Prince prepared to teach us more about Time.
"We're finally done with Omens" he said.
"Do you know what my Dream means?" I asked him.
"I may have a bit of an idea but it would be best you come to understand its meaning on your own. Dreams that manifest as Omens are guideposts of sorts and require some level of growth on the part of the Dreamer before they can be understood but they are more often than naught tied to tasks that must be accomplished. You can consider them a preparation phase of sorts for a possible future that may be either good or bad. Dreams that have an ominous foreboding to them are warnings meant to equip the Dreamer with the required knowledge needed to prevent or survive an ominous future. When they are positive on the other hand, they tend to set in place conditions that facilitate the growth of the Dreamer until the Dreamer achieves a level of maturity enough to bring the Dream into fulfilment. You will come to understand the Dream eventually" Prince assured me.
"I hope so" I sighed.
"Now, I will move on to another topic. Today, I will be teaching you about Elements that possess the capacity to influence Time and one's perception of it" Prince said.
"There are elements that can do that?" Concordia seemed surprised.
Prince nodded.
"Yes, there are and I'm certain you are very familiar with what I'm about to teach you. You've probably not given much thought to it though" Prince said.
"I'm listening" Concordia seemed very interested in the topic.
"For now, I'll tell you about three elements and how they can affect Time. These elements are the elements of Fire, Water and Wind as well as any other element directly or indirectly associated with these three elements" Prince said.
"I see" I reflected on my earlier training sessions with my Gramps particularly around the time I began to learn about the Seals.
"There are three ways these elements can affect Time and one's perception of it. The first is via Mobility, the second is via Pressure and the third is via Preservation" Prince explained.
"Mobility, Pressure and Preservation" Ciella reflected on the lesson.
"In terms of Mobility, these elements exert influence over one's perception of time via Speed. Fire has the natural ability to agitate and amplify motion in atoms. It can also amplify speed via propulsion. Wind via the principles of flotation and flight can greatly shorten Perception Of Time by drastically reducing Perception Of Distance. Water on the other hand possesses the ability to reduce agitation in atoms and slow them down thus lengthening Perception Of Time via Cooling. These are the ways through which Fire, Wind and Water can exert influence over Time via Mobility" Prince explained.
"I see, very interesting" Saito said.
"Next, we'll deal with Pressure. The density of particles possess the ability to constrict space and by so doing either amplify or diminish Mobility. This increase or reduction in Mobility can also exert influence over one's Perception Of Time. Water for instance is denser than Air. This Density also affects its pressure and can hinder Mobility via Water Resistance. That's why the experience of Time underwater is quite different from that above it and why living organisms that live on land mover slower underwater. On the other hand, particles of Air are less dense than those of Water and thus exert less Pressure and Resistance allowing organisms that live on land greater Mobility on land than they'd have underwater. Needless to say, Pressure can in turn be affected by Heat. High temperatures have the capacity to reduce pressure. In reverse, low temperatures possess the capacity to increase pressure which is why Water vaporizes under Heat and Condenses or Freezes in Cold. Simply put, high Temperatures can amplify Mobility via Reduced Pressures whereas low Temperatures can diminish Mobility via High Pressures" Prince explained.
"This is way too confusing" I said and scratched my head.
"If you don't understand what I just said simply remember this, it's easier to move in Air or Vapour, less easier to move in Water and practically impossible to move once encased in Ice" Prince said.
"I see, so the lower the Temperature, the more difficult it gets to move about" I finally understood what Prince was trying to say.
"Finally, we'll deal with the issue of Preservation. With regards to Preservation, both Fire and Water possess the ability to preserve substances however the substances they can preserve may differ. Let me utilize Food Preservation as an example. In Food Preservation, we utilize the Freezing Method for instance to preserve Food Substances with greater Moisture Content such as Citrus Fruits. Drying on the other hand is utilized to preserve Foodstuffs that contain less moisture. We don't typically dry Citrus Fruits or attempt to freeze Grains, Cereals and Tubers. Aside from that the ability of these elements to preserve Food are achieved via different means. Drying and Heating methods achieve preservation by removing the little moisture, present in Grains, Cereals and Foods of this category that might serve as breeding grounds for Pathogens. The Heat in turn eliminates these Pathogens. The point of Heat Preservation Methods is to kill Pathogens present in Food Substances. Freezing on the other hand is not necessarily about killing Pathogens but rather drastically reducing their Metabolism Rate. By placing the Pathogens into a state of Stasis or suspended animation, one can halt their metabolic activities, with regards to Food Substances, that can cause either Decay or Fermentation in these Food Substances. Light which is an effect of Heat also possesses the ability to capture and store images. Basically, Light, Heat and all other forms of Energy can capture and serve as preservation media for any element associated with that form of Energy either directly or indirectly" Prince explained.
"Just like your Internal Titanium Chrono Chrome huh Mitsuki?" Arlene teased.
"Yup" Mitsuki said with a laugh.