Small sand elemental

A small sand elemental was a souvenir item received from completing a quest at the Wavedancer event in 2005. It is an ambient-style pet that is housed in a pale crystal shard that is worn around the neck. The elementals are not attuned and can be easily passed off to another owner, even fully trained.

Description

When successful, A RUB of the elemental will change the color of the waves.

IN HAND:
a small sand elemental patterned with alternating waves of dark and pale blue hue.
a small sand elemental patterned with alternating waves of dark and fiery scarlet hues.

SHOW:
The elemental is a miniature swirling storm of multi-hued sand, its millions of sparkling granules constantly shifting and spiraling in ever-renewed patterns of ethereal brilliance.  Its surface melds and constantly reforms in undulating ripples, while each granule appears to shift through the myriad hues of light and dark in a heartbeat.

Training

Sand elementals can be taught to perform tricks on command. There is a brief time (about 30 to 60 seconds) between commands. Any attempt to issue a command before the timer has expired will result in the following messaging:

You just tried that a little bit ago, best to wait for a bit before trying again.

VERB	FIRST	THIRD
Stare	ON: You stare at your sand elemental briefly, and it ripples and flattens out into a perfectly smooth plane, then undulates to form a mirrored version of your face, mimicking your every movement flawlessly. Its closed eyes suddenly open slowly, and faint swaths of color roll across its surface as it dissolves and then reforms into an amorphous, rippling ball once more. OFF: You stare at your sand elemental briefly, and it ripples and flattens out into a perfectly smooth plane, then undulates to form a mirrored version of your face, mimicking your every movement flawlessly. Its eyes close slowly, and its overall hue seems to become a bit duller and its movements more sluggish as it dissipates and reforms into an amorphous ball once more.	Player stares at her sand elemental briefly, and it ripples and flattens out into a perfectly smooth plane, then undulates to form a mirrored version of her face, mimicking her every movement flawlessly. Its closed eyes suddenly open slowly, and faint swaths of color roll across its surface as it dissolves and then reforms into an amorphous, rippling ball once more. Player stares at her sand elemental briefly, and it ripples and flattens out into a perfectly smooth plane, then undulates to form a mirrored version of her face, mimicking her every movement flawlessly. Its eyes close slowly, and its overall hue seems to become a bit duller and its movements more sluggish as it dissipates and reforms into an amorphous ball once more.
Nudge	SUCCESS: FAIL:You nudge your sand elemental a bit, trying to coax it into changing its shape. The sand elemental nudges your finger back with a sandy extension of itself.	Player gives her sand elemental a little nudge, coaxing it to do something. The sand elemental nudges Players's finger back with a sandy extension of itself.
Rub	SUCCESS: You cup your hands over your sand elemental and rub its soft, silky surface of sand for a moment. Your sand elemental suddenly explodes outwards, its surface glittering with a multitude of hues as it pulsates with a radiating, fiery glow! As the glow fades, the elemental appears to have shifted into a small sand elemental rippled with dark and brilliant gold hues! FAIL: You cup your hands over your sand elemental and rub its soft, silky surface of sand for a moment. The sand elemental suddenly dissolves and reforms outside of your cupped palm, apparently not interested in your attention.
Raise	SUCCESS: FAIL:You raise your sand elemental up a bit in your hand. The sand elemental just sits there, quietly shifting its sands and clearly unaware of or unwilling to fulfill your request.	Player raises her sand elemental up a bit in her hand. Player's sand elemental just sits there in her hands, quietly shifting its sands.
Tap	SUCCESS: FAIL:You move your fingers to give your sand elemental a little tap on its amorphous form. The sand elemental whirls about in a tight cyclone to avoid your finger, then settles down and narrows itself in annoyance.	Player moves her fingers to give her sand elemental a little tap on its amorphous form. Player's sand elemental whirls about in a tight cyclone to avoid her finger, then settles down and narrows itself in annoyance.
Push	SUCCESS: SUCCESS INDOORS:You move your hand to give your sand elemental a little push. The sand elemental leaps out of your hands and swirls around the ground for a moment, but it doesn't appear to be able to get through the ground. It lets out an annoyed twirl of crimson sand, then leaps back up into your palm, pulsating slightly with black hues. Perhaps you had best find a looser substrate for this activity? FAIL:You move your hand to give your sand elemental a little push. The sand elemental forms a concave cavity within its body, and your finger simply passes right through it without ever touching it.	Player moves her hand to give her sand elemental a little push. The sand elemental forms a concave cavity within its body, and Player's finger simply passes right through it without ever touching it.
Put/Drop item on

Feeding

Feeding sapphires to the sand elemental is done as positive reinforcement for morphing and for following the owner's commands.

