a symbol of peace. The tribe of Kamomedai held the blade for centuries before they were hunted down by the empire of Anixi , now only a countable few of the tribe exists and none know the whereabouts of the blade… the resistance hopes the Anixi Empire does not have it hold over it.
Kamomedai retreated completely into their land after the attack by the Empire, their current whereabouts are unknown after all they did what they could to protect their people. The fall of Kamomedai marked the official beginning of the struggle against Anixi. Rumour has it that the Kingdom of Knights: Aoba Josai took in the seagulls in exchanges for their manpower. This part of the tale is unknown to me, so I guess you’d have to wait until the spirits decide the right time to reveal it.
Next up we have the element that is synchronous with strength.
EARTH
An element that represents strength in its purest form. Genuine and simple. An element of substance, mages belonging to this category are diverse and strong. Persistent and Enduring. They are dependable but inflexible.
It takes a fair amount of effort to change their minds, as they are often not too fond of changing it; they aren’t fond of change. These mages are the ones who get something done, a task the most accurately. They often reserve their emotions greatly, but still, feel the need to help others.
They are popularly referred to as the Gaia mages, yes, the same Gaia from the greek mythology, the Earth mother. They are also the most logical of the lot and also hard-working.
They splendidly get along with the Ma'an mages, must be the peaceful nature of the Ma'an mages that attracts them.
These mages as mentioned above are headstrong and it takes a lot to sway them. The subcategories that come under them include nature, sound, metal...etc All of them strong in their own way. The very first Master of Earth, he was one of the greatest masters of all time. He was calm and was a great leader, he made sure the other Masters got along with each other and gave hope, his motives were strong and he rarely went against them.
The Earth Master got along splendidly with the Master of Water, maybe it was their calm nature and the fact that neither of them was big fans of disputes in general. The Air Master may have been calm but he didn’t hesitate to raise his fist when needed.
The clan that was deeply involved with the element of Earth was the Inarizaki clan, they had long ago fused with the kitsunes of the old and hence carried a lot of ancient magic, the Master of Earth had a soft spot for traditions and therefore he chose the Inarizaki clan to carry on the legacy of his powers, to protect what was had been his and would be his descendant’s. The descendent who would deserve it. The scythe of Earth was the treasure of the Gaia mages and every one of them would protect it with their lives.
The scythe of Earth was originally protected by the Inarizaki clan in the west for centuries, but the then rising empire of Anixi decided to attack the clan to obtain the scythe for purposes still unknown. The clan then headed by the Kita family were able to defend their citizens but lost a couple of their strongest warriors. It was a loss felt deeply by the foxes. The clan had no choice to run and all of them dispersed across the land of Saorsa.
The former leader of the foxes KIta Shinsuke and the general Ojirou Aran found themselves in a small village in the outskirts of the Kingdom of Karasuno. We will go into them later into the story, for I honestly believe that none of you, my readers are not ready to know the horrifying events that happened in the clan during the horrifying times.
Given the circumstances, we will know what happens to them later. Let’s divulge into the last element.
FIRE
They have a genuine soul with the purest intentions. They were their heart on their sleeves and would move mountains to make those close to you happy. They genuinely want the best for those they love. They are known far and wide for their passion and fierce nature. The fire inside them never fails to inspire anyone and they know that life has to be lived to the fullest and they make sure that everyone around them does have a chance to enjoy their lives as a whole at least once.
They are popularly known as Thie mages.
The subcategories under them include the power over magma, radiation, thermal (heat), hell-fire (blue fire), explosions...etc yes, the plain old pure fire manipulation. That doesn’t beat anything. These mages are loud and confident, loud and hard to miss. They hate to be vulnerable and often try to cover it up with their strengths.
Even though their weakness includes anger issues they are the best at handling challenging and difficult situations in a head-on way that many others simply aren’t able to do. They are strong-willed and use their mind in ways other can’t.
Thie mages tend to raise the spirits of their comrades after they’ve lost a battle or have lost the motivation to move forward. They are important in making sure the objective at hand is fulfilled much vigorously. The very first Thie Master is the prime example of how a Thie mage should be. He had major disagreements with the Ma’an master but when it was needed the pair of them formed the most powerful team of all times.
After all, they could cover each other’s weaknesses perfectly.
The kingdom that was deeply involved with the Thie master was the Nekoma kingdom and the Eagle empire. Nekoma still carried on the honour of being the Thie master’s confidence, Red was the royal colour.
Shiratorizawa empire was proud of the fact that the Thie master chose its royal family as they were known Hell flame users, though the current head of the empire has no affinity to Thie.
The blade of Thie has been protected by both the Cats and the Eagles by taking turns. The Thie Master enjoyed a little of drama, hence the whole choosing two instead of one. The other masters were kind of sick of the Thie Master’s game. Ever since the fall of Nekoma, Shiratorizawa has protected the blade of Thie for over five decades. It is believed that once the Empire of Anixi reaches the peak of its strength they will indeed attack the empire for the blade of fire.
Out of all the great nations chosen by the Masters, only Shiratorizawa has been able to retain their ancient glory.
LIGHT
A lot is not known about this element. Light unlike all the other elements has existed irrespective of the presence of the others. Light is off mainly two users: the sun and the moon.
It is said that the Master of Lumos was the leader of the other four and maintained the harmony since the others often had the tendency to butt heads. He never chose a nation cause he did not want any of the nations to feel better than the others, for in his eyes they were all the same.
The master of Lumos was a humble man, who only used a staff for protection, staff to be passed onto the next Master, he was mainly someone who fought with his fists and believed in peace the most out of all of them. His staff was buried alongside him, protected by strong enchantments. How it got out of there is still a mystery, nothing stops anyone from picking up the staff and even transporting it but only the chosen can use it.
No one knows how the staff reached the hands of the Cat Kozume Kenma, but what we do know is that Hinata Shouyou’s story has just begun, this beginning marks the end of something that needs to be ended as soon as possible.
Fret not, Shouyo-kun is not our only protagonist, the other Masters will soon be revealed.
Soooooooooooooo, I know this update is long overdue, and a friend told me that the back story isn’t clear so I sat and wrote this, Life got a little hectic hence the late update, sorry.
Any way I will be releasing some pics on my twt on how I imagine the weapons to look like and a couple of polls to choose the shopping…..and definitely come join me if you wanna talk about anything Haikyuu!! Related.
Join me at @EzraPearl01
Thanks a lot for reading it this far!!