Introduction

When I started writing this, it was to be a short, fairly informal essay on the
Element of Earth and its correlation to the Taint, meant only to satisfy a
writing assignment for my Guild. However, as I wrote, I became rather
enthralled by an idea that had never before occurred to me:

That we are all Tainted; that every mortal creature, even every inanimate
object that exists in Lusternia, including the world itself, is touched by the
Taint, has the Taint sewn into their very being, simply by existing.

Quite the radical idea, I know. Especially considering it wasn't so long ago, I
viewed the Taint as little more than a dangerous poison at best, and a vile
scourge upon the world at worst; any scientific curiosity I had about the
substance outweighed heavily by my socially ingrained disdain and fear.
However, when Revan n'Kylbar showed me the Truth I had been denied and helped
to free me from the chains imposed by the Light, I was given the freedom of
thought to consider radical ideas.

So, having thought of the idea, quite by accident, I decided to try to prove
it. It was much easier than I thought it might be! It turned out that the clues
were there all along. Even in research and study I had conducted as an
Aquamancer, the facts were evident. I simply hadn't been free enough to put the
pieces together and realize it.

I've done my best to explain my reasoning in this scroll. I'm sure that some
will dismiss my writing out of hand. Such is the way of radical ideas. However,
I'm hoping that this scroll will at least encourage some thought; that others
will read the words and wonder if it might be true. After all, the first step
of intellectual freedom is having the ability to say 'Could it be?' despite the
fact that all the rest of society is screaming 'That's impossible!'

Part I - A Brief Examination of the Elements

It is a well known fact amongst those who study and practice Elemental magics,
though perhaps not agreed upon by those who do not, that everything, from the
world itself to the tiniest of living things on it, is made up of the four
Elements; those being Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. Of these Elements, only the
Element of Earth is not wholly unsubstantial. That is, Wind, Water and Fire
must combine with, or be influenced by, one or more Elements in order to become
solid, where-as Earth is by itself a solid. For the purposes of this study, I
will be focusing on Elemental combinations which result in the formation of
solid matter.

The Element of Earth is so pervasive and versatile that it is the main
component in nearly all Elemental combinations for the purpose of solidity.
Many of these combinations have been classified as Para-Elements (1). Earth
combines with Fire to form lava. It combines with Water to form mud. In fact,
only the Element of Water can come close to Earth in versatility in producing
solids. It is the only Element besides Earth capable of forming a solid in
combination with another non-Earth Element; combining with the Element Air to
form the Para-Element ice. Of course, as the combinations get more complex the
objects created - whether animate or not - no longer fit within the
'Para-Element' classification.

In living things, as well as non-living, combinations of the four Elements are
the building blocks. Water is represented in the blood and other bodily fluids
of animals and the sap of plants. Breath is the representation of Air for all
living things, plant and animal alike. Fire is the energy which sustains life
and allows movement and growth. Earth is, of course, the solid form that all
living things take. Even the most important of a living being's fluids are not
wholly liquid. Blood, for example, is as much solid as liquid - as much Earth
as Water (2) - as is seen in its ability to clot and congeal. This is true for
the sap of plants as well; the Element of Earth is apparent in the sticky
viscosity of sap as well as the solid called amber left when the liquid
evaporates and time has passed.

In point of fact, the Elements are not represented purely in any instance on
the Prime Material Plane (3), or any other save the Elemental Planes. This can
be seen in a Mage's ability to draw upon their Element no matter what their
location - except on an Elemental Plane where they can only work the deeper
magics of that Element. An Aquamancer may draw moisture from the very granite
of Avencha's Teeth to create their Flood, and a Geomancer can draw the Taint
from the tiny percentage of Earth found within the waters of the Inner Sea but
neither can do so on their opposing Elemental Plane.

This leads to the fact, again most notably agreed upon by those who study the
Elements in depth, that the Elemental Planes are the root source of the power
the Elements hold. It is this fact which proves, in my mind at least, that
those lost in time are not lost to existence. The proof that the Plane of Air
and of Fire still exist, despite being unreachable, can be seen in the very air
one breathes; in the warmth of one's skin. If these Planes had ceased to exist,
then so would the elements of Fire and Air have ceased to exist and the First
World would be a mighty different place right now.