You extend the sapphire towards your sand elemental.

The sand elemental opens its form up into a wide funnel, its interior swirling and alighting with faint, tiny orbs of bright flame, and you drop the sapphire into the spinning cyclone, which is immediately ground up into tiny motes of sparkling dusty particles and incorporated into its being.  The elemental then reforms into an amorphous, shifting orb, glittering happily with its new meal.

If the elemental has learned from this positive reinforcement:

You get the feeling your sand elemental has learned to <actvity> a bit better due to your encouragement.

Discipline

When the sand elemental refuses to obey the owner's commands, discipline needs to be administered. This is done by using water (or most consumable liquids), a substance the elemental exhibits an extreme dislike of. Discipline should be applied when the elemental does any of the following:

• Flaying your hand

Your sand elemental suddenly flares up with angry hues of fiery scarlets and deep blacks, its whirling sands suddenly flaying at your hand with vicious speed!
... 15 points of damage!
Feint to your head!
Quick flick at your weapon hand!
Nasty cut to right hand!

• Causing localized quakes

Your sand elemental suddenly explodes with waves of blurry energy, causing a very localized quake right in your hand!
You're knocked to the ground! 

• Bashing at you relentlessly

Your sand elemental suddenly whirls and writhes in a seething vortex, bashing at you relentlessly. 

• Running back to its shard when not put inside by you

Your sand elemental suddenly leaps from your hand and scatters itself thinly in the air, then dives straight into the crystal shard that you're wearing! 

These behaviors call for discipline with water:

You pour the clear-hued liquid from your water onto the swirling surface of your sand elemental, causing it bristle and spike up irritably! 

Loresong

The sand elemental shifts and swirls, its sands grating against one another to form a faint, high-pitched sound that echoes about your mind for several moments.
Roundtime: 7 sec.

The sand elemental continues to sing in its strange, melodic voice of sand against sand and for a moment you catch brief glimpses of something fiery and red and all consuming for a scant few seconds.
Roundtime: 10 sec.

As you focus your voice and stare at the sand elemental, your eyes are drawn to its swirling interior, and you find yourself lost in the haze of sand... until you are no longer staring at the elemental, but are somewhere else -- crimsons and russets bleed restlessly at the edge of the world, and mingle like ribbons overhead in fantastic, gargantuan waves of pristine beauty.  You feel yourself drifting carelessly through the earth, bumping along rocks and encountering different soils -- heedless to everything as you have no body, only a conciousness that streams through the earth in swift heartbeats.

Then the vision ends.
Roundtime: 8 sec.

You once again find yourself lost in a vision comprised of the sand elemental's swirling body...

You drift along the currents of earth, and find yourself being pulled somewhere, heat surrounding you like an intense forge as a blinding light blocks your vision.  You feel the sensation of ethereal being fading into corporeal existence, and your conciousness is bound to a physical form -- one comprised of hot earth and a twinge of flame.  You flow in this new existence, never leaving the confines of the cavern you've arrived in, merely waiting and bathing in the essence from the tiny rip in reality, growing slightly as the years pass.

Then the vision ends.
Roundtime: 9 sec.

You once again find yourself lost in a vision comprised of the sand elemental's swirling body...

You find yourself back in the cavern, feeding steadily off the essence bleeding from the nexus within -- others are there, as well, waiting until they too may venture out into the sands.  But then, something changes.  You sense presences that are only dimly aware or not at all aware of the flow, and you find yourself drawn to them, somehow.  One of them reaches for you in your small hiding place, and you assent to their wishes, allowing them to hold you in your shard.

Then the vision ends.
Roundtime: 7 sec.

Delving deeply into the elemental, you get a sense that it isn't very good at carving, isn't very good at holding objects, isn't very good at digging, isn't very good at creating a sandstorm, and isn't very good at morphing.

Also, it appears that it is fairly disciplined about flaying a hand, isn't very disciplined about hiding, is fairly disciplined about misbehaving, and is fairly disciplined about casting quakes.
You feel as though you have reached the end of the elemental's song.
Roundtime: 10 sec.

