Water
From Breaking Worlds
Part of a series about the Elements.
See also:
Spirits of Water are calm, resourceful, and contemplative, though they are sometimes weakened by fear. They admire the application of knowledge and intellect and the pursuit of understanding.
Using Water spells or binding a spirit of Water grants powers associated with information. Water is the element most suited to divination, and it can be used to evade and misdirect others.
Water is opposed to Fire and Earth. It is represented by the colour blue and wavy lines, and its totem animal is the Serpent.
Principles and relationships
The key attribute of Water is contemplation. It is the element of dormancy, knowlegde, and the winter. It collects information for its own sake and seeks to understand the world on every level.
Water is allied with Metal, with which it shares the attribute of order. However, spirits of Water view Metal as being to concerned with controlling others and not enough with knowing them.
Water is also allied with Wood, with which it shares the attribute of curiosity. However, spirits of Water are not much interested in the outward growth and expansion of Wood.
Water is opposed to Fire. Water’s cool, contemplative approach is utterly different to the passion and immediate action of Fire.
Water is also opposed to Earth. Water is concerned particularly with thought and abstracts, whereas Earth’s interests are almost exclusively practical and physical.
Example characters
Inspirations for characters aligned with Water could be calm and scholarly figures like Sherlock Holmes or Hemione Granger (from Harry Potter), or cunning tricksters like Doctor Who or Lyra Belacqua (from His Dark Materials).
Villains aligned with Water are likely to be powerful deceivers like Loki (from myth or Marvel comics) or Jareth (from Labyrinth).
“Every question yields a dozen more questions - but I would rather have that and no answer than have no questions at all.”
- Theodora of Carhais