Part II - The Element of Earth and the Taint

Taking into account the fact that the Plane is the root of the Element, then
all aspects of the Element of Earth are, in fact, a reflection of the Plane of
Earth. That is, everything which contains the Element of Earth is, in some
part, Tainted. (4) Not just the earth itself - the dirt and rock one generally
thinks of when they consider the Element of Earth and that the Geomancer bends
to his or her will. Every aspect, including the non-living solids formed by
combinations of Earth and other elements, as well as the flesh and blood and
sap of all living things, are intrinsically tied to the Taint.

The Eternal said as much Herself when She admitted to being unable to destroy
the Soulless Gods without destroying Lusternia itself. (5) How had They become
so intrinsically tied to the world that separation would tear it asunder? I
propose that it is through Their very essence, the Taint, which has
irrevocably become one with the Element of Earth. To remove the Soulless
would be to remove the Taint and to remove the Taint would be to remove the
Element of Earth, without which the First World and all living things on it
could not exist.

One might argue that if the entirety of the Element of Earth was Tainted simply
because the Elemental Plane of Earth is so, then why is there no discernable
traces of the Taint in any random pebble one might pick up on the road? The
answer to that question is quite simple; the Taint is there, it is just not
discernable. Just as the earth itself lays quiet until a Geomancer calls it to
action, the Taint within the Earth lays dormant until brought forth.

After all, the Taint, though it is the essence of a Soulless God, is completely
inert on its own. The fantastic mutagenic and mind-controlling properties
experienced and recorded in history were the results of the direct contact of
the Soulless Kethuru. Once that contact was broken, what was left was a mostly
dormant residue. Outside manipulation, most notably in the form of Earth
related magics and, to a degree, Necromantic Rituals, is required for the Taint
to actually manifest and -do- anything.

The fact that a Geomancer can work the deeper Earth magics, many of which draw
upon and directly manipulate the Taint, on the surface of an Ocean proves
conclusively that even in the minutest percentage of the Element Earth found
in an object, the Taint can be found.

Those of the Forests will likely vehemently deny that the Elemental Plane of
Earth has anything to do with the natural Element of Earth as they do not wish
to consider the ramifications of exposure to the Taint to their Nature Spirits.
In fact, I think I can lay that worry to rest for them. Though the Element of
Earth in all forms is, in fact, Tainted, due to the Tainting of the Elemental
Plane of Earth, the Nature Spirit of Rock, as well as the other seemingly
Earth related Spirits, is not. These Spirits were Awakened long before the
Taint touched the Earth Plane and were not themselves influenced by the release
of the Taint onto the Plane of Earth because they are not Elemental in nature.
They are Spirit or Fae, which is a wholly different thing and considered by
some to be a fifth Element in and of itself. (6)

That is not to say, of course, that Spirits cannot become Tainted. I believe
the Spirits of Night and Crow are examples of such. However, they were Tainted
due to direct contact with the essence of the Soulless Kethuru, not out of
Elemental correlation.

Another point that might be brought up in refuting the idea that the Elemental
Plane of Earth is the ultimate root of the Element of Earth, in that the Earth
Lord known as Klaymech appears to be composed of Mud. Mud is, as stated earlier,
made up of a combination of the Elements Earth and Water. This is an
interesting point, however, I do not think it is as detrimental to my argument
as one might imagine. It was recently revealed to the Archmage Veonira d'Murani
that the Earth Lords are thought amalgams, bridges between the Dreaming and the
Material brought into existence by the presence of generations of Geomancers.
(7) This, I believe, makes the Earth Lords and Lady as much a representation of
the Mage that They work with as the Element they Lord over. As we Mages are not
a construct of a single Element, it makes sense that there is a Lord who is
likewise imperfect. (8)

Part III - Ramifications of Truth

It is apparent then that any attempt to deny the Taint is as futile as
attempting to deny one's own flesh. Naming it as a poison or evil influence is
as foolish as hating a cloud for marring the sky. Trying to cleanse the world
of the Taint is like trying to strain the solids out of one's own blood and
survive the process. It cannot be done.

This idea will likely be dismissed by those who suffer under the constraints of
thought imposed by the so-called Light and their own preconceived notions. After
all, as I said in the introduction, before I was shown the Truth and was
welcomed into the Engine of Transformation where free thought is not only
encouraged but expected of scholars, the correlation between the Element of
Earth found in all things and the Taint hadn't occurred to me. I knew that all
living things, and indeed all solid objects whether man-made or natural, were
made up of Earth, and that the Element itself was inherently Tainted, but it
took opening my mind up to new ideas to follow those facts to their logical
conclusion and accept it.

