A Study of the Corporeal Elements (essay)
Title: A Study of the Corporeal Elements Author: Maylan
Early Teachings
What follows is my attempt to recount the early teachings of my dymerano concerning empathic healing techniques. Although these notes are specific to Aelotoi, it is my experience that such teachings apply to similar Elanthian races including humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and the like.
Our bodies consist of four basic corporeal elements, known as humors. These elements are working and interacting with one another in a harmonious dance of universal balance. When an empath transfers an ailment from a patient to their bodies, it is our internal humors that work seamlessly to rebalance and heal our flesh.
Every ailment, disease, and injury can be attributed to an imbalance of humors. Thus, the art of empathic healing lies in learning how to generate and diminish each humor in order to achieve the correct balance. Master empaths knit and weave their humors seamlessly and without thought, instantaneously creating their desired result.
While empaths are able to alter their internal humors with a focus of will, a lay-person can achieve a similar, if diminished result, with the methods described below. As these methods are less effective compared to the innate abilities in empaths, they are described as artificial techniques.
The four humors and their healing properties are as follows:
Blood: The primary humor, giver of life and regeneration. Blood is used to grow new flesh and restore the body.+ It is the humor that allows an empath to establish a healing link with their patient. Blood is alive and communicative - it calls out and seeks other blood, allowing an empath to draw a wound to their own flesh.
Blood can be artificially created by consuming raw meats and eggs. Over-consumption of these foods will result in excessive hair and fingernail growth, the growth of moles, lumps, and other oddities, and in rare cases, extra limbs. Drinking copious amounts of fresh spring water with an added pinch of salt will artificially reduce the blood humor.
Yellow Bile: The revival humor. Yellow bile contains heating and acceleration properties. It can be used to speed up the effect of other humors, and to provide an energetic boost to an empath.
An excess of yellow bile has been known to provide euphoric effects, and can be artificially produced by consuming specific species of mushrooms, or the inhalation of certain herbs. Empaths should be wary of over-producing yellow bile, as it can lead to addiction issues which ultimately cause an imbalance of the humors. Yellow bile may be artificially reduced by inducing vomiting.
Black Bile: The calming humor. Black bile has a cooling effect, and can be used to slow the workings of the other humors. It is known to provide a soothing effect on the mind.
Black Bile can be artificially produced by consuming alcoholic beverages. Again, empaths should be cautious in becoming overly dependent upon black bile, as it can lead to lethargy.++ Administer a diuretic to artificially reduce black bile.
Phlegm: The humor of entropy and destruction. Phlegm is utilized to purge substances from the body such as unwanted growths and fleshy masses, disease, poisons, and venoms.
An excess in phlegm is particularly dangerous, as the body will quickly begin to deteriorate under the destructive forces. Therefore, a diet with limited dairy is recommended. Patients should consume dry, dead grasses to artificially reduce phlegm.
+Since arriving in Elanthia, I have learned that these properties are particularly potent in the troll races. Additional study in this area is recommended.
++My own studies have disproven this theory, yet I include them here in order to preserve my dymerano’s teachings.
Elemental Attunement
After healing several wizards attuned to specific elements, I have noticed a curious thing. Wizards attuned to each element have a particularly strong presence of certain humors in their system. While at first I thought this to be an imbalance, further exploration determined that not only are their bodies in proper working order, but the humors seem to play a role in, or at least respond to, their magical alignment.
After conducting several experiments and noting countless hours of observation, I have concluded that each humor is attuned to a natural element:
Blood: Air
Yellow Bile: Fire
Black Bile: Earth
Phlegm: Water
Empaths should be cautious when healing wizards with unique humor balances, as a disruption in this area could cause an alteration in their magical abilities. It is unknown whether each element creates an excess in each humor, or vice versa, and the discovery has posed more questions than it has answered.
Are the unique humor balances the source of elemental powers, or do the elemental powers create these humors? What would result from combining these bodily humors with each earthly element? Further experimentation in this area is warranted, although such studies could prove to be dangerous.
Combat Application
It is quite simple to reverse the healing properties of each humor and direct them outwards to an opponent, resulting in powerful combat magics. After all, that which can be made whole can be easily sundered within the same flow of humors. The unique magical abilities of each humor are as follows:
Blood: Divination and psychic connection.
Yellow Bile: Alteration magic, changing and twisting the properties of natural form.
Black Bile: Defensive magic and protective wards.
Phlegm: Offensive magics and curses.
On Blood Magic
There are two forms of blood, often confused with one another. The first form is the actual blood flowing within the body. For the sake of simplicity, this will be referred to as “lifeblood”. Lifeblood contains all four humors, including the primary humor known as blood. In fact if you remove a vial of lifeblood from a living body, you will witness the contents eventually separating into the four isolated humors over time.
This understanding has lead to the popular yet misguided healing technique of bloodletting, wherein a healer makes a small incision in a patient in order to release the lifeblood in an attempt to re-balance the humors. It should be noted that for the purposes of healing, empathic techniques prove to be superior as it requires minimal interference with the patient’s body.
When a blood mage wields their power, they are in fact utilizing all four humors present in the lifeblood. However, it is my observation that most blood mages overlook this distinction. The divination powers present in lifeblood actually come from the singular blood humor and its inherent communicative abilities. The blood humor has such a strong connection to its surrounding forces, that it is quite possibly the underlying power behind the kiramon hivemind. Given its almost omniscient quality, it is no surprise that blood mages capable of tapping into this power are able to glimpse promises of the future.
Where blood mages fail is in their lack of understanding of the other power forces present within lifeblood. Used on its own and without proper balancing techniques, the powers of each force are greatly diminished. If a blood mage hopes to fully utilize the power of lifeblood, they must first study and know how to artificially balance each individual humor and their relationships to one another.