Interactive Scripts

VERB	FIRST	THIRD
Sniff	You sniff the elemental, and then suddenly sneeze violently! The sand elemental suddenly explodes in a huge puff of sand and twinkles down in a sparkling rain before it swirls into a tight, amorphous ball in your hand once more.	Player sniffs the elemental, and then suddenly sneezes violently! The sand elemental suddenly explodes in a huge puff of sand and twinkles down in a sparkling rain before it swirls into a tight, amorphous ball in her hand once more.
Tickle	You writhe your fingers through the sandy surface of the sand elemental and it suddenly explodes upwards in a brilliant cloud of multi-hued sand and then rains back down into your hand.	Player writhes her fingers through the sandy surface of the sand elemental and it suddenly explodes upwards in a brilliant cloud of multi-hued sand and then rains back down into her hand.
Turn	You turn your sand elemental about, and it responds by spinning about in a whirling, frenzied cyclone of black sand.	Player turns her sand elemental about, and it responds by spinning about in a whirling, frenzied cyclone of black sand.
Exhale	You let out a deep breath upon the sand elemental, and it swirls outwards, following the path of air and then taking flight, spiraling about the area with little thought or care to where it drifts. The sand elemental shimmers briefly and swirls back into your hand.	Player lets out a deep breath upon the sand elemental, and it swirls outwards, following the path of air and then taking flight, spiraling about the area with little thought or care to where it drifts. The sand elemental shimmers briefly and swirls back into Players's hand.
Toss	You toss your sand elemental about, and it stretches into a springy coil of sand, bouncing back and forth between your hands as it shimmers with varying tones.	Player tosses her sand elemental about, and it stretches into a springy coil of sand, bouncing back and forth between her hands as it shimmers with varying tones.
Pull	You sink your hand into the nearly aqueous sands of the elemental and pull a small handful out, letting the silky, shifting sand sift through your fingers to fall back toward the main mass of the sand elemental.	Player sinks her hand into the nearly aqueous sands of the elemental and pulls a small handful out, letting the silky, shifting sand sift through her fingers to fall back toward the main mass of the sand elemental.
Touch/Pet	You brush your hand over the sand elemental, its fluid-grainy surface flows against your hand like serpentine scales as it parts like a cascade of water.	Player brushes her hand over her sand elemental, its fluid-grainy surface flowing against her hand as it parts like a cascade of water.
Roll	You roll your sand elemental about, and the elemental assents to your actions, allowing you to roll it into a tight ball of sand after a bit. Suddenly, the sand elemental ripples outward and explodes in exuberance, its sandy tendrils flailing about playfully.	Player rolls her sand elemental about, and the elemental assents to her actions, allowing her to roll it into a tight ball of sand after a bit. Suddenly, the sand elemental ripples outward and explodes in exuberance, its sandy tendrils flailing about playfully.
Pinch	You crook your fingers and pinch the elemental, grabbing a few bits of sand from its swirling interior. The sand elemental suddenly whips about in a tight spiral, extending a tendril of sand that swiftly snatches back the tiny bits of sand between your fingers!	Player crooks her fingers and pinches the elemental, grabbing a few bits of sand from its swirling interior. The sand elemental suddenly whips about in a tight spiral, extending a tendril of sand that swiftly snatches back the tiny bits of sand between her fingers!
Poke	You poke your sand elemental and it ripples slightly, extending several writhing tendrils from itself and undulates in a slow, mesmerizing dance.	Player pokes her sand elemental and it ripples slightly, extending several writhing tendrils from itself and undulates in a slow, mesmerizing dance.

Ambients

Your sand elemental sifts about itself, curling into its own formless ripples over and over again.
Player's sand elemental sifts about itself, curling into its own formless ripples over and over again.

Your sand elemental quietly ripples in undulating waves, its surface roiling with alternating hues of earthy crimsons and duller browns.

Your sand elemental whirls wildly in a spiraling vortex, its surface laced with tiny veins of flame.

Your sand elemental suddenly explodes outwards, its surface glittering with a multitude of hues as it pulsates with a radiating, fiery glow!

As the glow fades, the elemental appears to have shifted into a small sand elemental swept with intertwined spirals of muted green sand!