Likewise, some Forestals, though one hopes not the majority, may choose to
continue to contest the idea, as many seem to view the Taint as something
unnatural. Considering that all of nature is, in fact, made up of the four
Elements - five if you count Spirit or Fae - and that one of those Elements is
Tainted, it would only seem logical that Taint is as natural as any other
thing. To think otherwise is to simply deny the truth of the matter and to
place one's own individual perception of what is or isn't natural above
reality.

In any case, the fact remains that the Taint is not some alien force to fight
or somehow cleanse; it simply is. One can either accept this fact; realizing
the futility of striving to rid the world of what has become a fundamental part
of the natural order and instead choose to focus one's energies on furthering
oneself in life or one can choose not to. Those who do not, however, are
wasting their time and resources, striving for an unattainable ideal whose time
passed centuries ago or never really existed in the first place. Those people
will be lost as the world marches forward, embracing new ideas and
advancements, and they are left behind wallowing in the past and in their
self-destructive hatred of something that is as undeniable as the earth itself.

Such a pitiable fate I am grateful to have been spared, I can only hope others
are so lucky.

---------------------------Footnotes-------------------------------

(1) "On the Properties of Mud", By Apprentice of Earth, Telrath, page 1 states
"By "Para-Element", I refer to those substances resulting from the pure mixings
of more or less equal parts of two Primary Elements (being Earth, Fire, Water,
and Air)." Notably, Telrath goes on to name several such 'Para-Elements'
however, he is in error in one of his combinations. His assertion that cinder
is formed from Fire and Air is patently incorrect, as it fails to take into
consideration the fact that cinders are indeed solid and formed when fire has
burned a solid object. Therefore, cinder is obviously another combination of
Fire and Earth. An appropriate example of a Para-Element combination of Fire
and Air would be smoke; Fire combining with the Element of Air which, until the
time of burning, had been locked within the make-up of a solid object.

(2) "On the Properties of Mud", By Apprentice of Earth, Telrath, page 1 states
"Though I may have made references above to "pure" Elements, the fact of the
matter is that, when a substance is described as "pure", it simply means that
the other three Elements are dormant and awaiting manifestation, made possible
by the addition of more Element."

(3) "Libellus Geomancie", By Protector of the Stones Aiakon d'Murani, page 5
states "Evene so, as Mudde, is Blud. For Blud is of the Fleshe of Earthe, and
of Liquide also." This book is not actually written by Aiakon d'Murani, it is
in fact a compilation of information dating back centuries which was
painstakingly gathered and restored from moldering scrolls and ledgers found
within the Guild's archives.

(4) "Libellus Geomancie", By Protector of the Stones Aiakon d'Murani, page 3
states "That when Kethuru didst touch the Earthen Plane, -alle- Earth was
touched therewith, and thoughe it bee but a tiny fraction, all Earth is thus
tainted."

(5) Paraphrased from the historical record of the Coming of Estarra which
states "As Estarra studied the world of Lusternia and what it had became, she
realized that one day the living seals would expire and release the Soulless
Gods. She could not move directly against the Soulless Gods for their beings
had become a part of Lusternia and destroying them would destroy the world
completely."

(6) "The Earth Plane: Consistency and Change", By Scion of Earthen Lore,
Gabranth Xandul, Tainted Innocence, page 9 states "Old Man Rock is in a sense,
a separate earth consciousness that is entirely fae based, even if drawn from
the earth and not in any way related to the Tainted identity and consciousness
of the Earth Plane." And then goes on to say "Thus the Elemental Plane of
Earth, like its name suggests, is the greatest and only concentration of true
elemental earth. The spirit Rock is outside the domain of the physical and
accordingly not part of the cycle of consistency and change, as created by the
Taint to natural processes." The majority of this section of Gabranth's book
quotes heavily from Kalodan Faechild's work, "Children of the Awakeners."

(7) Lady Gravynia said, in response to the question of the origins of the Earth
Lords and Lady, "I am all of you over thousands of years. When the first Mage
touched the Earth, then was I conceived. And when the Geomancers grew in power,
then we, thought amalgams, became. We crossed from the abstract of the dreaming
to the material realms. And the Earth was our dominion, but we are bridges from
the Dreaming to the Material."

(8) When discussing the issue with Lenalith n'Kylbar, she spoke these words
which set my own impressions in order, "Mm, perhaps. I believe they are
manifestations, of a sort, of the link between the Mage and his element. The
Mud is a necessary consequence of that, I think. Without an... impure Lord with
whom to identify, the Mages would be lost."