A new day arrived within the Hidden Phoenix Village and the Students found themselves in Class once more. Kyla arrived and her lessons on the Elemental Balance resumed.
"Good morning class. We'll resume from where we left off yesterday. Today, we'll focus on the elements of Water, Wind, Earth, Lightning and Psychic" Kyla said.
The Students paid close attention.
"We'll begin by studying Water. Water exerts dominance over Fire. In the presence of Water, Flame can be quenched. Water to an extent can exert dominance over Earth possessing the ability to shape or alter Earth. This property is visible in the flow of rivers and their ability to create a vast network of tributaries. The element that exerts dominance over Water is Lightning. Of all element users, Water Element Users possess the greatest amount of healing arts. They possess the ability to remove harmful toxins from the body through the process of osmosis; can deal with multiple ailments through the brewing of potions. They can also vapourize soil water and diffuse it into the air to alter climate. In reverse, they can condense atmospheric moisture to cause rainfall. Their offensive abilities include the ability to freeze Water and attack with Blades Of Ice. Amongst their most advanced arts is the ability to freeze atmospheric moisture and deal wide range terrain alteration attacks through a rain of ice spears. The element of Water thus symbolizes Purity or Kindness" Kyla explained.
The Students listened carefully. They seemed excited.
"Next we'll talk about the element of Wind. Wind can exert dominance over Fire or Heat, Lightning as well as Water thus transforming into the Storm. Wind particularly exerts dominance over Lightning since there can be no Storm without Wind. Likewise, by starving an area of air, Fire can be extinguished as well. Wind Element Users possess the ability to utilize stealth through the usage of mist abilities. They possess the ability to levitate themselves as well as other objects. They can enhance their mobility through the utilization of wind propulsion techniques, can cause flotation in objects, and can attack their opponents' internal organs directly through the use of harmful invasive gases. In reverse, they can also heal through the utilization of medicinal gases. They can extinguish flame techniques by starving an area of air and can take advantage of flame techniques to generate devastating storms. They can also utilize the properties of other elements to alter the attributes of their techniques. Due to the ability of Wind to flow almost anywhere and find its way even into the most tight spaces and the difficulty involved in containing it, the element of Wind symbolizes Freedom" Kyla explained.
"It sounds like a really versatile element. In a sense, the element is just like Harry" Josec thought with a laugh.
"Now we'll learn about the element of Earth. Earth Element Users, like Fire Element Users, possess the ability to alter or refine ordinary Earth into high quality earthen materials such as metal. They can utilize a wide variety of Earth with unique characteristics and can affect the growth of plants, and in turn animals and humans. Advanced Earth Element Users can utilize trees to enhance extra-sensory perception giving them an enormous range of vision. They possess the greatest physical strength amongst all element users, possess the ability to alter waterways in very much the same way water can alter the shape of earth. They can utilize shields made out of earth to block elemental attacks but possess no special resistance to Water and Flame attacks. They can also utilize wide range Terrain Alteration Abilities to deal damage through quakes and Earth Spear Barrages. Through magnetism, they can utilize repulsion to cause objects to levitate and can utilize repulsion to levitate themselves as well especially when they coat themselves in magnetic earth. Through attraction, they can enhance their mobility as well as transform entire areas into fields of omnidirectional motion designed to suit their purposes. They are capable of animating earth to create armies of golems which they can animate with their will" Kyla explained.
"Looks like Fleur and I have a long way to go" Jason noted silently.
"Since Earth contains the minerals necessary to support and sustain Life, it symbolizes Hope" Kyla explained. "Next, we'll talk of the element of Lightning. Lightning exerts dominance over Water, transforming Water into a channel through which its force can flow. However, Wind exerts dominance over Lightning since Lightning requires Wind as a prerequisite to make its force felt. Lightning Element Users possess the ability to animate inanimate objects, imbuing them with unique properties and abilities. They possess mobility almost matching that of Light Element Users and can travel great distances in the space of almost an instant by utilizing electric currents as pathways. The objects they animate can most at times be destroyed by Water but they themselves possess no particular resistance to Water. In fact, they are capable of transforming Water into a pathway in order to travel great distances or amplify their abilities. They also possess the ability to invade the nervous systems of living creatures through minute currents of electricity flowed into the body through ionized air. This ability can be countered through airtight shields that isolate an entire area from areas affected by their abilities. A trait of Lightning is 'unpredictability' but the element of Lightning symbolizes 'Goodness'" Kyla explained.
"Whoa! Thank goodness Raichuu didn't utilize some of the techniques Mistress Kyla is talking about!" Harry whispered to the others.
"Even if he did, we have Josec and Master Luna on our team and they are both prodigies in the utilization of Lightning Techniques plus they excel in defense as well" Buern said.
"Finally, we'll conclude our lesson on the Elemental Balance with the element of Psychic. The Psychic Element encompasses everything that has to do with the psyche or mind and can thus affect all living creatures. Psychic Element Users possess the ability to affect the perceptions and actions of living organisms. They possess the ability to alter or cloud the vision of their opponents, to enhance the vision of their allies, can utilize telekinesis to move inanimate objects, can communicate telepathically with living organisms without the need for speech, can instantly teleport themselves to other locations. They can defend against mind domination and can utilize mind domination against opponents. They can utilize wide scale Terrain Alteration Abilities to make significant changes to their environment and that of their allies and opponents and are capable of completely masking their presence. Since the Psychic Element encompasses all living creatures, it is symbolic of Life" Kyla explained. "Fortunately, a third of the entire Phoenix Clan, that is, all Banes possess the ability to utilize Psychic Abilities due to their bond with Hieron. This ability is believed to be currently dormant but it is within all Banes" Kyla explained.
"The Banes are the inheritors of the Mind Of The Phoenix and are thus the coordinators of the entire body of the Phoenix so this is not really surprising, though it is amazing" Buern thought silently as she stared at Harry.
"Now I will teach you a certain technique, a healing art every member of the Phoenix Clan must know. It is a technique called the 'Dragon's Breath'" Kyla said.
The Students' eyes lighted up in amazement and excitement.
"In your journeys outside the Hidden Phoenix Village, you will be sure to come into certain environments and climates that are particularly debilitating to your various affinities. For instance, a Fire Element User might suddenly find himself in a frozen environment that drains his strength or a Water Element User might suddenly find himself or herself in a dry and arid climate that drains their strength. How do you deal with such a situation? That is the underlying principle behind the Dragon's Breath Healing Art. In such a situation, what you want to do is to first generate the element of your affinity. It is similar to the Psychorage Improvisation except for one difference. Unlike the Psychorage Improvisation where you generate an element different from your raw elemental affinity and equip it to expand the possible range of your actions, with the Dragon's Breath Healing Art, you generate your raw elemental affinity, release it through your joki into the air around you and then breathe it in. If you are drained of joki and cannot do this yourself, an ally can do this for you. Since joki is in a sense, life force energy itself, this technique is also known as 'the Breath Of Life'" Kyla explained. "An alternate method to utilizing the technique is to alter a portion of the environment you find yourself in to one that enhances the affinities of a drained ally and have them absorb the generated element through Dragon's Breath" Kyla explained.
"I see. So that's what Buern did in the Land Of Perpetual Ice, a very useful technique" Estelle noted.